Facelift S3 - really disappointed

[Satory]

I'm going to do the figures tonight how much it will cost to get me out of the s3 - this is my first venture with audi and i promise i'm not against the brand, just this car is not for me - lesson learnt, dont buy a car on the strength of 30 min test drive with a dealer, get a 24 hour test drive, most dealers will do them i've since learnt.

i may list it on this forum sometime soon.

It's no easy decision that. I doubt the S3 can ever have the poise and balance of the BMW in the bends but the S3 will be a much nicer place where you spend most of your motoring hours.

Mine was a PFL and I'll be shopping for a FL next year. From everything I have read I'll just put the FL TCS into sports mode as part of the start up routine and that'll be one problem I won't need to discover. I'll still be stuck with that lag pulling into roundabouts (that being the only time it ever happened to me) but like Scottyg I learned it instinctively drop a gear on the approach to a roundabout if I was slowing down but not planning to stop.

In didn't believe the bouncy suspension stories at first until I found a road that set it off. It must be something to do with the resonant frequency and the frequency of bumps. The damn thing nearly took of and in future I took that stretch of a NSL road at 20mph. Better dampers will easily fix but I am the sort that worries about warranties. I'll get mag ride next time in the hope that the firmer setting helps.

Handling was not such a problem for me. I have another car for fun. Traction through bends was great but the feeling of dragging that front end around was a bit of a drudge. Fwiw, my preferred technique was to use the weight of that engine to advantage, going in deep, braking late and hard, fast turn in to just past the apex before brakes released fully, hard on the power while unwinding just a touch of lock. There's a point where the extra traction of the front weight overcomes the intertia and turn in can be really sharp. Fast and effective but expensive in terms of tyre replacement.

Then there's that lovely interior and levels of refinement and the great interior packaging of such a small car. If they would just let us adjust the front rear power split and put proper dampers they'd have a wonderful package....

On balance, I'll have another but we're all different. I hope you end up enjoying whatever you settle on.

 

[Bitzieee]

Instances like this really nark me, they should be prioritising your car, you are already paying for it and have been provided a defective product.

The dealership doesn't decide to sell cars to break on purpose whilst in warranty because it costs them loads and makes them busy.
There are more than one customers in that dealership. And it's more customers demand more than anything. They will still be looking at it as soon as they can because they want it off their site. To give you an idea of how busy it is.

We can only do 8 MOT's a day. We have 8 booked in tomorrow.
Every salesman has 7 or 8 handovers to do in the day.
We have 26 Services to do
8 Diagnosis's
12 Jobs with parts

Some jobs cross over so 42 customers we have in tomorrow.

On top of this every salesman has 8 handovers Saturday which need prepping. And along with all this, part ex' which need prepping. Think theres over 50 awaiting prep at the moment which are being pushed for.

Trust me they will be looking at it as soon as they can, and they are not prioritising him least. But everyone elses jobs would have been arranged months ago, they cant delay patiently waiting customers because the king walked in with his breakdown I presume he is still mobile and Audi are paying £100 a day for him to drive a courtesy car at no expense

 

[TYb]

The dealership doesn't decide to sell cars to break on purpose whilst in warranty because it costs them loads and makes them busy.
There are more than one customers in that dealership. And it's more customers demand more than anything. They will still be looking at it as soon as they can because they want it off their site. To give you an idea of how busy it is.

We can only do 8 MOT's a day. We have 8 booked in tomorrow.
Every salesman has 7 or 8 handovers to do in the day.
We have 26 Services to do
8 Diagnosis's
12 Jobs with parts

Some jobs cross over so 42 customers we have in tomorrow.

On top of this every salesman has 8 handovers Saturday which need prepping. And along with all this, part ex' which need prepping. Think theres over 50 awaiting prep at the moment which are being pushed for.

Trust me they will be looking at it as soon as they can, and they are not prioritising him least. But everyone elses jobs would have been arranged months ago, they cant delay patiently waiting customers because the king walked in with his breakdown I presume he is still mobile and Audi are paying £100 a day for him to drive a courtesy car at no expense

Very valid points and I have been put in my box. May be the staffing levels aren't quite right there.

