Why did you buy an Audi?

Our first Audi came from needing a diesel estate that could do 30k miles a year cheaply/reliably and still be worth something after 3+ years (1996 A6 Avant 2.5 TDI 140 6 speed). Then through this car's hewn from solid rock build quality and a helpful local dealer we got an attachment to the brand. At one point it was also because of the diesel/quattro/auto combination that was seemingly not available elsewhere. Latterly they have become much more fun to drive as well which was not always true of some of the Audis we have had (10 in total).
 
Muttley75 said:
Apologies if this has been done before, but I'm relatively new here. Anyway, after reading through lots of posts on here, not to mention lots of car reviews it seems the general consensus is that there are many other, much cheaper cars that drive better than Audis. Which begs the question - why did you buy your Audi?

For me personally, I had a history of Ford's & Vauxhall's with a BMW and a Cupra thrown in for good measure.

I was really impressed with the DSG on the Cupra and the way it handled. The only let down was SEATs slightly naff image and the horrid cheap-feeling interior plastics.

So I bought my Audi for the interior quality which is second to none and, I'm slightly embarrassed to say, for a bit of badge snobbery.

For me, there are better looking cars around and an equal number of better driving cars. But at this moment in time I'm after quality, image and technology. And the A3 ticks all of those boxes.

So why did you buy yours, and will you stick with Audi when the time comes to change?
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Absolutely agree with you on the cheap interiors of SEAT. I had a 1.4 naturally aspirated Ibiza 60 plate, and the interior quality was naff. The seat creaked, had a horrible loud rattle inside the dashboard, the ride was awful (sport suspension) and very noisy, not only that there were quite a few parts that needed replacing when I got it, I don't know if it was down to the previous owner but he definitely did not look after it. Oh, also if I grabbed the cupholders I could lift the centre console and move it about, also I could nudge it side to side and it'd move about too. Awful car, really hated it.


Anyway... I chose Audi because simply I hated the BMW 1 series, it looks pig ugly. Interior looks nothing special, and all the engines were fairly big, so less mpg and more tax/insurance. The merc A class didn't float my boat either. A lot of reviewers pointed out the quality inside isn't very mercedes and I absolutely hate the tablet afterthought of a screen they've just stuck in the middle... Plus the rear didn't do much for me & the same thing, all engines were large.
When I seen Audi's new A3 was in 2012 on the A1 coming back from Grimsby and I remember saying to myself "wow, that looks nice" - it was a red s line, I didn't know what it was until I seen the A3 badge. I instantly loved it.
So I had a pot around on their specs, I liked the look of the 1.4 COD - good power and fuel efficiency and low tax? 1.4 so insurance is lower, reviewers seemed to love the A3 and said it was best in class (although apparently the BMW 1 series is better to drive but sorry, it's horrible) - loved the pop up screen and price was decent, and here we are! :)

I would definitely have an Audi again, if I can afford one. I only have one now because I'm young and absolutely in love with cars, no house or kids! I'll have to see if I can afford one again, but if I can it's a battle between an S1 or the same car with same spec but with S-Tronic, B&O & park assist at the front as I find it quite nerving not knowing how close I am to something at the front sides.
Would love the S1, but I think it's too small. Plus the price for one is bonkers.
 
Muttley75 said:
Lots of S3 owners replying, are there any pauper A3 owners out there like me?
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My first Audi was a 2.0TDI Black edition quattro (8P) - best all round car i've ever owned. I bought it as i wanted a compact diesel AWD car with a high specification and nothing could come closer to matching my requirements. I was looking at the TT but for work use i need something that seats 4 adults - that's when i noticed the A3.
 
Muttley75 said:
I'm with you there. I like fast cars but I don't like £200 tyres, £500 service bills and £200+ road tax. A Golf GTI is a good fit for me but there's no real A3 equivalent and the S3 is overkill for my needs. A3 1.4 CoD 150ps ticks my boxes.
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To be fair the S3 is sub-£200 on the tax and you can get decent tyres for ~£100 each. My BMW is a killer on tyres (runflats) - cheapest decent tyres £140 each on from and closer to £200 each for the rears.
 
On the badge snobbery thing i'd gladly have a Skoda but when i look at the VW family of cars it's only VW and Audi that have the combination of engines and options that i want. Then on a straight fight between the two it comes down to which interior i want to be cocooned in as i'll spend a lot of time in there and that's where the Audi comes out on top.
 
