2013 Audi S3

visionthing said:
If you went over the agreed mileage and wanted to hand the car back at the end of the term you would be hit by excess mileage charges as well don't forget. You might well go into negative equity even on a trade-in if you have grossly under-estimated the annual mileage. You will probably be fine on a private sale, but as I said you won,t have much left over by the time you have settled the balance.
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I opted for a 3 year pcp with 12.5% depo to keep payments under £500/mth and keep my options open in 3 years (balloon is about £17K). so I opted for the higher depo
i will have enough equity in 3 years for approx. 10% depo deposit on another car
if I keep it then it would be cheaper than any other 3 year old car
if I hand it back im sure I wont pay anything other than usual wear and tear and excess mileage

if I do £1K depo then it limits my options if the rest of the depo is added to the balloon or increases the monthly payments way over £500/mth - therefore as I may as well keep it after 3 years
 
royalsteve68 said:
I opted for a 3 year pcp with 12.5% depo to keep payments under £500/mth and keep my options open in 3 years (balloon is about £17K). so I opted for the higher depo
i will have enough equity in 3 years for approx. 10% depo deposit on another car
if I keep it then it would be cheaper than any other 3 year old car
if I hand it back im sure I wont pay anything other than usual wear and tear and excess mileage

if I do £1K depo then it limits my options if the rest of the depo is added to the balloon or increases the monthly payments way over £500/mth - therefore as I may as well keep it after 3 years
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scary stuff - do you boys not realise you/'re paying circa £4500 in charges for the priveledge ? thats more than 10% purchase price !!! ???
 
Toadoftoadhall said:
Just spotted this, forgive me if its old hat!

S3 Review AutoExpress

Its a Uk spec S3 Sportback :)
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these so called "expert" journos really are clueless - the bmw is not £2K cheaper its near enough the same price and by the time you add a few options to get it to the same spec as an s3 its more expensive. I did a test and my s3 spec is £37K, bmw came out at £39K and the Merc an eye watering £46K - the s3 has a manual option, is bigger, better built, is more practical, more economical and for most is cheaper

the merc looks nice but is auto only, the bmw is mega ugly and rear wheel drive (so will spend most of the winter on the driveway)
 
the_lecht_rocks said:
scary stuff - do you boys not realise you/'re paying circa £4500 in charges for the priveledge ? thats more than 10% purchase price !!! ???
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was told by my dealer that 90% of sales are now via PCP. may be £4500 in charges but for many, only way they will be able to have a new Audi.
 
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c.grex said:
was told by my dealer that 90% of sales are now via PCP. may be £4500 in charges but for many, only way they will be able to have a new Audi.
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i'd dare say it is the same with any car. If it were only cash sales then very few cars would get sold at all. Then there would be no S3.....probably no audi. Same with a mortgage, you damn near buy the house twice that way :(
 
thedooker said:
i'd dare say it is the same with any car. If it were only cash sales then very few cars would get sold at all. Then there would be no S3.....probably no audi. Same with a mortgage, you damn near buy the house twice that way :(
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was going to say that with a house, but thought someone would say, a house usually makes money:)
 
the_lecht_rocks said:
paying interest on a depreciating asset is madness. always cash sale for bikes, cars and toys here.
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you're looking at it all wrong. the big plus of the pcp is that instead of tying up loads of cash in something that is going to depreciate you can just break it down into monthly payments and enjoy better cashflow in the meantime. if the cost of having that cashflow is £4500k over three years then that's only £125/month and for someone like me who is earning relatively well and gets a car allowance through work but not at a stage in my life where i have a lazy £35k in the bank it's the perfect solution to own the car you want. the alternative would be to save the money and own it in three years time. its hard enough to wait a week let alone three years!
 
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garethld said:
you're looking at it all wrong. the big plus of the pcp is that instead of tying up loads of cash in something that is going to depreciate you can just break it down into monthly payments and enjoy better cashflow in the meantime. if the cost of having that cashflow is £4500k over three years then that's only £125/month and for someone like me who is earning relatively well and gets a car allowance through work but not at a stage in my life where i have a lazy £35k in the bank it's the perfect solution to own the car you want. the alternative would be to save the money and own it in three years time. its hard enough to wait a week let alone three years!
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3 years and some... Remember most pcp payments are for 50-60% of the value of the car... Not 100% like buying cash would be.
 
garethld said:
you're looking at it all wrong. the big plus of the pcp is that instead of tying up loads of cash in something that is going to depreciate you can just break it down into monthly payments and enjoy better cashflow in the meantime. if the cost of having that cashflow is £4500k over three years then that's only £125/month and for someone like me who is earning relatively well and gets a car allowance through work but not at a stage in my life where i have a lazy £35k in the bank it's the perfect solution to own the car you want. the alternative would be to save the money and own it in three years time. its hard enough to wait a week let alone three years!
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no, that's how audi want you to think. I suppose it depends on whether you wish to keep the car beyond the PCP duration.

simply put, the car depreciates at 50% over 3 years plus the PCP cost of £4500.

