Buying a used iD.3

[Nerdy]

I am looking to buy a used iD.3 and I'm looking for some general advice of features that I should be looking for. Any specific model year or versions to avoid?

Is the standard sound system decent enough?

If the iD light signifcantly better than the standard LED light?

Is it worth getting an extended warranty and how much does it cost approximately?

Any advice would be much appreciated

Ta

[sidehaas]

Standard sound system does a job but if you are keen on your music it will probably feel a bit lacking. No speakers in the back if that's important.
Matrix ID lights are really great if you drive at night on unlit roads a lot. If that's rare, then not so important.

Otherwise, the right trim level really depends what you want. Life cars were missing a few things that a lot of people want, like rear camera and keyless entry, until very recently. For a long time the next model up after a Life has been a Family, which has a good spec, but there was also a Business in between until mid 2021. I'm not sure what was on that. A 1st edition is fairly similar to a Family, missing the pano roof and maybe some other small bits but with the addition of bigger standard alloys. If you are desperate to get a HUD or full travel assist then you would need a Tour or a Max.
Cars delivered from about April 2022 ish came with software 3.0 installed and additional side sensors (except Life spec) which give you some extra automatic parking functions.
Check the software version, ideally get one with 3.0 or later. You can tell because they show the battery % next to the range on the driver display. Not hugely important in most respects, but 3.0 is better, and is essential if you want to be able to schedule charging from your car overnight (rather than scheduling from a smart charger).

[Nerdy]

Thanks

is the software not upgradeable?

Realistically looking at a 2020/2021 car

[sidehaas]

Thanks

is the software not upgradeable?

Realistically looking at a 2020/2021 car

Software is upgradeable but the over the air upgrade to 3.0 has been very protracted. They have done two trial waves totalling about 3000 cars but the rest haven't been done yet. Some people have had success just recently getting it done by the dealer if they complained enough and quoted the right TPI. Check other threads on here and the speakev forums. If you are buying from a VW dealer, you may have success telling them you'll buy it on condition they then update it for you, it's worth a try.

[duncsand]

The ID light is a nice idea but I hardly use it as I use Car Play and Apple Maps in preference to the VW stuff. The ID light is quite cool in the way it integrates with navigation, but it doesn't work with Apple/Google Maps unfortunately.

Personally I find the Family spec models the sweet-stop - nice toys (reversing camera, heated front seats & steering wheel, matrix headlights, better seats, sunroof). Max and Tour models are nice but you pay quite a premium for them.

The sound system is fine but doesn't have rear speakers. That's not terribly noticeable for front seat passengers. The number of cars with upgraded sound system is probably very low, so you'd be lucky to find a second hand car with rear speakers.

VW guarantees the battery for 8 years / 100,000 miles so you should be good on that. Don't most places give you 12 months warranty anyway these days? Hard to tell if it's worth paying extra. My car has been faultless.

[sidehaas]

Ref warranty, if you get one, check that it covers control units. They seem to fail the most.

[G EV]

If you buy used approved from a VW dealer, then you get 2yrs warranty.

Depending on the age of car you are looking for, there was a model available in 21 called Tech (discontinued now) which has all the toys - HUD, camera, pano roof, auto unlocking, matrix lights, speakers, heated seats and wheel etc No dual zone climate though.
I got a 21 plate Tech end of last year. Running on software v2.4. Done about 4K trouble free miles. So far, so good.

The HUD is something that I have really grown to love and wondered how I have done without one for all these years.
The matrix lights are superb for night driving on country roads.
The standard wheels are something that put me off at first - what, no alloys??? But they look ok in real life.

The id light is not something I pay that much attention to - but nav is on the HUD (even if you use Apple).

Trim is personal and could be influenced by factors such as how long you are spending behind the wheel. Are you driving areas you know or don’t know. Motorway or city. Etc

No regrets with my used id.3 so far

[Rhycis]

I also went for a used 21 plate Tech, and am very happy with it so far.
I'm finding the HUD, Side assist and Travel assist very useful!

