Can't decide what colour to pick - black or white! Question regarding Audi paint...

[rev]

Hi folks,

I'm just looking at ordering an A3 Sport 1.6d and for the life of me I can't pick between the last two colours and I'm after a bit of help please.

I'm looking at either Ibis White or Phantom Black - I've scoured the net for pics and as soon as I think I've made a decision I find a pic that sways me in the other direction! This really is going to come down to flipping a coin so I can get the order in!

Anyway, I just wondered what the Audi paint quality is like on the blacks, ie how's the orange peel effect on the Phantom Black and how easily does it chip?

I've seen various mentions on the net of folks in the USA having to touch up their Phantom Black cars with stone chips - just wondered how it fares up in the good old UK with our weather? I've currently got a black car and it looks amazing when it's been polished up but it's a flat black (Toyota Aristo) but it can look bad very quickly!

I thought the white was rare but just pulled up a statistic saying that something like 60% of the new orders for the S3 are in Ibis White?! So Phantom Black would actually be rare (except in our work car park where everyone is ordering that!!!)

Thanks in advance for any pointers

 

[A3simon]

Ibis white as it easier to keep looking good as swirls as so on dont show up. Black is a nightmare as everything shows but i guess you know that

any excuse to post these pics

white can look like this

 

[N8]

Prefer white as well.

 

[rev]

That car has got elastic bands on instead of tyres

I've never had a white car, which is what is making me think of going down that route, the current one is black with black alloys, that's why I'm thinking a change could be good!

 

[Spin140]

White is the colour of choice at the moment, I had my first white car (pictured above) last year and have to say I was really impressed with how easy it was to keep clean, no swirls etc and a real head turner with far more comments than my current Phantom S3 which came with swirl marks from new, the joys of a black car.

No issues with paint chipping etc and I've had 3 Phantom Blacks to date.

It's a tough one but as you have Black now I'd vote Ibis plus you save £500 to use on an alloy upgrade.

 

[rev]

Thanks for that, it sounds like the clearcoat is pretty soft on the black then?

It's actually a company car, and we get a free metallic paint upgrade as I guess it's worth their while as they'll usually get more back at the end of the lease.

I've got to admit options wise I've gone for the Adaptive Xenons and the stereo and speaker upgrades - I'm tempted by that light pack but can't find any pics of whether they're just all interior lights or also external like the BMW have on the handles etc? I guess as it's called the Interior Light Pack it literally is just what it says on the tin - and seems pretty expensive for a few bulbs in the car?!

 

[rev]

Just found the stuff about the interior light pack here :

http://www.audi-sport.net/vb/showth...r-Lighting-Pack&highlight=interior+light+pack

 

[aristides]

Go for white, i got a Phantom Black A3 and it`s a pain in the a@@ to keep it clean!!!

Looks stunning , but 99% of the time dirty

 

[thebott]

i have a Phantom Black s3 which looks amazing when cleaned but one outing in poor weather and it looks totally manky , next s3 will be ibis i think

 

[Sarah's A3]

Definately white!!! Dont be put off by statistics. I've had both black and white cars and white are far better. Blacks are awsome when clean and polished but hey we live in Britain and one short trip and they are filthy! White looks fantastic with black trim and tints (or privacy)....go on, choose white! you will love it!

 

[RB84]

I had this exact same problem and in the end I grew some balls and chose Ibis to be a bit different. A few people on here gave me the confidence and I did it.

Ibis A3 3 door Black Edition will be mine in May! You won't regret it mate

 

[h5djr]

You could also consider Ice Silver. No where near as many Silver As around these days. Most are Black. I've had Black in the past but my last few As have been Silver and it's a colour that always looks good, even when it's dirty. It's also one of the easiest colours to clean and keep looking good. Black and White are opposite ends of the colour spectrum and both can look OK when the car is nice and clean but both tend not to look so good when the car is even a little dirty.

