A3's Off To The Body Shop ....... Courtesy car

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coupe-se

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A few of you may have read about a while ago about my week of hell which culminated with my A3 being keyed front to back on both sides while parked outside of Peterborough Hospital. :gun2:

The car went into the body shop today for repair and I've been told its 2 weeks work to respray both sides. Through Direct Line I have their 'Courtesy Car' insurance via enterprise.
Well the insurance is only valid for a maximum rental period of 2 weeks!!:mad: When the wife got to the depot they rolled out a Kia Picanto!!!:lmfao: The missus asked if it was a joke and ended up stumping up another £70 to upgrade to an Astra (contradiction in terms!!).

The Astra is well specced with full leather and cruise, auto lights etc but is soooooo flimsy and unsubstantial compared to my A3. I'd really forgotten just how cheap some other cars feel. The leather on the seats isn't very supple and the leather steering wheel feels like its actually pvc with no padding. The switches and dials feel so cheap and don't look as if they would wear well over the years.

Looking forward to getting the A3 back. :thumbsup: :)
 
hope it turns out well and they do a real good job of your car.... i'll have to be honest i wouldn't be handling it all quite so carmly as you seem to be
 
It is BMW Peterboroughs own specialist body shop which is a pretty substantial set of buildings.

Audi Peterborough who are located directly across the road and are BMW's main business rival said they wouldn't recommend any other body shop in the area and recommend all Audi customers to use them

I'm am VERY concerned what state my 7 month old car will come back in, but theirs not alot I can do about it.

I'm just gobsmacked about the gulf in quality between the Astra courtesy car and A3!!
 
audi upgrades
Sounds great! Funnily enough I have the same type of courtesy car cover from Direct Line.
On a more serious note isn't there a way to guarantee a more like for like replacement car or is there another company that does? (Hope I will never need it)

Phil
 
I was in a similar situation some months ago when my A3 went into a bodyshop for a minor repair following a small incident in a car park.

I am insured with Norwich Union Direct and pay a small extra for an enhanced courtesy car. My courtesy car was all arranged by NU through Enterprise who met me at the bodyshop to take me to their depot to collect the car. When Enterprise telephoned me a few days before I asked if there was anyway I could have an automatic (out of practice with a manual these days) and they provide a Toyota Corolla 1.6 auto.

Quite a nice car but very plasticy inside and not a patch on the A3. It was OK and got me from A to B but I was very glad to get my A3 back.
 
I'm not claiming against another party so have to live with whatever courtesy car I'm offered unless I pay to upgrade.

4 years ago my 3 month old Hyundai Coupe was rear ended at a roundabout and they tried giving me a Ford Ka as a replacement. I demanded that Direct Line organise a replacement vehicle of an equivalent size as the accident was no fault of mine and I was not prepared to drive a lesser vehicle and suffer inconvenience through no fault of my own. They just said ok with no arguement and said they'd recover the cost from the other party. A nicely specc'd Toyota Avensis was duly delivered to the door!!
 
When I used to have my Focus serviced, the dealer would only provide a fleet of KAs to choose from - and that was for all customers. Whatever the cheapest they can get away with is all they'll provide.

Anyway, let's hope the repainting goes well. A work colleague has an A6 that was once keyed down the side, and hers was repaired to a very high standard. A perfect colour match and quality to the factory paint, so it is possible.
 
I hope they make a better job of your A3 than they did of my brothers MX5, it went back 4 times before they got it right, Cooks (if they still have there bodyshop) were very good apprently.
 
I suppose the difference in courtesy car comes down to whether you're claiming off your own insurance or someone elses.
If it's someone else at fault,the law states you are entitled to hire 'in keeping' with your loss.
Which is why,when an old woman smacked into the back of my A4,I was able to demand an A4 courtesy car.

With regard to the Astra,I'm surprised it's so bad.
I'm regularly in the brother-in-laws Vectra and whilst the materials used inside aren't quite as nice as the A3,I'm well impressed with the build quality and especially the refinement,which is much better than my car.
 
I like the new Ashtrays, i've had a few as hire cars and build wise they are good. They are also quieter than my current golf
 
I had a new Astra for 2 weeks whilst away on a course. Terrible looking but build quality was fine, though as Bowfer says materials not as nice.

