3rd Generation Audi S3, 2012/2013?

[Louay]

Good Morning metal pretzel lovers!

Sure has been a while since i was last on here! 3 years, a boy and girl, few hundred green putrid nappies later, the time has come to take the plunge...again into the abyss of german automobile excellence as i wish to buy another Audi S3, sportback this time.

With the imminent arrival of the next A3, hopefully being featured at the Geneva Motor Show, I can't decide whether to go all out and tick every option on the current S3 Sportback benefitting from considerable discount from a dealer/broker or wait for the next generation S3, which after looking at spy shots and reading blurbs might not differ that much from today's model?

Timing will be key here in ordering the current model, do i negoitate once the release date has been announced for the new generation or wait until prices have been announced? Not sure when to go for the kill?

Lastly, how much do you think the next generation OTR price will be, before any options have been ticked? With options closer to £40k? I have a budget in mind and think that i could get the current model with exclusive sepang blue, buckets etc etc for £34k after discount?

Your thoughts, opinions and suggestions would be, as always, greatly appreciated. What would you do?

Many, many thanks

Lou

 

[MartayMcFly]

The new A3 is due by the end of the year, and the S3 will likely follow next year around the same time. No final version of the concept has been shown yet though, so all speculation at this point. Can't see them pricing it much higher than the current range, maybe add on 2-3k for equivalent models, and the S3 will no doubt be less than the current RS3 but more of a step up (so starting around £35k maybe).

 

[RedDejavu]

Buy now for with a decent discount and then change it within 3 years if you like the new one and reviews are good... New S3 will be due middle next year so no point wating that long tbh.

 

[BBlackburn]

Buy now for with a decent discount and then change it within 3 years if you like the new one and reviews are good... New S3 will be due middle next year so no point wating that long tbh.

I personally Agree with that comment, I wouldn't wait that long id buy second hand sport back dsg s3 for the time being so your under budget then see if you like the new s3 part ex yours in with a big deposit and you have the new one on its way to you and not lost much money.

 

[plezz]

i read somewhere that the 3 door is coming out about a year or so before the sportback, so you might be in for a bit of a wait if you want an S3 sportback.

 

[h5djr]

i read somewhere that the 3 door is coming out about a year or so before the sportback, so you might be in for a bit of a wait if you want an S3 sportback.

Yes I understand the Sportback will be 12 months behind the 3-door which is why I ordered a new Sportback 2.0TDI-170 back in October 2011. According to the Audi build weeks it is being built this week so it should be here in the next 2-3 weeks. Although the next version of the A3 is due to be released in March at the Geneva Motor Show there is still a long delivery time for the existing 3-door and Sportback.

 

[The Cardinal]

Like you, I have little one(s) and think the S3 Sportback is perfect for the family man in a hurry.

I keep saying it, but it's worth stating again - the S3 won't be this cheap again. The 3-4 year valuations, competitive list price, dealer discounts and high spec are very good at the moment. Whether you fund by PCP or buy outright, the overall costs for a new S3 are about 10-15% cheaper than a Golf R with similar spec. The Mk6 Golf was probably the more convincing facelift in retrospect (explaining the price gap), but the tech is just the same and the 8P's spec is better.

The S3 3-dr is probably at least a year away; probably longer - and the Sportback will be another year after that. Count on a list of £35k for a next-generation S3 Sportback, then add another £3-5k for S-Tronic and other options.

 

[PaulAr]

Remember that the S3 3dr 8P took around 2 years to arrive and then another 2 or so for the SB.
On this basis I have just ordered an S3 SB on a 2 year PCP and see what happens after that.

Good deals to had ATM although lead times for factory cars are ridiculous, people have waited 20+ weeks for Black Editions.

Ok the S3 is not the epitome of new tech but its still a superb package.

Good Luck
Paul

 

[audigex]

The new S3 probably won't be insanely more expensive than the current one, but there will almost certainly be a premium and perhaps more importantly, there are unlikely to be many discounts early on.

Add together the premium on the newer car of perhaps 3-5k, and the discount you can get on the current one with the new one impending. I got over a 10% discount on mine... you could be talking about up to £10,000 difference overall by my maths (although that's at the top end of the estimate)

 

[warren_S5]

I ordered in May and collected in November. Longest wait I've ever had and by the end of it I was wishing I'd ordered something else! Way too long for an A3.

