Advice on buying an Audi S3 at age 22

I don't know if it is just me and my friends all of which are just under 30 and I am 28 but the older we get the more boring a fast car becomes. Spunking £15k on a car (and making yourself save 30k?) just seems pointless to me, get as fast a car as possible for that price and enjoy it whilst you still care...a 500hp evo will do the trick.

Not that I see the point of a fast car in London.

Most people on here are workerbees so they won't agree with this statement, but 15k is a lot of cash and you could start a nice business with it.
 
thesmileyone said:
I don't know if it is just me and my friends all of which are just under 30 and I am 28 but the older we get the more boring a fast car becomes. Spunking £15k on a car (and making yourself save 30k?) just seems pointless to me, get as fast a car as possible for that price and enjoy it whilst you still care...a 500hp evo will do the trick.

Not that I see the point of a fast car in London.

Most people on here are workerbees so they won't agree with this statement, but 15k is a lot of cash and you could start a nice business with it.
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I agree completely about enjoying fast cars at a young age but that means I would need the s3 now. If I wait then my taste will grow I.e needing the r8 at 35. At the same time however I don't want to sacrifice my future by getting an s3 at this age no matter ho much joy it will bring. I guess I'll just have to sacrifice my want and just carry on saving. Life's a mean bitch.
 
I have been in a similar position to you in the past. I bought a z4 at 22, then a 350z 2 years later, then a 370z. They were all amazing, and satisfied my need for speed! Having said that I ended up getting rid of the 370z because my £1500 mk2 golf gti was so much more fun and it felt much faster! Using that example as I guide you should go out and buy something like a Clio 197 for £5k and rag the nuts off it!!

If I were you I'd probably get a slightly older s3, maybe even a good 8l. My pal who is a complete petrol nut bought one with 90k miles on the clock, got it mapped then ragged it for the next 5 years. He only just recently started getting problems from it and traded it in with 175k miles on the clock!

I just bought an 07 plate s3 with 50k on the clock for £12k and love it, I'm 30 now with a good car history and it definitely satisfies my car needs!

Regarding the future, as others have said, who knows what will happen. When you are 35 an r8 might be the last thing on your mind... You might be shopping for a family home for your wife and 3 kids! An r8 is obviously also dependant on your disposable income, not many folk can afford them/can justify them, and for you that may be dependant on being able to secure the high quality, high earning job all graduates crave.

Either way I suspect you will not regret your decision, commit to it and enjoy yourself

Pedro
 
Kteara said:
I agree completely about enjoying fast cars at a young age but that means I would need the s3 now. If I wait then my taste will grow I.e needing the r8 at 35. At the same time however I don't want to sacrifice my future by getting an s3 at this age no matter ho much joy it will bring. I guess I'll just have to sacrifice my want and just carry on saving. Life's a mean bitch.
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I was where you are, I went for a normal a3 2.0tfsi instead and invested the rest of the capital, now I have a business that should enable me to buy an R8 v10 before I am 30...the problem like I was saying is that I don't really want the R8 anymore, the financial security of an appreciating asset (house) seems like a better option to me :(
 
I think I will go ahead and buy the Cooper S, however I am worried about practicality. As I grow older I think there will be more occasians were I take friends out and I hate having more than 1 person in my mini cooper as it currently stands. I could get a mk5 1.6 golf with 5 doors which could fit all my friends however I then have the problem with performance as it just isn't fast enough for my taste. If I did squeeze some more money I could get the mk5 GTI however this will just make me want the S3 even more because it's just superior in everyway. It will be a constant reminder of "I wish I could've got the s3 instead". What do you guys think? Will the cooper S satisfy me enough or should I risk running my mini cooper for another year or two until I graduate.
 
Kteara said:
I think I will go ahead and buy the Cooper S, however I am worried about practicality. As I grow older I think there will be more occasians were I take friends out and I hate having more than 1 person in my mini cooper as it currently stands. I could get a mk5 1.6 golf with 5 doors which could fit all my friends however I then have the problem with performance as it just isn't fast enough for my taste. If I did squeeze some more money I could get the mk5 GTI however this will just make me want the S3 even more because it's just superior in everyway. It will be a constant reminder of "I wish I could've got the s3 instead". What do you guys think? Will the cooper S satisfy me enough or should I risk running my mini cooper for another year or two until I graduate.
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I had a Mini Cooper and loved it. I also drove my mums cooper s and it was superb. The back of the mini isn't huge but to be honest you can seat 4 people in it and at the end of the day if you are kind enough to give your pals a lift then they should manage a journey in the back seat without having too much of a moan! Buy the car for you not for them.
 
