[adrean8j]

Ok guys here is the story that has been bugging me for the last couple of hours:

A co-worker of mine says he test drove a 135i in L.A. back in April. Didnt get it because it was a coupe and wanted 4 doors...Fair enough. He then proceeds to tell me that he went to the Audi Dealership and was shown an Audi A3 with S3 upgrade kit on it. I was like umm...okkkk...they dont offer the S3 in the states. He says to me it is an upgrade...S3 turbo, S3 exhaust, wheels, S-Line interior, etc, etc...then he says on the back it is badged A3/S3 with the FSI 2.0T FSI below that...and it says S-line on the sides and the inside. Now normally I would pass this off as another poseur buuuut roughly two weeks ago another acquaintance of mine mentioned that his buddy had an Audi A4/S4 and I gave him the business for being an idiot and believing that...now I am not so sure. I have searched the internets and interwebs and found nothing. So if anyone knows whats going on here let me know! (BTW this was bought brand-new at the dealer):iono:

[stampchez]

Well there is no S3 in the US. I guess the dealer could have modded it to be close to S3 spec but they would be voiding the manufacturer warranty. Maybe they are supplying their own warranty? Audi does sell a 2.0T S-Line in the US but that doesn't have any engine changes over the standard A3. Seems a little shady. I would be interested to see what they are actually selling.

[adrean8j]

^^^Yeah me too...it just didnt seem exactly right to me. I dont doubt my co-workers assertion of what he HAS, but I doubt what it really IS...does that make sense?

[stampchez]

What's the name of the dealer? I wonder if it is listed in their inventory.

[jrc]

Ask the A3 guys on audiworld.com -- I know they're pretty knowledgeable from when i was considering an A3

[adrean8j]

Originally Posted by stampchez

What's the name of the dealer? I wonder if it is listed in their inventory.

Pacific Audi

[stampchez]

Nothing like that on the website...

[adrean8j]

^^^Ok finally I got some clarification. Here goes:
It is an Audi A3 with the APR 2.0t K04 upgrade. Apparently the dealer ordered an A3 with S-line package and then sent it down the street to EuroCode Tuning for the upgrade. The dealer (this is an assumption) must have re-badged the car with A3/S3.

My buddy was actually starting to question whether he really had what he thought when we couldnt find any information online. So he called his wife and had her look at the invoice paperwork to see what was exactly on the car. She took and look and thats when the APR stuff was discovered.

I think it is fake and irresponsible of the dealership to advertise the car as an A3/S3 and sell it as such. At best it should be labeled as a A3 2.0t FSI tuned by APR. My buddy is not really mad per se but now he DOESNT have what he thought he had. Still that tune give him 303hp and 323lb/ft torque...nice numbers...Sound off with what you think!

[stampchez]

Yeah I had a feeling it was something a little screwy. How much do they want to it? Is it warrantied? Audis have enough reliability problems without any major mods...

[VFX]

What is the vehicle insured as?

In the UK at least, there's a huge difference, in insurance terms, between a modified 2.0T and an S3.

If the vehicle is insured as something it's not then would there be issues in the event of a claim?

Could your friend be driving without valid (with correctly described vehicle) insurance?

.

[adrean8j]

@Stampchez: He already owns the car (bought it about a month ago) and paid ~45k total. He said he test drove an 135i and that the Audi felt way faster...I was like duuuude they totally gave you a 128i LOL. I dunno about the warranty. It was sold as a new car so I am assuming there is some type of warranty on it. Good questions though.

@VFX: Also good questions. I am gonna ask him though...cause if he has it insured as an S3 then he is paying higher than if it was a regular A3.

[Darth One]

did they really sell it to him claiming that it's some manufacturer model other than the A3?

that would be fraud now, wouldn't it?

Champion Audi has a white TT 2.0 with every possible Stasis part/mod on it and they have it badged as (don't remember exactly) a TT Stasis edition. that's different.

these guys, if i'm understanding correctly, are trying to pass something off as an S3! if i thought i was buying an M3 but it turned out to be a 335i modded to be as fast as an M3, i'd still be pissed

[adrean8j]

^^^Man I agree with you 100% and that is why I was harping on it to him for the last few hours. I figured my 1addicts family would at least either have an idea or bring up things I had not even thought about yet. Anyway they told him it was an S3 'upgrade' package. I was like I have NEVER heard of that and I look at European cars and websites EVERY single day. Just to reiterate he has already bought the car and is happy with it, but I still want to educate him because if he goes to sell it to an enthusiast like one of us we will throw the BS flag really quick.

[stampchez]

That's gonna be hard to sell. I really hope he got a solid warranty too.

[adrean8j]

Originally Posted by VFX

What is the vehicle insured as?

In the UK at least, there's a huge difference, in insurance terms, between a modified 2.0T and an S3.

If the vehicle is insured as something it's not then would there be issues in the event of a claim?

Could your friend be driving without valid (with correctly described vehicle) insurance?

.

Its insured as an A3 2.0t FSI

[ptack]

Sounds like your friend bought what they were selling and didn't carefully read all of the fine print. I would have serious concerns that the Audi warranty no longer applies. I would therefore be extra worried because that 2.0T engine may be seriously stressed. He should check either with Audi or another dealer about the warranty right away and he should go through the fine print on his paperwork with a fine tooth comb.