jyoteen

and right now, the competitor is a Subaru Legacy GT wagon in 2005 trim coming in at $24K, no doubt a lot of car and perf is about the same for the $. Given that this is a much larger car than the A3, it really sucks big time that the VW GTI 2.0 5 door isn't coming until later otherwise, I wouldn't be even thinking about the A3. Specs would be NO sunroof, 6 speed, cloth interior if that can be had. Basically a stripper to make it more agile and have haldex since I've gotten used to oversteer the past 3 years ;-)

Also, what quirks are you guys finding with the A3s? Mechanical issues mainly. I know it's an Audi, so it's gotta have issues.

Are they EVER planning on bringing in a 2.0 haldex in the 5 door?

I don't get why anyone would look at the Audi which is MUCH higher price point than the VW (sans the look of the car). I saw a pretty well spec'd out GTI for 24K.

April

(no DSG), that would make it niche car indeed. Add to that, the fuel tank is specific to that car and requires government certification, and the chances we'll see that combo is very slim.

Finding a stripped 6 speed is going to require a dealer search most likely - and possibly a special order (I wanted a base 6 speed Lava with grey interior and ended up with Premium and Bose because hubby didn't want to wait;-) . Because of that, pricing may reflect the rarity of the car. Usually a stripped car commands a bit higher margin simply because it can be used in radio and newspaper ads to generate some attractive numbers to bring in customers.

My car required a new transmission right off the bat, but it was obvious something was wrong, the moment I shifted into 4th (my initial drive was in town with no shifts beyond 3rd, so we didn't catch it). AoA overnighted a transmission to the dealer and everything was handled painlessly. No other issue of note since then. One or two people have indicated some serious vibration issues with the engine that have resulted in buy-backs. If you end up with Open Sky, the sunroof shade is a bit fragile.

For no BS assistance, call Drew Polenchar at Commonwealth or Arno at Mission Viejo. However, keep in mind that with such a rare car, you don't want to play one dealer off of another because there may be only one or two cars in all of SoCal like that - and if the dealer who has it (assuming it isn't Commonwealth or MV) catches wind that somebody is searching, they won't make the dealer trade, and they will wait for you to try and find them. Then they won't deal much on price.

jpatkinson

A3 2.0 Lava Gray 6M stripped at Royal SF; beautiful, simple, but GTI is cheaper!

jyoteen

I understand that dealers and sales persons need to make $ and it's a business transaction that is a for profit business. Besides, I haven't paid invoice since I bought a 1980 Buick Skylark when I turned 17.

My good friend is a sales guy at Rusnak but I'll give your contact a call. I'm not too particular about color as long as it's red if on the lot (although if I have to order it, I'd paint it Pelican blue).

I used to go to commonwealth for service for the S4, so I like their service although I've heard Pacific is better since my porsche manager went to Pacific. As long as I don't get played, I'm fair. I hate the car buying experience and want straight up no BS.

I have a month and change to go to find one. Hopefully, it'll be comparable in price as my max is $25-27K as I'm saving pennies for my race car.

jpatkinson

Just have your favorite dealer do a search and get one at a fair price; yours is already out there!

Nuvolari1

VW is a great value for its price. A3 is a level above that. There's a butt for every seat, and your hunger for quality will reflect in the price.

As long as something is built, there will be issues. The last stats I saw for things-gone-wrong (TGW), the top ranking brand (I think it was a Japanese brand) had 81 TGW. Audi ranked #11 with 116 TGW. That is just a little more. Market average was position #18.

Audi Mission Viejo, where I work, has a black A3 6-speed with cloth, no other options. Call Arno at 1-877-501-7652, ext. 2

ayethree

Yo Jyo! It's ChrisDo...how's your porsche! Get the A3, you'll love it.

jyoteen

a last resort really. The dealership network sucks as does AoA corporate but we'll see.

My Porsche lease is over at end of Feb, so this is my daily utilitarian runabout because I'm picking up a race car, so this car needs to be cheap-ish. But the Porsche is the best car I've ever had and the most reliable as well. Amazing piece of machinery. I will own one again few years from now. Now I seem to call all cars aside from a Porsche, 'cars'. Unfortunately, you spoil yourself because when you test drive other cars, you always seem to pick out all the weak points in braking, handling, steering, feel, suspension, etc.

Nuvolari1

...I think what you are experiencing is being totally used to your current car, and finding that other cars are just that: other cars. That means, you'd have to get used to their traits. After that, it's the same game again, get used to the next new car.

Good luck in finding what you like and are happy with. AHO!

Big D

What happened to the Subie?