Didn't have any rattles which is more than I can say of the A3. Didn't leak oil or coolant either, which was nice and a bit of a novelty for me!
 
bowfer said:
I suppose the difference in courtesy car comes down to whether you're claiming off your own insurance or someone elses.
QUOTE]

I agree with Bowfer, had the basic bottom end courtesy cars from Direct Line when mine has been in the body shop and it has been my fault.
Last time, when it was someone else's fault, I upgraded and let my ins co. claim the difference off the other party's insurance. I also put in a claim for the extra cost in using diesel for my car and petrol for the hire car.
Click to expand...
 
audi upgrades
It's surprising how many people don't know about the 'in keeping with your loss' rule when the accident isn't their fault.
I know of several people who've driven around in stupid little cars for weeks,when they really didn't have to.
 
SteveTDCi said:
I hope they make a better job of your A3 than they did of my brothers MX5, it went back 4 times before they got it right, Cooks (if they still have there bodyshop) were very good apprently.
Click to expand...

Cooks have the Volkswagen dealership and one or two others. I believe they lost the Audi dealership which is no surprise at all.
BMW in Peterborugh are a Sycamores dealership.

Iv'e been in a Vectra and Signum and was quite impressed with those, the Astra just feels thin and lacking in substance.

Forgot to say that the brakes on the Astra are 'interesting' shall we say. The wife collected the car and I moved it off the drive and nearly hit nexts doors car as the brake pedal needs a ****** good shove to make it bite. If I hit the pedal in the same way in my A3 I'd be through the windscreen ............. could be some whiplash action when I get the A3 back again.:)
 
coupe-se said:
Forgot to say that the brakes on the Astra are 'interesting' shall we say. The wife collected the car and I moved it off the drive and nearly hit nexts doors car as the brake pedal needs a ****** good shove to make it bite. If I hit the pedal in the same way in my A3 I'd be through the windscreen ............. could be some whiplash action when I get the A3 back again.:)
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I actually prefer that !

I find Audi's brakes are more like a switch,which can be a pain (especially in slippery conditions).

In fact,Audi's brakes seem to work the opposite from the norm,when you're driving in a sporty manner.
They're really,really sharp to start with,then the servo assistance and brake-assist feature means you sometimes have to back off the pedal to avoid over-braking.
I prefer the 'harder-you-shove-the-more-braking-you-get',rather than the car confusing your sporty driving with an emergency and braking for you.
You get used to it,but I still find braking a bit 'hit-or-miss',if you'll excuse the pun !
 
I find the Golfs very sharp, not very progressive at all. I thought Cooks were closing there bodyshop down - or had heard that rumour, I know someone with an Audi had work done by cooks and were happy. Sycamorons did the work on the MX5 and although it got there in the end they did make a complete mess of it. Hopefully they will make yours better, just check it in daylight and without it raining !
 
The thing is, if courtesy cars cost more - so does your insurance in the long run. Even if you never make a claim, your premium will be more because of all the other people making claims.

I had a Hyundai Accent as a courtesy car for 2 weeks - horrid? Yes. Free? Yes. Would I have preferred to pay #100 more a year for a like for like car? Hell no.

Suck it up and you'll be so appreciative of your car when you get it back.
 
OutLore said:
The thing is, if courtesy cars cost more - so does your insurance in the long run. Even if you never make a claim, your premium will be more because of all the other people making claims.

I had a Hyundai Accent as a courtesy car for 2 weeks - horrid? Yes. Free? Yes. Would I have preferred to pay #100 more a year for a like for like car? Hell no.

Suck it up and you'll be so appreciative of your car when you get it back.
Click to expand...

I pay more than enough for bloomin insurance and will never claim to the value that I have paid over the last 20 years (like all insurances). I do not expect a fancy car but if I'm insuring and paying for a car of a certain standard it would be nice if they didn't take the mickey by offering something dreadfull like a Kia Picanto!!

Bowfer ....... having driven it properly the brakes are fine, just that first manouver that caused a heart stopping moment when the car didn't stop sharply!! :ohmy:

SteveTDCi ........ please DON'tT tell me stuff like that!!!:ermm:
 
bowfer said:
They're really,really sharp to start with,then the servo assistance and brake-assist feature means you sometimes have to back off the pedal to avoid over-braking.
I prefer the 'harder-you-shove-the-more-braking-you-get',rather than the car confusing your sporty driving with an emergency and braking for you.
You get used to it,but I still find braking a bit 'hit-or-miss',if you'll excuse the pun !
Click to expand...
I'm glad that it's not just me then! My daily drive (Navara) has quite decent brakes (if you make allowances for bulk/suspension/weight transfer etc) - the harder you push the quicker you stop. Takes me a mile or two to readjust to the A3. Is it my imagination or is this characteristic worse when the brakes are cold?
 
coupe-se said:
I pay more than enough for bloomin insurance and will never claim to the value that I have paid over the last 20 years (like all insurances). I do not expect a fancy car but if I'm insuring and paying for a car of a certain standard it would be nice if they didn't take the mickey by offering something dreadfull like a Kia Picanto!!
Click to expand...