If you buy the car cash, it will continue to depreciate but you aren't billed charges or interest which equate to a minimum of 10% purchase price.

however, if you're interested in investment, then there's a good chance your £36000 may make more than the £4500 over the 3 year term, but there's no guarantee.......

horses for courses, but you must invest wikjsely to offset he interests charges........ Good luck !
 
the_lecht_rocks said:
no, that's how audi want you to think. I suppose it depends on whether you wish to keep the car beyond the PCP duration.

simply put, the car depreciates at 50% over 3 years plus the PCP cost of £4500.

If you buy the car cash, it will continue to depreciate but you aren't billed charges or interest which equate to a minimum of 10% purchase price.

however, if you're interested in investment, then there's a good chance your £36000 may make more than the £4500 over the 3 year term, but there's no guarantee.......

horses for courses, but you must invest wikjsely to offset he interests charges........ Good luck !
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I for one don't have £30k sat in an offshore account unfortunately! I understand what you're saying but the way I see it is I could save up for 4 years, get the cash to buy a £30k car and then drop dead the week after. Within reason, life is for living and if you can afford the repayments then why not. I've also kind of offset the 10% cost of PCP by getting 9% off the car in the 1st place I guess :)
 
c.grex said:
It's madness believing that even 5% of people buying a S3 will have £30k plus in cash to go and buy one!
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some people I know have way more but will still use pcp - why? because as something else rightly said cash is king and you can earn more than £4500 in 3 years through investing the cash especially in property
 
the_lecht_rocks said:
scary stuff - do you boys not realise you/'re paying circa £4500 in charges for the priveledge ? thats more than 10% purchase price !!! ???
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I know but I need the money for investment which has profits that already far outweigh the charges you mention
 
GNJ_Motorsport said:
I ordered it from Kings Lynn Audi.

I got 9% off list. Very professional to deal with so far. Its 184 miles to collect it but they saved me £3k so not much of an issue!
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well done, I got just over 6%, im jealous though I guess your saving will be eaten up a small amount in costs to collect it
 
GNJ_Motorsport said:
I for one don't have £30k sat in an offshore account unfortunately! I understand what you're saying but the way I see it is I could save up for 4 years, get the cash to buy a £30k car and then drop dead the week after. Within reason, life is for living and if you can afford the repayments then why not. I've also kind of offset the 10% cost of PCP by getting 9% off the car in the 1st place I guess :)
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yep, my attitude exactly especially being near 46-bit pointless me driving an s3 when im 65 or 70
 
c.grex said:
was told by my dealer that 90% of sales are now via PCP. may be £4500 in charges but for many, only way they will be able to have a new Audi.
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yep few people can afford to buy a new car outright especially premium brands. most people will treat a car as a rental for life with a new car every 3 or 4 years

if you buy a car outright and change it in 3 years you will have to find another £20Kish in 3 years. with pcp you may not have to find a penny deposit or at worst case 10% deposit, that's a lot easier for most.
 
I can see the point tlr is making. I cant affor the total amount for the car, but I do try and pay a big deposit to keep the payments down a bit and avoid some of the interest.

I once had a salesman try and convince me a loan was better than spending money so I dont tie up my cash in a depriciating asset. I did explain to him, thats only true if the loan rate is lower than the savings rate, he shut up after that, I also didt by the car, once he mentioned depreciation it put me off (it was a mazda and a few years ago).
 
royalsteve68 said:
well done, I got just over 6%, im jealous though I guess your saving will be eaten up a small amount in costs to collect it
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royalsteve68 said:
yep, my attitude exactly especially being near 46-bit pointless me driving an s3 when im 65 or 70
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I'm 27 so even less likely to have the cash sat in the bank.

Its 184 miles so probably about £50 in fuel and a good chance to get a feel for the car. I actually think I prefer getting cars from far away. I did a similar thing when I bought a brand new Astra VXR at 21.
 
GNJ, with that distance the car will be a good way to being run in, pick some nice A roads and maybe a detour you could be playing with the launch control in no time.

Sady for me my dealer is about two miles from my house, but Ill soon get the milage on, just hoping it gets here before Christmas.
 
Cumbrian_bob said:
GNJ, with that distance the car will be a good way to being run in, pick some nice A roads and maybe a detour you could be playing with the launch control in no time.

