Selling an S3 & the price you will get depends alot on spec (210/225), options, mods, colour, history, age (facelift/non facelift) & location its for sale I think, obviously the condition, mileage, tax & test of the car plays & big part in it as well but lets do a rough comparison with say 80k, 6 months tax & 12 months MOT.
Car 1---Black 8L S3 210, MY 2000/X reg, NON Facelift, Full non dealer history, NO factory options, remapped 265hp, Miltek exhaust, Forge 007 valve. located in London, £4500-£5000.
Car 2---Imola yellow or Nagaro Blue 8L S3 225, MY 2000/Y reg. Facelift, Full dealer history, a few factory options, never been mapped or modded, located in Scotland, £5500-£6000.
2 very different cars but for me the second car is the one I'd go for every day, The second car I think would sell much faster to an informed buyer who had done there research where the first car would probably appeal to an uninformed buyer due to the lower cost, there’s various upsides & downside in the differences but some can be good points to one person & bad points to the others. I'll give my opinions on some of the points/differences.
1. Spec (210/225)---The uninformed buyer would obviously go for the 225hp where as an informed buyer will realise there isn’t much in it & they'd both map up the same, me personally I wouldn't be fused weather I was gona map it or not I'd have either or.
2. Factory options---An advert that states "every option in the book" will appeal to most in near any car add but there’s some out there when buying performance cars want the lightest car they can get hence no options, with cars like the 8L S3 being know as "luxury hot hatches" there will be others who will lean towards the luxury side of things & want all the toys. Personally most of the S3 options I know of (not alot) I wouldn't really care for, not due to the anal weight thing more things like, Sunroof-Nice but why when u have AC. Heated seats-Not fussed as my *** doesn’t get that cold in the winter lol. Colour concept type interior-Never thought it looked that good. Sat Nav-You can keep it as the CD based one in the 8L is pants & would much rather a TomTom. GMBH sports suspension-This I would like for the slight visual & handling difference. RSTTs-Wouldn't be fussed as chances are @ the age they would be being on from new they'd prob be buckled or in need of refurb so would only want swapping with a set of new reps as there that cheap now.
3. Mods---For me it would have to be well thought out & documented good quality stuff (maps or parts) or Just a factory standard car. On one hand if your gona be modding it picking a car with a few choice upgrades is a good idea as long as there Good kit. Some uninformed buyers may just go out & buy any car that claims to be mapped to 270/280hp by some unknown cowboy outfit as the claimed power figure sounds good down the pub, other uniformed buyers may stay well clear of any mods or maps as they don't understand it & don't want to as they've daft horror stories. Also there is the thoughts of a car with a "dump valve" or "exhaust" that may have some people thinking along the lines of chavy loud car that makes a loud whoosh where as most of us know when applied to an 8L S3 these will most probably turn out to be a miltek & forge 007 which simply aren’t what some may think. Then there’s your informed buyer who will be drawn to a list of quality kit that he already wants & knows will cost the earth so wants one with it already done or another who knows that a car with only a remap won't have the handling or braking ability to deal with the extra power on a spirited B road blast. If I was to buy another 8l I'm unsure where I'd be, part of me says standard car because any mods that I'd do I'd know & feel the real difference & get the enjoyment of selecting & fitting my exact choice of kit, another part of me says make the (sometimes massive) saving of buying a car with a decent mod list.
4. Colour--Now this really is all down to taste & opinion but I've always liked an 8L S3 in the more sporty colours Imola Yellow, Nagaro Blue & That orange/red that I don't know the name of as its an Audi "S" car after all. The yellow can be a hit or a miss, It can either sell well because its sporty, more rare & in my opinion a TURE Audi "S" colour, on the other hand some people think its nasty, I know this form the very mixed opinions I've heard about my Imola car & I'm sure a few folk were just being nice when they said they liked it LOL.
5. Location---I think this may play quite a big part in it as Its obvious that if a buyer spots 2 similar cars & one is 250 miles closer to him than the other there gona defo have a look at the closest one. This can be an good or a bad thing, If you take my two examples for instance London & Scotland, In London you have a much bigger local market to sell to compared to Scotland, But In Scotland an 8L is going to be more a more rare find in the local classifieds. The colour thing can tie in with this as well where I believe My Imola Yellow S3 would sell quick & be quite rare where I am in the North east of Scotland where a Black or Silver (no sure which is more common) S3 in London will probably take longer as there will probably be few near by for the buyer to look @.
6.History---Some uniformed buyers may not care as long as the books full of stamps & the recommended intervals, then there’s other uninformed buyers who will look for Audi dealer history only. Now for the informed buyer Dealer, specialist or any decent indy doesn’t really mater, the important stuff is Good oil @ a frequent interval (preferably not longlife but can be hard to avoid) & the correct additional filters, oils & belts @ the right intervals.
7. Age (Facelift/Non Facelift)---The obvious thing here to the uninformed is go for as new as you can get & to an extent thats always going to be true & another uninformed may not know the differences of a facelift & will simply go for non facelift as there going to be cheaper. On the other hand the informed buyer will know the Facelift is the one to go for as in my opinion the changes Audi made were for the better & worth while, they will also realise that they were only made for aprox 3-4 years(?) so if mileage/condition are about the same any facelift will do as the little difference the age/reg year can make isn't really a concern.
WARNING:NO BITCHY REPLYS, The above is all simply my opinion/ramblings & is only intended to help people understand Selling/Buying an 8L S3. I in no way intend to upset/offend the owners who have cars with statistics/specs of the ones I don't personally value or think adds worth to the car. Also all of the above may just be stating the ****** obvious to you all but never mind.
Cheers Ewan.
as i rarely use the site, sorry as. What is the going rate for an s3 2001 x as i have yet to recive any interest and have tried various places at advertising. Where would you look if you were to buy an s3. Dont know if am allowed to say the places i have tried as i cant find as rules.