Agreed, but that's the way insurance works. I'd rather pay it and not use it than not pay it and then need to use it. I am not saying that insurance companies don't rip us off - but they are there to make profit and pay peoples wages.

In order to have a car of equivalent spec, they would need to have multiple cars for each person they expect to give one to, or else they would end up not having the right kind of car for you. This increases the cost immensely, and ultimately increase your insurance premium.
 
coupe-se said:
The Astra is well specced with full leather and cruise, auto lights etc but is soooooo flimsy and unsubstantial compared to my A3. I'd really forgotten just how cheap some other cars feel.
Click to expand...

I`m guessing that the Astra is cheaper than the A3 so what exactly did you expect? Audi have to justify their inflated pricing somehow, perception of quality is how they do it.

I had a new shape Astra as a hire car in Germany recently and I was really impressed, makes me wonder why people stump up for A3`s in the first place!
 
Wolfsburger said:
I had a new shape Astra as a hire car in Germany recently and I was really impressed, makes me wonder why people stump up for A3`s in the first place!
Click to expand...

Maybe because in a years time the Astra will have started to squeek and come apart, but the Audi will still be firmly stuck together?

I've sat in plenty of less than 2 year old 'nearly new' Astras, Focus', Pug 307's and the like. My 2004 A3 (and 2000 Mk4 Golf for that matter) feel newer than them....
 
Wolfsburger said:
I`m guessing that the Astra is cheaper than the A3 so what exactly did you expect? Audi have to justify their inflated pricing somehow, perception of quality is how they do it.

I had a new shape Astra as a hire car in Germany recently and I was really impressed, makes me wonder why people stump up for A3`s in the first place!
Click to expand...

In the nicest possible way ........ what a MUPPET!!!

Base Model A3 1.6 Petrol A3 £15.5k on the road.

Astra Courtesy Car 1.6 Elite (HY56 HFN) pearl black fully specced with leather, cruise, climate, auto everything £16785 on the road.

The quality of the inferior specc'd A3 just feels and looks better. The switches doors and general feel is quite a step up.

From personal experience owner owning quite a few new cars in last 5 years and even comparing the Astra to my last vehicle a D40 Navara, I'm surprised at how cheap it feels and looks ........... in my own opinion and that of my wifes.

I test drove a Leon and looked at an Astra before getting my A3. The Leon was very nice and was of good quality, did'nt even bother test driving the Astra on the visual appearance of the interior alone.
 
coupe-se said:
A few of you may have read about a while ago about my week of hell which culminated with my A3 being keyed front to back on both sides while parked outside of Peterborough Hospital. :gun2:

The car went into the body shop today for repair and I've been told its 2 weeks work to respray both sides. Through Direct Line I have their 'Courtesy Car' insurance via enterprise.
Well the insurance is only valid for a maximum rental period of 2 weeks!!:mad: When the wife got to the depot they rolled out a Kia Picanto!!!:lmfao: The missus asked if it was a joke and ended up stumping up another £70 to upgrade to an Astra (contradiction in terms!!).

The Astra is well specced with full leather and cruise, auto lights etc but is soooooo flimsy and unsubstantial compared to my A3. I'd really forgotten just how cheap some other cars feel. The leather on the seats isn't very supple and the leather steering wheel feels like its actually pvc with no padding. The switches and dials feel so cheap and don't look as if they would wear well over the years.

Looking forward to getting the A3 back. :thumbsup: :)
Click to expand...

I think that is a little over the top about the Astra, yes the A3 is better built, but then it costs soooo much more.

But I could sit here and slate the absolute crap build quality of my A3.

We have a 1.6 Astra Design in the household, and at a year old it has been faultless and build quality is good.

Our A3 has been back for a new rear seat as it rattled, new centre console as it rattled, and is booked in next week to have a new drivers seat frame as it has collapsed on the drivers side and a new drivers door car as it creaks.

Yes there are good and bad of everything, but the Astra is know where near as bad as you are describing.:icon_thumright:
 
coupe-se said:
In the nicest possible way ........ what a MUPPET!!!
Click to expand...

