Audi owners in here!

nearly new car time at last

best I can find so far is :

2013 A3 SE 1.6 TDI
31k with sat nav
£15000 (more comfortably in budget)

or

2013 A3 S-line 1.4 TSI COD
35k no extra extras
£18500 (my max budget)

think my milage will be about 15-20k a year
plan is to keep this and get 10 years out of it

obvously the sline is nicer, and people rate the 1.4 petrol over the 1.6d
but:

1) are the extras; xenon bulbs / 18" tyres etc going to kill me in running costs?
2) will my not small milage cost be tons in fuel over the TDI?
3) is the sline suspension / big wheels ride harsh?
4) is the sline worth the extra cost over the cheaper one?
5) am i right in that the 1.4 is chain and 1.6 a belt? when do i change them and is one better / cheaper to sort / last longer than the other?
5) bascially should i be sensible (1.6 se) or get something more exciting (1.4 tsi)

*the £30 car tax difference is small enough that it doesnt matter really
 
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I'd want the one with more kit, you spend your time in the car, not looking at the fact that it has an S Line badge on it ;)

Neither are particularly exciting, don't kid yourself that bigger wheels and a harsh ride suddenly make the 1.4TSI into some entertaining drivers car.
 
gettothechopper said:
1) are the extras; xenon bulbs / 18" tyres etc going to kill me in running costs?
3) is the sline suspension / big wheels ride harsh?
4) is the sline worth the extra cost over the cheaper one?
Click to expand...

1) Decent 17" tyres are £80 each / 18" £100

3) Fairly harsh, although S-Line trim could I believe be specced without "Sports Suspension" - depending on tyres 18" wheels "tram-line". Even the S-Line can be specc-ed with 17" wheels, which I think would take some of the harshness out of the ride.

4) Probably - as it's the little touches that you don't see on a spec sheet, extra door (puddle?) lights, 10 Speaker stereo vs whatever the norm is? Sline trim seats and Steering wheel.

SE and S-Line aren't the only options though - there is the SE Technik which has more extras (including Cruise Control - that isn't standard on any other model), and the Sport which has everything the S-Line has, barring the S-Line badging and different bumpers.




Not sure where you are looking, but worth looking at Audi Approved Used e.g.

A3 1.6 Diesel Sport - £15,990, 28.5k miles
http://www.audi.co.uk/used-cars/use...bedford/604856716-21257.aspx?srcmdc=se_na_re_

When I bought my A3, Audi (JCT600 Boston) were very helpful, as they fetched the only one in my price range, with the spec and colour I wanted - from Wales.
 
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southampton area give or take 40 miles - 5 door as well please!
but yeah been looking on officical used as well

audi dealers seem to be a lot more expensive down here than further up the country :(
 
Anything above SE is worth it for the Dual Zone Climate Control tbh.

S-Line gets Xenon/LED lights and leather seats as standard over the Sport, and any of the trim levels can be had with SE, Sport or S-Line suspension.
 
I
gettothechopper said:
nearly new car time at last

best I can find so far is :

2013 A3 SE 1.6 TDI
31k with sat nav
£15000 (more comfortably in budget)

or

2013 A3 S-line 1.4 TSI COD
35k no extra extras
£18500 (my max budget)

think my milage will be about 15-20k a year
plan is to keep this and get 10 years out of it

obvously the sline is nicer, and people rate the 1.4 petrol over the 1.6d
but:

1) are the extras; xenon bulbs / 18" tyres etc going to kill me in running costs?
2) will my not small milage cost be tons in fuel over the TDI?
3) is the sline suspension / big wheels ride harsh?
4) is the sline worth the extra cost over the cheaper one?
5) am i right in that the 1.4 is chain and 1.6 a belt? when do i change them and is one better / cheaper to sort / last longer than the other?
5) bascially should i be sensible (1.6 se) or get something more exciting (1.4 tsi)

*the £30 car tax difference is small enough that it doesnt matter really
Click to expand...
1) Not all all
2) nope
3) nope, because the sline s/b or saloon doesn't have sline suspension as standard, it has sports and the ride is only slighty firmer than my focus was, pot holes do not crash into the cabin.
4) far better lookin
5) 1.4 is belt but they last to about 100k
6) having driven both the 1.4 is far more powerful and has the same torque as the oil burner, far quieter and more refined with the mpg not much difference.
 
