[peterg1965]

I mentioned in the Mini threads last week that I cancelled the Mini Countryman. It was ordered a few months back to replace our 2nd Mini Cooper Auto, I expected to pick it up in a couple of weeks time. However, a number of factors led to a reconsideration of Countryman ownership, most pressing was the chorus of disapproval from daughter and wife! The daughter hated the looks (and the colour I ordered) and my wife wouldnt give it a second glance because it was not automatic. So, I had little choice but to eat humble pie with the dealer and cancel. Another factor was that Mini residual values are dire and it probably was not a good choice. We have now had it with Minis, having had two of them.

So what to replace the Mini with, and it had to be automatic! I wanted to try the A1, quirky looks and it is well written up. I went to an Audi dealer yesterday to take a closer look and to ensure that my son's wheelchair fits in the boot without having to fold the rear seats this is important for the occasions that my daughter looks afer my son as she cannot drive his Motability V70. The A1 failed at the first hurdle, the wheelchair doesn't fit!

So, I was rather taken by the New A3 hatchback they had in the showroom. It had a real quality feel to it, looked absolutely fantastic (much better than the previous model), i loved the interior, pop up flat screen infotainment screen, big boot, really good spec. So, I ended up ordering one. An A3 1.4 TFSI SE S Tronic in Monsoon Grey, black interior with no other options, bluetooth is standard, AMI is standard. I didnt bother driving one, they had no demos anyway and reading the reviews it seems to be a hit with that engine. 122ps, 119 gm/km (£30 RFL) and 50 odd official mpgs. The S Tronic box is dual clutch and sounds decent enough. It was only £20/month more than the A1 on finance. I managed to negotiate a decent discount too (about 6%) as I was on my mobile internet getting a Drive the Deal quote for the same car whilst I was sat in front of the salesman! The downside is that with that colour/engine/gearbox we have to wait until week 20! Still, it appears to be a hit with daughter in the looks department and my wife is vaguely interested as it is an auto! Will have to keep the Mini Cooper until the A3 arrives, will then VT it. Here are some pics of a similar A3 SE in Monsoon Grey, OK not a rip roaring car, but hey if wife and daughter are happy, so am I!

[sheps]

Nice choice Peter, the missus had an A3 prior to her Cashcow, really nice cars. And, as you say, the new model is a real step up from the one she had.

[mowflow]

I test drove the 1.8tfsi S-line S-tronic version before I ordered the f20. I had the previous shape A3 2.0tdi S-line DSG which I liked.

The new model drove so much better than the old one. Suspension was miles better and steering was a lot more direct with a nice weight and good feedback. Sadly the 1.8tfsi engine didn't stack up well against the 125 and on my test drive i found the S-tronic gearbox extremely hesitant. It could have just been because the car had only done a few miles as my old car never had any issues.

Everything else about the car was very good, the cabin had a real quality feel for a small car. I'm sure your wife and daughter will be very happy with it. I'm glad you listened to your daughter, the countryman is beyond hideous.

[stevie996]

Looks nice, I've been looking at a Q3 as a replacement for the cooper.

[AlanQS]

Good choice Peter, that seems significantly nicer than the old A3 and way better than a Countryman - surely one of the ugliest cars made...

[gIzzE]

Originally Posted by peterg1965

- Mini cancelled.

To be fair, that is all you needed to put to get the thumbs up from me.

[rogerxp]

Looks very nice Peter. That dash looks sparse - where are all the buttons hidden!! A very grown up looking car as opposed to the 'fun' Mini/A1.

[Real Thing]

I think Audi do some nice Cars now although it might be an age thing that I do prefer them to BMs at the moment so I would say nice choice Peter (I've had my RS3 over 6 Months now which is a record for me so must say something about Audi's )

[peterg1965]

Cheers all. I do like to spoil the women my life! I could have fobbed them off with a Fiesta auto but I just couldn't do that!

Ive always had a soft spot for Audis, i still look at A5 coupes and think that they look so much better than the E92 and Audi interior always seem to grab me more then BMWs. The cabin in the new A3 does look a bit sparse in terms of knobs and buttons, everything must be there I guess!

It is a little more grown up than the Mini, but having had two of the buggers we have ticked that box. On reflection, the Countryman probably is beyond hideous, my daughter was petrified that her friends would have seen her driving up to Uni in it

[Palmnuts]

Nice car Peter....right decision on the Countryman too You deserved the disapproval for that one

Originally Posted by peterg1965

I managed to negotiate a decent discount too (about 6%) as I was on my mobile internet getting a Drive the Deal quote for the same car whilst I was sat in front of the salesman!

Yes....yes!!!! I do this all the time (quite literally the amount of cars I buy ). Some salesmen bloody hate it but others understand why you're doing it and just accept it....I even think it makes their life easier when going to their manager to get discount approved as all they have to do is tell their manager that of they don't do the deal, someone else will.

It helps that most of these brokers use official main dealers to fulfil the orders so they can't even use the excuse that you're not getting the car the 'official' way!

Although, I once purchased a Grande Punto (yes I know....can you actually believe it!!) through Broadspeed and that was delivered to my house. Quite a result really as it meant I didn't have to step foot in to Fiat showroom (it was sold 3 months later so I really NEVER had to expose myself to that....Vicki's brother bought it and it's still going strong 4 years later though )

[Palmnuts]

Originally Posted by Real Thing

I think Audi do some nice Cars now although it might be an age thing that I do prefer them to BMs at the moment so I would say nice choice Peter (I've had my RS3 over 6 Months now which is a record for me so must say something about Audi's )

But his Audi isn't back to front

[peterg1965]

Originally Posted by Palmnuts

Nice car Peter....right decision on the Countryman too You deserved the disapproval for that one




Yes....yes!!!! I do this all the time (quite literally the amount of cars I buy ). Some salesmen bloody hate it but others understand why you're doing it and just accept it....I even think it makes their life easier when going to their manager to get discount approved as all they have to do is tell their manager that of they don't do the deal, someone else will.

