Any regrets moving to Audi?

Go to another dealership mate. Can't fault an entire brand or let it put you off the S3 from one bad dealer experience. I had months of grief from Glasgow Audi that would be enough to put anyone off for life. Went to another dealer albeit 40 min drive away but service has been great. Would also rather a 40min drive than settle for a bmw. Still got the S3 3 and a half years later.
 
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jassyo06 said:
Did Vauxhall pay you to drive the Mokka as well
Cause they'd need to pay me to drive one of em. . Dreadful cars now use to like some of their designs like the Astra Gtc vxr
Click to expand...
I'm with you on the GTC - always thought it was a good looking car (no idea how they perform though as never been in one).
 
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Mythos said:
Haven’t moved to Audi (yet) and don’t think I will now, went to a dealership the other day after arranging a test drive.

When I arrived they told me because I wasn’t interested in any of their cars at their dealership I won’t be able to test drive them, granted it’s kinda my fault for making the mistake of mentioning that, but they wouldn’t even let me take it out for literally 2 miles as that is adding on miles to the car and apparently ain’t good for business, how petty can you be?

Compare that to BMW that let me take out an M140i a rear wheel drive 340bhp car on my own for 2 hours. Makes me not want to give a single penny to Audi and get a BMW instead. Really lost my motivation to get the S3 I’ve been saving up for, for so long.
Click to expand...
All I'd say is, the service from dealers can vary considerably (for all brands not just Audi). I'm lucky to have two really good Audi dealers within 30 mins of home but I'm aware many aren't that good. Worth trying others though, who may be keener for your business :thumbs up:
 
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I would agree, and sometimes even down to individuals at the dealership that can make the difference, or not.

Key is if you like a car and really want one, find a place you want to buy it from
 
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Audi Bairn said:
I'm with you on the GTC - always thought it was a good looking car (no idea how they perform though as never been in one).
Click to expand...
Was a baw hair away from buying a Arden Blue GTC Back in 2013 ex demo fully loaded but ended up with a new Ford ST3, the GTC was quite a heavy car but it had 280 odd bhp so more than its rivals at the time
 
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jassyo06 said:
Did Vauxhall pay you to drive the Mokka as well
Cause they'd need to pay me to drive one of em. . Dreadful cars now use to like some of their designs like the Astra Gtc vxr
Click to expand...

Audi Bairn said:
I'm with you on the GTC - always thought it was a good looking car (no idea how they perform though as never been in one).
Click to expand...

lol method in the madness, the Mokka had just come out at the time and I knew what I could buy one for vs list price, so £4k proffit and free driving whilst I had it was a no brainer! My mate did the same with the GTC VXR, bought it after 2 months of having it as a company car for £15k, used it for 12 months and then sold it for £18k :)

https://www.audi-sport.net/xf/threads/2017-67-vauxhall-astra-gtc-vxr.382104/
 
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Just spent best part of two days detailing my PFL S3 23k miles 42 months old .
Looking gorgeous ! Daytona really twinkles in the sun . Interior still looks new , even though it is Lunar silver alcantara .
Engine feels really loosened up now and giving good consumption .
So no regrets about the car !
 
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I purchased a 2013 8V A3 tdi sport last year and it’s fine. This sums up how I feel about Audi’s, they are competent, good cars but not exciting.

Previously I have had a 5 series touring, an Alfa Giulietta, S4 Avant, E39 5series, E46 Coupe, etc etc.

Even the S4 was not exciting, it went fast in a straight line, it had a nice cabin, V8, 4WD, but it was not as engaging to drive as my old Alfa twin sparks, or the BMWs.

I am a brand snob (see above), but for me there is just something lacking when I drive an Audi. However, in fairness, it might be that ALL FWD modern cars are like this. I’m certainly not expecting much variance between VAG brands.

Given that I use my car to regularly drive from Cornwall to Kent, I am judging the car on that 300 mile route, rather than commuting.

Eh, maybe no car is as exciting to drive compared to a motorbike?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
audi upgrades
The main things bugging me currently, aren't related to my car directly, it's:

Audi prices now
Audi cost saving measures on the new cars
The stupid engine designation numbering (in the showrooms they now have a chart to explain what means what - ludicrous!!)
 