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Hi,

Just got back from the Audi garage and specced up a brand new Audi A3 Saloon S Line 2.0 TDI 184 BHP model.

Extras are: Comfort pack
Electric folding mirrors
Daytona Grey
Sat Nav
Privacy Glass

Total was a bit over £30k and the best discount he could give me was 9%.

Is that any good or should I just walk and try and get a better deal elsewhere ? Need to give him a £500 deposit and then most likely wait until September.

Thanks,
 
umm.. :p

Have really wanted an Audi for a few years now and originally was going to get the A5 but not as practical as the A3 saloon. I've looked at the A3 saloon 2nd hand price market and as it is a new shape, there is very little about and the ones i have found not that much cheaper.

I know I can buy a 5 year old car for half the price.....
 
As a private purchase I do not understand the engine choice, the only reason to buy the 2.0 TDI is to save money, but buying a brand new A3 is the opposite of doing this.

It's really not a very nice engine.

If you insist, save many thousands of pounds and buy something like this:

http://www.audi.co.uk/used-cars/use...swansea/604895638-16726.aspx?srcmdc=se_na_re_

1 year old, S-Line, Sat Nav, yours for £20k after a good haggle. Ok so not quite 'half the price' but it's not far off and its 1 year old not 5 years old.

But really, buy this:

http://www.audi.co.uk/used-cars/use...inburgh/604867896-10612.aspx?srcmdc=se_na_re_

1 year old, S-Line, engine that isnt horrible, and the Satnav you wanted. Very low miles too.

Why pay £30k for a 2.0 TDI?
 
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I've not driven the 2.0tdi, as they didn't have any 184 bhp there just the 150 bhp.

See what you mean though the petrol one is pretty much a 10k saving and only a year old. I need to arrange a test drive I think . . .
 
Oh just checking the engines the petrol one is very slightly less bhp and about half a second slower 0-60.

But you think the petrol one would be a nicer car to drive ?
 
Its got the sd sat nav, no free map updates, no built in ssd drive to store music on and a smaller lower resolution screen. Not a deal breaker but I am sure there would be a car that has the next step up version of the mmi might be better. I'm not sure about the 1.8 either, an older engine than the 1.4 and can suffer from turbo rattle. However you might be best off researching over at audi-sport forum as you might get a more audi oriented view than from this more generic forum. Not knocking fox's knowledge but he is a bmw man after all. No insult intended fox...
 
Blackhawk47 said:
I would definitely look for one with xenons. Sport or S-Line is your choice really, personally I prefer the S-Line.

If it is a choice between the 1.6 diesel and the 1.4 TFSI cod, 100% go for the petrol.

This one looks quite smart:
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/audi/a3/audi-a3-1-4-t-fsi-sport-122ps/3777567

Or this S-Line (get them to refurb the alloy wheel though!):
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifi...di-a3-1-4-t-fsi-s-line-122ps-s-tronic/3657117
Click to expand...

Erm, neither of those are the 1.4 COD :confused:

Also, regards discussion of used A3 8Vs with/without nav, it's worth remembering that the basic SD-card based nav can be added to any A3 by the dealer for circa £500.
 
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Snow-Munki said:
Oh just checking the engines the petrol one is very slightly less bhp and about half a second slower 0-60.

But you think the petrol one would be a nicer car to drive ?
Click to expand...

Test drive each and decide for yourself. The petrol will be quieter, more refined and slightly quicker but the diesel will be far more economical and has more torque.

The 184PS 2.0 is a perfectly decent engine. Fox just has a pathological hatred of all four cylinder diesels.
 
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