Kteara said:
I think I will go ahead and buy the Cooper S, however I am worried about practicality. As I grow older I think there will be more occasians were I take friends out and I hate having more than 1 person in my mini cooper as it currently stands. I could get a mk5 1.6 golf with 5 doors which could fit all my friends however I then have the problem with performance as it just isn't fast enough for my taste. If I did squeeze some more money I could get the mk5 GTI however this will just make me want the S3 even more because it's just superior in everyway. It will be a constant reminder of "I wish I could've got the s3 instead". What do you guys think? Will the cooper S satisfy me enough or should I risk running my mini cooper for another year or two until I graduate.
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If buying a mk5 gti makes you "squeeze more money" how are you going to finance an S3 in the first place? They cost double!
I wouldn't say an S3 is double as good as a mk5 gti, it is just more capable but not 2x as much capable!

FWIW living in London and in your shoes I would buy an E46 330ci automatic, they are great for London, sound really nice, with 230hp they don't hang around and they are a great car to own provided you fix things in advance, but once you fix something it lasts forever... I spent £500 doing my rad, waterpump etc in mine before it broke and was told to expect it to last another 60k miles!
 
Considered a golf ed30? Near enough the same as an s3 just without the price tag.

Or a 170 TDi a3 Quattro combined with the most powerful map you can buy? That'd be my choice, the tdi's can be great fun especially the PD engines.

I wouldn't buy an s3 until you have full time employment, they aren't exactly cheap to maintain.
 
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I'd consider anything 2.0tfsi/tsi except the GTI, its the same engine in the "same car" as the Leon/Octavia/Jetta/A3 and even available in the Passat I believe.
I did look at a GTI but you pay extra for the gti badge and its a lot nicer in the A3 as a direct comparison, I prefer my A3 to my mums mk6 golf even
 
Does anybody have a link for leasing a 2008-2010 Audi s3 ?
 
I was wondering why I couldn't find one online. Thanks
 
Some car companies do PCP's on used cars, Mercedes and Honda do, been looking at that idea myself. There is probably some independent Finance houses that do some sort of PCP /Hireplan as well.
By the way----it was only at the age of 55 that I started to scratch those itches for automotive pleasure, work/family took care of the first 30 or so years, now I'm freeeeeeeeeeeee :racer:.
The wife thinks I'm going backwards now :eek:
 
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Hi guys, revisiting the thread. I've decided to stick with the mini cooper. I am currently 21 years old and I did make the thread for an action I'd take at age 22 (12 months time). I think I'm going to go ahead and purchase the S3 on my 22nd birthday. This seems to be the plan so far. I aim to keep the 10grand in my account now but carry on saving 500 a month for the next 12 months to bring me 6grand at age 22 that I'll spend on the s3. The rest of the money I'll get through a low interest loan or a 24 month 0% Interest credit card. regardless of which option I choose, the loan will only be for 1.5 years and roughly 6grand.

To those of you who own an S3 (I'm looking at a 2009-2011 model) how is it to drive? Does the acceleration push you back into your seat? that's the main reason for the purchase, along with the beautiful interior. I plan to get a blue one and the only modifications I'll do are as follows: Lowered, Sports Exhaust, Rims and Remapping it to bring it up to roughly 300 BHP atleast.
 
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Madness. But best of luck to you Kteara. I suppose you want to scratch the itch now before the blood sucking leeches of houses, wife's and kids come along. Now they are ALL expensive and the older they get the more they cost you, especially wife's and kids !!!
 
lgooch said:
Madness. But best of luck to you Kteara. I suppose you want to scratch the itch now before the blood sucking leeches of houses, wife's and kids come along. Now they are ALL expensive and the older they get the more they cost you, especially wife's and kids !!!
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Definitely

The way I see it, if I don't buy the S3 (or any other sports car for that matter) before purchasing a house? all that money will just be gone for a deposit and never truly enjoyed. I don't beleive I will be filthy rich when I'm older so I can't delay gratification for the hope of an Audi R8 or Ferrari when im 35-40. So what's the point? I've worked very hard to save this 10k. I will continue to work hard to save an additional 6k (loan an additional 6k) and I will reward myself by buying an amazing car which I'll keep for atleast 3-5 years. I'll still have 10k and slowly add to that for the illusion of a house deposit one day. I just hope the car meets my expectations. I also hope I don't change my mind about the s3 in a years time and increase my expectations to something more expensive/powerful lol.