It helps that most of these brokers use official main dealers to fulfil the orders so they can't even use the excuse that you're not getting the car the 'official' way!

Although, I once purchased a Grande Punto (yes I know....can you actually believe it!!) through Broadspeed and that was delivered to my house. Quite a result really as it meant I didn't have to step foot in to Fiat showroom (it was sold 3 months later so I really NEVER had to expose myself to that....Vicki's brother bought it and it's still going strong 4 years later though )

Grande Punto to SLS in 4 years! (Via few other decent bits of kit) ...I think a Palmnuts car history thread is required!

I don't think the Audi dealer had a problem with me checking up on the DtD price in front of him. DtD quoted a £1800 discount, he punched the figures in his calculator and said that was a 9% discount and he said that they most definately could not match that. What I got was free metallic (£525 or so) and then, to meet my monthly budget, I think there was another £700 or so taken off and there was the subsidised 6.9% APR finance. So, about £1225 off without much pushing. I would also prefer to deal direct with a dealer of my choice face to face, rather than one foisted on me by DtD which could be a long way away, so paying slightly more in this case is acceptable to me.

The Audi dealer is Inchcape group so probably not the largest out there.

[scottc]

Nice choice of car Pete, I really like the new A3 and to be honest most of the new stuff that Audi is releasing at the moment..

Would be interested to hear your thoughts when you get it, I will be looking for something like this is a few months to replace the Porka and the A3 was on my list (when they do a S tronic diesel)

[peterg1965]

Originally Posted by scottc

Nice choice of car Pete, I really like the new A3 and to be honest most of the new stuff that Audi is releasing at the moment..

Would be interested to hear your thoughts when you get it, I will be looking for something like this is a few months to replace the Porka and the A3 was on my list (when they do a S tronic diesel)

Will do Scott, I am surprised that they dont do an S-tronic Diesel now, I never looked as we dont need a diesel.

I bet you will be sad to see the Porka go, I still pine after mine and am always checking up on the prices of Approved 997 turbos, I will definately have one of them in a few years, probably when I pay the mortgage off and leave the Forces and get a real job.

[mowflow]

Originally Posted by scottc

Nice choice of car Pete, I really like the new A3 and to be honest most of the new stuff that Audi is releasing at the moment..

Would be interested to hear your thoughts when you get it, I will be looking for something like this is a few months to replace the Porka and the A3 was on my list (when they do a S tronic diesel)

Current diesel offerings are crap. 1.6 and 2.0 that only has 150bhp and is said to be flat as a pancake. There are rumours of a 200bhp twin turbo 2.0tdi quattro in the not too distant future. I also think the S-tronic box suits the diesels much better.

[creepy coupe]

I've heard good things about the new A3 and the way they drive. I'm sorry though that dash looks like there's room for improvement , especially where it meets the center consul.

[scottc]

Originally Posted by peterg1965

Will do Scott, I am surprised that they dont do an S-tronic Diesel now, I never looked as we dont need a diesel.

I bet you will be sad to see the Porka go, I still pine after mine and am always checking up on the prices of Approved 997 turbos, I will definately have one of them in a few years, probably when I pay the mortgage off and leave the Forces and get a real job.

Thanks Pete, yes I will be sad because by the time I sell it (or hand it back) it will be 2 years which is a record for me.

I think this will be my last Porka, I have done what I always wanted and to be honest after driving the X6 for the last few days I actually prefer the ride height and the way it makes you drive (slow)

An S Tronic Quattro is what I would like, in a 170 diesel but there is nothing like that at the mo.

[davyk31]

So how did you get on with cancelling the Mini, had you paid any deposit and did they return it?

[peterg1965]

Originally Posted by davyk31

So how did you get on with cancelling the Mini, had you paid any deposit and did they return it?

I did everything over the phone and by email with the dealer so never actually went to the dealership or met the salesman face to face. So, even though it was a factory order car, albeit there were only a couple of small options, I am covered by the Distance Selling Regulations which gives me a right to cancel and get my money/deposit back, I believe this right extends to 7 days post delivery of the car too. So, no problems and the dealer had no issues.

Originally Posted by scottc

Thanks Pete, yes I will be sad because by the time I sell it (or hand it back) it will be 2 years which is a record for me.

I think this will be my last Porka, I have done what I always wanted and to be honest after driving the X6 for the last few days I actually prefer the ride height and the way it makes you drive (slow)

An S Tronic Quattro is what I would like, in a 170 diesel but there is nothing like that at the mo.

Is it really 2 years Scott? Seems like only 6 months since you got it. My next Porka will be a garage queen and a weekend play thing, I only want to drive it for fun.

[scottc]

Not yet Pete but it will by the time I come around to selling it.

[rogerxp]

Originally Posted by scottc

I think this will be my last Porka, I have done what I always wanted and to be honest after driving the X6 for the last few days I actually prefer the ride height and the way it makes you drive (slow)

Scott, pull yourself together man, wash your mouth out with soap & water and sit quietly in a corner whilst you think hard about those words and remember never to utter them again .

[scottc]

Sorry Roger but if I don't keep saying it I will end up buying another one.. To make matters worse the salesman that looked after me at Porsche is now working for hr Owen and will be in the new Lamborghini dealership in Reading... He phoned me last night offering 0% on a new Lamborghini Gallardo

On the plus side he has invited me down to look around and has put me on the list for events.. Soooo need to drive an aventador