Audi A3 Vs Alpha Mito and others!

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Wilderbeast

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Dec 9, 2008
2,036
9
32
Essex-Cardiff
Hello all,

Looking for some motoring opinions from you fine folks! I have a budget of max £8,500 not including insurance. I've sort of fallen in love with the idea of an Audi A3 (1.6 with about 30,000 miles on the clock). I also quite like the idea of an Alpha Mito which is a little better equipped and usually has fewer miles for the money.

I'd really like some opinions from people who have driven or own/have owned either of these cars.

I'm also open to suggestions on alternatives but bear in mind that I am:
a) not after anything higher than a 1.6l engine
b) a self confessed badge snob!
c) a buyer of heart rather than head when it comes to cars!

I've considered/ am also considering BMW 116, VW Gold 1.6, Suzuki Swift, Seat Leon

Good Luck!
 

WULF

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Mar 19, 2012
2,983
87
South Yorkshire
My opinion,VAG all day long!
An audi A3 is essentially a golf mk4,seat leon so quality will be assured.vw,seat,audi,skoda all typically german made quality.Ive had vw's for the last 20 years up until my bora for 9 years gave up.Ive just got a peugeot and hate it,build quality etc is even worth comparing.
Downside is they are dearer than the others but thats because of the things mentioned above.

Ive also had the bmw's in the past.

just my opinion but i'd rather pay more for a VAG car,,,mainly vw.

good luck with your choice.
 
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brambles

Settler
Apr 26, 2012
771
71
Aberdeenshire
I currently have an Audi TT and have previously had VWs and I won't buy another Audi or VW - MASSIVE electrical problems , and looking at recent customer satisfaction surveys it seems to be the same across the board on German marques. I'd go for the Alfa if I were you.
 

WULF

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Mar 19, 2012
2,983
87
South Yorkshire
I wouldn't. Nowt but hassle. The reputation may have been deserved previously but I also had loads of electrical issues with a VAG car. It was a Seat Leon and it was forever in getting stuff done, as soon as the warranty was done I got shot of it.

And yet mine have been trouble free over the years;)
Each to there own............
 

British Red

M.A.B (Mad About Bushcraft)
Dec 30, 2005
26,709
1,947
Mercia
My wife had an A3. Absolute POS, we've had pretty much all the big makes over the years, and the one we have both vowed never to touch again were Audi....rubbish spec, unreliable, poor customer service. They won't see a penny of our cash again.
 

dwardo

Bushcrafter through and through
Aug 30, 2006
6,451
475
46
Nr Chester
Had two Seat`s one was a 1 years old Ibitza cool looking car but needed a gearbox in less than 3 years.
Seat Leon Works car spent more time in the garage with engine warning lights on and off.
 

johnnytheboy

Native
Aug 21, 2007
1,884
14
45
Falkirk
jokesblogspot.blogspot.com
I am a German car man at heart, but, I run a huge paint and body centre, we have had probably something in the region of 42 Alfa MiTo courtesy cars and not one break down! I was a bit skeptical to start with as we always had polo's but the MiTo's turned out to be every bit as good, our customers loved them!

If I was going out there to buy a car now, I would buy a Golf 6 1.6tdi with DSG box, that car would do virtually everything I would need! the G-wagen does the rest!
 

Goatboy

Full Member
Jan 31, 2005
14,956
17
Scotland
An Alpha are ye mad. I had an Alphasud many a moon ago, and I know folks with newer Alphas now. and we all love/loved them dearly. Very dearly as they were constantly getting fixed. Would have one again in a shot as a second car if I had the money (or a Scimitar), but not as a main motor, not even at £8500.

But I understand the buyer of the heart thing, why else the landies, lotus's, dollies and the Royales.

Hope you get something reliable that you like.

GB
 

Dougster

Bushcrafter through and through
Oct 13, 2005
5,254
238
The banks of the Deveron.
Does it have to be petrol? The 1.9TDi (which I have in the Golf) will return over 50MPG on the M4 at 85mph.......

Audi over Alpha any day of the week though. My 11 year old golf with 138,000 miles on it went through last MoT with no advisories.
 

benp1

Nomad
Nov 30, 2006
473
0
42
London
An A3 isn't based on a mk4 golf, its based on a mk4 golf if its an early a3, at your budget it would be like a mk5 golf

We ran a 1.8t A3 for a couple if years, was good but the wheels were too big (18" rs4 alloys) so the ride was too jittery. Was still good fun to drive

Never really had problems with German cars (touch wood) - VW, Audi, bmw, merc

I'd get the a3, the mito would be for my wife!
 

Johnnyboy1971

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Dec 24, 2010
4,155
26
52
Yorkshire
Ive had over 20 VAG motors and not one has ever let me down, had a Merc and will never have another.
Just sold my BMW which was a fantastic car but rear wheel drive and auto in the snow was shall we say interesting at times. Had vauxhalls and were all good but dull.
Alphas look the part but would never buy one.
 

daveO

Native
Jun 22, 2009
1,453
513
South Wales
An Alpha are ye mad.

I've got an Alfa 156 that I've had for about 5 years and it's great, I've put over 100k miles on it and never broken down once in that time.

Saying that it's rapidly building up a list of minor things that are broken or don't work properly. It's split a couple of boost pipes and the front suspension seems to eat bushes, bits tend to randomly stop working or fall off, the interior is great but flimsy. The rear wiper burned out, the boot release broke a few times and locked the dog in there, the airbag light comes on randomly. Sometimes if it's feeling a bit fragile it'll throw a fit and go into limp mode for no reason, it doesn't like running without some kind of warning light on even though nothing is wrong, the side skirts are both cracked, the fog lights and splash guards are held on with an increasing number of cable ties, the sun visor spring snapped so now it hangs limply and has to be removed when the sun goes in, there's a wired thing in the roof that rattles and won't go away. The electric mirror on the drivers side doesn't work any more and the paint is peeling of the mirror mount. The alarm is really only good for waking the neighbours up nice and early for no reason. My dog ate the seatbelts and the new ones retract at glacial speed. The headlights are terrible to the point of being dangerous and it belches black smoke when I accelerate hard and there's a worrying rattle from the front suspension that no one can find the source of but other than that it's been faultless :)
 

rustix

Member
Jan 26, 2013
23
0
northumberland
don't care how reliable or how much it costs the Mito is the UGLIEST car ever produced it is disgusting! and would'nt be seen dead in one would rather travel by bus or even walk as I ain't been on a bus in 35 years :lmao:
 

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