No answer from Audi!!!

[S32B]

So before christmas I had a call and two emails asking me if I wanted to book in for a test drive of the new Q3, I politely declined and said I'm not looking to change for at least 12 month. On Monday I received another email:

"Afternoon Steve,

Now that Christmas and New Year celebrations feel like a distant memory I was wondering if you would like to book a test drive in the new Q3? I have a TFSI Automatic S-Line on the demo fleet.

Kind Regards"

With a big sigh and a thought of ***, I decided to let them know my thoughts


Hi ***** and thanks for the email, it's much appreciated. I'll apologise now for the long email, but I think it's important that you/Audi understand my thoughts!

I'll be honest with you, at this point in time I'm starting to be put off buying another Audi and I'm thinking of going down the lease route or even looking at another brand for pcp, so I don't want to waste your time with a test drive of any Audi at this moment in time!

The reason: I've had a few conversations with friends, all have Audi's on PCP and all over 3 years. One of the guys mentioned that his is up this year and he's been on the Audi website, he selected his car/spec, adjusted the figure so that the 'Total amount of credit' was the same as his current deal, to get the same car for the same monthly payments he would now have to do it over 48 months, rather than the current 36.

We all did the same and we all came back with the same results! For us the idea of a pcp is for over 3 years so you don't have the worry of MOT's, cars out of warranty etc. we don't want to go to 48 month deals. The only reason we can see for this is that Audi are lowering the optional final payment amount with the hope of people having more equity in the car at the end....or the prices have just bombed out!?!

I only ever put £1,000 down and say I'll pay up to £400 per month, this has got me an S3 3 door and the A5 coupe s-line 2.0 petrol s-tronic. For me to get the same car again with the same 'total amount of credit' on a lower APR% over the same term it would be £42 more, that's a big jump for the same car and one I wouldn't do!

Example of a lease deal I saw today, a £30k Seat Leon Hatchback 2.0 TSI 290 Cupra [EZ] 5dr DSG it comes in at £800 deposit and then £280 per month over 24 months with 8,000 miles per year.

Now compare that with a basic £18.5k A1 using the same deposit/term:

I've not heard a single thing from them since

 

[Daz4311]

Love it..im seriously thinking of keeping mine 2 more years...handing it back...then getting a mini cooper s ....or something similar

 

[Adam14]

Great post, make a very valid point in regards to the length of the contract, mine is 4 years and although only just over 1 year in - wouldn't want another contract this long again.

 

[wab172uk]

When you say no, they don't forget about you. You go on their `no for now` list.

The hope is that you give in, go for a test drive, like the car, and want one.

I doubt they even bothered to read the whole of your email.

 

[Kondax]

Would've taken the Q3 on the test drive just to burn their petrol

 

[S32B]

When you say no, they don't forget about you. You go on their `no for now` list.

The hope is that you give in, go for a test drive, like the car, and want one.

I doubt they even bothered to read the whole of your email.

lol not at their prices!

Manual, smallest engine in sport spec £418 over 36 months:

 

[Bristle Hound]

So before christmas I had a call and two emails asking me if I wanted to book in for a test drive of the new Q3, I politely declined and said I'm not looking to change for at least 12 month. On Monday I received another email:

"Afternoon Steve,

Now that Christmas and New Year celebrations feel like a distant memory I was wondering if you would like to book a test drive in the new Q3? I have a TFSI Automatic S-Line on the demo fleet.

Kind Regards"

With a big sigh and a thought of ***, I decided to let them know my thoughts


Hi ***** and thanks for the email, it's much appreciated. I'll apologise now for the long email, but I think it's important that you/Audi understand my thoughts!

I'll be honest with you, at this point in time I'm starting to be put off buying another Audi and I'm thinking of going down the lease route or even looking at another brand for pcp, so I don't want to waste your time with a test drive of any Audi at this moment in time!

The reason: I've had a few conversations with friends, all have Audi's on PCP and all over 3 years. One of the guys mentioned that his is up this year and he's been on the Audi website, he selected his car/spec, adjusted the figure so that the 'Total amount of credit' was the same as his current deal, to get the same car for the same monthly payments he would now have to do it over 48 months, rather than the current 36.