 

[TYb]

Very valid points and I have been put in my box. May be the staffing levels aren't quite right there.

I didn't mention cars breaking in warranty on purpose though?

I just find it frustrating that there seems to be an awful lot of issues popping up with the latest a3/s3's and the Audi customer care doesn't always match the sales service.

Any way I hope the car is sorted asap.

 

[Carl_S3]

Take into account that a diesal has more torque than the petrol

May not always count when setting off but will make a difference im sure...

 

[chrissy85]

Hi people - heard from the dealer ship today they managed to have a look at it last thing - not looking positive they cannot repgram the ecu, it has apparently lost all if its program. They say they need to get audi germany involved and will be sending the relevant documents across over the coming days to get extended support.

I'm not convinced with what they are telling me at the moment, but have no real reason to doubt with them. The service manager told me to expect a wait of 2 weeks to get complex problems like these resolved.

I know i caused a bit of a stir when i went against audi cars previously on here (sorry)! but its fair at this point that this will be my last audi, i have completely lost confidence.

The a5 loaner i have is actually alright, its only 150hp from what i can see but its got more get up and go than the my s3!

I will be contacting audi finance in the morning to see what they advise.

 

[BarryG79]

Instances like this really nark me, they should be prioritising your car, you are already paying for it and have been provided a defective product.

My local dealer told me they have 48hrs to diagnose the fault when recovered by Audi Assist like the OP. My gearbox failed on the Thursday which meant it would be Monday at the latest before they would look at it. Late Monday AM and it had been looked at, couldn't fault that timeframe to be honest and think it was pretty reasonable given they were landed with a unscheduled major fault late on the Thursday. It did however take 2wks to repair which I think is still good going given the fault.



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[TYb]

Hi people - heard from the dealer ship today they managed to have a look at it last thing - not looking positive they cannot repgram the ecu, it has apparently lost all if its program. They say they need to get audi germany involved and will be sending the relevant documents across over the coming days to get extended support.

I'm not convinced with what they are telling me at the moment, but have no real reason to doubt with them. The service manager told me to expect a wait of 2 weeks to get complex problems like these resolved.

I know i caused a bit of a stir when i went against audi cars previously on here (sorry)! but its fair at this point that this will be my last audi, i have completely lost confidence.

The a5 loaner i have is actually alright, its only 150hp from what i can see but its got more get up and go than the my s3!

I will be contacting audi finance in the morning to see what they advise.

That's a blow, fingers crossed resolved quickly, if it isn't you could consider rejection. That A5 is probably 180/190bhp, don't think they put 150's in the A5.

 

[Daveotto]

I know i caused a bit of a stir when i went against audi cars previously on here (sorry)! but its fair at this point that this will be my last audi, i have completely lost confidence.

Catching up on this thread after posting early on and seems like you have got one of those rogue "Friday afternoon" cars that can happen with any marque and can understand you not wanting to stick with Audi but whatever you decide, stay or go with the brand I hope you have better luck

Interested to see how this pans out for you. If you search the forum you will find a few occasions of "Friday afternoon" car.

One thing to bear in mind that pretty much up to around 6 months of ownership if you have continued problems you can put a case for the car not being as described (to spec) and not fit for purpose and can in effect reject it for a full refund or a completely new car, but you will have to push hard.

The dealer and Audi UK (if you need to take it that far) will play ball if you are hard but play fair in discussions on options........personal experience of a missing interior light pack (£150) leading to a new car, an A5 loan for European business trip, a weekend loan of a TTS and track day in a R8 V10+ plus some other benefits play testament to what you can achieve if you are not satisfied

 

[aussieR]

I'm surprised in a FL s3 you have experienced such lag. Their is a slight delay which is a combo of DSG, pedal lag and slight turbo lag. If you put in sports mode then it's basically non-existent. I don't find it nearly as bad as the pre facelift, I think the new 7SP trans big improvement over previous 6sp and that the throttle lag reduced.

My wife and I have had Pre FL s3 sedan, MK7R and now FL S3 sedan. I needed to get DSG tune and pedal box along with stage 2 mods on my MK7R to get it "perfect" for me. No hesitation at all, super responsive car and pulls hard from go to red line.