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Oh and the other reason I bought an Audi is because I like to go on an Audi forum so other Audi owners can bleat on to me about how the Golf is so much better.
 
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Well, thank the saints you have an open mind then ! ;)
 
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I wanted a smallish petrol auto hatch with reasonable speed, refinement and enough space for my long legs. The A3 got the nod although the Golf ran it very close. The Golf lost out on the low down touchscreen and difficulty in speccing exactly what I wanted.

I've owned lots of VWs and Audis and for some reason they just feel right when I sit in them. I try to be objective, i try lots of other cars and I don't think I have any particular brand loyalty but no others had that certain something which I can't really put my finger on that makes me think 'I want this'.

If budget allows then our next car might be a Macan, A6 Allroad or something like that. That's a few years away.
 
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Muttley75 said:
I'm with you there. I like fast cars but I don't like £200 tyres, £500 service bills and £200+ road tax. A Golf GTI is a good fit for me but there's no real A3 equivalent and the S3 is overkill for my needs. A3 1.4 CoD 150ps ticks my boxes.
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Tyres are £100, service £200, and Road tax is £180, so what are you on about?
 
My current TT with 19" wheels cost me £540 for two tyres. I assumed S3 would be the same. Either way, I wanted a new car and the S3 is out of my price range and I'd rather have a new A3 than a used S3. Many wouldn't, but I do - so that's my logic.
 
My 1st car at 17 was a Mini, after that it's been Vauxhalls...I work for Vauxhall so thought I'd have something better for a change :)
 
S32B said:
My 1st car at 17 was a Mini, after that it's been Vauxhalls...I work for Vauxhall so thought I'd have something better for a change :)
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I've had many Vauxhall's - and you my friend, are about to discover how hideously bad they are, lol.
 
I've seen them being built for years...need I say more??? :)
 
In answer to Op's question

I'm on my 4th new A4/S4 since 2002. Every time I look at other manufacturers when change time comes, I keep coming back to Audi because it always suits my needs and expectations

Like most things on the 8V forum, a subjective thread ... :sos:
:grinning::grinning::grinning:
 
Muttley75 said:
My current TT with 19" wheels cost me £540 for two tyres. I assumed S3 would be the same. Either way, I wanted a new car and the S3 is out of my price range and I'd rather have a new A3 than a used S3. Many wouldn't, but I do - so that's my logic.
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Blimey. That's similar to the 330d I was looking at, but thankfully S3 is as cheap as my current A3, one of the reasons I'm going for it.
 
My only gripe with the Audi is how they teased the 8V family.

Showing off the Concept A3 with amber dynamic indicators and then not even offering it to the production 8V family. Taking a even further unnecessary step in leaving out the 'amber' color of the indicators to America.

Now Audi shows off the new Q3, the A4, A7, A8 with dynamic indicators, amber colored and all.

This serves as a big slap in the face if you ask me.


oh and don't get me started on that tiny instrument cluster LCD screen they gave us with instead of the one shown in the Concept A3 that was similar to the A6, A7, A8.
Now the new A4 has a TT style full LCD instrument cluster. You got to be kidding me.
 
The dynamic indicators you are referring to, are I believe, only available on the LED headlight package, which American legislation doesn't allow? Hence all A3 photos from the US appear with horrid orange glass over the indicator, 1980s style. Correct me if I'm wrong.
 
Muttley75 said:
Apologies if this has been done before, but I'm relatively new here. Anyway, after reading through lots of posts on here, not to mention lots of car reviews it seems the general consensus is that there are many other, much cheaper cars that drive better than Audis. Which begs the question - why did you buy your Audi?

For me personally, I had a history of Ford's & Vauxhall's with a BMW and a Cupra thrown in for good measure.

I was really impressed with the DSG on the Cupra and the way it handled. The only let down was SEATs slightly naff image and the horrid cheap-feeling interior plastics.

So I bought my Audi for the interior quality which is second to none and, I'm slightly embarrassed to say, for a bit of badge snobbery.

For me, there are better looking cars around and an equal number of better driving cars. But at this moment in time I'm after quality, image and technology. And the A3 ticks all of those boxes.

