# Barstewards!!



## Karcsi (Mar 6, 2003)

All their talk about not wanting to discount to try and keep residuals strong, and yet dealers are already flogging off their demostrator A3s for heavy discounts.

http://ncs.autotrader.co.uk/ncs/New...9 1nj&distance=40&max_records=50&modelexact=1

The link may work, or may not. Anyway, I took at look at autotrader.co.uk and searched for new A3s. It came up with 3 from Stortford Audi!!

Audi A3 2.0 TDI SE 3 door *NEW MODEL*, Diesel, 2003 03 Reg Lava Grey Metallic with Beige Leather Upholstery, 1,000 miles, 3 Doors. UK Audi Dealer Supplied Car, Our Demonstrator, Air-Conditioning, Climate Control, Symphony 6 CD System Â£19,495

That's about a Â£2,000 saving.

Audi A3 2.0 FSI SE 3 door *NEW MODEL*, 2003 03 Reg, Manual 5 speed, Silver Metallic with Black Cloth Upholstery, Hatchback, 1,000 miles, 3 Doors. UK Audi Dealer Supplied Car, Our Demonstrator, Air-Conditioning, Climate Control, Symphony 6 CD System Â£17,995

About Â£1,800 saving

Audi A3 2.0 FSI Sport 3 door *NEW MODEL*, 2003 03 Reg, Manual 5 speed, Silver Metallic with Blue Cloth Upholstery, Hatchback, 1,000 miles, 3 Doors. UK Audi Dealer Supplied, Our Demonstrator, Air-Conditioning, Climate Control, Concert Single CD Player, Â£17,495

About Â£1,900 saving

On the other hand, Listers Worcester are advertising their demostrators at close to OTR price:

Audi A3 2.0 TDI 140 Sport finished in Toucan Yellow with light grey alcantara interior. concert II with bose, drivers armrest, heated seats, Light sensor pack, xenon lights, thru load, storage tray pack, rear floor mats, electric lumbar support, acoustic rear parking, available september 2003. Ex-demonstrator. Â£21,820

About Â£200 premium

Audi A3 2.0 FSI Sport finished in Lava Grey with light grey alcantara interior. Light sensor pack, thru load, storage pack, rear floor mats, electric lumbar support. Ex-demonstrator. Â£20,545

Â£100 discount

I thought there would be strict controls over how quickly you can sell on a demostrator, or at least some control to the extent that you wouldn't be getting another one in the near future?


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## vagman (Sep 6, 2002)

Karcsi,

Just a thought, but could the heavily discounted 2.0 FSI's perhaps be 1.6's instead.

I could be wrong but the 2.0FSI's are 6 speed jobs, whereas the ad's refer to them as 5 speed.

Given that it is a brand new model, it is hard to believe that dealers are offering huge discounts so soon after launch.

Listers prices seem much more realistic


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## Karcsi (Mar 6, 2003)

I think they've just got it wrong with the number of gears.

Lister Worcester have theirs on their stocklist and say they are only available in September (although, at those proces you might as well order a new one - perhaps delivery times are increasing because of its popularity). But Stortford haven't put them on their list of stock.

I find it astonishing that as soon as they hit 1000miles they should be flogging them off. If they were A2s, I'd understand .

Audi UK ought to give them a slap.


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## vagman (Sep 6, 2002)

I read a post from ScoTTy in which he noted that Audi UK had already delivered 300 new A3's to customers by the end June with a further 1,000 orders taken.

This would suggest that the launch had been a success and thus no need to heavily discount in order to sell the cars.

It may have been Stortford pulling a flanker, by advertising discounted A3's only to advise prospective buyers that it had been sold and try and then try to get them to order a new one.

I would be disappointed if Audi UK were permitting heavy discounting, especially as the car is positioned as a premium sports hatch.


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## Karcsi (Mar 6, 2003)

This is the reply I've got from Audi CS:



> Thank you for your recent email from the Audi (UK) website. Â
> 
> Audi (UK) set a recommended retail price for all of the approved Audi
> Centres. All Audi Centres are independent autonomous, which means within
> ...


Ha ha! That's such a crock of stuff. Especially after an Audi dealer said that they cannot discount cars too much or too often as Audi come down on them like a ton of bricks.

You could be right though. It could be a ruise, or just a publicity stunt to attract orders. Although, they are advertiseing them outside the official Audi secondhand network.


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## vagman (Sep 6, 2002)

Stortford Audi could be a rogue dealer, unless you are aware of others doing similar. :-/

Last night, I scanned the Audi site for Used A3s, but could not find one single new version A3 throughout the entire UK dealership network.

Audi have tried to maintain strong residuals in the past and it would be odd if they let their hard won "prestige badge image" slip.

Re the reply from ACS, it was a pile of, wasn't it.


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## scoTTy (May 6, 2002)

I'm at Stortford Audi first thing in the mornign so I'll see what I can find out.

I'll be there very early so the sales guys may not be there but we'll see.....


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