Be very picky about the A3 3.2 - I gather there's generally a good reason they're so cheap as used buys. Some DSG issues and engines not that reliable either - usually sensors, but they're expensive to replace and hard to get at. Hopefully if it's approved used it'll have a decent warranty

Many thanks for that info +++

whats the main fault that causes the gear box to fail, is it hard punishment or can you give them stick every day so long as it has the filter and tran's fluid changed every 20k miles ?

my box runs sweet and i almost every day use the kick down and it gets the taps opened fully, but i am on my second gearbox service, i flush out the old oil and replace the filter and refill following audi pages, i have done this twice now as i have clocked up 42k on the car since my ownership

The way it was explained to me, the fact the car is 4wd means there's no power lost through spinning the wheels - it just grips and goes. Assuming the tyres and road surface don't break grip, then the torque converter and oil will be asked to deal with the resulting mechanical strife/heat of any power that can't be transferred quickly enough.

Factor in no oil changes by Audi and gunky oil and that'll pretty much do it over time. If a component doesn't physically fail then the valve bodies and other internal components will get gunked up until something stops working

You don't get these issues with a BMW running similar power with the same box, although they also don't appreciate ancient oil in them.

There's RS6 out there on their original boxes with 120k on them, and others on their 3rd box by 75k, so driving style or quality control probably come in to the equation somewhere too....

Personally I try to limit balls-out starts in lower gears for special occasions and rely on the torque reserves to deal with most traffic situations without giving it full beans.

I think Adrien's said it all.

Does this afflict the D2 2,8 quattro as well? I only ask, because the Audi A4 B5/B6 2,8/3,0 quattro has the same ZF unit, but documented failures are rare. Is it then a combination of the higher torque the D2 V8/S8 puts through the trans, and lack of slippage (grippy tyres and hot tarmac)?

I too drive mine conservatively, I don't do full-bore standing starts, it's getting too cold to do a trans pull, to install my 01E 6-speed manual.

Sounds like you know what your doing Nollywood - are you still a vehicle tech?

A semi-retired one. +++

Looking forward to seeing your manual conversion. You could be the UK version of Tozo, I'm sure people will be queuing to have theirs done too. +++

*Bill eyes the empty space in his dining room that is about the same size as a manual tranny and engine and quietly shuffles forward as the monthly contributions to the car fund begin to build again*

Well folks, you will all be glad to know that it's not being scrapped or traded in.
I put it up for sale on a couple of forums and someone offered the asking price.
He has a A8 sitting and is going to do a box transplant.
Another one saved from the scrapyard :)