I personally don't feel that the FL S3 needs them at all. I still think lacks the power but simple Stage 1 tune would fix that.

In regards to handling I added RSB on my MK7R and that definitely improved the handling when cornering at speed. I think stock they handle very well anyway at normal speeds.

I felt the opposite to you regarding the M14oi I test drove one and I loved the engine, power and response but I thought the transmission better in S3, interior and features better in the s3, looks better and with AWD big plus for all weather conditions. I really wanted to LOVE the m140i but like the s3 not for you the BMW wasn't for us.

We did have some warranty work done on the S3 also with rear camera needing repair, fuel release needed replacing, had to get ECU part out from Germany and replace also - with that car would drive but flash number of faults, personally I was disappointed that we weren't given replacement car to drive and also had to replace steering rack. I'm guessing we were bit unlucky but that's what warranty is for I guess.

In the Golf R had it almost 3 1/2 years and tuned since dec 14 and only minor issue I've had was rattle in window (probably just something loose after tinting) which was fixed under warranty easily.

Right now more than happy with both the FL S3 sedan and MK7R. I hope that you get car that you love and enjoy driving.

 

[Jassyo06]

In a Carlsberg Car world....lt would be a car with a Audi interior that drove like a BMW....lol....but we all know....it aint,as my friend @Daveotto has mentioned the best Audi car WITHIN your BUDGET to drive is the TTS........probably better than the BMW mate,but hopefully you'll get out the S3....MAY TAKE TIME THOUGH

 

[Rolly12]

In a Carlsberg Car world....lt would be a car with a Audi interior that drove like a BMW....lol....but we all know....it aint,as my friend @Daveotto has mentioned the best Audi car WITHIN your BUDGET to drive is the TTS........probably better than the BMW mate,but hopefully you'll get out the S3....MAY TAKE TIME THOUGH

And sounded like a merc 6.2L


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[Rayner_1704]

You learn to live with the dsg I think it's laggy and especially how when you want to over take and it's takes a while to decide which gear to drop in to I do miss manual for that reason. Mines lowered around 20mm and handling is night and day. I'm in Wakefield my self so any questions give me a shout

 

[Tom.H]

Personally I don't think it takes much longer to drop a few cogs than it would if you done it in a manual, failing that I use the paddles to get ready for the overtake.

 

[AndyKnight]

I've been using a BMW ZF 8 speed in an M135i for the last 2 years and whilst the ZF is marginally quicker through the cogs I've got no real issues with the DSG so far.

 

[Flying Scotsman]

@Satory stated "Then there's that lovely interior and levels of refinement and the great interior packaging of such a small car. If they would just let us adjust the front rear power split and put proper dampers they'd have a wonderful package...."

The FL with individual Quattro adjustment mode set in dynamic will assist in that front rear power split and also 19" alloys with mag ride individual settings will also reduce the bouncy ride.

 

[chrissy85]

Hi just a quick update- i've had some luck with audi finance, they unbelievable replied to me yesterday (which is great considering it was saturday). They believe I have good grounds for rejecting the car, not only due to its none starting fault but due to my concerns with the gearbox and lag, they are adamant this is not normal although to be fair i'm not so sure they really understand what i'm on about.

However they are starting all the process of getting the dealer to fill out the relevant forms to start the rejection process. All being well I should be free of the car in the next couple of weeks, i stated i did not want it back even when fixed.

The bloke did relucantly admit there has been a bad batch of s3's. Interesting also they told me that all audi models are being rehomologated meaning they are all subject to new co2 figures etc.

All in all this is a good outcome for me, i wont be bothering with another VAG car after this, I will of course keep all you people upto date that have helped me.

Its such a shame the s3 is so dull to drive as an overall package its great, it just lacks the wow factor that you should get when spending such a large amount of money. I'm sure a lot will disagree with me, but it is well documented after reading many reviews that the s3 and even rs3 is just a bland car.

Thank you very much again.

 

[Daveotto]

ts such a shame the s3 is so dull to drive as an overall package its great, it just lacks the wow factor that you should get when spending such a large amount of money. I'm sure a lot will disagree with me, but it is well documented after reading many reviews that the s3 and even rs3 is just a bland car.