We all did the same and we all came back with the same results! For us the idea of a pcp is for over 3 years so you don't have the worry of MOT's, cars out of warranty etc. we don't want to go to 48 month deals. The only reason we can see for this is that Audi are lowering the optional final payment amount with the hope of people having more equity in the car at the end....or the prices have just bombed out!?!

I only ever put £1,000 down and say I'll pay up to £400 per month, this has got me an S3 3 door and the A5 coupe s-line 2.0 petrol s-tronic. For me to get the same car again with the same 'total amount of credit' on a lower APR% over the same term it would be £42 more, that's a big jump for the same car and one I wouldn't do!

Example of a lease deal I saw today, a £30k Seat Leon Hatchback 2.0 TSI 290 Cupra [EZ] 5dr DSG it comes in at £800 deposit and then £280 per month over 24 months with 8,000 miles per year.

Now compare that with a basic £18.5k A1 using the same deposit/term:
View attachment 174205



I've not heard a single thing from them since

@S32B - Interesting ...
It will be interesting to see whether you get any reply TBH

At least some people may now appreciate why I went down the PCH Cupra route
PS I got lucky with my PCH deal
1+23 (no deposit) £249/month incl VAT 8000 miles/year
Oh & I got the now rare 300 Cupra with a manual GB

 

[AlS3BE]

@S32B - Interesting ...
It will be interesting to see whether you get any reply TBH

At least some people may now appreciate why I went down the PCH Cupra route
PS I got lucky with my PCH deal
1+23 (no deposit) £249/month incl VAT 8000 miles/year
Oh & I got the now rare 300 Cupra with a manual GB

Saw a similar deal on the 290 Cupra after I bought the s3. I reckon if I saw that first I would have got the cupra instead.

 

[MikeParkin]

That’s why I just kept my car and will keep it for a long while yet.

Ridiculous what there asking for cars now!

 

[Daveotto]

@S32B nice considered email but ..........

I would not have bothered both contacts were speculative one at an Audi U.K. or franchise level sent to 1000’s the second at a dealership level sent to maybe 50-100 potential customers.

You won’t get a reply at most your mail will just raise a chuckle in the showroom as it’s shared round the office while they all sit on there backsides not selling cars and wondering if they will have jobs in 6 months.

Car industry in general is in decline and sales on every marquee are down for at least 2nd year running.

 

[msdmjb]

Let us not forget in general the buying market has created this - simple but clever economics.
Many people including on here I think have spent far too much on small generic hatchbacks albeit some with powerful engines, this has encouraged the manufacturers to rather than reduce the prices by efficiencies and has instead convinced manufacturers that people will pay for more providing they get more even if underneath the car is nigh on the same.

Some S3s when I was buying mine easily went for 40k+, loads of RS3 went for 50k+.........makes genuinely premium motors like Cayman's seem good value.

Prices now are nonsense across perceived quality manufacturers for mainstream e.g. BMW/Audi/Merc. Look at the price of an A1, look at the price increases over 4 years for S3, find me a decent 3dr fast hatch less than 30k..........in reality the only one you would want would be the Fiesta ST and that would run rings around most cars.

Had my 35k mile S3 nearly 5years, it is reliable/efficient/fast enough so why on earth would I consider changing it other than chasing some internal warm cuddly feeling cause I bought a new car. UK average salary is what 25-30k, a years work to buy an A1.........jeesh, I would give it all up now. I buy outright and not PCP so price increases are more obvious than it is only another £x/month.

Man, i sound so middle aged

p.s. that Cupra deal was and still is incredible.

 

[Evil Derboy]

The figures on the website bear no relation to what is achieveable at the dealer. I wouldn’t have replied either to your email either. The guys looking for a sales opportunity not to start fending off customers on a rant.

 

[NevMan]

lol not at their prices!

Manual, smallest engine in sport spec £418 over 36 months:
View attachment 174247

That is a joke. As you said I. Your post, can get a top spec and high powered seat for half that!

 

[NevMan]

@S32B - Interesting ...
It will be interesting to see whether you get any reply TBH

At least some people may now appreciate why I went down the PCH Cupra route
PS I got lucky with my PCH deal
1+23 (no deposit) £249/month incl VAT 8000 miles/year
Oh & I got the now rare 300 Cupra with a manual GB

That was a cracking deal @Bristle Hound, and you jumped at the right time. My 2018 Q5 costs less than the above A1, admittedly it is I’ve 4 years with a decent deposit. But have some time to decide on next car, but the likely options for me will be in below order:

a) used car
b) lease
c) buy Q5
d) pcp

 

[NevMan]

@S32B nice considered email but ..........