I am glad I went for the Tech with these features rather than the Family without - as far as I can work out all I'm missing vs the Family is the adjustable boot floor, as I do have dual zone climate control.

It was an approved used VW, so has 2 year warranty although most of that time is still covered by the original 3yr warranty. The other benefit was the APR which was significantly lower than if I'd bought elsewhere.

[Sherlock]

If I was you I would be wary of buying a 2nd hand ID.3 that doesn't have at least V3.0 software. The ongoing delays in OTA update to 3.0 for those with 2.4 and the latest 'communication' from VW on this raise a lot of doubts about when/if this will ever happen. See Software V3.0 update thread for more details

[Nerdy]

Discussion Starter · #7 · a moment ago

Thank you everyone.

I am now the owner of a 1st Edition iD.3 in Turquoise ( wife's preferred colour)

Bought approved used. Loving it (Day 2 today) apart from 3 issues:

1. The car was advertised with BLIS, but cannot see anything to suggest it has it

2. Cannot get wireless charging to work with our phones (Pixel 6+7 Pro)

3. Wipers making a clipping sound/noise at the top of the windscreen - At end if sweep before returning back - wiper blade seems to be intact and not hitting anything

[steviebabes]

I know the 1st editions didn't have wireless charging. Not sure about blind spot detection, I don't think many early ID3's have this. The wiper noise sounds like play in the gearbox, probably a warranty issue.

[sidehaas]

I thought blind spot assist was only on Max and maybe Tour.

[Nerdy]

Oh one more thing. Should an approved used car not come with a tyre repair kit?

[Bromsgroveuser]

the First edition had self Sealing tyres as standard and no puncture repair kit

[monkeyhanger]

the First edition had self Sealing tyres as standard and no puncture repair kit

That's because it came on 19" wheels. 18" wheels, whether steelys or East Derry never come on self sealing tyres.

[Bromsgroveuser]

the First edition had self Sealing tyres as standard and no puncture repair kit

That's because it came on 19" wheels. 18" wheels, whether steelys or East Derry never come on self sealing tyres.

Yes I Know that , the point is he's bought a First Edition

[monkeyhanger]

the First edition had self Sealing tyres as standard and no puncture repair kit

That's because it came on 19" wheels. 18" wheels, whether steelys or East Derry never come on self sealing tyres.

Yes I Know that , the point is he's bought a First Edition

Not sure he knew why it wouldn't have the kit, hence my explanation.

[CoalPorter]

is the software not upgradeable?

You’re new here, I take it?

VW have made big promises about the software being OTA updated, and conspicuously failed to keep them. There was a mass recall undertaken over the last year to manually update cars to v2.4 (which in truth is 2.3.something), which was supposed to make them ready for 3.0 OTA, but the 3.0 roll-out is yet to happen at scale because of the problems encountered in the test phase (last autumn). Thus most of the IDs with 3.0 or higher were built with that from the factory. Maybe one day…

While it’s a source of some frustration that the update hasn’t happened, 2.4 is perfectly usable (and a million miles better than the awful 1.x or 2.0 that the early cars came with). Mine shipped with 2.3 which wasn’t perfect but at least never left the car undriveable .

[Nerdy]

Yes mine has the 2.4 update. Tried to get dealer to manually push 3.0, they said can't be done without VW blessings, sacrificing 2 lambs and goats while riding a camel ,etc, etc.

Anyway seems functional enough. Generally happy with it.
Got a DashCam from FitCamX, but seems to have died after 24 hrs. They sending a replacement.

[Scratch]

Yes mine has the 2.4 update. Tried to get dealer to manually push 3.0, they said can't be done without VW blessings, sacrificing 2 lambs and goats while riding a camel ,etc, etc.

Anyway seems functional enough. Generally happy with it.
Got a DashCam from FitCamX, but seems to have died after 24 hrs. They sending a replacement.

Just make sure that camel hasn’t been programmed by VW.