Possible new spec. & questions - help / opinions please!

sunscreemer

sunscreemer

Back with the 4 rings
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OK guys, IF I decide to return to Audi after my test drive tomorrow the following is the spec. i fancy...

S3 Sportback S-tronic
Monsoon grey
Comfort pack (incl. standard cruise control & parking system plus with park assist)
Tech. Pack High
Privacy glass
Folding / dimming mirrors
LED headlights
3D design black inlays
Reversible load floor mat, through load facility, non-smoking & LED packs
Standard seats with electric lumbar support
Hold assist, high beam assist & reversing camera
Advanced key
Audi phone box
B&O sound system

Comes in at £40,335 OTR

Any comments on the above? Anything i'm missing that I should go for?
Wondered if the roof bars were worth it (aesthetically perhaps more than practically)?
Love the panoramic roof but it's costly - anyone got it, views on it?
Anyone got the monsoon grey? Like it? I think it's classy & a bit more "under the radar" than Sepang blue.

A few questions I have:-
What's it like for iPhone pairing? Can you navigate to addresses in your iPhone address book?
Can you connect iPhone via phone box and an iPod classic to the MMI?
Do people tend to use standard unleaded or super unleaded in their S3?
What sort of discounts have people been getting?
Any chance of getting things like life shine and/or 4th year warranty thrown in?
Is the APR 7.4% deal fixed or can you negotiate a cheaper APR?

Any other help or suggestions more than welcome. My heart is saying return to the A3 from the 3 series at the moment!
 
A lot of questions there. Your spec looks nice. To get the ball rolling......

IPhone - I have an iPhone 6 and no problems with Bluetooth and cable connectivity etc. phone book loaded straight in. In fact, the whole telephone set-up is very good. Car even tells you when phone battery is low!

Fuel - I only use Shell Nitro fuel. A lot of research suggests it will perform better and protects your engine. In fact, the S3 recommends 97 RON and I think normal fuel is 95. Nitro is 95. Normal works fine but I figure if I'm spending 40k on a car, I want the best out of it.

Discount - I got about 8% plus a good trade in deal plus a few sweeteners.

Good luck.
 
Looks like a pretty good spec although a few people have commented that phonebox really isn't worth the money.

Surprised nobody has been on to mention mono.pur :)

As above, discount should be between 8 and 12%

Si.
 
Also, if you're going for all the assists it might work out cheaper to go for driver assist pack rather than comfort plus extras.
 
Argh.....forgot mono.pur. If you want to be taken seriously on this forum, you must have it. Your car will be quicker and maintain a higher value :D
 
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Psyman79 said:
Also, if you're going for all the assists it might work out cheaper to go for driver assist pack rather than comfort plus extras.
Click to expand...

Not sure, i think it's just the driver assist package which has ACC (don't want this) and lane or side assist which i find annoying!
 
Is the mono.pur a serious comment? Is it something i should add?
 
Psyman79 said:
Also, if you're going for all the assists it might work out cheaper to go for driver assist pack rather than comfort plus extras.
Click to expand...

Definitely worth checking, though on my car it was £40 cheaper to go the Comfort pack route. Not sure if you miss out on the higher (124mph) ACC cruise speed by not going Driver Assistance.
 
sunscreemer said:
Is the mono.pur a serious comment? Is it something i should add?
Click to expand...
Haha. It's fancy stitching/fake leather on the interior. I like it and think it finishes the inside off nicely. Expensive for what you get though.
 
Oh, also look at the interior light pack With B&O it is especially cool.
 
dts439 said:
Definitely worth checking, though on my car it was £40 cheaper to go the Comfort pack route. Not sure if you miss out on the higher (124mph) ACC cruise speed by not going Driver Assistance.
Click to expand...

Gone up to £41,075 from £40,335 by going for driver assistance pack!
 
As nice as monsoon grey is the general opinion on here is that Daytona is nicer. It slightly darker and doesn't have the slight brownish tinge to it that monsoon does. I personally think it really suits the s-line/s models and it really pops in the sun as well as being able to take a fair bit of road dirt before it looks dirty.

Also its always worth putting your spec into Car wow, Car file etc so see whets discounts are available at other dealers across the country. It always worth having a print off as a bargaining tool
 
Oh, one more thing - what's the 4yr MGFV likely to be? Been basing my calculations on £16k as a low value.
 
Dtwm1 said:
As nice as monsoon grey is the general opinion on here is that Daytona is nicer. It slightly darker and doesn't have the slight brownish tinge to it that monsoon does. I personally think it really suits the s-line/s models and it really pops in the sun as well as being able to take a fair bit of road dirt before it looks dirty.

