New S3 - Some advice from owners?

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Lovepug13

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Hi,

I am planning to buy a nearly new S3 Sportback in the near future. My budget is 28k

I have the following questions, if anyone could help that would be great.

1) Can anyone comment on what are the 100% "must have's" from the option list....I am keen on Nav and S-tronic myself but would like some feedback.

2) Also, is it me or is the S3 getting pretty cheap (all things considered) at the moment, my local dealer is jammed with them and this (potentially) is starting to effect prices on Autotrader etc. Seen a few 2009 cars with fairly basic spec and low miles for just over 20k - real good value for money.

3) Any horror stories or things to look out for

Thanks in advance.

Adam :)
 
S3s are pretty well kitted out as standard, but for resale Nav is a must, as is Bose. Bluetooth is very handy to have, and I would have gone for auto lights/wipers if I'd specced my own car, and bucket seats too (though quite an expensive option and not to everyone's taste).
 
Get the comfort pack with Cruise auto lights/ wipers and auto dim mirrors and maybe the black addition with Bose std.
At 28k you are nearly looking new now and SB's are usually much better equipped than 3 doors. Go for Phone prep if you need it...If i had gone for a SB i would have liked the open sky roof.
 
The age of car you are looking at should have nav and phone prep as standard. If you go for a black edition, it will have Bose too. Open sky roof is nice but not many about. Cheapest S3 SB with dsg on the Audi used site is currently £26k+. Bear in mind too that the DSG is in a lower emissions group for tax. What colour are you looking at?
 
Agreed with Paddy on the comfort pack, upgraded seats are also a good option IMO. Mine has S-tronic & I'd recommend you try one.
The main thing with S3's is to know what year model the car is your looking at. For example - Nav has been standard since May 2010, yet out there you will find 60 & 11 plate cars that don't have it, due to Audi mass producing S3's & then them being left sat somewhere before being registered. If you pay top money make sure your getting the newest model.
Karl
 
jsh said:
The age of car you are looking at should have nav and phone prep as standard. If you go for a black edition, it will have Bose too. Open sky roof is nice but not many about. Cheapest S3 SB with dsg on the Audi used site is currently £26k+. Bear in mind too that the DSG is in a lower emissions group for tax. What colour are you looking at?
Click to expand...

I presume you are talking company car tax because road tax is the same ie J
 
Thanks guys, loads of responses for such a short period. i am in Canterbury, Kent

That one that you sent me the link for is on my "must see" list. I am building a list on exec lol.

I quite like the Panoramic roof to be fair boys, I had a 170tdi A3 Sportback as courtesy car last time my old A4 was in and it had this option....very nice :)

Thanks for answering why so many late cars do not have Nav......I couldn't understand why cars that were nearly new didn't have Nav.

Does Bose make that much of a difference btw?

And as for colour...anything but orange, red or yellow
 
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paddy said:
I presume you are talking company car tax because road tax is the same ie J[/QUOTE

No it's not. The DSG is a group lower @199g co2 against 201 for the manual and £225 against £245 iirc (group k)
Click to expand...
 
Do you do any sports that require roof transportation ( mountain-biking, or skiing, windsurfing, etc ) ??

If so, then get one with roof rails, the roof bars fit so much better to the rails than fitting onto the roof at the top of the doors.
 
Yaks said:
Do you do any sports that require roof transportation ( mountain-biking, or skiing, windsurfing, etc ) ??

If so, then get one with roof rails, the roof bars fit so much better to the rails than fitting onto the roof at the top of the doors.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice mate......I am Mr.Sportback because I have a need for a vehicle which is fairly versatile :)
 
Lovepug13 said:
Thanks for the advice mate......I am Mr.Sportback because I have a need for a vehicle which is fairly versatile :)
Click to expand...
Can't get the panorama roof with the rails though, so choice to be made there.............
 
ah....thanks guys (Learning much on this forum) - The Pano roof seems to be fairly rare though.

Can I ask......what will the car need to be specced with in order to get telephone through the Nav system?