I would not have bothered both contacts were speculative one at an Audi U.K. or franchise level sent to 1000’s the second at a dealership level sent to maybe 50-100 potential customers.

You won’t get a reply at most your mail will just raise a chuckle in the showroom as it’s shared round the office while they all sit on there backsides not selling cars and wondering if they will have jobs in 6 months.

Car industry in general is in decline and sales on every marquee are down for at least 2nd year running.

Well said and very true. Still enjoying your cayman S @Daveotto ?

 

[NevMan]

Let us not forget in general the buying market has created this - simple but clever economics.
Many people including on here I think have spent far too much on small generic hatchbacks albeit some with powerful engines, this has encouraged the manufacturers to rather than reduce the prices by efficiencies and has instead convinced manufacturers that people will pay for more providing they get more even if underneath the car is nigh on the same.

Some S3s when I was buying mine easily went for 40k+, loads of RS3 went for 50k+.........makes genuinely premium motors like Cayman's seem good value.

Prices now are nonsense across perceived quality manufacturers for mainstream e.g. BMW/Audi/Merc. Look at the price of an A1, look at the price increases over 4 years for S3, find me a decent 3dr fast hatch less than 30k..........in reality the only one you would want would be the Fiesta ST and that would run rings around most cars.

Had my 35k mile S3 nearly 5years, it is reliable/efficient/fast enough so why on earth would I consider changing it other than chasing some internal warm cuddly feeling cause I bought a new car. UK average salary is what 25-30k, a years work to buy an A1.........jeesh, I would give it all up now. I buy outright and not PCP so price increases are more obvious than it is only another £x/month.

Man, i sound so middle aged

p.s. that Cupra deal was and still is incredible.

Or a JCW

 

[Daveotto]

Well said and very true. Still enjoying your cayman S @Daveotto ?

Best cash purchase I ever made

Except for the drink I bought a Canadian blonde in Shoredtich some years ago, but that's another story

 

[Damo S]

Even their interest rate is fairly ridiculous: 5.9% on what is effectively a secured loan when I'm currently being offered unsecured personal loans at just 3.0%.
I'm not sure Id buy another Audi again either. They look great on paper but otherwise Audi simply dont care about their customers or the reliability of their vehicles, which lets face it, has gone down the toilet. Call me cynical but I believe the reason they dont care about reliability is because they want people to buy into their lease deals instead of risking 20 grand on a 3 /4 /5 year old 2nd hand car that is likely to be a bag of tripe.

You would be mad to lease for 4 years, as the 4th year "extended warranty" isnt worth the paper its written on, and when something goes wrong it can take forever to get fixed because diagnostic process is different to the 3 year warranty.

 

[S32B]

The guys looking for a sales opportunity not to start fending off customers on a rant.

Granted, but I'd already told him 3 times before Christmas that I wasn't interested! So he deserved a rant

The figures on the website bear no relation to what is achieveable at the dealer.

Yep you are right, I was being too generous I just got a carwow quote from 5 Audi dealerships, this was the best quote for the Q3 in sport spec with the manual box, 6.9% discount:

Throw in a £1,000 deposit, that will leave you with £27,636 as the 'total amount of credit', adjust what you can to reflect that figure:

£460 per month!!! You can't argue with what is in B&W!

That's £72 more than my A5 coupe is costing me with the same deposit.

 

[S32B]

@S32B nice considered email but ..........

I would not have bothered both contacts were speculative one at an Audi U.K. or franchise level sent to 1000’s the second at a dealership level sent to maybe 50-100 potential customers.

You won’t get a reply at most your mail will just raise a chuckle in the showroom as it’s shared round the office while they all sit on there backsides not selling cars and wondering if they will have jobs in 6 months.

Car industry in general is in decline and sales on every marquee are down for at least 2nd year running.

You are probably right, just hope he gets the message to leave me alone

As for vehicle sales, the group I work for had an increase of just under 7% in 2018 across the entire group, so not all doom and gloom We are now making £1,000,000 a day in our plant after big changes! For the last 20 years we were making nothing!

