Buying new?

Lannerz27

Lannerz27

A4 avant black edition white
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Evening guys
Been reading quite a few threads lately regarding people buying new vechies, putting the spec they want , colour etc which sounds unbelievable and maybe one day I might.
After taking nearly 3 months to find the Audi I wanted which was a a4 b8 black edition in white with all the toys just not nav but I don't use it.

I seen people saying how cheap the monthly payments are and the great deals Audi are doing could someone if they don't mind saying there rough payments a month? Or am I asking too much? I am paying £200 a month to have a 2012 with a good part ex on the old a3 and some cash down
 
Brand new S4 Saloon Black Edition [NAV] - Cash price £42,500 (with discount, RRP was about £46,500)
Deposit: £16,250 (£5,000 Audi Deposit Contribution)
Monthly: £112 for 36 months.
Final Payment: £20,000
 
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That does sound really good!
What's with the Audi contribution? Is it to get more cars on the road?
 
Lannerz27 said:
That does sound really good!
What's with the Audi contribution? Is it to get more cars on the road?
Click to expand...
Yes, the A4/S4 B8.5 was at the end of its production (no longer available to order) so big discounts and big contributions were available. The B9 has just hit the configurator and I doubt there will be any discount or contributions available for a while.
 
That's a shame maybe I should of bought new instead of looking for 3 months
 
Buying new and being able to spec your own car is a nice experience (just done it with the wife's Leon ST FR) but don't kid yourself that it will be cheaper. It's easy to get lost in the lure of a low monthly payment and forget things like the big balloon payment at the end of the term that you still need to stump up if you want to keep the car. New will virtually always still work out dearer than buying second hand even when dealer contributions / discounts etc are taken into account simply because it's starting at a higher value and so suffers more depreciation than a 2-3 year old car that's further down the depreciation curve over the same period. The only time that's perhaps not the case is when you need big finance on the second hand car and you get stung with a less competitive APR than being offered on the new one

I did the sums on a new S4 before I got mine and despite finding one being offered at ~28% discount, over 3 years it still worked out around £5-6k dearer than owning my 3 year old car outright. Mine's a better spec than the one I was being offered too (it was already in the system so spec was fixed), although obviously being new would mean no concerns / outlay for extended warranty etc so that would have offset that difference somewhat.
 
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audi upgrades
Well said @Locoblade i fully understand what your saying and when you put it into perspective like that I am glad I looked round for so long to get what I wanted as I paid a pretty penny for it, I sooner wait for something and not get stung at the end with a big bill but then like you said u get that excitement too. I gotta say though even picking up a motor of 2-3 years from a dealer or garage is exciting
 
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I was looking for a 3 year old S4 but all the ones available round me were in very poor condition and still top money. I bought new in the end just to solve that. The APR was cheaper on the loan but I settled the finance 3 months later anyway and kept the deposit contribution. Here's an example quote I got at the time. You'll note I didn't buy a white one in the end (though some days I wish I had). :)

Carwow
 
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Well done @scotty76 . Looks a cracking deal. Did you get ads or sports diff in the end?
 
TahirS said:
Well done @scotty76 . Looks a cracking deal. Did you get ads or sports diff in the end?
Click to expand...
Here's my final spec:

- S4 saloon in Phantom Black, Pearl Effect
- Audi Drive Select
- Quattro sports differential
- Hill Hold Assist
- Black styling pack
- 3 spoke flat bottom steering wheel
- Parking system plus
- Year 4 warranty
 
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scotty76 said:
Here's my final spec:

- S4 saloon in Phantom Black, Pearl Effect
- Audi Drive Select
- Quattro sports differential
- Hill Hold Assist
- Black styling pack
- 3 spoke flat bottom steering wheel
- Parking system plus
- Year 4 warranty
Click to expand...
Wise not to get the sss, they take up so much space, I'm only 5'11 but the space behind me is embarrassing for a car this size. That's a lovely spec, mines the same colour-keeps auto glym in business....
 