Pleased you are getting what you want and hope it gets sorted quickly. However, with all due respect your view of the S3 (and the VAG group) being bland is because it does seem you have had the misfortune of a Friday afternoon car. IMHO one bad pint of beer should not stop you going out next week for another pint or two

 

[Jassyo06]

Pleased you are getting what you want and hope it gets sorted quickly. However, with all due respect your view of the S3 (and the VAG group) being bland is because it does seem you have had the misfortune of a Friday afternoon car. IMHO one bad pint of beer should not stop you going out next week for another pint or two

He's a beemer man mate as long as he's happy each to there own as they say

 

[chrissy85]

He's a beemer man mate as long as he's happy each to there own as they say

You're probably right .. out of the numerous cars i've had (mercs volvos ford vauxhall etc.) the bmw is the only car i've regretted selling, but maybe you're right it's just down to this one not being quite right. I do think if it would drive half as good as it looks it would be the perfect car, i've always drove past s3's and rs3's and wanted one, all i mean is its just a shame that it doesn't quite live up to the expectations. This would have been the case regardless of it having faults by the way.

 

[Marky-s3]

Id say this comes down to the above i have had a go in my m8s m140 i and its not something id like to do again why were all different, Its not for me and coming in to winter its not going to put its power down well bad enough in the wet in the summer months

 

[Flying Scotsman]

To each, their own tastes and desires that is why I choose an S3 over the competition. Some will agree with my comments on the competition I looked at and others will disagree. To be very blunt you will always find some faults in a car you buy, as nothing is perfect.
But those that slam a car for it's driving dynamics after buying it without even a test drive or just a a 10 minute test drive need to have a long look in the mirror.

 

[Jassyo06]

You're probably right .. out of the numerous cars i've had (mercs volvos ford vauxhall etc.) the bmw is the only car i've regretted selling, but maybe you're right it's just down to this one not being quite right. I do think if it would drive half as good as it looks it would be the perfect car, i've always drove past s3's and rs3's and wanted one, all i mean is its just a shame that it doesn't quite live up to the expectations. This would have been the case regardless of it having faults by the way.

Hi mate my son is a sales manager for BMW by that l mean l could get a huge discount off most BMWs 25% but l still chose another Audi, why you ask because l think BMW are going through a transitional period with car design, the next generation of BMWs will be far nicer looking..... and being so, l will probably choose the big discount the next time let us know what car you get next

 

[B5NUT]

I went through the rejection process last year, and have to say a couple of weeks is very optimistic by Audi finance! My rejection lasted almost 12 weeks, and had to get the ombudsman involved. Audi finance are allowed up to 8 weeks to complete their investigation. My car should have been very simple as the fault was a known issue that Audi Germany had full knowledge of, but did not have a fix available at that point in time, and I wanted a replacement car from Audi (without the fault) !

Good luck with the rejection, but just don't expect it to be that quick.

 

[chrissy85]

I went through the rejection process last year, and have to say a couple of weeks is very optimistic by Audi finance! My rejection lasted almost 12 weeks, and had to get the ombudsman involved. Audi finance are allowed up to 8 weeks to complete their investigation. My car should have been very simple as the fault was a known issue that Audi Germany had full knowledge of, but did not have a fix available at that point in time, and I wanted a replacement car from Audi (without the fault) !

Good luck with the rejection, but just don't expect it to be that quick.

Unfortunately it seems like you are right, there is a complete change of stance today. The dealer has apparently "fixed" the car completely, no lag and its starting fine after the new updates sent from Germany. Conveniently they also rung back later stating they wanted to keep the car for 2 works as the service manager will be using it everyday to make sure its completely fixed.

Also audi finance have been on the phone saying the dealers report now states the vehicle is fixed.

Not the best outcome but i'm happy to give the car another shot after reading some above positive s3 comments.

Not sure if i can be ***** much more fighting with customer services etc. Anything for an easy life!!