 

[JCMCN]

I've just bought a new Phantom Black A3 Sport-Sportback, looked amazing when I picked it up from Audi. 10 miles up the road and it looked like it was queing for it's pension (old and dirty!!) now every time i walk past it and smile it scratches!! I know I'm ugly but to be insulted by a car is something else. The swirls look like crop circles and I've only washed it once. I also fitted mud flaps right away which in no doubt helped keep it cleanish.
I've had black Golfs in the past and the paint work seemed less easy to scratch. I think whats worse is that under that coat of black is 'White' which is even more crazy as it shows up the scratches, swirls and stone chips even more.
Suppose you could say behind every black A3 hides an 'Ibis'

 

[smudge_don]

Be different and get purple

Saw an S3 in this recently and it was lush!

 

[flying oyster]

would look nice on your wheels smudge

 

[A3Bash]

Why not go for the orange?? But between white & black I'd take the white....the phantom black will be hard to keep up!

 

[rev]

Well I went for the Ibis in the end Saying that it looks like the lease provider have royally cocked up so I've got to wait and see if I can still order this or not

Fingers crossed anyway but we shall see what they say tomorrow but thanks again for the input - have to admit on the way home I saw a few of the different colours - I do like the red and the blue too - I think white will be good as I've never had a white car! Then after this I fancy a red or a blue one so we shall see what's about then!

That purple is seriously nice, but as it's a company car and due to the way they tax it etc I wouldn't be allowed to spend the extra to get that colour - shame!

 

[phil_w]

Nice one going for white - I'm also having a nightmare with my 4 month old Phantom Black A3 - scratches and swirl marks everywhere and stone chips all over the bonnet - wish I'd plumped for the white or red!

 

[Xerohour]

You've done the right thing...

I have experiance with both as i ordginally ordered Phantom and lucky audi damaged the paint. This meant i had a phantom balck for 4 months and then got a replacement which i swapped to ibis...

Havent looked back! Enjoy your new car!

 

[S3RYE]

PLEASE GET IBIS! I LOVE MY S3 SO MUCH BUT HONESTLY I WOULD SWAP IT TOMORROW FOR AN IBIS, PURELY CAUSE THE PAINTS SO SHI* SWIRLS EVERYWHERE, CHIPS EVERYWHERE AND IVE SPENT £400+ GETTIN IT DETAILED AND GUESS WHAT 3 WASHES LATER IT WAS BACK TO SHI*

WHEN ITS CLEAN AND NEW ITS AN AMAZING COLOUR BUT JUST NOT WORTH THE AGRO!!!

 

[Esox Mark]

It's a really personal thing of course, but I think the S3 in Ibis White is the best colour for the car - really it suits the S3 so much and looks awesome, which is why I went for Ibis of course - my second choice was silver, then red. Dark colours on the S3 look too understated IMO - it's hard to even spot an S3 in black or grey... and as has been said, take a lot of maintenance and care to avoid swirl marks and scratches. White and Silvers are much easier to maintain. Yellow or orange look great in the showroom, but after a few months on the driveway, I'm not so sure. That bright green (don't know the name Audi give it) - just don't go there! Saw an R8 in that colour and thought yuk, then I saw an S3 and though OMG double yuk!!! A work colleague has a TTS in Solar and he's regretting it now! Too many 'you've been tangoed' jokes perhaps! Personally I rather like it!

 

[tku]

Just get Ibis please...I have a phantom black and really don't want to see another black one on the road....However, when she is polished and waxed she does look stunning.

 

[a3rick]

I've just ordered mine in white only because I think it looks great.

 

[mattandrew]

Heres a few of mine to help you decide

 

[rev]

That's very nice indeed mate! Bit of a drop there though - that's mad it's just off springs!

The Aristo is on coils but I've kept the ride height fairly high as it's a big car and going too low would just kick the backend out constantly, plus the custom exhaust system sits pretty low so would just catch way too much stuff!

This is the other motor anyway - might as well sneak in a cheeky pic

Black is ace clean, in that last pic you can see how much crap was picked up by the wheels in just a five mile journey!!

Hopefully will get confirmation of the order next week - we shall see but fingers crossed