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Audi Bairn said:
The main things bugging me currently, aren't related to my car directly, it's:

Audi prices now
Audi cost saving measures on the new cars
The stupid engine designation numbering (in the showrooms they now have a chart to explain what means what - ludicrous!!)
Click to expand...
Not to mention they seem to have lost the plot with S models, announced the other day that the future S5, S6 and S7 models would be diesel! :wtf: with surely the S4 to follow, honestly seems they’ve just given Mercedes and BMW a huge advantage! I’d love to meet the person that came up with that bright idea, probably the same one that thought of the engine designation numbering :tearsofjoy:
 
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Mr Freeze said:
No regrets from me

The last car i had that wasn't a vw/Audi was a Evo 6 Tme which was in 2005 since then i've had

Mk5 Golf R32
Audi S3 8p
Mk6 Golf R
Audi A3 Tdi sline sportback x2 Silver/White
Curent Audi S3 8v sportback

Oh and a clio sport 200 but that was just a weekend toy/2nd car .
Click to expand...

What's your take on the S3 8p? I'm considering an FL S3 8p as my next car however having already owned a FL 8p A3 and moving to an 8V A3 I imagine going back down to an 8p would feel like a downgrade, but is the 8p S3 a different kettle of fish?
 
Stevier88 said:
Go to another dealership mate. Can't fault an entire brand or let it put you off the S3 from one bad dealer experience. I had months of grief from Glasgow Audi that would be enough to put anyone off for life. Went to another dealer albeit 40 min drive away but service has been great. Would also rather a 40min drive than settle for a bmw. Still got the S3 3 and a half years later.
Click to expand...
Settle for a bmw? Fun to drive?
 

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Audi Bairn said:
Not without referring to a chart, see attached :wtf:
Click to expand...

Really in genius. So when they “up” the power and it falls out of the current bands, they issue a v2 of the chart. So so well thought out this “strategy”

**** me!!
 
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q5man said:
Really in genius. So when they “up” the power and it falls out of the current bands, they issue a v2 of the chart. So so well thought out this “strategy”

**** me!!
Click to expand...
Crazy thing is, when you read there bonkers explanation for it, apparently it was all of us who wanted. Utter nonsense. Total imbeciles!!
 
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Ormesome said:
I really do think that the UK as a whole has really bad dealerships. The relationship with dealers abroad is so different. In most countries i have lived in, I have had to visit the dealer and only have praise for them. 2 examples recently stand out. I had an A3 for 2.5yrs, 2014 plate. I went to Leicester Audi to have the rear seatbelt looked at as it wouldn't retract. They accused me of buying an accident damaged car, that i was being untruthful and no way would they touch it under warranty. They did produce a lovely video though where some guy went through my car and told me exactly all the faults i should have done that incidentally were not covered by warranty! I went back to Portugal a month or so later as i was living there at the time, went into Audi Lisbon, no problem. Free car hire, done in a day. I asked them about the general condition of the car and they said it was fine, specifically no accident damage. I have just bought a Q2 in Switzerland. The dealers here really go the extra mile. Got a battery changed on the same day the fault happened, took them less than 45mins to do it. Chap on here made a thread on how he was going to have to wait for 3weeks in the UK for a battery.

Anyway, just 2 stories of why I do not trust or like most dealerships in the UK. My mum has also had problems with Renault. I'm not sure why the UK has such a bad service because it honestly isn't like that abroad. Perhaps it is due to the volume of cars sold in the UK, the constant need and want of a new car putting pressure on the industry, cars being more throwaway items now instead of valuable assets. I dunno....

Anyway, No regrets buying an Audi. The A3 is a lovely car and the only car i have kept for such a long time. I had the most boring of the lot, 1.6tdi so I would love one day to get an S3. I think the Audi brand strikes a nice middle ground actually. Not so run of the mill like VW but classy enough to be up there with Mercedes, but then can blend in and stand out when it needs to. That prob makes no sense but to me it does!! :tearsofjoy:

As a side note, am i right in saying that the RS7 is going diesel? could that happen across the board?
Click to expand...

True! I've been in the UK in the past 5 years and I can say that ALL the big brands I dealt with (mostly telecom, internet, utilities but audi dealers as well)
managed to annoy me badly. I don't know why but the UK has the WORSE overall customer service in the whole of Europe.
The beef with Audi was that after agreeing to pay the rip off price of £330 for oil and all filters service plus inspection AND the £599 satnav activation (I know, I'm stupid to pay that but I really want this function) they've asked me to pay the satnav fee in advance. Ok, done that, booked the car in 3 weeks in advance and the day before the service they've rung me telling that the parts for the satnav didn't arrive from Germany. This after booking a day's holiday especially for this. Not impressed. Every corporate business I dealt with in this country acted like it didn't gave a sh@t abot my custom.
Ah well...
 
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Audi Bairn said:
Crazy thing is, when you read there bonkers explanation for it, apparently it was all of us who wanted. Utter nonsense. Total imbeciles!!
Click to expand...