I have been looking on net all night for cars......Autotrader seems to be throwing up some fairly nice specced cars for sensible money.

Thanks guys.

Adam :)
 
Lovepug13 said:
ah....thanks guys (Learning much on this forum) - The Pano roof seems to be fairly rare though.

Can I ask......what will the car need to be specced with in order to get telephone through the Nav system?

I have been looking on net all night for cars......Autotrader seems to be throwing up some fairly nice specced cars for sensible money.

Thanks guys.

Adam :)
Click to expand...
blue tooth std ( phone prep low) will work through the RNSE and utilise the steering wheel controls but you need to specify VCDS if you want Voice control as well ( phone prep high)
 
Sorry, bottle of wine and i start talking even more rubbish than normal :)
 
Have just bought my first Audi a used '09 A3 Cab, S-Line having tried other specs., and turned down dreadful BMW 1 Series Cab, but that's another story.
The 'sport', half not full, leather seats are so comfortable yet hold you firmly, Bose is excellent although to be honest the multi-speaker set up in my company Vectra was just as good - gulp!.
DSG brilliant and SO smooth and of course faster changes than manual. Paddles so much easier if you want to go manual.
Wide mirrors and my having to use narrow lanes make lack of electric folding mirrors a pain, that's assuming Audi OE items can be folded whilst on the move.
Big 18" alloys may look good but are a literal pain as they make ride too hard ( yes I know I have 'sports' suspension but I liked the extra leather touches in the S-Line ). Would like to change to 16" as per poverty spec. A3.
In Pearl Black as I think more somber mature non-boy racer Chav shades suit the brand, but then I'm not in my teens/ early twenties!!!
 
Agree with wafter about the seats, Half leather in my 3.2 was much better all round than full leather in the S3. Thats the one thing i would change if i had my time again.
 
+1 on the buckets, fell in love with them when I first went to see my car.

Mine didnt come with RNS-E but I thought it would be easier to source that at a later date than it would be to source buckets. Plus it gives me the opportunity to get the latest version.
 
Only option that I couldn't live without is S-Tronic...I didn't go for Nav as I have a phone app to do that. BOSE would be 2nd on the list. As for the iPod connector - pah! Very basic and doesn't even charge my iPod Touch :(. Only missing option I would have chosen now is Bluetooth, if only for audio streaming.

Regarding current pricing, I would say that £20K is about right for a 2 1/2 yr old manual S3...

Mark
 
Here we go

25102010397.jpg
 
I went on an "educational" when I worked for saga years ago... And if I recall correctly it was 40mph? Thought it was funny when we saw a couple of ferraris there!
 
paddy said:
Agree with wafter about the seats, Half leather in my 3.2 was much better all round than full leather in the S3. Thats the one thing i would change if i had my time again.
Click to expand...
I agree P - I always go for half leather/alcantara.. Don't need heated seats then.. Leather is cold in winter and sticky in summer
 
Hi guys.
Yes the speed limit is 40mph - but.....
...I did 800 miles in France over the last few days - now there are some quality roads.
 
The search goes on.....I will keep you guys updated when I get something :)

Thanks for all the advice
 
I live in canters as well dude and work over at east kent audi in the parts so if you ever need a hand with any advice on buying an s3 or need parts etc feel free to give us a shout!
 
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I bought my S3 Sportback S-Tronic with a few options in April 2011, then collected in late May. It's a 2011 spec model with the standard Technology pack, registered in June 2010. At the time, I paid £29.5k with 2 years of servicing.

That felt really close to buying a new one - except that once I'd added S-Tronic and a few options like Bose and roof rails, the best quotes for a new model were still some way off (plus a 3 month wait). If you can find one with that spec for £28k new, then hats off to you!

There were some used cars for less (3 year old ones were £24k in the spring), but none had the Technology pack or S-Tronic.

The S3 Sportback seems to be really good value when compared to the Golf R. :)
 
S3 Crystal Luke - PM Sent.

Thanks for all the advice guys.

Hopefully will buy something soon lol
 
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