Hi all!

Ok, I am/was after an A3 1.8T but the new A3 has my attention. BUT if I get the A3 now, they are throwing in loads of great stuff without a hike in price.

You just know when the new car comes out, all the climate control and stuff like half leather are going to be at extra cost...

So, do I wait till summer or get a great deal now?

wait till the summer, there will still b a few brand new (old style) ones left for dirt cheap prices

What kind of price do you think a new S3 will be going for in the summer?

The old model will depreciate fast. It's always worth buying the new model, particularly given the long life cycle of the A3. The new model will be a better car all round (esp. chassis, brakes, steering), even if the photos so far don't appear radically different. As for the diesel, I'm going to order the new 2.0TDi and enjoy 320NM torque with great fuel economy. I should receive it end May (I live in Germany) so I'll let you know how I get on. DSG is great but I'll stick with the 6 manual. PS. I had a 265 S3 in New Zealand but then moved to Germany and have been subjected to 8 months of girl friends 60HP Polo. So any diesel would be great now!

Wait for the new one, unless you are really strapped for cash.

The new A3 should have a much more competent chassis, if the A4 is anything to go by.

I have a new A4 1.8T, after previously having A3 1.8T then TQ. The handling and grip of the A4 easily beats either of the A3s, and I believe the new A3 will get a version of the A4 suspension.

I doubt Audi will start to drastically discount the old model when the new shape is available - they are not known for their discounting nor would current A3 owners be very happy, and so lose potential upgraders.

Nissan's CEO recently said that a model is most profitable in its first three years. Models are mostly unprofitable by their last. So Audi will rather sell their new model than their old, which means no heavy discount of the old.

They recently reduced the price of their 5-door model to be the same as the 3-door, trying to encourage 5-door sales as those will be plentyful. So don't expect large discounts on the 3-dr model. And I'm sure there will be no change to the 5-door model, in price or spec.

I'm in the same boat as CarBum. I'm waiting for prices and specs, and then if there is more than £2k between a 2.0TDI and a same spec 1.9TDI, then I'm going for the old model; which means the new model will have to be within £500 of the old model's OTR price.

I decided to go with the older model and ordered one about a month ago. Should be driving it in a couple of weeks.

Here's why:
I was one of the first to order the A3 in Belgium. I had to wait 6 months before they could deliver it. I had some remarks about the finish of the interior. They told me it would have to return to Germany to be refurbished and that most likely it would be offered to someone else, so I put up with it.
The clock runs 15 minutes fast every month, the garage told me they couldn't fix that.
Recently I got hit by the relais 106 bug.

That's why I decided to go with the current model. I'm pretty sure they'll deliver it on time and they've got all the glitches out.

Had I ordered the new model, chances are I would have to wait for 6 to 9 months and there's a higher risk of small production errors and stuff.

i went for the old one, i couldn't wait till summer for the new one as i needed a car, plus I got £1500 off, ordered today, should have it by saturday!