-Edit* - Why did you reply with "madness" lol? What course of action would you take if you could go back in time?
 
Madness because of ploughing all that money into something which is going to lose money. No offence BTW and each to their own. If I could go back in time ( I have about 20 years on you ) I would have bought a cheap run around for work and a proper sports car for a blast. No idea what they would have been as the 80s and early 90s were the day of the hot hatch. I guess a 950 fiesta pop for work ( you probably don't even know what one is) and a lotus or tvr for the itch when I have broke the sports car.

I just wish back in the day I had the selection of vehicles at our disposal today as cars back them were truly woeful. Rust was the biggest enemy which you don't see very often these days
 
Just to add I did have an xr3i which broke every week and then a boring Astra as I got sick of spending money fixing cars and wanted to chase women ! Then from your age onwards I had company cars which I still do today. I just fund the wife's car for my itch nowadays.
 
Kteara said:
Hi guys, revisiting the thread. I've decided to stick with the mini cooper. I am currently 21 years old and I did make the thread for an action I'd take at age 22 (12 months time). I think I'm going to go ahead and purchase the S3 on my 22nd birthday. This seems to be the plan so far. I aim to keep the 10grand in my account now but carry on saving 500 a month for the next 12 months to bring me 6grand at age 22 that I'll spend on the s3. The rest of the money I'll get through a low interest loan or a 24 month 0% Interest credit card. regardless of which option I choose, the loan will only be for 1.5 years and roughly 6grand.

To those of you who own an S3 (I'm looking at a 2009-2011 model) how is it to drive? Does the acceleration push you back into your seat? that's the main reason for the purchase, along with the beautiful interior. I plan to get a blue one and the only modifications I'll do are as follows: Lowered, Sports Exhaust, Rims and Remapping it to bring it up to roughly 300 BHP atleast.
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Two things....

http://thinkmini.vpweb.co.uk/1-8t-20V-conversions.html

And on the real Audi front...the 8P from stock isn't really fast.

A remap to 310bhp will make it a lot better to drive,but it isn't really brisk until 360bhp.
 
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S3Alex said:
Two things....

http://thinkmini.vpweb.co.uk/1-8t-20V-conversions.html

And on the real Audi front...the 8P from stock isn't really fast.

A remap to 310bhp will make it a lot better to drive,but it isn't really brisk until 360bhp.
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thanks for that link. defintiely interesting however I would probably prefer to keep my money saved for the s3. Do you still think I'll find it slow coming from a 1.6 mini cooper? I have however driven a 2014 nissan GTR and the turbo/torque on that thing was indescribable. Is 360 bhp possible with simple ecu tuning or does it require more complex modifications?

Just so everyones clear. I would choose something like an R8 in a heartbeat if I had a thorough and realistic strategy for funding it at 26-28 years old without majorly impacting my future (housing) but I just can't think of anything, is it possible?
 
Kteara said:
thanks for that link. defintiely interesting however I would probably prefer to keep my money saved for the s3. Do you still think I'll find it slow coming from a 1.6 mini cooper? I have however driven a 2014 nissan GTR and the turbo/torque on that thing was indescribable. Is 360 bhp possible with simple ecu tuning or does it require more complex modifications?

Just so everyones clear. I would choose something like an R8 in a heartbeat if I had a thorough and realistic strategy for funding it at 26-28 years old without majorly impacting my future (housing) but I just can't think of anything, is it possible?
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I think you'll find it at the least very different.

Better quality,better ride,and covers ground deceptively quickly.

It won't feel as involving as the Mini(and I say that having driven both)but it will be quicker.

The GTR is an amazing statement,and I think an incredible car overall,but it's big and heavy,(and a stock one can't keep up with mine....)

360bhp requires a CAI,HPFP,exhaust and a few other bits,plus suspension upgrades,so would cost a fair bit.

Best way is to do it in stages(LOL),and reduce costs that way.
 
Unless you go for the jap crap, German is probably a safe bet. An s3 with a map is not to be sniffed at and 300 to 360 BHP is plenty for uk roads especially London where a milk float would be enough.

What about a good used porker boxter ? Or even tts ? Mercs never floated my boat. Z4 ? M135i ?
 
lgooch said:
Unless you go for the jap ****, German is probably a safe bet. An s3 with a map is not to be sniffed at and 300 to 360 BHP is plenty for uk roads especially London where a milk float would be enough.