I couldn`t have put it better myself.

Base A3 1.6 Sportback, 16,015
Base Astra 1.6 5 door, 13,350

Let`s compare like with like shall we? I can`t see the point of loading up the Astra`s spec to compare it with the A3 can you?

I thought you were comparing your loaded A3 with your loan car, I was unaware that you regularly have the use of a standard A3 to compare it too.

If you need to justify your purchase then that`s fine, I`ve had 3 A3s and I will not be fooled again.

SamDude, my A3 (and many others on here) had a multitude of problems that never really got sorted out (steering rack grinding, noisy rear suspension etc etc) so your generalisation that the Astra will be falling apart after a year while the A3 will be mechanically sound is slightly off the mark.
 
MATTS - have u had any of these creaks and rattles fixed after the car was 6 months old? It's been suggested to me that trim creaks\rattles are not covered after 6 months but mechanical creaks\rattles are.
 
coupe-se said:
Base Model A3 1.6 Petrol A3 £15.5k on the road.

Astra Courtesy Car 1.6 Elite (HY56 HFN) pearl black fully specced with leather, cruise, climate, auto everything £16785 on the road.
Click to expand...

That's just full list price.
In reality,the Vauxhall will be heavily discounted,whereas I would suspect any attempt at meaningful discount on a base model A3 will be met with the sort of look the salesman makes when he discovers dog-muck on his Patrick Cox shoes.
As an idea of the sorts of discounts possible on Vauxhalls,my bro-in-law just started taxiing and bought himself a very smart spec Vectra with the very good (quieter than the Audi) 1.9 diesel engine.
Full list was around £17K,he got it for under £12K.
Roughly half the price of my car,but it certainly isn't half the car.
Given the price he paid,I bet his depreciation figure will be better than Audi too.
Put it this way,Audi's depreciation is around the 50% mark over three years.
That means my bro-in-law is in a position to take as little as £6k for his 3 year old Vectra and still be within Audi depreciation levels.
 
cdb2 said:
MATTS - have u had any of these creaks and rattles fixed after the car was 6 months old? It's been suggested to me that trim creaks\rattles are not covered after 6 months but mechanical creaks\rattles are.
Click to expand...

My car is nearly 8 months old, the first set of rattles were sorted out last November. The latest round are being sorted next week.

The drivers seat is very poor had is collapsing on one side. I politely pointed out to the dealer that at this moment in time, I think Audi is well over hyped with regards to build quality and it is up to them to pusuade me otherwise.

Yes they are good without a doubt, but the image of Audi's being the be all and end all for build quality is not what it used to be.

My 54 reg A4 2.0 TDi was without doubt the worst, most unreliable car I have ever owned.

The A3 I love and while I accept my car may be one of only a few to suffer build quality issues, the general build quality is better than a Vauxhall Astra, but at £23K compared to an equivelent spec Astra SRi Turbo at £19/20K I should ****** well hope so.
 
I WRONGLY thought people on this forum were as fussy about cars as myself and knew quality when they saw it.

Seems a few of you are far easy to please than myself and enjoy the feel of cheap plastic ......... enjoy your Vauxhalls guys!!:nyah:
 
I do know quality, but Audi is not the bee all and end all to it.

All I was trying to say is that Vauxhalls are not as bad as your making out.
 
It does depend on what sort of 'quality' we're talking about. Quality of production or quality of design. Having never owned a Vauxhall I'm not in a position to comment on their quality of production but as far as quality of design is concerned, in my opinion, Audi are streets ahead.
 
coupe-se said:
I WRONGLY thought people on this forum were as fussy about cars as myself and knew quality when they saw it.
Click to expand...

You wrongly assumed everybody on this forum is as blinkered as you where value and image are concerned.........
 
coupe-se, I've used that bodyshop for both my BMW when I had one, and also my current A3.

Both times, they did a superb job, so I don't think you need to worry.

The BMW was resprayed at direct lines approved repairer first, and when I went to pick it up, the colour just didn't match in my opinion. It was lovely and shiney all right, but a different shade! I tried to live with it, but every time I looked at the car, I stared at the boot!

I complained and I got authority to book it in to the Sycamore bodyshop, and the result was fantastic. The guy who painted it said you need to know which way the robots spray the panel at the factory to get an exact match... whether that's true or not, I don't know!!

My silver A3 was also sprayed there, a front wing, and again top job. I know silver can be difficult, and other places had talked about having to pain the adjacent bumper too, but they managed a perfect match.