 

[PanamaS3]

s3 saloon which to be fair drove just like mine maybe which had 0 lag in comfort mode, the gearbox was perfect and dare i say it handled better

S3 saloon for the win! lol
been an entertaining read this thread....yep DSG can be quirky/jerky etc. - stage 1 or 2 makes it a lot nicer IMO....me thinks also the car benefits a lot from much more regular DSG oil changes and also changing the spark plugs to a colder stop made a world of difference to me on start up/less engine hesitation. handling-wise - changing dampers is good....better springs (Sportlines seem good) not absolutely necessary...roll bar makes it stiffer but loses comfort....all depends what exactly you want in your set up....hard for it to be all things at once
if you want even more engine response then do air intake, turbo muffler delete, better diverter valve....then just say f...k it and get downpipe and intercooler and I'm sure you won't think of a beemer much again lol
hope you get all the crappy issues sorted....and remember....be cool, and don't diarrhea drive

 

[Bitzieee]

S3 saloon for the win! lol
been an entertaining read this thread....yep DSG can be quirky/jerky etc. - stage 1 or 2 makes it a lot nicer IMO....me thinks also the car benefits a lot from much more regular DSG oil changes and also changing the spark plugs to a colder stop made a world of difference to me on start up/less engine hesitation. handling-wise - changing dampers is good....better springs (Sportlines seem good) not absolutely necessary...roll bar makes it stiffer but loses comfort....all depends what exactly you want in your set up....hard for it to be all things at once
if you want even more engine response then do air intake, turbo muffler delete, better diverter valve....then just say f...k it and get downpipe and intercooler and I'm sure you won't think of a beemer much again lol
hope you get all the crappy issues sorted....and remember....be cool, and don't diarrhea drive

Jheez you don't mess around do you?

Had my S3 since Saturday and not pushed it fully yet. Had a res delete done and must say I haven't encountered any of the OP's issues.
Perhaps that's from me being used to the Polo GTI which had a dry gearbox so a little bit more 'jolty'

Gearbox downshifts instantly, upshifts instantly unless you're feathering the throttle but that's how it is and you work around that.

Sounds absolutely mega with the res delete and really turns heads, suspensions a lot comfier and don't feel myself rolling round which is surprising as the GTI is rock solid.

And turbo lag, all cars have turbo lag that's why people get N/A engines
I feel like I get a surge of power from pressing the pedal and within a second the turbo kicks in and you realise its even quicker than you already thought!

Can't complain with mine at all, absolutely made up. Admittedly always going to be biased and I drive all the VWG cars all the time...

 

[Jimbbobw1977]

Unfortunately it seems like you are right, there is a complete change of stance today. The dealer has apparently "fixed" the car completely, no lag and its starting fine after the new updates sent from Germany. Conveniently they also rung back later stating they wanted to keep the car for 2 works as the service manager will be using it everyday to make sure its completely fixed.

I certainly wouldn't want the service manager driving my car around for two weeks!!!! If that was me I would be saying no to that...

I've had British touring car racing driver Mat Jackson driving mine before and I still worried

 

[-Ju-]

I
I've had British touring car racing driver Mat Jackson driving mine before and I still worried

I'd be worried too, I've seen how he barges through in traffic lol

 

[wab172uk]

Unfortunately it seems like you are right, there is a complete change of stance today. The dealer has apparently "fixed" the car completely, no lag and its starting fine after the new updates sent from Germany. Conveniently they also rung back later stating they wanted to keep the car for 2 works as the service manager will be using it everyday to make sure its completely fixed.

Also audi finance have been on the phone saying the dealers report now states the vehicle is fixed.

Not the best outcome but i'm happy to give the car another shot after reading some above positive s3 comments.

Not sure if i can be ***** much more fighting with customer services etc. Anything for an easy life!!

The dealer will do everything in his power not to have the car rejected. I bought a MK7 Golf GTI performance 3 years ago. It had an issue with the gearbox from day one. I bought the car from just outside of London, and I live in the North East, so took my car to my local dealer. Over the few months, it was in and out of the dealer. It was "Fixed" yet the fault still occurred when I collected the car. Many failed fixes later, VW changed the gearbox (a manual) to put things right. Unfortunately it still happened. Every time the dealer drove the car, there was nothing wrong with it, and I should "Learn to change gear properly) which totally infuriated me.Yet when ever I insisted on sitting in the car on the test drive, the mechanic would confirm the fault. He could say anything else as I was sat right there.

