Car Written Off!

[Rams_gti6 12 1 Cars]

Because they can make a profit by selling it. Especially since it's...It wasn't free. Rams paid for it. It might not have been an explicit line-item on the invoice, but the cost of it got rolled into the deal somewhere, probably in the finance costs. After all, those "free" things with the finance stop you looking elsewhere for cheaper finance...It's no excuse, but... excuse/excuse/excuse.Were you driving this flamin' A3 or standing behind it pushing it? Why on earth would you need to see from 4.5m back? COME ON... Either it's no excuse or it's a whole long string of excuses... The photo you posted shows CLEARLY that there's a big solid sign there. A big solid sign that could be hiding something. So... you take extra care.I idly wonder how many people have pulled out of that petrol station without hitting anything, since the sign was put there.

I didn't set the regulations,

 

[Rams_gti6 12 1 Cars]

The S3 is over priced and the least interesting car in that hyper hatch class (M135i and A45). I had an 8p s3 sportback and it was as dull as anything.

I tried to get a CLA for my mother in law recently. Mercedes are doing zero discounts on them and the most powerful diesel offering doesn't come anywhere near something like the 330d or even a 125d for that matter.

If you are going to finance the 330d I'd avoid ex-demo straight of. The APR through AUC is twice what you'd pay on a new order. You can get close to 20% discount off list brand new or the lease deals on these are heavily supported at the moment so probably a better choice as I bet the monthlies are around the same as what you were paying on your A3 only the initial payment will only be about £1500.[/quote

 

Good advice thanks,

 

The bmw dealership are able to offer the same interest rates on their used (or this specific one, not sure) as the new they are the only brand that can though. As we are expecting any time we can't wait for a brand new as for delivery times,etc. my dad's got a 8p, I like it admittedly not really exciting but does the job and does it well. A45 is too expensive did have a look at them and my girlfriend says the m135i reminds her of snoopy the cartoon to look at lol and won't entertain it. (maybe the hormones!) I got £15 a month of merc straight away and sat nav chucked in for nothing without even trying hard and you can squeeze them if you hold out long enough I saved £80 odd a month when we first bought the a3 last year.

[TooMany2cvs 65]

I didn't set the regulations,

Those regs are for a junction where a road meets a road. That's not a forecourt exit.

 

The front bumper of an A3 to the driver's eyeline is, what, 2m at most?

[Rams_gti6 12 1 Cars]

What are you trying to prove? The regs are for any type of junction that meets a road regardless of if the road is out of a petrol station or not. Even if you look at the other measurements that are stipulated the sign still is not within them. Do you own the petrol station or something? Seem very keen on proving me even more wrong than I've already admitted!

 

Go on the actual page yourself and read section 12.1 that is specially for petrol stations and they're advertisements.

Edited January 3, 2014 by Rams_gti6

[GLPoomobile 958]

James, I think the point a few of us are tring to make (again, take this as constructive criticism) is that it seems you must have been quite far back from the junction for the sign to have obscured your view, even if it was closer to the edge than the guidelines specify. Looking at the photo you posted back on page one, showing the sign, the photo looks to be taken from a good half car length at least, if not a full car length, back from the junction. To me it looks like if you took the same photo from the junction line, where one would expect your car to be lined up if you were getting ready to pull out, that the sign would not be obscuring vision to such an extent.

 

As said before, it's this sort of argunent that you will come up against if you try to aportion blame to the positioning of the sign.

[McDude 33]

With a baby on the way, would you not be better off considering a larger vehicle than an A3? With kids you can never have too much space as the toot and paraphenalia that comes along for the ride just seems to grow and grow. Don't get me wrong, you can have a smaller car, but it is so much easier to just throw things in the back and not care.

 

I'd say 3-series wagon as a minimum, though I actually think they are disappointingly small inside. I'm also a bit out of touch with new vehicle prices £23k for a 1.4l A3?!?! Fair enough if they didn't depreciate too badly, but it seems that they do! You'd get a loaded to the gunwhales Focus ST wagon for that money and you'd be 250bhp torque steering all the way home. Way more interesting to drive and it would have a task to depreciate as much as your Audi.

 

Just as good in a crash too!

[GLPoomobile 958]

That's a fair point McDude. Don't underestimate how much a larger 5 door car will make your life so much more bearable! I used to think other people made far too much of a big deal about how you MUST have a 5 door car for ease of access putting the car seat in and out, and how you need a massive boot to carry all but the kitchen sink. Thing is, it's not all hot air after all!

 

I'm sick to death of getting the car seat in and out of the back of my V70 (although it is a non-ISOFIX seat so maybe a bit more hassle in that regard) and dread to think how annoying it would be doing the same in a 3 door car. And believe it or not, the "chassis" (it's a Cosatto travel system) actually takes up a fair bit of the footprint in the boot of the V70. Sure, it would fit in the boot of most smaller cars, but then factor in shopping and other stuff and it would soon become too much of a palavar going anywhere.

 

Now I totally appreciate what other parents have said in the past. Big car, easy life. Believe me, you need to remove as much stress from daily life as you can!

[mowflow 67]

With a baby on the way, would you not be better off considering a larger vehicle than an A3? With kids you can never have too much space as the toot and paraphenalia that comes along for the ride just seems to grow and grow. Don't get me wrong, you can have a smaller car, but it is so much easier to just throw things in the back and not care.

