Facelift S3-Facelift To Buy or Not To Buy ?

Shall I Buy or Shall I Not Buy

  • Buy

    Votes: 5 55.6%

  • Dont Buy

    Votes: 4 44.4%
  • Total voters
    9
  • Poll closed .
W

WCS

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Hi there,
Im struggling on the decision on if I should get an s3 or not. The issue I have is firstly insurance as I'm a young driver comes out to roughly 4K for the year but I'm sure with a bit more looking around I can lower it a bit. But secondly my other issue is that I know the golf r is also a similar car to the s3. Such as like engine size and chassis so looking at prices of the two would it not just be better for myself to get the golf r? or is the s3 a lot better in many ways ? if the s3 is better can anyone give me a ideal spec to go for ? such as packages to add because I know what colour and gearbox id like to have just packages ect I don't really know much about when it comes to Audi as I previously owned a Mercedes A class.

Hope you guys will be able to help?!
 
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WCS said:
Hi there,
Im struggling on the decision on if I should get an s3 or not. The issue I have is firstly insurance as I'm a young driver comes out to roughly 4K for the year but I'm sure with a bit more looking around I can lower it a bit. But secondly my other issue is that I know the golf r is also a similar car to the s3. Such as like engine size and chassis so looking at prices of the two would it not just be better for myself to get the golf r? or is the s3 a lot better in many ways ? if the s3 is better can anyone give me a ideal spec to go for ? such as packages to add because I know what colour and gearbox id like to have just packages ect I don't really know much about when it comes to Audi as I previously owned a Mercedes A class.

Hope you guys will be able to help?!
Click to expand...
Mate its subjective and this topic on this forum has been flogged to death hundreds of times, buy what you can afford search the existing threads, matter of fact there's a current thread discussing this subject
 
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Am I right in saying the Golf R is more expensive than the S3 on pcp due to the lower residual??
 
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jassyo06 said:
Who cares lol
Click to expand...
Dwight-Schrute-Thats-Very-True.gif
 
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WCS said:
Hi there,
Im struggling on the decision on if I should get an s3 or not. The issue I have is firstly insurance as I'm a young driver comes out to roughly 4K for the year but I'm sure with a bit more looking around I can lower it a bit. But secondly my other issue is that I know the golf r is also a similar car to the s3. Such as like engine size and chassis so looking at prices of the two would it not just be better for myself to get the golf r? or is the s3 a lot better in many ways ? if the s3 is better can anyone give me a ideal spec to go for ? such as packages to add because I know what colour and gearbox id like to have just packages ect I don't really know much about when it comes to Audi as I previously owned a Mercedes A class.

Hope you guys will be able to help?!
Click to expand...
You are on an Audi forum mate...Everyone is going to say buy the Audi...lol
On the package side of things is another matter...It's going to be argued to death as to which one is a must.....
For me I would choose the Tech pack for starters....:yes:
And Mag ride also...
 
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WCS said:
Hi there,
Im struggling on the decision on if I should get an s3 or not. The issue I have is firstly insurance as I'm a young driver comes out to roughly 4K for the year but I'm sure with a bit more looking around I can lower it a bit. But secondly my other issue is that I know the golf r is also a similar car to the s3. Such as like engine size and chassis so looking at prices of the two would it not just be better for myself to get the golf r? or is the s3 a lot better in many ways ? if the s3 is better can anyone give me a ideal spec to go for ? such as packages to add because I know what colour and gearbox id like to have just packages ect I don't really know much about when it comes to Audi as I previously owned a Mercedes A class.

Hope you guys will be able to help?!
Click to expand...

I'm 26 and pick up my new s3 on Saturday! I've also had an accident in the last year so you can imagine my insurance isn't too well priced, seeing as I use it for work too!

Advise is the same as the above, buy what you can afford. I had a B7 RS4 until recently which I thought was sensible for short journeys...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
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£4k on insurance is mental and a waste. Get a cheaper to insure and run car . Save for two years and have more no claims then get a S3.

Golf interior is really not nice.

If your loaded disregard.
 
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I'm 19 and my insurance was £2600, multi car discount took it to £1700. But, I put in a quote now and it comes up £4000. Compare the Market came up trumps for me. Cheapest insurers were Admiral, Elephant and Diamond.

These cars are not cheap and you can't buy one expecting them to be reasonable. I've not seen anything over 24mpg in mixed driving. Servicing and other maintenance pays the Audi Sport premium. Like front discs and pads £450, as apposed to probably £150 on your A Class. If you are on the line of whether you can or can't afford one, it's better left alone for another year as you can't struggle with them in case you have any unplanned expense.

With the Golf R and S3 argument, I wish I could help.. I love both cars. I haven't actually sat in or driven a Golf R, something I'm meaning to do is go have a look out of curiousity. I do love a Golf and if Audi wasn't an option, I'd most certainly be driving one. The artificial engine sound in the Golf is horrendous I will say. The S3's advantages are that it is an Audi, much more refined but both cars are build like brick s**t houses so you won't go wrong either way. So what's cheapest, I've heard there are Golf R lease deals for £250 a month.
 