After months of this happening, I wrote to VW Germany, who bounced it straight to VW UK, who are the most useless bunch of C*** ever, and have no power what-so-ever. They insisted I contacted the dealer who sold me the car, and as predicted the dealer wasn't happy. They insisted that they should be given every opportunity to fix the car, even though my local dealer hadn't fixed it in month, and had received a new gearbox.

When I asked how many times they wish to try and fix the car, they said as many times as it took. This would mean a round trip of over 550 miles each time, and days off work driving up and down. Realising I was on a lost cause, and having the car being in the dealer more than on my driveway, I made the very expensive decision to cut my losses. Sold the car taking a massive hit, and moved on.

On experience, you'll struggle to reject the car. My hands were tied even more, as I had no finance on the car, so couldn't threaten to stop paying.

 

[Vertigo1]

Mine was a PFL and I'll be shopping for a FL next year. From everything I have read I'll just put the FL TCS into sports mode as part of the start up routine and that'll be one problem I won't need to discover.

Doesn't putting drive select in dynamic mode force the S-Tronic into S mode? If so can't you just leave the drive select in dynamic - as it remembers the selection at start-up, wouldn't that automatically put the gearbox into S mode all the time?

 

[Satory]

Doesn't putting drive select in dynamic mode force the S-Tronic into S mode? If so can't you just leave the drive select in dynamic - as it remembers the selection at start-up, wouldn't that automatically put the gearbox into S mode all the time?

On the PFL no but I referred to the TCS being in sport mode on the FL cars as some have reported here that is stops its overzealous nature. I didn't think TCS can be left in sport mode it will but be nice if it can. Dynamic mode doesn't put TCS into sport mode does it?

 

[aussieR]

OP- sorry to hear you didn't get result you wanted. Hopefully once you get car back it's all fixed.

To help improve things I'd suggest springs and RSB for handling and I'd start by getting pedal box to remove the sluggish throttle. I suggest that firstly as makes big improvement and removable and untraceable so won't affect your warranty. Which after your poor luck with car I'd suggest not voiding too soon with tunes.

If you want more performance later then look at stage 1 tunes and finally stage 2 mods.

I really love the S3/MK7R overall but agree it lacks the wow performance stock- for me it took stage 2 with TCU tune and pedal box to make performance " perfect" for me.

Everyone wants different things from car and mods differently. My entire goal from start was to have most responsive car possible as daily driver with nice induction sound and improved exhaust note- hence stage 2. I can tell you it makes 6L v8s feel very slow in comparison!

 

[Timi8888]

The dealer will do everything in his power not to have the car rejected. I bought a MK7 Golf GTI performance 3 years ago. It had an issue with the gearbox from day one. I bought the car from just outside of London, and I live in the North East, so took my car to my local dealer. Over the few months, it was in and out of the dealer. It was "Fixed" yet the fault still occurred when I collected the car. Many failed fixes later, VW changed the gearbox (a manual) to put things right. Unfortunately it still happened. Every time the dealer drove the car, there was nothing wrong with it, and I should "Learn to change gear properly) which totally infuriated me.Yet when ever I insisted on sitting in the car on the test drive, the mechanic would confirm the fault. He could say anything else as I was sat right there.

After months of this happening, I wrote to VW Germany, who bounced it straight to VW UK, who are the most useless bunch of C*** ever, and have no power what-so-ever. They insisted I contacted the dealer who sold me the car, and as predicted the dealer wasn't happy. They insisted that they should be given every opportunity to fix the car, even though my local dealer hadn't fixed it in month, and had received a new gearbox.

When I asked how many times they wish to try and fix the car, they said as many times as it took. This would mean a round trip of over 550 miles each time, and days off work driving up and down. Realising I was on a lost cause, and having the car being in the dealer more than on my driveway, I made the very expensive decision to cut my losses. Sold the car taking a massive hit, and moved on.

On experience, you'll struggle to reject the car. My hands were tied even more, as I had no finance on the car, so couldn't threaten to stop paying.