 

I'd say 3-series wagon as a minimum, though I actually think they are disappointingly small inside. I'm also a bit out of touch with new vehicle prices £23k for a 1.4l A3?!?! Fair enough if they didn't depreciate too badly, but it seems that they do! You'd get a loaded to the gunwhales Focus ST wagon for that money and you'd be 250bhp torque steering all the way home. Way more interesting to drive and it would have a task to depreciate as much as your Audi.

 

Just as good in a crash too!

I looked at the ST last year and it cost more than £100 a month more than an M135i. The A3 actually has one of the lowest initial depreciation curves in its class so although the ST would cost less I bet that as a percentage of its value depreciation would be worse and after 3 or 4 years it would be worth a fair bit less than something wearing an Audi badge.

 

FWIW I agree that the Focus is a more attractive prospect from a drivers perspective but bought new on finance or with cash they are hard to justify...... Especially when the same payments can get you another 2 cylinders, another litre, RWD and almost 100bhp more without any sacrifice to fuel economy.

 

We have a 3 year old and a 16 month old and my 1 series is fine in terms of size. I had my S3 when our oldest was born and it was actually a lot bigger than the 1 series (not difficult). The only car from the OPs list that I'd avoid due to kids is the CLA. The slope of the rear door makes the rear seat very awkward for putting baby seats in. For this very reason my mother in law ended up with a C class instead. I have to admit that we do have a Picasso as well but I do think that it's a modern misconception that you need a massive car if you have a child/children. We never carried loads of stuff. Modern prams fold up pretty small and the car seat slots onto the pram base, nappy bag and you're sorted.

 

Actually. It'd all fit in a 205 no bother. Although I wouldn't put my kids in one of those death traps

Edited January 3, 2014 by mowflow

[Rams_gti6 12 1 Cars]

We ordered the s3 went for brand new as interest rates on used were stupid by comparison. Went for the sportback in Panther black, the multi-spoke wheels, sat nav and heated seats. We got offered £20,600 by our insurance and it had done 17000 miles so only lost £1800 since new. Not bad I don't think. Shows what the audi depreciation is like. Doubt a bmw, merc or ford would have done as well. Going to be the longest 12 weeks of my life now least in a week or so we'll have a baby to keep us busy!

[Rams_gti6 12 1 Cars]

[mowflow 67]

Very nice. It will be a massive step up from the last car and the 4wd will certainly be safer with a family.

 

Is it S tronic? (Are all s3s s tronic now) the s tronic box was the best thing about my S3.

[Rams_gti6 12 1 Cars]

Yea it's s tronic, manual is still standard, s tronic is £1400 extra. Yeah big step in power more than twice as much. I used to have a 225 s3 years ago and my dads got the previous model but this is something else, we had it all day yesterday to see what fuel economy was like etc and it was good, decent economic driving returned the claimed 40mpg with ease and when thrashed still around 30 ish. Straight line speed was stupid but then again the previous model is no slouch with s tronic. Think I've made the right choice as the m135 would be no good in our village for my girlfriend come icey weather!

[claypole1360 6]

Sorry about the accident, as far as the car is concerned it is a bit of metal, thankfully you were all safe.

 

We went from a 98 Mondeo V6 (which I loved) to a renault scenic which I grew to love but which I hated at first. The space and the fact that I didn't have to bend down to squeeze the babyseat in the back made a huge difference, I also learned the pleasure of laidback driving. If you have the financial clout to go with something nice then look to anything with a raised ride height.

 

Like me, at the time I had a 1.9 gti as well for fun.

 

Calvin.

[Rams_gti6 12 1 Cars]

We considered many cars 4x4's been in there aswel. We had and liked the a3 before so the obvious choice was a 5door model with slightly better spec oh and 300 horse power, most importantly thought its cost us pittance really to upgrade. The insurance is more but can't have everything!

[Rams_gti6 12 1 Cars]

Beat the waiting list didn't I!

 

What a scam that gap/RTI insurance is by the way ;-)

[TooMany2cvs 65]

...and don't do it again...

[Rams_gti6 12 1 Cars]

I'm so conscious driving now, a good thing though I suppose

[dcc 855]

I find cautious drivers are the worse on the roads, and are likely to lead to more incidents by frustrating other drivers.

[Jolly Green Monster 51 1 Cars]

I find cautious drivers are the worse on the roads, and are likely to lead to more incidents by frustrating other drivers.

 

I dont think he mean he now wears a flat cap and does 35mph everywhere regardless of limit lol

 

I am sure pausing at a junction for an extra 5seconds wont cause an accident

[mowflow 67]

God, Audi knocked that car together quick. Not like their usual "yes, we can MAYBE have that built by this time next year sir".

[Rams_gti6 12 1 Cars]

Audi originally wanted me to wait 15 weeks but I rang round the country to find one in similar to the spec I wanted and ended up finding one unregistered at Huddersfield audi 70 miles from me so snapped it up just ended up with a 63 not a 14.

Edited January 25, 2014 by Rams_gti6

[mrfirepro 127 1 Cars]

How did the GAP/RTI insurance work out for you?

[Rams_gti6 12 1 Cars]

I got paid out back to invoice price, I only owed 'x' amount on the finance so the balance was mine to keep, £5000...thanks very much lol

[mrfirepro 127 1 Cars]

It's nice to know that, because as a rule I always turn it down as I see it as a bit of a con, maybe in future I'll look more closely at it..

 

 

 

Great car BTW

[Rams_gti6 12 1 Cars]

The important part of it is the part that covers you for RTI, return to invoice. Sometimes standard gap will just settle your finace, either way the RTI is available for peanuts really £150 for 4 years, nothing when you think of the potential gain for £40 a year!