Also its always worth putting your spec into Car wow, Car file etc so see whets discounts are available at other dealers across the country. It always worth having a print off as a bargaining tool
Click to expand...

I'll see if they have a car in that colour tomorrow - my partner has Daytona grey A1 and we don't want same colour cars so i'm a bit more limited!
 
Great spec! Only thing I would recommend would be Interior Light Package as a must-have.

Other 'nice to haves' would be Mono-Pur (finishes off the interior by contrasting against the seat stitching) and aluminium roof rails (suits the shape of the Sportback me thinks). However, these two items are by no means essential.
 
Don't think you can have Tech pack high and Phonebox at the same time. You couldn't when I ordered anyway. Interior light pack probably comes with the LED lights - it does with the Xenon pack anyway.

Why not the ACC? Well worth the money IMO.
 
Speaking as someone who hasn't got it and regrets it now - go for ACC. I ordered my car before I spent much time on here. I don't do any motorway driving and thought ACC was really only for that. Now I realise that it is a useful option and wish I had gone for it.
 
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I do a lot of driving both in town and motorway (mainly rush hour) and IMO ACC wouldn't be worth it. It's a nice to have for sure, but can't see it as essential on an S3.

Only change I'd consider is to delete B&O and replace with Audi Sound System (***), many on here have had a lot of crackling issues with B&O.

Pan Sunroof I do have and really pleased I have it in all honesty, not been much of a sunroof fan before, but have to say on the A3/S3, it really works well.
 
HawkeyeS3 said:
I do a lot of driving both in town and motorway (mainly rush hour) and IMO ACC wouldn't be worth it
Click to expand...
???? Do you have it? ACC and stronic are made for each other IMHO. There's lots on that list I'd drop to put ACC on....
 
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No I don't but had it on one of my previous cars and really didn't use it, maybe because most of my motorway time is rush hour M25. Also a couple of times coming off on slip roads when changing lanes it would suddenly accelerate, all I can think is that it sensed the "gap" between lanes was open road and went for it.

I can see the use for none rush hour motorway cruising but outside of that never found it much use in all honesty - and wouldn't pay £755 (is that the option price?) for something I'd rarely use.
 
ACC isn't just for motorway cruising. It's great for stop/start traffic and A road driving. With comfort pack its nowhere near £755. Have you considered the saloon? They're lovely :) IMHO
 
Sounds like a great spec. You could get a nice Saloon for that ;)

I have Monsoon Grey and I love it. I've no idea why a brownish tinge is mentioned above as I've never seen it. Having said that there was a pic on here recently of a Daytona grey that looked brown so maybe just down to the camera being used.

IMG_20141229_105635 by garreth64, on Flickr

There are some more pics of mine in the pictures thread here:

http://www.audi-sport.net/xf/threads/post-pics-of-your-a3-s3-8v-in-here.158398/page-63

I have always had black interiors before, but I have the Lunar Silver interior which looks great and makes the interior more classy IMHO. A lot of people have commented on it. Worth considering.

DSC_0033 by garreth64, on Flickr

Options are a personal choice, the only things I would have to have are the Tech pack high, Comfort pack and sound system. The *** is fine for me. I also wanted the Magnetic ride which comes standard on the Saloon.

Not sure the Audi phone box is worth it from what I have read. Folding mirrors useful if you park in public car parks etc
 
dts439 said:
Definitely worth checking, though on my car it was £40 cheaper to go the Comfort pack route. Not sure if you miss out on the higher (124mph) ACC cruise speed by not going Driver Assistance.
Click to expand...

No there is no longer a 124mph ACC - you are right that originally the drivers assistance pack gave you this but no longer. Mind you I don't think I'd have my ACC on at 100mph let alone 124!
 
ACC at 100 is quite scary (allegedly), especially when flying along (allegedly) and suddenly happening upon a line of stationary traffic around a gentle curve.

You think, "ACC will stop the car" - but it won't (allegedly).

Instant panic braking (allegedly).
 
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Thanks for all the responses so far - last time i ordered an Audi I found the options confusing (if you have this, you can't have this, but only in conjunction with this... etc. - and then they try to put it into their dealer system and it says different things!).

I'll have a little play with the spec. as i want to have a decent idea before i go to the dealer later today and perhaps have a few deals in mind - an "i'll buy now if...", an "i'd consider..." etc.

