Well. I was a bit gutted the build date kept moving to start with and the more I thought about it the more I came to the conclusion that by the time my A3 got delivered; an A3 Black Edition version would become available knowing my luck; ultimately that's the version I really wanted.
I've mentioned previously some time ago in the forum that I really do not like the chrome round the windows and grill on the new A3 and was always surprised that the Black Styling pack was never offered as an option. It niggled me that even on the A1 this was available from launch.
I initially ordered my A3 in Amalfi White so that it would mask the chrome some, but the more I saw the 8v A3 out on the road the more that chrome ate away at me; probably petty but there you go. I even later changed my order to red as I was a bit annoyed with myself that I'd chosen an alternative colour just to mask a part of the car I disliked.
To further compound this; my wife and I saw a Misano Red Audi A3 S Line similar to what I'd ordered parked up just last week and without even prompting she mentioned that the chrome round the windows ruined the car.
The thing that tipped it was a few of the posts on here and most notibly when Chelmersteve mentioned that the drive of his A3 was dull. For me I had enjoyed the A3 S Line TDI that the dealership had let me have for the weekend but from what Chelmersteve had said I could in alot of ways agree, bearing in mind I have previously owned three A3s.
At this point I started looking at TT and A5 Black Editions as an alternative and that's when I realised that Audi were offering quite substantial deposit contributions on these and by my calculations would put a monthly payment into the realms of affordable, and similar to what I would be paying with the new A3.
I threw caution to the wind over the weekend and got intouch with my friend at Audi and posed the question; what will a similarly equipped TT Black Edition cost me instead of the A3. I went to the dealership and test drove both the TFSI and TDI versions of the TT S Line. The A5 idea had unfortunately been scrapped due to space in my garage.
Shrewdly when I arrived at the dealership my friend had placed the TT TDI and TFSI's next to a Red A3 S Line similar to what I'd ordered.
The decision to change was made at that point as he had both TTs brand new,in the spec I wanted, available immediately; I just had to decide on the colour.
The TT TDI was Daytona Grey, the TT TFSI was Misano Red.
It took me a day to weigh up all the pros and cons between the two and eventually decided on the Misano TFSI as it ticked more boxes than the other. Moreover it's just shy of £30 per month cheaper than the A3 I'd ordered and £220 per year insurance as opposed to £251, but as a trade off has a higher road tax bill than the A3 at £170 per year compared with £20.
The TT has a better presence than the A3 at the end of the day, and have never owned a true two seater sports car.
I think it was time.