Yeah cos is was really hard to work out what a 2.0 TFSI meant
 
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q5man said:
Yeah cos is was really hard to work out what a 2.0 TFSI meant
Click to expand...
q5man said:
Really in genius. So when they “up” the power and it falls out of the current bands, they issue a v2 of the chart. So so well thought out this “strategy”

**** me!!
Click to expand...
Audi Bairn said:
Crazy thing is, when you read there bonkers explanation for it, apparently it was all of us who wanted. Utter nonsense. Total imbeciles!!
Click to expand...

It probably came about years ago when that 1.8t came in many variants and they are starting to implement it now. Just like our current 2.0 there’s huge differences in power and some folk want people to know they splashed out on the faster more powerful one. so now you get a 40, 45 and 50 tfsi in 2.0 and the 1.4/1.5 will be 35 otherwise like before they will all just be tfsi. Similar with the diesel as well. Debadging will become the most popular free option as some won’t want their neighbours to know they bought the cheaper one.
It’s all about keeping up with the jones :wink:
 
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Explanation I was given at audi made a lot of sense.

Basically the numbering system is there for the electric vehicles. Think he said 4 coming this year and 10 next year. None of them have engine sizes, just outputs of power. This system is for them and will be no issue once the combustion engine is phased out
 
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S32B said:
As this section is probably the most used I thought I'd ask here!

Does anyone have any regrets selling their old non Audi car and coming to Audi?

Could be anything, build problems, dealership problems, breakdown problems, the extra cash wasn't worth it, comfort, looks, wish they'd bought BMW/Merc instead of Audi...anything at all?

For me none for coming to Audi, BUT I do regret:
1) Buying the S3 in black rather than white/silver
2) Not extending the warranty/keeping it for 5 years.
Click to expand...

I was considering exactly this question just the other day. I’m going to change cars at some point later this year, and despite their very friendly enquiries and promises of test drives, I’ve no desire at all to buy another Audi.

Why? My S3 is beautifully constructed, every touch point a tactile delight, and all the electronic wizardry in things like the virtual cockpit and the matrix lights are the best I’ve ever had in any car ever. It goes like stink too. It’s the first car I’ve ever ever owned that I don’t think could be made better with more power. It’s been reliable, it’s actually quite cheap to run, and even the wallet smashing price is at least partially offset by the fact that depreciation is relatively low.

There are of course some downsides, like the ride quality which is unforgivably *****. But the thing I find most unforgivable in that this high power, premium sector, top of the line hot hatch is basically a total snooze fest. It’s the worst possible thing that any car with sporting pretensions can be. It’s boring.
 
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GSB said:
I was considering exactly this question just the other day. I’m going to change cars at some point later this year, and despite their very friendly enquiries and promises of test drives, I’ve no desire at all to buy another Audi.

Why? My S3 is beautifully constructed, every touch point a tactile delight, and all the electronic wizardry in things like the virtual cockpit and the matrix lights are the best I’ve ever had in any car ever. It goes like stink too. It’s the first car I’ve ever ever owned that I don’t think could be made better with more power. It’s been reliable, it’s actually quite cheap to run, and even the wallet smashing price is at least partially offset by the fact that depreciation is relatively low.

There are of course some downsides, like the ride quality which is unforgivably *****. But the thing I find most unforgivable in that this high power, premium sector, top of the line hot hatch is basically a total snooze fest. It’s the worst possible thing that any car with sporting pretensions can be. It’s boring.
Click to expand...
This is exactly where I am at.

I’ve not made enquiries but 3 times in the last month swindon Audi have called me saying it’s time to change, let’s crunch numbers. Each time I give them a budget and what model id be interested in and not once have they called back with a proposal.

There are so many good things about the S3 but it has never excited me enough.
 
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TYb said:
This is exactly where I am at.

I’ve not made enquiries but 3 times in the last month swindon Audi have called me saying it’s time to change, let’s crunch numbers. Each time I give them a budget and what model id be interested in and not once have they called back with a proposal.
Click to expand...
If they are anything like my local one I'm surprised they aren't calling you back! I nipped into Cheshire Oaks Audi today and it was dead! As soon as I walked through the door "Do you need any help sir?". I asked to see the warranty guy expecting them to say he's busy you will need to make an appointment bla bla bla...yet he was with me in under 2 minutes!!! He came straight out to the car and looked at it, said "Do you want us to book it in and take the bumper off and spray it up?", I said "No thanks, a touch up stick will do if that's OK?". He went and got me one there and then :) Great service, but I did feel like making a comment when he handed me the touchup and said "That's your colour and there's also a primer in there before you put the colour on" :blink: I didn't tell him it's NOT a primer, it's a clear coat that goes on the top!! :blink:

I noticed last week that some paint has flaked off the inside front bumper, not a big deal but just annoying as it's on the drivers side and once you know it's there lol:

1
2
3
 
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I will be changing my A3 in the near future. Not for any dislike of the A3. I have owned ten A3s of various models since April 1998 as well as four Audi 80/90 and five Golf GTi and a Golf VR6 since August 1976. Needless to say I like VW/Audi cars very much.