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:grin::grin:
scotty76 said:
Here's my final spec:

- S4 saloon in Phantom Black, Pearl Effect
- Audi Drive Select
- Quattro sports differential
- Hill Hold Assist
- Black styling pack
- 3 spoke flat bottom steering wheel
- Parking system plus
- Year 4 warranty
Click to expand...
That's one thing I would of liked is a flat bottom steering wheel but couldn't find one on the car when looking but then I could buy one for £500 ( I think I will stick with the one I have )
 
audi upgrades
Lannerz27 said:
:grin::grin:
That's one thing I would of liked is a flat bottom steering wheel but couldn't find one on the car when looking but then I could buy one for £500 ( I think I will stick with the one I have )
Click to expand...

Looking at my order form it was a £100 option which seems like a good deal.
 
Lannerz27 said:
:grin::grin:
That's one thing I would of liked is a flat bottom steering wheel but couldn't find one on the car when looking but then I could buy one for £500 ( I think I will stick with the one I have )
Click to expand...
Standard on mine cos it's the Black Edition :)
 
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TahirS said:
Wise not to get the sss, they take up so much space, I'm only 5'11 but the space behind me is embarrassing for a car this size. That's a lovely spec, mines the same colour-keeps auto glym in business....
Click to expand...
I'm 6'2", and have supersports. Don't care about rear legroom as there's only the dog sat behind me. :)
 
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The balloon payment at the end and the equity you have after 3 years put me off.
With the deposit I had (£6,000) I could of paid similar payments on a 2012 BE to a new 2015 BE but after 42 months the 2012 would be all mine and have, at a guess, £6,000 of equity in it. But the 2015 would have an outstanding balance of £16,000 to pay or about £2,000 equity to trade on.
I went for the 2012 as I wanted £0 payment after 3 years.
Yes you can throw in a big deposit to drive the monthly payment down but you still end up with little equity at the end of the term.

That said it all changed for me after I drove an S4. Hence the 2012 went back to Audi and was replaced with an older 2010 S4 on similar mileage and higher spec everything ;)

It works for some people to run a PCP but it's really only a lease if you trade every 3 years, or so.
 
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Lannerz27 said:
:grin::grin:
That's one thing I would of liked is a flat bottom steering wheel but couldn't find one on the car when looking but then I could buy one for £500 ( I think I will stick with the one I have )
Click to expand...

Check out Ebay there's a vehicle trimmer in Poland that can supply a wheel modified to flat bottom and thickened rim with leather and stitch colours to your spec for less than £250. Check out my S4 thread for details.
 
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Scott.T said:
It works for some people to run a PCP but it's really only a lease if you trade every 3 years, or so.
Click to expand...

Totally agree @Scott.T I think PCP is a mill some people get trapped on. Once the excitement passed and I crunched the numbers I realised it was better to buy the car outright and aim to keep the car for a good long time to avoid the depreciation hit*. It remains to see if I can do this but I feel happier that I own the car and can release the equity by selling it again. On PCP it's the dealer that always wins IMHO.

(* I'm currently on a 4 year car swap cycle so ask me in 3 years if this plan worked :) )
 
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scotty76 said:
Totally agree @Scott.T I think PCP is a mill some people get trapped on. Once the excitement passed and I crunched the numbers I realised it was better to buy the car outright and aim to keep the car for a good long time to avoid the depreciation hit*. It remains to see if I can do this but I feel happier that I own the car and can release the equity by selling it again. On PCP it's the dealer that always wins IMHO.

(* I'm currently on a 4 year car swap cycle so ask me in 3 years if this plan worked :) )
Click to expand...
That's pretty much my thinking. I've spent my life buying 3-year old cars for cash that were almost but not quite what I wanted. I always said I'd never buy a new car because of the depreciation hit, and my strategy has definitely allowed me to get some decent motors for reasonable money.

But earlier this year, I found myself in a very good position financially. I weighed up the pros and cons of ordering exactly what I wanted and being the first person to drive it, and decided it was time. Like @scotty76, my plan is to keep it past the end of the PCP, and the money for the balloon payment is already in place.
 