 

[msdmjb]

You would be mad to lease for 4 years, as the 4th year "extended warranty" isnt worth the paper its written on, and when something goes wrong it can take forever to get fixed because diagnostic process is different to the 3 year warranty.

My 5yr warranty is still live and got the haldex pump replaced no worries within year4..........do you get a different warranty with a PCP?
If you buy the extended at the time of purchase it is the manufacturers being extended so should be no difference.

IMHO more people should buy what they want and keep it longer, modern cars when maintained properly last for ages. 100k miles on a modern car and engine easy. 350bhp and slightly different looking headlights/front grill don't get you much further down the road than 300bhp.

 

[S32B]

IMHO more people should buy what they want and keep it longer, modern cars when maintained properly last for ages. 100k miles on a modern car and engine easy. 350bhp and slightly different looking headlights/front grill don't get you much further down the road than 300bhp.

lol I just spoke to a member on here and said I may do that next time, buy the 5 year warranty and keep it 5 years, I'm down to around 4,000 mile per year now, so I'd be unlucky for anything big to go in 5 years/20,000

 

[wab172uk]

Let us not forget in general the buying market has created this - simple but clever economics.
Many people including on here I think have spent far too much on small generic hatchbacks albeit some with powerful engines, this has encouraged the manufacturers to rather than reduce the prices by efficiencies and has instead convinced manufacturers that people will pay for more providing they get more even if underneath the car is nigh on the same.

Some S3s when I was buying mine easily went for 40k+, loads of RS3 went for 50k+.........makes genuinely premium motors like Cayman's seem good value.

Prices now are nonsense across perceived quality manufacturers for mainstream e.g. BMW/Audi/Merc. Look at the price of an A1, look at the price increases over 4 years for S3, find me a decent 3dr fast hatch less than 30k..........in reality the only one you would want would be the Fiesta ST and that would run rings around most cars.

Had my 35k mile S3 nearly 5years, it is reliable/efficient/fast enough so why on earth would I consider changing it other than chasing some internal warm cuddly feeling cause I bought a new car. UK average salary is what 25-30k, a years work to buy an A1.........jeesh, I would give it all up now. I buy outright and not PCP so price increases are more obvious than it is only another £x/month.

Man, i sound so middle aged

p.s. that Cupra deal was and still is incredible.

This is my exact position and thoughts. S3 coming up to 4 years old in March. Prices are so high now, that I'm just going to extend the warranty for another year, then see from there. The only other car I would want right now is a Fiesta ST.

 

[Martinbanshee]

I’m keeping my S3 for another few years as it’s still a great car and now mine, then I’m going the BEV route.
I won’t be doing PCP again either.

 

[S32B]

then I’m going the BEV route.

It's been a long day, BEV???

 

[Kondax]

It's been a long day, BEV???

Electric car

 

[Flying Scotsman]

I purchased my 2017 S3 with a large deposit of 65% and the balance at 1.5% interest over 4 years just to maintain a healthy credit rating. The car comes with a Canadian warranty of 4 years. I also purchased a 4 year annual service plan for about 475 quid, which includes haldex and brake fluid service.
To be dead honest I am very happy with the S3 and nothing available today floats my boat. I may well keep it for 5-6 years.
PCP and other short term financing deals make no sense to me, especially 2 year deals which keep you in constant debt.

 

[Jcbmally]

Except for the drink I bought a Canadian blonde in Shoredtich some years ago, but that's another story

Sod new car deals, I want to hear all about the Canadian

 

[NevMan]

Sod new car deals, I want to hear all about the Canadian

And me

 

[Martinbanshee]

It's been a long day, BEV???

BEV: Battery Electric Vehicle
PHEV: Plugin Hybrid Electric Vehicle
HEV: Hybrid Electric Vehicle

All the big manufacturers are quickly ramping up for EVs, they’ve already bought supplies of battery resources and are building factories for mass production.

 

[Damo S]

My 5yr warranty is still live and got the haldex pump replaced no worries within year4..........do you get a different warranty with a PCP?
If you buy the extended at the time of purchase it is the manufacturers being extended so should be no difference..