At the moment my wife has a Polo and I have the A3 but I have problems with my legs which is making it increasingly difficult to swap my foot between the throttle and the brake. Because of this problem I think I am going have to give up driving all together. Fortunately my wife is a good driver and is quite happy to take over all the driving. She is happy driving the A3 but the boot space is going to be a problem as I have to use a mobility scooter which does not leave a lot of space for shopping or other luggage etc. Taking the scooter out each time she needs to do the shopping would be a pain so we are thinking of selling both cars and getting a new Audi Q3. She had a test drive in a Q3 the other day and was quite happy driving it and I found it very comfortable from the passenger seat. When folded my scooter will fit in the boot area from front to back leaving over half of the area for other items. At least it would be possible for me to have fun operating the touch screen navigation.

We have had test drives in various TFSI Q3 and tomorrow come the turn of a 150 TDI. We both like the TDI for the way the engine behaves and the torque available at low revs. As my current A3 is a 2.0 184 TDI s-tronic quattro we may well consider the 190 TDI s-tronic quattro for the Q3.
 
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h5djr said:
I will be changing my A3 in the near future. Not for any dislike of the A3. I have owned ten A3s of various models since April 1998 as well as four Audi 80/90 and five Golf GTi and a Golf VR6 since August 1976. Needless to say I like VW/Audi cars very much.

At the moment my wife has a Polo and I have the A3 but I have problems with my legs which is making it increasingly difficult to swap my foot between the throttle and the brake. Because of this problem I think I am going have to give up driving all together. Fortunately my wife is a good driver and is quite happy to take over all the driving. She is happy driving the A3 but the boot space is going to be a problem as I have to use a mobility scooter which does not leave a lot of space for shopping or other luggage etc. Taking the scooter out each time she needs to do the shopping would be a pain so we are thinking of selling both cars and getting a new Audi Q3. She had a test drive in a Q3 the other day and was quite happy driving it and I found it very comfortable from the passenger seat. When folded my scooter will fit in the boot area from front to back leaving over half of the area for other items. At least it would be possible for me to have fun operating the touch screen navigation.

We have had test drives in various TFSI Q3 and tomorrow come the turn of a 150 TDI. We both like the TDI for the way the engine behaves and the torque available at low revs. As my current A3 is a 2.0 184 TDI s-tronic quattro we may well consider the 190 TDI s-tronic quattro for the Q3.
Click to expand...
In the words of Kate Bush & Peter Gabriel; Don’t give up...

If you are suffering with the foot swapping that’s required flipping from pedal to pedal all the time, can I suggest you consider electric? The new Nissan Leaf has an e-pedal function that means that it’ll operate either like any other electric or ICE car where the throttle pedal provides the ‘go’ and brake pedal provides the stopping force (with the computers deciding upon the proportioning of regenerative vs mechanical braking), OR, with e-pedal turned on, most of the time only one pedal is required to start, brake and stop the car. All you need to is lift your toe on the throttle pedal and the car will transition from power to brakes. You lift more to brake harder and modulate the braking force, and it’ll come to a complete stop, and hold position on hills without you ever touching the brake pedal.
 
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h5djr said:
I will be changing my A3 in the near future. Not for any dislike of the A3. I have owned ten A3s of various models since April 1998 as well as four Audi 80/90 and five Golf GTi and a Golf VR6 since August 1976. Needless to say I like VW/Audi cars very much.

At the moment my wife has a Polo and I have the A3 but I have problems with my legs which is making it increasingly difficult to swap my foot between the throttle and the brake. Because of this problem I think I am going have to give up driving all together. Fortunately my wife is a good driver and is quite happy to take over all the driving. She is happy driving the A3 but the boot space is going to be a problem as I have to use a mobility scooter which does not leave a lot of space for shopping or other luggage etc. Taking the scooter out each time she needs to do the shopping would be a pain so we are thinking of selling both cars and getting a new Audi Q3. She had a test drive in a Q3 the other day and was quite happy driving it and I found it very comfortable from the passenger seat. When folded my scooter will fit in the boot area from front to back leaving over half of the area for other items. At least it would be possible for me to have fun operating the touch screen navigation.