So, sit back, enjoy your Astra :eek:), and look forward to getting your car back! (They did mine quicker than the quote by the way, so you might be pleasantly surprised!)
 
Cheers Tooks ........... Audi were very confident of Sycamores abilities and they would not have a vested interest of sending its customers somewhere that would make a mess of their 'Premium' brand car. Must say that Sycamores were very good with me and I felt comfortable leaving the car there.

For the last 20 years I've always said and thought that Audi's were really over-rated compared to popular opinion. My good friend has owned Audis for several years, driven them to 200K miles and has just bought an S6. I always ripped the pi$$ out of him for owning an Audi.
Driving and using a BASE MODEL 1.6 made me eat some humble pie and hence I bought my current vehicle. I've owned new: 206 Roland Garros, Hyundai Coupe SE, Mondeo Zetec S, Mazda 6 TS2, WRX Impreza, D40 Navara Outlaw in the last 6 years.

I believe I'm well placed to offer a informed opinion on the quality of the interior and feel of cars and the Audi is the best. My friends have obviously travelled in my various cars and always laugh when I buy my next car after a relatively short period of ownership of the previous ones. Without fail have been extremely impressed at the quality of the Audi as whole in comparison to the others Iv'e owned. Their is quite a lot of surprise that 7 months in I have'nt been looking for replacement for my A3.
Its a fact of life that all cars have component failure and problems, it the overall quality and driving experience that sets some cars apart from others and how well they wear as the miles rack up.

Damn fussy about my cars ....... hell yeah!!! :)
 
h5djr said:
It does depend on what sort of 'quality' we're talking about. Quality of production or quality of design. Having never owned a Vauxhall I'm not in a position to comment on their quality of production but as far as quality of design is concerned, in my opinion, Audi are streets ahead.
Click to expand...

Depends what you mean by quality of design.
You admit you haven't much experience of Vauxhall,so we can safely assume you can't mean interior design.
So we have to assume you mean exterior design.
Whilst design is subjective,there can't be many people who would rate an A3 up there with a 3 door Astra in pure design terms.
The Astra knocks the humdrum A3 into a cocked hat,from a design point of view.
The Astra is bold where the A3 is safe.
The A3 may be more to your taste,but in design terms it's pretty damned basic,with no flair to it at all.

The 5 door Astra is an ugly mother though,that's for sure.
 
bowfer said:
The Astra knocks the humdrum A3 into a cocked hat,from a design point of view.
Click to expand...
You jest surely ?
Either that, or you don't understand good design or style ?

Just take a look in the car parks of any firm of architects or industrial designers, and you will find they are riddled with Audis !
 
As you say design is a very personal thing. What one person thinks is good design another may not like although some things are basic good design where as others are bad. For example some car interior designs are functional and very easy to use as well as being pleasant to look at, some are less so.

I have never owned an Astra so I have no view on the quality of their production but I have been out with colleagues in their Astras many times. As I said, to my eyes, the A3 is streets ahead of the Astra both in interior and exterior design. I much prefer the rather subtle low key design of the exterior of the A3 than the, what is to me, the rather garish design of the Astra.

But each to his own - which is why I own an A3 and not an Astra. There are others who prefer the Astra to the A3, although my two colleagues at work who own Astras would much prefer to own an A3 if price did not come into the equation.
 
h5djr said:
But each to his own - which is why I own an A3 and not an Astra. There are others who prefer the Astra to the A3, although my two colleagues at work who own Astras would much prefer to own an A3 if price did not come into the equation.
Click to expand...

Maybe they would,but that's a whole different argument.
I was talking about pure design terms.
I don't tend to like 'safe' designs though,which is why the 3 door Astra and Honda Civic and Alfa 159 appeals to me.
Of course,design isn't the only criteria in buying a car,or we'd all be driving about in Citroens etc.
Style has to be backed with substance,which you evidently don't think Vauxhall's are.
As I said before though,as a regular passenger in my Bro-in-law's Vectra,I really feel a bit of a mug spending £24K on a car that simply isn't worth twice the amount of his.

I tell you something,put a blindfold passenger in my A3 and his Vectra and I bet you my house the majority would get them the wrong way around,purely in terms of refinement.
His car is very quiet,mine makes a ****** racket in comparison.

Is refinement to much to expect in a £24K car,when Vauxhall can do it in a £12K car ???
Sound deadening will be an optional extra before long.
 
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