Audi maybe different. We had a complaint from a customer about her A3 E-tron. She had it for 3 months and her reason was 'it was embarrassing driving into the tennis club and all the other ladies had Range Rovers and Mercedes Sports cars' and that 'it no longer fitted her image'. She claimed it was marketed as a luxury and fancy car but wasn't in real life. They gave her a massive discount on a new car at a big loss so that she got her deposit and monthlies back on the E Tron. Pathetic excuse I think tbh!

 

[Daveotto]

@chrissy85 cant wait for you to get your "fixed" car back and here what you think. Does seem they have been very prompt in trying to fix the problem. I hope its fixed and you have a better experience, or maybe its just not the car for you, I wait for the next update!!!!

 

[chrissy85]

Sorry for the delay writing back, i got the car back yesterday, the car now starts fine (hooray)! But it drives exactly the same, the lag is still there just as it was before despite them saying it was fixed in a software update. Also the start stop is now not working correctly, it stops at lights etc. correctly but immediately pops back up with a start stop system failure and i have to turn off the ignition and restart manually. How they have not picked up on this during their "road tests" i will never know.

A phone call to the dealer today advise me to call audi assist, or to disable stop start and bring it in next Monday.

Really have lost faith with this car and will be trying the rejection tactic further. I am out on a 3 hour alone test drive in a Focus RS tomorrow amd afterwards a M240i, I need to get the petrolhead in me back, i'm bored of cars and sadly the S3 is not for me. It really does feel like a posing machine than a proper drivers car. Not impressed.

Thanks for all of your advise throughout.

 

[TYb]

Sorry for the delay writing back, i got the car back yesterday, the car now starts fine (hooray)! But it drives exactly the same, the lag is still there just as it was before despite them saying it was fixed in a software update. Also the start stop is now not working correctly, it stops at lights etc. correctly but immediately pops back up with a start stop system failure and i have to turn off the ignition and restart manually. How they have not picked up on this during their "road tests" i will never know.

A phone call to the dealer today advise me to call audi assist, or to disable stop start and bring it in next Monday.

Really have lost faith with this car and will be trying the rejection tactic further. I am out on a 3 hour alone test drive in a Focus RS tomorrow amd afterwards a M240i, I need to get the petrolhead in me back, i'm bored of cars and sadly the S3 is not for me. It really does feel like a posing machine than a proper drivers car. Not impressed.

Thanks for all of your advise throughout.

Sounds like you really have got a duff car, hopefully the rejection will go smoothly.

Mine really doesn't suffer from lag, I think there is something up.

Good luck with the tests.

 

[mrbubba]

Sounds like you've bought a "Friday afternoon" car!

Sent from my ONEPLUS A3003 using Tapatalk

 

[Flying Scotsman]

I thought the dealer was going to keep the car for 2 weeks not 4 days? to see if all issues had been resolved by the service manager. The dealership you are dealing with sounds a wee bit suspect with their last response....phone Audi Assist with your issues and bring it in on Monday. That is not an acceptable response from a repair executed by the dealer. Mind you there are always two sides to a story.
As some have detailed the rejection process can be lengthy and aggravating as Audi have the right to try and resolve your issues over a reasonable time frame and to accommodate you with a suitable replacement vehicle whilst doing this, but you sound like you want no part of this, as you are test driving other makes of vehicles, as is your right to do so. The wait to get all financial items sorted could be lengthy, if you do not accept a new replacement Audi S3, if that is offered to you.

 

[aussieR]

I think you made the wrong choice buying the car in the start. If you were looking for a performance drivers car. The thing that audi and VW do so well is the overall package. They are clearly not driver's cars like Focus RS, Megane and BMW 140/240. The BMW the most luxury of the more driver's cars.

I totally agree in stock form they are a bit bland driving but the overall package is so good it was clear choice for most of us. Then once you mod car to have it how you want it with tunes, stage 2 mods, and possibly springs and RSB then the car really comes alive and is a drivers car with super car performance and you still have all the amazing luxury features.

If I was told that I could never have modified my car would I have still chosen it?Probably but would have needed to swap to something more like you're looking at after year or two as I would have wanted more.

Now that I have my car the way I want it I couldn't imagine driving anything else except like proper M series or AMG but I'm not dropping HUGE money to do that.