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scotty76 said:
Totally agree @Scott.T I think PCP is a mill some people get trapped on. Once the excitement passed and I crunched the numbers I realised it was better to buy the car outright and aim to keep the car for a good long time to avoid the depreciation hit*. It remains to see if I can do this but I feel happier that I own the car and can release the equity by selling it again. On PCP it's the dealer that always wins IMHO.

(* I'm currently on a 4 year car swap cycle so ask me in 3 years if this plan worked :) )
Click to expand...

APR % is also alot better at places like Nationwide compared against Audi Finance, if buying nearly new.
Audi want you in a new car for their financial gain and sales figures, not one of their nearly new.
Hence the PCP monthly payment on a £30,000 car will look very attractive compared to a PCP on an £18,000 2-3 year old one.
But do the maths on a Nationwide loan against the £18,000 2-3 year old car and you will find that it will be paid for over the same period and have no Balloon to worry about.

The other tip is to take the finance to get the benefit i.e the deposit contribution, or in my case on the S4 2 years free servicing. Then pay it off in 3 months with your own finance arrangements.
 
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Scott.T said:
The other tip is to take the finance to get the benefit i.e the deposit contribution, or in my case on the S4 2 years free servicing. Then pay it off in 3 months with your own finance arrangements.
Click to expand...

Which is exactly what I did. :) Top tip.
 
jdp1962 said:
my plan is to keep it past the end of the PCP, and the money for the balloon payment is already in place.
Click to expand...
@jdp1962 - If the balloon money is available then why not pay off the finance and source your own finance to cover the gap rather then pay Audi's APR %. You could knock quite a few ££££ off your monthly payment.
 
Scott.T said:
@jdp1962 - If the balloon money is available then why not pay off the finance and source your own finance to cover the gap rather then pay Audi's APR %. You could knock quite a few ££££ off your monthly payment.
Click to expand...
I've looked at that. My APR is pretty good already, plus I'm earning good interest on the money I'm holding. There is a slight interest cost, but that's the opportunity cost of having the savings available for other purposes if I need it in an emergency.
 
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jdp1962 said:
I've looked at that. My APR is pretty good already, plus I'm earning good interest on the money I'm holding. There is a slight interest cost, but that's the opportunity cost of having the savings available for other purposes if I need it in an emergency.
Click to expand...
Agree, always good to have back up emergency funds i.e incase the right RS4 turns up ;)
 
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I think the point here is that @Scott.T, @scotty76 and I have all figured out different ways to buy our cars thst suit our own circumstances, and they all work.
 
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Lannerz27 said:
:grin::grin:
That's one thing I would of liked is a flat bottom steering wheel but couldn't find one on the car when looking but then I could buy one for £500 ( I think I will stick with the one I have )
Click to expand...

Personally I really don't like it, definitely form over function!

I get on fine with the flat bottomed wheel in the wife's new SEAT Leon but the flat bit on the S4 wheel is too big IMHO, to the point when you're turning tight corners or pulling out of a junction and need another handful of lock, the flat bit means the wheel rim isn't where your hand expects it to be and you often end up half grabbing and half missing the wheel.

If anyone has a B8.5 S4 round wheel in good condition that wants to pop down to Hampshire and swap I may be open to persuasion! :D
 
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Locoblade said:
Personally I really don't like it, definitely form over function!

I get on fine with the flat bottomed wheel in the wife's new SEAT Leon but the flat bit on the S4 wheel is too big IMHO, to the point when you're turning tight corners or pulling out of a junction and need another handful of lock, the flat bit means the wheel rim isn't where your hand expects it to be and you often end up half grabbing and half missing the wheel.

If anyone has a B8.5 S4 round wheel in good condition that wants to pop down to Hampshire and swap I may be open to persuasion! :D
Click to expand...
@Lannerz27, meet @Locoblade :)
 
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Is it wrong that I got the flat bottomed wheel because I like the flappy paddles better on it?
 
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