I will more than likely be purchasing a RS3 this Friday... I was just wondering what I should watch out for, more or less the problem areas of all tC's and/or the RS3.

Buying from a dealership, and they have already replaced rotors, pads, and rear struts. Any help and info would greatly be appreciated. Thanks and hope to be joining the family soon!

 

...Just make sure it is actually an RS3. You understand what makes it an RS3, right?

Mine has just over 50k mi... bought it brand new, only probs I can think of have been with the cd unit (cds get stuck, so the aux input is a lifesaver). Also, is it a 5 speed? Driving an auto is pretty boring, even if it is a 160hp fwd beast . all joking aside...

I Love my car... dont mind all the "chick car", "fwd fail", "ricer wannabe" whatever comments. It gets me from A to B without sucking down a ton of gas, while looking awesome.

 

Sure do. Also, the cd player will be coming out and an aftermarket headunit will be going in, so no worries there.

Sadly, its an automatic. The car is actually for my girlfriend, but I will be doing all maintenance/modding, so I'd say it's both of ours . She doesn't know how to drive a manual, so automatic was the only choice.

 

Check to make sure everything that's release series about the car is still on the car and good condition. Like the lip kit, the upper grill insert, the seats, badging etc

 

Everything out the outside looked to be in good condition, from what I could see... the car was dirty as hell. Headlights and tail lights looked perfect, front and rear lip seemed to be perfect, as well as the grill. Didn't get the greatest look at the interior because it was on the lift, but the seats looked ok... I'll be sure to check all of these things over better when we go to (possibly) pick it up.

Are there any problematic rust areas, problems with the suspension, or issues that generally arise with the engine? The car has just over 63,000 miles on it. I'm not too concerned with most of these things since it is under care of the person with the highest safety conditioning of used cars under this group of dealerships.

 

Might wanna get rid of those tail lights on there... I heard they are horrible.

And then donate them to me.

 

^nice lol good luck lol

and i don't have a single problem with my rs3 and i am at about 63K miles as well. Just slapped on my new injen intake as a matter of fact, sounds really nice. No rust issues on my end nor motor or tranny. suspension I can't speak for because for the past 20K or so I have had the raceland coilovers on. lol

 

Meh, I didn't know how to drive a manual when I bought my manual tC. Haha.

 

Same here lol.

 

make sure it has the rs3.0 badge, rs3.0 TYC tails, RS3.0 Badgeless grill, kenstyle lip kit.

 

I'll keep that in mind.


She wants to learn how to drive stick with my car... not happening. I'd prefer that she drive an automatic anyway, shes not the most attentive driver to begin with... more distractions = not good.

All were there and in great condition.

 

Well, we went to go get the car last night... got some good news and bad news.

The previous owner of the tC beat the crap out of it, and she didn't like how it drove, so we didn't come home with the RS3. Also, the dealer was supposed to repaint the driver's side door because it had massive amounts of chips on the edge from the door being opened into things, and their "fix" was to put generic white touch up paint over the areas (there was already rust) and to put door edging over it. NOT happy.

On the good news, we got a killer deal on a 06 Charger RT that could not be passed up. Their internet price (comparative pricing) was $18,800 and to keep our business, they offered to sell for $15,500. While we were doing the paper work, they showed us their "own" price which was just shy of $18,000. I assume that this isn't what they took the car for, but rather how much money they put into it plus interest and whatnot from having it.

Overall the car was in pretty good condition, the front bumper needs to be repainted, but they will do it at their shop for cost, no mark ups. All the bells and whistles, and it's fast as *****.

Thank you all for the input, but it's just not what she wanted. If anybody is looking for an RS3 that needs some love (and live in or is willing to travel to Wisconsin), there is one sitting and waiting.