 

[PaulAr]

I ordered in May and collected in November. Longest wait I've ever had and by the end of it I was wishing I'd ordered something else! Way too long for an A3.

Lead time was nearly a deal breaker for me, buy I was lucky to stumble upon a pre built car that met and exceeded my spec requirments, Im guessing it was a cancelled order.
6 Months is bonkers.

Paul

 

[warren_S5]

Lead time was nearly a deal breaker for me, buy I was lucky to stumble upon a pre built car that met and exceeded my spec requirments, Im guessing it was a cancelled order.
6 Months is bonkers.

Paul

My local stealers seen many walk to BMW, Merc and Lexus because of lead times. Even lost an RS3 sale the day I took delivery of ours. He was fuming.

 

[N8]

They are worth waiting for, waited 11 months for mine, it's only time, it waits for no1.

 

[warren_S5]

They are worth waiting for, waited 11 months for mine, it's only time, it waits for no1.

Many don't have our monumental patience or disproportionate love of all things 4 rings!

 

[N8]

It's the best car I've ever owned, the most expensive of course, but it was worth it.

 

[audigex]

The only reason I didn't to to Merc/BMW/Lexus etc is because I feel too young for those brands. A 3-series nearly got me, but I just don't like it enough.

The wait really has soured the A3 for me, though - I'm sure I'll love it once it's here, but knowing what I know now I'll never go for a car with that long a lead time again.

 

[Louay]

The only reason I didn't to to Merc/BMW/Lexus etc is because I feel too young for those brands. A 3-series nearly got me, but I just don't like it enough.

The wait really has soured the A3 for me, though - I'm sure I'll love it once it's here, but knowing what I know now I'll never go for a car with that long a lead time again.

Audigex
Interesting feedback. Do you think the differences in the newer model will justify its price hike? Am I likely to tick many option boxes with a budget of £34k or would ordering the current model, ticking many boxes (including audi exclusive paint) be the most financially sensible thing to do once they announce the release date of the next generation S3 sportback, tactically, do I wait for this announcement, and then go for the kill and could I benefit with say up to 12/15% discount? What do you thing audigex? Thanks Lou

 

[N8]

I gained 14% discount when I ordered mine.

 

[RPB]

It's the best car I've ever owned, the most expensive of course, but it was worth it.

Same here! My Subaru was awesomely reliable for me over the 8 years I had that from new. I said then that is the most I would ever spend on a new car. The S3 was expensive, but as above, it really was worth it for me too, it is just f'ing unreal! lol. I love it. S-Tronic is unbelievable, manual mode - yeah! Sports mode and launch control - WOW!

 

[audigex]

Audigex
Interesting feedback. Do you think the differences in the newer model will justify its price hike? Am I likely to tick many option boxes with a budget of £34k or would ordering the current model, ticking many boxes (including audi exclusive paint) be the most financially sensible thing to do once they announce the release date of the next generation S3 sportback, tactically, do I wait for this announcement, and then go for the kill and could I benefit with say up to 12/15% discount? What do you thing audigex? Thanks Lou

I'm not going to pretend to be an expert on buying new Audis - or even new cars, for that matter, there are people on this forum who've had more S3s than I've had cars.

But looking at the pricing of the range, I can't see you're going to be spending long on the options list with £34k. The base S3 at the moment is 32k ish I believe with no options whatsoever. If we assume that the new one is going to be at least that (probably more, now that the A1 exists the range will be pushing up slightly, and when did anything ever get cheaper?) The price goes up yearly anyway with inflation and Audi's cost increases, so I'd reckon on a minimum 34k just for the base price once you've included tax. That doesn't leave much room for options.

Take into account the 10-15% that you can get on the current A3, however, and you're looking at a base price of 27-29k, giving you plenty of cash to put on the options list.

As I said, this is all guesswork, I know little about Audi, but I think it's fairly likely based on the prices we can see for the cars now. I'm not even waiting for the S3, and I chose to order the current model.

As a friend once said to me - you could spend the rest of your life waiting for the next big thing... there's always a facelift or new model coming up.