A3 3-door Delays

aodh_rua

I ordered a new A3 back in February that was supposed to arrive around now, but the dealer have been in touch to say that there's a delay with the 3-door models and I'll be waiting til at least the end of May. Just wondering if anyone else has experienced similar lately.

joeL

Hey,
Don't tell me that!!
I'm in much the same situation as you - I ordered a new A3 3dr in mid-Feb, I'm expecting to get it in the next week or two!
I called into the dealers a fortnight ago and he told me it was on schedule, being built at that time. So unless somethings changed since... I will check with my dealer again and report back.

PS: perhaps the delays are down to the imminent new face on the 3dr (the big grill, which I was hoping to avoid!)

Joe.

aodh_rua

My dealer said all was on track the last time I spoke to them (about two or three weeks ago), but now it's been delayed. Just some 'general delay' with 3 door A3's. I didn't even think of the delay being due to design changes. I presume that grill is the one on the sportback.

joeL

God damn it if thats the case - I was looking forward to getting my hands on it soon...
I will be checking this evening, and I'll report back on it.
Is yours a 1.6 or an FSI or a diesel? That might have something to do with it??

Yes, the 3 door is due to get that sportsback grill...

Of course my dealer never contacts me - I'm the one that does the chasing!

aodh_rua

Mine's a regular 1.6 engine Ambition. The dealer wasn't aware of the delay until I chased them and they checked up, so maybe yours don't realise the delay either. Nothing was mentioned about the delay being down to grill,in fact there was no excuse at all.

bazz26

aodh_rua wrote:

I ordered a new A3 back in February that was supposed to arrive around now, but the dealer have been in touch to say that there's a delay with the 3-door models and I'll be waiting til at least the end of May. Just wondering if anyone else has experienced similar lately.

Is it possible that the dealer gave your car to somebody else?

Somebody comes in with alot cash who doesn't want to go on a waiting list and has no trade-in so the dealer sells your car to him/her, gets themselves a nice bonus and gives you a bull**** story about delays.

joeL

Mine's a 1.6 FSI ambition.
I'll be checking this evening hopefully - I hope its not bad news...

The new grill is due to appear in June or July from what I've read, and I've not seen UK-based buyers complaining about delays lately either - check out www.audi-sport.net.

aodh_rua

bazz26 wrote:

Is it possible that the dealer gave your car to somebody else?

Somebody comes in with alot cash who doesn't want to go on a waiting list and has no trade-in so the dealer sells your car to him/her, gets themselves a nice bonus and gives you a bull**** story about delays.

I don't think so - my car isn't a standard model so I doubt they would've sold it. And since the original time was 8-10 weeks it would only be getting to them in the next week or so at the earliest.

JoeL - what made you go for the FSI? I considered it, and while the extra power and efficiency sounded nice I was put off by it not running on regular octane fuel.

joeL

I went for the FSI, cos I tested the standard 1.6 and was not too impressed (sorry!). It just felt a bit slow and unrefined compared to my 3 year old 1.6 Focus. I drove a Sportback with the FSI and it seemed much better. Also, it has a 6-speed gearbox.

I know about the fuel alright, but the dealer reckoned standard unleaded was fine (although I'm very sceptical about what dealers tell me) and from what I read, the only advantage of using super is a slight improvement in economy...

aodh_rua

I'd say it was nicer alright - but I was put off by the fuel, and I'm not sure how much I'd trust running it on normal 95 unleaded.

aodh_rua

Can you post back when you get through to your dealer? I'd love to know if you're in the same position having ordered at the same time. And if you're left waiting too, I'd be most interested to hear if they've given you a reason.

joeL

Its actually very hard to get super-unleaded in this country! I haven't seen it for sale locally for a long time. Unless you count Shell Pura, which as far as I know is a marketing gimmick.

What the dealer told me, was that the engine is designed to run on low-sulpher fuel, which apparenty all unleaded fuel is nowadays...

Did you put any options on it otherwise? Climate or sunroof?
I went for Climate (& ESP), the dealer threw in an armrest and lights package - how good of him

I'll deffo post back when I talk to the dealer.

joeL

Right...

I phoned the dealer just now - and my car is in the country! He expects to have it delivered by the middle of next week. I asked him about the delays - he knew about it, but hasn't affected mine seemingly.

What exact date did you order? I did on 15th February...

aodh_rua

I ordered on the 19th. Seems strange. Maybe I'll get back on to my guys. Do you mind me asking which dealership you went to? I ordered mine from Sheehy's in Naas.

joeL

Don't mind at all... I'm based in Galway, so I ordered in Western Motors, just outside Galway city.

If it does arrive next week it will be slightly ahead of schedule, which I definitely didn't expect - I waited 16 weeks for the Ford Focus back in 2002!!

Maybe I'm just lucky this time - seems very unfortunate you'd have to wait another 6 weeks. You only ordered a few days after I did!
Did you order any options which may have caused it? I remember my Ford dealer blaming me for ordering ABS last time round...

A plus point - you might get the facelift version. I'm not mad keen on the grill myself but at least you'd have the latest look.

I'll keep you updated on anything I hear.

aodh_rua

I don't think I went for anything too far out of the ordinary. Hmm - very strange. Thanks for the info!