Hey guys,
Im new to this forum, but i've been on the golfmkv forums lurking around trying to decide what car to get between the A3 and GTI. I've finally decided to go with the A3, based on personal preference, and the bad *** looks. I have a budget of 24-25k right now, which is close, but not enough to buy a new A3 outright. I've called Pacific Audi,Lakewood Audi, andSanta Monica Audi and sadly, both dealerships do not have any used A3's on their lot. This is bad because im planning on trading in two Mercedes E320's (1999 and 1997 models).

Im planning on trying to get into a 2006-2008 Audi A3 in Ibis White, Manual 6spd., other than that, im looking for a base model, no frills.<--due to the budget.

My question is, since there is a lack of used A3's on their lot, should I go lease one? I still have the option to buy it after 3 years and I wont have to worry about finding the right car, since I can get what I want directly from the dealer.

Any opinions? Any help would really be appreciated!

-Brandon

 

It all depends on whether you want to pay the depreciation.

I went used (just picked up an '07 3.2Q a few weeks ago). The depreciation was pretty bad (my car stickered for $41,950, I got it for $30K). It only has 13K miles and was loaded with every available option (except for the 18" rims). It is, in most respects, a new car (at 13K miles it isn't really broken in yet).

I found quite a few used ones in Texas...the dealers here get a lot of the "program cars" (the one I have is not one of them, though). Most of these cars are 2.0T models and range in price from $24K-28K (remember, all prices are negotiable...my car was listed for $33K). Just check autotrader.com (you might check Carmax, they usually have a few, as well). Don't restrict your search to just your local city...be willing to travela couple hundred miles and you might find the right one.

Good luck!!!

 

Good luck finding a base A3, the dealer wouldn't help me so I looked around and found a low milage 2007 S-Line for about $10,000 less than retail. Lease only if you plan on keeping the car for a couple of years and don't put many miles on it.

 

It comes down to this:

Used: Smartest car buying decision. Pay the least, get most return on resale.

Lease: Waste your money and pay for the "new car" feeling, then return car and feel empty and cheated.

 

Buying a used car is good move, especially on Audi's which depreciates so much in the first 2 years.
However leasing is not as bad as you think. The lease (probably to-own) I'm in works out better than financing and I got a great residual value. If anything happens so that i can't keep the car, all it takes is $200 or so to turn the car in. No string attached. You're basically paying the depreciation value and a piece of mind that everything is under warranty. This is my daily driver as I have a short commute so I decided to go the leasing route. If i were to buy a fun/track car, I think i would get it used.

Good luck with your purchase though!

 

IMHO, it depends on how you plan on using the vehicle. If you are not sure about keeping the vehicle for a long time and just need a decent daily driver, a lease can be the way to go. At the end of the term, so long as you don't have higher than anticipated miles or damage, you just turn the car in. No hassles, no need to find a buyer, good bye!

If you plan on modifying the vehicle to your personality, might end up driving a lot more miles/long trips, love to maintain your "stuff" (Look forward to spending your off time performing oil changes, waxing, cleaning etc) have a 10-12 year old at home or you find that you keep things in general for a long time (cell phonemore than a year old, laptop still going strong after 3 years), than purchasing the vehicle can make a lot of sense.

Right now new and used vehicle sales General Managers are not sleeping very well due to the economy and they are accepting offers they would not have looked at a year ago. Best bet is to get pre-qualified for a lease or purchase so you know your price point, then figure out exactly what you HAVE to have (heated seats?, manual? those funky bixenon lights?) and then spend some quality time on-line. If you are in a rush, you pay! If you have two months or so, you can probably find what your looking for within a day's drive. But my suggestion is to offer at least 3 to 5k less than asking in the current economy. Worked for us as we offered 5k less and they settled for 4k, they were not happy, but they took it. Realize you might miss a sale or two until you find a car the dealer needs to move. If they just put it on the lot, good luck, if it's been there a couple weeks, bingo. You can also have a couple friends go in over a week or two, drive the car and then claim "it's too much". This sometimes helps depending on your personal beliefs.

Good luck either way! As my teenager first stated when he found out I'd bought an A3, "WOW, that will be fun to drive"

Yeah right kiddo, when you've driven for five years, come and see me!

 

Leasing is great option if you do not need to drive over 12k a year and you get a good lease deal. Audi does not have a good lease deal on the A3, its actually pretty bad deal. Used A3
is the way to go. I looked for a month for used A3 here in Socal , but could not find one with options I was looking for. The ones I found where either base models (loaner A3's dealers were
selling off at a great price) or great optioned used A3's at very high prices. So bought new, paid more than I wanted, but not much more than the cost of the nice used ones. I will have the A3 for a long long time...Just do your homework, but a lease deal on a A3 is terrible. The best lease deals are usually when the auto maker is its own bank, much lower rate. This is a very helpful website for
figuring out lease costs.
http://www.leaseguide.com/calc.htm

 

I leased my 07 A3 which was around $29,000 and I put $5000 down paying around 320$ a/mo with tax and they threw in Audi Care for free . Leasing does have it pros and cons and you have to make sure you think about the long term effect it might have on you because it can screw you over later on (excess mileage). Since it doesn't seem like you want to totally mod it out, I personally like the idea that you can lease a 08 for 3 years and get a brand new one after that or buy it out for half the price. Its totally up to you but just another perspective.

 

This isn't meant to promote an external source...merely my experience.

I knew I wasn't going to be keeping my A3 long (4 years or so), and also knew it wouldn't be driven much because of work travel and a short commute when I'm in town. When I talked to the dealership about leasing my mouth nearly hit the floor - it would've been cheaper by alot to lease a loaded BMW 328 paying nothing upfront.

My friend referred me to a federal credit union called PenFed that has a hybrid lease/purchase program called Payment Saver where it has the best features of both. On an A3 that OTD was $35k in Virginia would've cost ~$650 to finance, $619 to lease (nothing paid upfront), cost $450.

It might not be for everyone but it's a great credit union and I've never seen something offered from a dealer or bank elsewhere.

Their website is www.penfed.org and if you go to the auto loan section look at the info for the payment saver program.

Mods - feel free to edit or delete if I've broken the rules.