From your suggestions:-
Seems the Driver assist pack may be wise to look at
Phone box may not be worth it
Mono-Put at least worth looking at
Roof bars in aluminium may look good on the car (though you can't have these if I splashed out on the panoramic roof can you?
Monsoon does look good in the pics and i think being slightly lighter than Daytona suits the other finishes on the car
As for the saloon i do like it but i am going to touring / sportback from a saloon as sometimes find the boot access restrictive - and i like a rear wiper (weird, yes)

As for adaptive dampers - costly and i'm not sure worth it?
 
Garreth64 said:
Sounds like a great spec. You could get a nice Saloon for that ;)

I have Monsoon Grey and I love it. I've no idea why a brownish tinge is mentioned above as I've never seen it. Having said that there was a pic on here recently of a Daytona grey that looked brown so maybe just down to the camera being used.

IMG_20141229_105635 by garreth64, on Flickr

There are some more pics of mine in the pictures thread here:

http://www.audi-sport.net/xf/threads/post-pics-of-your-a3-s3-8v-in-here.158398/page-63

I have always had black interiors before, but I have the Lunar Silver interior which looks great and makes the interior more classy IMHO. A lot of people have commented on it. Worth considering.

DSC_0033 by garreth64, on Flickr

Options are a personal choice, the only things I would have to have are the Tech pack high, Comfort pack and sound system. The *** is fine for me. I also wanted the Magnetic ride which comes standard on the Saloon.

Not sure the Audi phone box is worth it from what I have read. Folding mirrors useful if you park in public car parks etc
Click to expand...

Just checked out your thread with pics and you've confirmed Monsoon grey is the way to go, thanks.
 
Re-specced based on input and gone up to £41,295 - Audi code as follows if anyone wants to check and give further thoughts?

ACNPCUAI

(My original spec AC9GRR1S)
 
The other thing about Monsoon grey is that the grey in the front grille closely matches the colour which makes it look more co-ordinated as you can see in the pic below. The colour balance is a bit off due to the indoor lighting.

It is also very similar to the grey in the wheels, and goes well with the chrome/silver detailing.

DSC_0019 by garreth64, on Flickr

As to the Mag ride, it depends what you like. I went on my first long run this week. Put it in Comfort for a smoother ride 100 miles up the motorway which helps me as I have a bad back, then into Dynamic for the last 20 miles of twistier roads so the best of both worlds.
 
Garreth64 said:
The other thing about Monsoon grey is that the grey in the front grille closely matches the colour which makes it look more co-ordinated as you can see in the pic below. The colour balance is a bit off due to the indoor lighting.

It is also very similar to the grey in the wheels, and goes well with the chrome/silver detailing.

DSC_0019 by garreth64, on Flickr

As to the Mag ride, it depends what you like. I went on my first long run this week. Put it in Comfort for a smoother ride 100 miles up the motorway which helps me as I have a bad back, then into Dynamic for the last 20 miles of twistier roads so the best of both worlds.
Click to expand...

You are reinforcing my reasons for the colour choice - i think it's great. I've just been having another think and play to spec. up some alternatives so if i like the car then depending on what deal they can do depends on how far I go:-

My original spec:-
ACABDCQI

Adjusted spec. based on feedback from here (mainly ACC as part of driver assist pack and loss of phonebox):-
ACC5DES1

Adjusted + Panoramic roof:-
ACLRCB7A

Adjusted + Panoramic roof + Magnetic ride:-
ACEB365P
 
I tried to create a myAudi account but it's sent me a link which i need to click to activate, but this just sends me to the login page which sends me on a loop back to the activation email!!
 
sunscreemer said:
I tried to create a myAudi account but it's sent me a link which i need to click to activate, but this just sends me to the login page which sends me on a loop back to the activation email!!
Click to expand...
I have had that problem with a secondary account I created. The primary one is ok. With the secondary I had used an incorrect password a number of times so it locked me out as well as your issue. I think Audi and the IT side of things is still a few years behind the design and technology in their cars
 
sunscreemer said:
I tried to create a myAudi account but it's sent me a link which i need to click to activate, but this just sends me to the login page which sends me on a loop back to the activation email!!
Click to expand...
I have just tried to do what you have tried to do with a new THIRD account and am having exactly the same problem you are having
 
sunscreemer said:
I tried to create a myAudi account but it's sent me a link which i need to click to activate, but this just sends me to the login page which sends me on a loop back to the activation email!!
Click to expand...
I created the new account using a new Browser which was not my default browser. I got into the loop that you were in. I then changed my default browser temporarily to the new one and clicked on the resent email and it took me to the new browser login page which allowed me in. All to do with Cookies I guess???
 
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