Sady for me my dealer is about two miles from my house, but Ill soon get the milage on, just hoping it gets here before Christmas.
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Would it be wise to be using the launch control function so early? I only ask because i know these engines benefit from being "run in" and have also read that over use of the the LC can have a negative effect on the clutch etc...

Speaking of which, what is the general consensus of running a car like this in? Don't go over 4K revs too much for around 2K miles?
 
the_lecht_rocks said:
no, that's how audi want you to think. I suppose it depends on whether you wish to keep the car beyond the PCP duration.

simply put, the car depreciates at 50% over 3 years plus the PCP cost of £4500.

If you buy the car cash, it will continue to depreciate but you aren't billed charges or interest which equate to a minimum of 10% purchase price.

however, if you're interested in investment, then there's a good chance your £36000 may make more than the £4500 over the 3 year term, but there's no guarantee.......

horses for courses, but you must invest wikjsely to offset he interests charges........ Good luck !
Click to expand...

I take it your mortgage is all paid up too?
 
Cumbrian_bob said:
GNJ, with that distance the car will be a good way to being run in, pick some nice A roads and maybe a detour you could be playing with the launch control in no time.

Sady for me my dealer is about two miles from my house, but Ill soon get the milage on, just hoping it gets here before Christmas.
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Johnnyb said:
Would it be wise to be using the launch control function so early? I only ask because i know these engines benefit from being "run in" and have also read that over use of the the LC can have a negative effect on the clutch etc...

Speaking of which, what is the general consensus of running a car like this in? Don't go over 4K revs too much for around 2K miles?
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Mine won't have LC its a manual, I'm not a fan much of DSG, I admire it but wouldn't want it if that makes any sense!

Running in wise I think I will give it 500 miles of semi laidback driving and then give it some, being too gentle can be detrimental.
 
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I don't recall seeing a link to this, in French but car speaks fro itself at around 3.20 !

 
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There are loads of german, french and even dutch video reviews but I can't find many english reviews! In fact as I'm writing this I can't think of one english VIDEO review that I've seen! Pretty annoying! However, my german and french has come on considerably in the last few months!
 
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In Showroom at handover.

Will get some in daylight later.
 
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Very nice, I bet you enjoyed the trip home, the long way around
 
That looks AMAZING NQW!!!

A little review of the drive home later will be nice too!
 
Thanks to everyone who liked my pic.

Took it out for a run down the A55 and back along "normal" roads. I'm impressed, can't wait until I can "open the taps".

I've just spent over an hour in it in the garage personalising all the settings - there's a lot to do.

Found a couple of niggles as well; don't seem to be able to get it to display the miles + trip + clock when digital speed selected.
At night the indicator repeaters on the end of the inside of the door mirrors are really annoying - I may put some carpet tape over them until I can find a more esthetic solution.
Oh yes and I would like a mechanical handbrake.
 
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With the electric mirrors, do they fold when you get out of the car?

I only ask because in my Scirocco I have to manually select to fold them electrically before getting out. Its annoying when you need to get out on a busy road and can't see what coming.
 
bleedsoff said:
With the electric mirrors, do they fold when you get out of the car?

I only ask because in my Scirocco I have to manually select to fold them electrically before getting out. Its annoying when you need to get out on a busy road and can't see what coming.
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Luckily you can set them to fold when the car is locked or leave them on manual; mine are set to fold now.
 
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Great that you have got your S3 you lucky chap!

Re: handbrake what is the main niggle with the electro brake? I am wondering if it was something that the hold assist option would have resolved? Lots of people posted some initial issues with their A3 electro h/brake so perhaps its just a matter of getting used to it?
 
What is the ride quality like on less than perfectly smooth roads ? Is the ride overly firm and a bit unforgiving on these secondary roads ? Feedback is appreciated as I am from Australia , where our roads are anything but billiard smooth and I dont have the luxury of test driving one as they are only coming in to the country at the end of December .Also I am 48 years old and want the S3 as my daily drive .
I test drove an S-line A3 quattro at the local Audi salesperson's suggestion who claimed that the ride would be relatively similar , but maybe a little bit firmer in the S3. I found the S-line firmish but compliant and not crashy or jarring . Anyone tested both S-line and S3 to give me some feedback. Thanks.
 
The test drives we've had in the S3 have shown us that it rides fantastically on all surfaces if I'm honest. It's well insulated and has very little road noise. The ride is a very nice balance in my opinion. Taught enough for sporty driving but soft enough to make it feel comfortable.
 
Agree with the 'itman'.. but I reckon the car is so engaging you are concentrating on your enjoyment rather than worrying about noises apart from the exhaust note!
 
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