We have had test drives in various TFSI Q3 and tomorrow come the turn of a 150 TDI. We both like the TDI for the way the engine behaves and the torque available at low revs. As my current A3 is a 2.0 184 TDI s-tronic quattro we may well consider the 190 TDI s-tronic quattro for the Q3.
Click to expand...

Sorry to hear that about your having to give up driving.

May I ask an off topic question? I see you have had a lot of Audis and live in Cambridge. I am thinking of using Cambridge AUDI for servicing my A3; have they been your dealer? If so how have you found them for servicing etc.
 
Richard46 said:
Sorry to hear that about your having to give up driving.

May I ask an off topic question? I see you have a lot of Audis and live in Cambridge. I am thinking of using Cambridge AUDI for servicing my A3; have they been your dealer? If so how have you found them for servicing etc.
Click to expand...
I have never used Cambridge Audi. All of my Audi and VW cars have come from what was Birch's Garage in Cambridge has now part part of the Vindis Group. All my A3 cars have been purchased from the same sales person at Huntingdon Audi. In each case all my VW/Audu cars have been serviced by the dealer from where they were purchased. Personally I have had excellent service from all the Vindis Group garages so I'm sure it will be the same with Cambridge Audi.
 
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S32B said:
If they are anything like my local one I'm surprised they aren't calling you back! I nipped into Cheshire Oaks Audi today and it was dead! As soon as I walked through the door "Do you need any help sir?". I asked to see the warranty guy expecting them to say he's busy you will need to make an appointment bla bla bla...yet he was with me in under 2 minutes!!! He came straight out to the car and looked at it, said "Do you want us to book it in and take the bumper off and spray it up?", I said "No thanks, a touch up stick will do if that's OK?". He went and got me one there and then :) Great service, but I did feel like making a comment when he handed me the touchup and said "That's your colour and there's also a primer in there before you put the colour on" :blink: I didn't tell him it's NOT a primer, it's a clear coat that goes on the top!! :blink:

I noticed last week that some paint has flaked off the inside front bumper, not a big deal but just annoying as it's on the drivers side and once you know it's there lol:

View attachment 180749 View attachment 180750 View attachment 180751
Click to expand...

I think it’s because it’s too early in my agreement to do a deal and I’ve said to them I’d only be interested if it’s almost too good to be true as preference is to move away from pcp.

Every time they've said there are some great deals etc etc but never hear back.

That is annoying re the bumper, hopefully it’ll come up nicely with the kit.

Not sure if it’s anyone’s on here but saw a really nice 19 plate A5 which I think was in turbo blue, that could be tempting.
 
GSB said:
In the words of Kate Bush & Peter Gabriel; Don’t give up...

If you are suffering with the foot swapping that’s required flipping from pedal to pedal all the time, can I suggest you consider electric? The new Nissan Leaf has an e-pedal function that means that it’ll operate either like any other electric or ICE car where the throttle pedal provides the ‘go’ and brake pedal provides the stopping force (with the computers deciding upon the proportioning of regenerative vs mechanical braking), OR, with e-pedal turned on, most of the time only one pedal is required to start, brake and stop the car. All you need to is lift your toe on the throttle pedal and the car will transition from power to brakes. You lift more to brake harder and modulate the braking force, and it’ll come to a complete stop, and hold position on hills without you ever touching the brake pedal.
Click to expand...

Personally if I cannot drive a petrol/diesel car as I have done for the last 50+ years the I think I would rather not drive at all. Also I have no wish to have any form of electric car. When they can do 400 miles on one 'fill-up' and recharge in 5 minutes then I might consider one. But by the time that arrives I will be long gone.
 
h5djr said:
Personally if I cannot drive a petrol/diesel car as I have done for the last 50+ years the I think I would rather not drive at all. Also I have no wish to have any form of electric car. When they can do 400 miles on one 'fill-up' and recharge in 5 minutes then I might consider one. But by the time that arrives I will be long gone.
Click to expand...
Take a look at Lexus mate, no need to plug them in at all! They charge as they go.

You could also use hand controls, or don't you fancy that?
 
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S32B said:
Take a look at Lexus mate, no need to plug them in at all! They charge as they go.

You could also use hand controls, or don't you fancy that?
Click to expand...
If they are good enough for Partridge....
 
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I came from a Mercedes A250 to the s3 saloon and I’m loving everything about it, only thing I wish I had was a bigger budget so I could of got a newer one!!
 
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Audi try and promote themselves as a 'premium' product but their dealers are just the same second rate dealers as their VW counterparts, premium prices for everything and second class service, only ever concerned with not honouring the warranty - the technical knowledge of their dealer staff is negligible, i really wish the S3 had more decent suspension....
 
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