So why did you buy yours, and will you stick with Audi when the time comes to change?
Click to expand...
I bought my first Audi (my 8P S3) purely because I absolutely loved the look of them and what they stood for whilst having no knowledge of the car to drive. I fell in love with the concept of the S3 when it first came out - a TT Quattro with a hot hatch body (which are my thing). Back then I didn't have a pot to **** in and XR2s and 205s were my toys!
Finally got into a position where we could look at S3s, my Mrs wanted an SLK or Cayman but when we drove an S3 she fell
In love too. Managed to get an agreeable deal on a new one and the rest is history! Never been disappointed with my choice, we considered TTS back in 2012 but they're a bit harsh for UK roads from what my salesman said and I had experienced. When the time came to trade in I test drove an 8V for a few days, just to be sure, but loved it as expected and there was no question!
 
drummerdimitri said:
I bought an S3 because it does everything so well and was my preferred choice compared to the BMW 235i xdrive and the Mercedes CLA 45 AMG. I am a Mercedes fanboy since we have 4 in the family but brand loyalty can only go so far!
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Mate, you did a good comparison as there aint no 235i x drive in the UK.
 
Simples........Looks (IMHO) and build quality (generally agreed by the majority)
 
Muttley75 said:
Have I missed something here..? :)
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@Muttley75 - Only the fact that Chall's and others constantly take the mick as I cancelled 2 new S3 saloon orders and saw the light & bought a new S4 instead
:laugh::laugh::laugh:
 
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Did you lose your deposit both times?

Think I'd have gone with the S3 over the S4 on the grounds of nicer styling, better proportions, sensible size and newer technology. I see the next A4 is 10 inches longer than the current one. A4s soon won't fit in garages or parking spaces lol.
 
I once bought a car and decided I didn't like it and traded it in after a week.
 
Long story. Short version, I had a Vectra for four years which, despite the bad press, was actually a nice car and I loved it. When the time came to upgrade, I sold it privately and bought an Astra. However, when I originally looked at the Astra, it was after work and the light was going and I didn't notice the dashboard & door panels were scratched to buggery. On connection day, I rejected the car but then found myself without one, having already offloaded the Vectra. I then panic bought another Astra they had in stock but it wasn't a sporty model and was in a horrid dark green colour - it seemed a good idea at the time! After a week I decided it simply had to go but to save face I traded in at a different dealer! I never did work out how much I lost on it because I was so angry with myself I didn't dare work out the numbers.

Anyway, I then bought a silver Vectra but it wasn't anywhere as nice as the one I'd already sold so six months later I bought an Astra SRi. That was in my younger, pre-mortgage days.

I don't make silly mistakes like that now...

Well, excluding the TT I bought for £17k last June and now have up for sale for £13,900 (message me for the link!). So much for Audi residuals!!! Probably shafted by the mk3 coming out I guess. Live and learn.
 
Bristle Hound said:
@Muttley75 - Only the fact that Chall's and others constantly take the mick as I cancelled 2 new S3 saloon orders and saw the light & bought a new S4 instead
:laugh::laugh::laugh:
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Yep :)
Great engine, proper quattro, and proper handling and grip ;)

The new A4 does not float my boat at all, so much so that I'm looking at the current RS4 deals again!!!

I wonder if @Pulp84 can be tempted again :)
 
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Muttley75 said:
Did you lose your deposit both times?
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@Muttley75 - First S3 - Deposit refunded without having to ask even tho' the car was built & at the supplying Dealers
Second S3 - Supplying Dealer of the S3 ws the same one as I got my S4 from, so simply transferred the deposit over, no questions
Muttley75 said:
Think I'd have gone with the S3 over the S4 on the grounds of nicer styling, better proportions, sensible size and newer technology. I see the next A4 is 10 inches longer than the current one. A4s soon won't fit in garages or parking spaces lol.
Click to expand...
Not saying the S3 saloon is a bad car at all, I still like it TBH
It will probably be back on my shopping list when I come to change the S4 as I really don't like the looks of the B9 A4
Still prefer my old school hairy chested 3 litre supercharged V6 S4 ;):D
The Challinor said:
Come on it is funny though, and there was a 3 series in between
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@The Challinor - Drove me nuts but I can see the funny side :laugh:
I'd forgotten about that ****** BM! :laugh:
 
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veeeight said:
Yep :)
Great engine, proper quattro, and proper handling and grip ;)
Click to expand...
Agreed :thumbs up:
veeeight said:
The new A4 does not float my boat at all, so much so that I'm looking at the current RS4 deals again!!!

I wonder if @Pulp84 can be tempted again :)
Click to expand...
Only stock one's will be available now @veeeight
Now the RS4 IS a stunning car BUT is it worth £18k more than a S4 ...
 
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