Yes the extended warranty on paper is just a continuation of the manufacturers warranty, but the process (so I am told) is different. Under the manufactures warranty the franchises can do what they please in terms if diagnosis and repair. Under the extended every diagnostic step has to be done following the guidance of the extended warranty provider (whoever that is, perhaps a separate branch of audi) and every detail is scrutinised by them. The result is a very slow process to get to a diagnosis when its a weird problem, and with the option of the franchise turning around and saying that dont think its worth making a claim and then sending you the bill. This is because if they claim and its rejected by the warranty company the franchise may be audited and potentially fined for making what may be considered a "dubious" claim. The bigger the claim in terms of value then the more scrutiny is applied by the warranty provider.

If this is true it all stinks to high heaven. I doubt you'd have a problem with trivial small value items but when its a potentially expensive, when you really need it, they will do whatever they can to avoid paying up. The slightest mod, for example, no matter how trivial it may seem will count heavily against your chances.

 

[msdmjb]

^^ totally agree.
I reckon within 5years the landscape for cars will have completely changed as the big boys come into the EV market place, last thing I will be doing is throwing a load of cash at a new powerful internal combustion engine just as the world changes.......think of the residuals in a further 3-5years time.
Not too bad a compromise in keeping a reliable 5yr old stage1 S3 on the drive.

 

[msdmjb]

re: warranty.
Don't think we are talking the same thing.
My extended warranty was bought at the time of order, it is a continuation of the manufacturers warranty and therefore there is no extended warranty provider per se. My S3 was bought in the UK ordered through an Audi dealer, within 3 weeks car was exported to the EU, 5year warranty carried over as EU wide and no issues at all with my recent £400 warranty claim on the haldex in France. I think somebody is telling you of a scenario without perhaps the full story as I was treated just the same as if the car was brand new (i.e. car broke, Audi dealer found problem, car fixed, happy customer), i can only be positive in my dealings of a warranty claim within the last year of the 5yr warranty.
Regardless of scale or age every dealer should be scrutinising the car for non OE parts.

 

[Damo S]

You might be right. Perhaps there is a difference between an extended warranty at time of purchase when new, and the extended warranty provided with an audi approved second hand car.
The story is mine, unfortunately. A rogue bolt which somehow ended up in the head and damaged the exhaust cam, resulting in a diagnostic / repair bill of 4 grand which is currently being thrown at me. Its a complicated matter which is likely to end up in court as things stand.

 

[S1Pete]

So before christmas I had a call and two emails asking me if I wanted to book in for a test drive of the new Q3, I politely declined and said I'm not looking to change for at least 12 month. On Monday I received another email:

"Afternoon Steve,

Now that Christmas and New Year celebrations feel like a distant memory I was wondering if you would like to book a test drive in the new Q3? I have a TFSI Automatic S-Line on the demo fleet.

Kind Regards"

With a big sigh and a thought of ***, I decided to let them know my thoughts


Hi ***** and thanks for the email, it's much appreciated. I'll apologise now for the long email, but I think it's important that you/Audi understand my thoughts!

I'll be honest with you, at this point in time I'm starting to be put off buying another Audi and I'm thinking of going down the lease route or even looking at another brand for pcp, so I don't want to waste your time with a test drive of any Audi at this moment in time!

The reason: I've had a few conversations with friends, all have Audi's on PCP and all over 3 years. One of the guys mentioned that his is up this year and he's been on the Audi website, he selected his car/spec, adjusted the figure so that the 'Total amount of credit' was the same as his current deal, to get the same car for the same monthly payments he would now have to do it over 48 months, rather than the current 36.

We all did the same and we all came back with the same results! For us the idea of a pcp is for over 3 years so you don't have the worry of MOT's, cars out of warranty etc. we don't want to go to 48 month deals. The only reason we can see for this is that Audi are lowering the optional final payment amount with the hope of people having more equity in the car at the end....or the prices have just bombed out!?!

I only ever put £1,000 down and say I'll pay up to £400 per month, this has got me an S3 3 door and the A5 coupe s-line 2.0 petrol s-tronic. For me to get the same car again with the same 'total amount of credit' on a lower APR% over the same term it would be £42 more, that's a big jump for the same car and one I wouldn't do!

Example of a lease deal I saw today, a £30k Seat Leon Hatchback 2.0 TSI 290 Cupra [EZ] 5dr DSG it comes in at £800 deposit and then £280 per month over 24 months with 8,000 miles per year.

Now compare that with a basic £18.5k A1 using the same deposit/term:
View attachment 174205



I've not heard a single thing from them since

Send it on to Head Office -