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AudiNutta said:
I'm 19 and my insurance was £2600, multi car discount took it to £1700. But, I put in a quote now and it comes up £4000. Compare the Market came up trumps for me. Cheapest insurers were Admiral, Elephant and Diamond.

These cars are not cheap and you can't buy one expecting them to be reasonable. I've not seen anything over 24mpg in mixed driving. Servicing and other maintenance pays the Audi Sport premium. Like front discs and pads £450, as apposed to probably £150 on your A Class. If you are on the line of whether you can or can't afford one, it's better left alone for another year as you can't struggle with them in case you have any unplanned expense.

With the Golf R and S3 argument, I wish I could help.. I love both cars. I haven't actually sat in or driven a Golf R, something I'm meaning to do is go have a look out of curiousity. I do love a Golf and if Audi wasn't an option, I'd most certainly be driving one. The artificial engine sound in the Golf is horrendous I will say. The S3's advantages are that it is an Audi, much more refined but both cars are build like brick s**t houses so you won't go wrong either way. So what's cheapest, I've heard there are Golf R lease deals for £250 a month.
Click to expand...
i got an email last night for new s3 sportback £213+VAT :wtf:
 
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As pburv stated paying 4,000 quid on insurance is insane and if you have a minor accident and you are at fault. I would not look forward to the new premium on your S3, which may force you to sell it at a huge financial loss.
Insurance companies are not daft, they set premiums based on age, experience, claims and type of car and you have red flags coming up all over the place.
But in the end it is your money and your wants, but just weigh up the pro's and con's
 
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The truth is top end hot hatches like this only become practical when you are older or have been racking up at least 10 years no claims.

By then you are usually earning a decent amount , are a good enough driver and insurance premiums are cheap.

The dream of being young and having one of these cars is only possible for the rich or foolish.

Look at a golf gti or an a3 2.0 tfsi still fast hatches but nowhere near as prohibitive as s3, golf r and bmw 135i
 
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Masslob said:
The truth is top end hot hatches like this only become practical when you are older or have been racking up at least 10 years no claims.

By then you are usually earning a decent amount , are a good enough driver and insurance premiums are cheap.

The dream of being young and having one of these cars is only possible for the rich or foolish.

Look at a golf gti or an a3 2.0 tfsi still fast hatches but nowhere near as prohibitive as s3, golf r and bmw 135i
Click to expand...

I'm neither rich or foolish........ :)
 
AudiNutta said:
I'm neither rich or foolish........ :)
Click to expand...

No you're not foolish.......as your reply above confirms. It was well written.
But you are probably in the vast minority at your age, unfortunately.

The new world of dirt cheap PCP deals is allowing young people to DRIVE cars which previous generations could only have dreamed of.
In the old world of bank loans/HP (the only options) combined with double digit interest rates, a £35k car would have cost well over £1k pm over 3 or 4 years just to finance (ignoring insurance/servicing etc).
But you wouldn't have been able to insure it anyway, as insurers wouldn't do it because of the risk.

IMO the upshot will be, a lot of young drivers will get performance cars on cheap PCP and will end up with insurance claims.
And insurers will then increase premiums or just stop insuring this sector again.

I can see why young uns are doing it. I would have if I could when I was that age.

But we are also now living in a huge credit bubble in the UK since the financial crisis can was kicked down the road.
Brexit will also have an impact on PCP......
http://www.motortradenews.com/news/...-exchange-rates-to-increase-pcp-payments.html

Then when the last cheap PCP deal dries up and you return the car because you can't afford the GFV and then have nothing......the smart person will be driving around in a tidy, low mileage 3 year old GTI which they own outright.

All IMO and could be well off the mark.
:blahblah1:
But I have decent knowledge of UK household debt levels and it's a growing issue.

I would advise amyone to try and wean themselves of cheap PCP where not building any meaningful equity.
 
Last edited:
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Soulboy said:
No you're not foolish.......as your reply above confirms. It was well written.
But you are probably in the vast minority at your age, unfortunately.

The new world of dirt cheap PCP deals is allowing young people to DRIVE cars which previous generations could only have dreamed of.
In the old world of bank loans/HP (the only options) combined with double digit interest rates, a £35k car would have cost well over £1k pm over 3 or 4 years just to finance (ignoring insurance/servicing etc).
But you wouldn't have been able to insure it anyway, as insurers wouldn't do it because of the risk.

IMO the upshot will be, a lot of young drivers will get performance cars on cheap PCP and will end up with insurance claims.
And insurers will then increase premiums or just stop insuring this sector again.

I can see why young uns are doing it. I would have if I could when I was that age.