What about a good used porker boxter ? Or even tts ? Mercs never floated my boat. Z4 ? M135i ?
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I DO like the GTR.

It's a superb car,as are the various Evos,and some Subarus too,and during my Cosworth days,those were the other cars to have,and the GTR has the place now.

I think the good thing about the S3 is the way that each stage can use the parts from the last,so nothing is wasted along the way,and it just gets better.
 
lgooch said:
But Japanese interiors. What is that all about ? Even the gtr !! Terrible
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I know...that's one thing they've never got sorted.

But the technical side.....the engines....

I saw a beautiful drag racing Nissan 360Z turbo a couple of yrs ago at Santa Pod,and god was that fast.
 
Kteara said:
Definitely

The way I see it, if I don't buy the S3 (or any other sports car for that matter) before purchasing a house? all that money will just be gone for a deposit and never truly enjoyed. I don't beleive I will be filthy rich when I'm older so I can't delay gratification for the hope of an Audi R8 or Ferrari when im 35-40. So what's the point? I've worked very hard to save this 10k. I will continue to work hard to save an additional 6k (loan an additional 6k) and I will reward myself by buying an amazing car which I'll keep for atleast 3-5 years. I'll still have 10k and slowly add to that for the illusion of a house deposit one day. I just hope the car meets my expectations. I also hope I don't change my mind about the s3 in a years time and increase my expectations to something more expensive/powerful lol.

-Edit* - Why did you reply with "madness" lol? What course of action would you take if you could go back in time?
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Golf r on pcp, keep your money in the bank/ISA. pay for the golf with your 500 a month. Nice deposit for your gaff, and hand the keys back on the golf when pcp deal ends then go buy a cheap run around or a rail card for however you get around the big smoke.
 
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lgooch said:
Golf r on pcp, keep your money in the bank/ISA. pay for the golf with your 500 a month. Nice deposit for your gaff, and hand the keys back on the golf when pcp deal ends then go buy a cheap run around or a rail card for however you get around the big smoke.
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35 monthly payments of£245.00
Deposit£7,749.88

way too expensive tbh. If I spend 12k on the S3 in total, I COULD sell it in 4-5 years for atleast 7ish grand. I'd much rather have an Audi over the Golf though.

@S3Alex I've also driven a Ferrari Italia and I was actually more impressed with the GTR. Must be those incredible twin turbos which produce insane torque. Is there a way to save up and own an R8 without severely impacting the future self? I'd love to know of anyone who forfeited nice cars for their younger years for the chance to own a supercar. R8 V10 could cost roughly 50k at 26 years old. 55k if you factor insurance and maintenance. It would look pretty ridiculous on my driveway in the middle 5 minutes from the local town centre in london though lol. Probably the most fun I would ever have though. Life would feel like GTA everyday and isn't that what life's all about? ;) We can dream.
 
Increase payments to 500 pm and lesser deposit. Do they do 4 years. I would make it work so I had no equity in the car whatsoever. 12k for an s3 and in 5 years worth 7 ? Bit of gamble I would say. Value might drop through the floor, audi will have brought a facelift 8v out by then and maybe even a new a3 altogether.
 
I bought my S3 at 22, £17,000 it was 09 plate with 34,000 on the clock. My advise will be this to you speaking from experience, having double what the car is worth in the bank is something I don't understand unless it's for any repairs or mods you want to do to the car then that I understand. Wanting an 09 plate S3 for 10k is a bit ambitious, in fact you're full on ******* in the wind mate the only 09 plate S3 you'll get at that price is one that is ****** and needs a few ££££ spending on it.

Personally I put down my old car and about £5,000 cash I had saved, I had more than this but that wasn't my plan. I then got a loan from the bank for £7,500 and pay that back over 3 1/2 years but this means that I fully own the car no car finance, plus paying back a loan helps bud credit for the goal of eventually getting a mortgage. I could have bought mine outright but I felt this was a better route to go down for the said reasons, hope this helps you in some way mate :icon thumright:
 
Spending 6k + a 6k interest free loan will give me the best of both worlds. I will be able to own my dream car which i've worked so hard for. I also get to keep £10grand in cash in my bank account for comfort, security and to use for a house deposit in the future. Now I just have another year of savings to do before I can purchase it. Can't ****** wait!
 
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