Well - Here we go again!
To no-ones surprise (those that know of me) its time to trade again. The A3 has been in ownership now for 5 months, which by my history is waaaaaaay too long to own a vehicle for!
I know this isn't the right thread for it really but I wanted to update on previous comments and observations of my ownership.
The Spec:
A3 Edition 1
White with black surrounds (privacy glass etc)
Pano Roof
Then everything expected on an edition 1 (Electric memory seats, heated seats, Matrix LED headlights, wireless charger and Android Auto, 12" displays etc etc)
The problems:
Like anything new, I understand there are issues but usually you expect these to be fixed.
Firstly the boot. It would take several attempts to close it, and when I say several I'm on about up to 6 times slamming it to get it to latch. Audi didn't know what to do, they said the newer models since this launch have different boot struts but didn't know how to go about fixing it. After a couple of weeks of them speaking to senior Audi technicians elsewhere I finally had this fixed, new struts and now working perfectly as it should. What was funny is they also told me they have had a load of these come in with this issue with no prior knowledge on how to fix! It amazes me, it really does....
Then the MMI. Rebooting, crashing, SOS errors, logged out, logging in and so forth. It has been through factory resets, I have spent hours onto the MMI team and ultimately found out - wait for it - there is NO FIX! When you get the right person they acknowledge there is no update or software fix available for this yet (its been a year since reported on other vehicles) and as such people are rejecting their cars. Whilst most of the time for me it works fine, I do find on long journeys my reboots up to 4 times per trip. A couple of weeks ago the SOS warning, so no use of phone or maps etc, then after left overnight locked its never come back.
Wing mirrors do not fold in properly on the drivers side. Audi said "this is a unique characteristic of the vehicle that this side doesn't close properly or fully and therefore not a fault". Now whilst this is true, all do the same on these A3's it was enough and still enough to annoy me.
Finally - Oil. The car had only covered 5k miles, I had to call out Audi assistance as the warning popped up for low oil and to stop. After a top up all been fine since, but it burnt oil like it shouldn't have. In addition, now on 8k miles I'm being prompted for an oil change. This isn't even a year old, in fact the car is only 8 months old from new so not impressed at all for a car that should be 20k miles or 2yrs before this is required.
The build:
Naturally this is no RSQ3 or my previous RS5. You can see the cheapness in comparison. This is not to say the A3 is cheap as such, others perhaps wouldn't notice, but it is cheap in comparison. Even those not having owned an RS would see the downgrades in materials now used. Simple things like looking into the boot and the holes in the back of the seats where there are no screw covers, various bits like this dotted around that appear unfinished. The interior of the main cabin whilst nice is just cheaper, plasticy, so whilst nice looking in most respects its just not the same Audi brand I'm used to (and this goes back to my pre RS days).
What now?:
The market has changed a lot. I lost £5k on my RSQ3 which is now worth £5k more had I have kept it and put all the miles I do on it - madness!! But that's the market today. I also know, this means whatever I buy now is likely to cost more..... but with that..... I'm currently thinking:
RS5 - 2021
Mercedes AMG CLA 45S - 2021
Two quite different cars I know.
I want to try and drive the RS5 first. I remember my 2019 RS5 had next to no throttle lag on it which I loved. My RSQ3 had a huge throttle lag on it (I know you had to drive around this but not ideal for a quick unplanned 'need to get going'). I don't know if this is a change in the Audi setup on newer cars, or just the engine of the RSQ3?
I don't know if anyone owns the new RS5 to advise? If so it would be really helpful!!
I was saving for the new RS3, but with my current A3 MMI issues (and no fix after a year) and many unhappy people the new RS3 will suffer exactly the same!!! I know this will eventually be fixed, but for now its the RS5 or Merc CLA45S (yes the S version, not the normal) which I need to choose from.