But we are also now living in a huge credit bubble in the UK since the financial crisis can was kicked down the road.
Brexit will also have an impact on PCP......
http://www.motortradenews.com/news/...-exchange-rates-to-increase-pcp-payments.html

Then when the last cheap PCP deal dries up and you return the car because you can't afford the GFV and then have nothing......the smart person will be driving around in a tidy, low mileage 3 year old GTI which they own outright.

All IMO and could be well off the mark.
:blahblah1:
But I have decent knowledge of UK household debt levels and it's a growing issue.

I would advise amyone to try and wean themselves of cheap PCP where not building any meaningful equity.
Click to expand...


Any A3/S3 With a few options...say from £3500 and upwards with say a small deposit say £3000 and below is always going to be neg eq for most of the term,l am on 20 months rental its only now that every penny l pay to the car has no interest as such....so i am now just paying what l owe for the car against what its valued at....so now depreciation takes over from the interest,the only way l will barely break even is if l sell it privately,l put £6500 deposit
 
Think saying golf r to S3 has been done to death is unfair, every person considering either will enquire about the other. As for running an S3 I'm 23 (not rich, partially foolish) but my insurance is gunna be around 700 quid (would have been 550 at my last address :rage: ) which I can just pay on the day.

At 4K you'll probably be paying more per year on insurance than on a good pcp deal. I wouldn't worry about the finance part of it we all assume when we take out finance we can afford it for the period that's no different to a mortgage or any other loan no one takes it out thinking you're going to default.

I'm banking on 380ish for the car, 50 quid in a pot a month for servicing and tyres , upto 300 quid a month on fuel plus whatever the tax is 140 quid (insurance paid upfront). So looking at maybe 700-750 a month not including insurance. Maybe on the high end, but I wouldn't have thought this from a cost point of view is different from R to S3.

Just do what you can afford and makes you happy making sure in 2-4 years time you have a good few grand for another deposit.
 
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Soulboy said:
No you're not foolish.......as your reply above confirms. It was well written.
But you are probably in the vast minority at your age, unfortunately.

The new world of dirt cheap PCP deals is allowing young people to DRIVE cars which previous generations could only have dreamed of.
In the old world of bank loans/HP (the only options) combined with double digit interest rates, a £35k car would have cost well over £1k pm over 3 or 4 years just to finance (ignoring insurance/servicing etc).
But you wouldn't have been able to insure it anyway, as insurers wouldn't do it because of the risk.

IMO the upshot will be, a lot of young drivers will get performance cars on cheap PCP and will end up with insurance claims.
And insurers will then increase premiums or just stop insuring this sector again.

I can see why young uns are doing it. I would have if I could when I was that age.

But we are also now living in a huge credit bubble in the UK since the financial crisis can was kicked down the road.
Brexit will also have an impact on PCP......
http://www.motortradenews.com/news/...-exchange-rates-to-increase-pcp-payments.html

Then when the last cheap PCP deal dries up and you return the car because you can't afford the GFV and then have nothing......the smart person will be driving around in a tidy, low mileage 3 year old GTI which they own outright.

All IMO and could be well off the mark.
:blahblah1:
But I have decent knowledge of UK household debt levels and it's a growing issue.

I would advise amyone to try and wean themselves of cheap PCP where not building any meaningful equity.
Click to expand...

Good post.

I know I've been going around in circles about what I'm going to do next, but I think I've come to the same conclusion as you and I'm going to go back to the old fashion way of buying a decent used model with a cheap bank loan.

I would also question whether, despite the discounts and low interest, these are actually cheap anyway. Most deals I've seen and managed to negotiate are coming in at around £5k-£6k per year. Seeing as most do them over 4yrs, £20k to rent a car seems awfully expensive to me...! A comparable used model will lose less than half that over the same term I reckon?

No escaping new car depreciation, regardless of how you pay for it. I can certainly see the appeal of those cheap lease deals, which work out around £2k-£3k per year...providing you can get one...and dont like options...and dont have a change of circumstances midway through....

Anyway...horses for courses and all that.
 
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lledwoc said:
Think saying golf r to S3 has been done to death is unfair, every person considering either will enquire about the other. As for running an S3 I'm 23 (not rich, partially foolish) but my insurance is gunna be around 700 quid (would have been 550 at my last address :rage: ) which I can just pay on the day.

At 4K you'll probably be paying more per year on insurance than on a good pcp deal. I wouldn't worry about the finance part of it we all assume when we take out finance we can afford it for the period that's no different to a mortgage or any other loan no one takes it out thinking you're going to default.

I'm banking on 380ish for the car, 50 quid in a pot a month for servicing and tyres , upto 300 quid a month on fuel plus whatever the tax is 140 quid (insurance paid upfront). So looking at maybe 700-750 a month not including insurance. Maybe on the high end, but I wouldn't have thought this from a cost point of view is different from R to S3.

Just do what you can afford and makes you happy making sure in 2-4 years time you have a good few grand for another deposit.
Click to expand...


Trust me its been done to death on this forum.....and still persists...more than any other car comparison thread.......so most regular members on here have become very jaded with it
 
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