And the courtesy car is..

[kalniel]

So, I'm running the gauntlet of a dealer service/MOT for the Audi. Part of the reason is so I can get the Audi stamp, part is because I'm also getting them to do the cambelt/waterpump, and part of it is the free MOT and supposedly fixed fairly reasonable prices for the service and cambelt. Then I also booked the courtesy car, because I wanted to see if they'd give me a sporty car to play with.

They didn't.

I got a '10 reg Golf S TDI 105.

Man, the interior sucks! It's even worse than a SEAT! Does not match how the car looks from the outside at all.

The engine's very smooth though - combined with the relatively tall gearing it's a bit like driving a heavy car with a large petrol engine, in the lower rev range at least. Doesn't feel like you're accelerating much at all, but the speedo creeps up more than you're expecting. The acceleration doesn't increase much though, it's very linear.

And wow, it's slippy through the air. Part of the reason the speedo moves more than you expect is the absence of much difference in sound, especially from the tyres. I don't trust trip computers, but it showed a rolling average 74MPG for my commute in this morning, compared to a real 55 I get from the Audi.

You pay for it with vision from the wing mirrors though - I overtook an MG on the way up a hill and waited to see him in the rear view mirror before moving back.. only he'd disappeared completely. We'd gone over the brow of the hill and he was now going 5mph faster. So I knew he was there from memory, but no amount of craning my neck to check blindspots or peering in any of the mirrors revealed him at all, which was eerie - really thought he must have pulled over and stopped or something. Only after speeding up more myself could I see him eventually appear in the rear view and safely move over. Low cars - beware Golfs!!

Five gears is enough for the engine, though acceleration would feel quicker with six (and I'm sure I'll keep trying to change into sixth on the way home as well..), I'm not sure it would actually be faster though. Suspension is pretty good, not quite as smooth over some types of bumps as the Audi, but over other types it might have even been better. Still not much feel from the steering wheel, but better feel through brakes than the Audi. Handling wise seems okay - more body roll and the tyres make themselves heard whenever you corner.. but that's only because they're silent when running straight.

All in, if you were looking for something cheap to run then it's a great car, and with Ford prices shooting up it might be better value than a Focus. But it sucks as an Audi courtesy car

[handscombmp]

When my car had to go in to have it's dashboard replaced due to a rattle i ended up with a 10reg VW Polo 1.2.

Bearing in mind i'm use to a VW Passat CC GT V6 it was a step down and a half. The interior of the car was fine but the lack of power was annoying. It was just the fact that going onto a motorway it seemed to take for ever to pick up speed.

Had a clever slogan down the side.
'Because even a Volkswagen needs a service'

[finlay666]

I had an 08 Ford Ka when my Accord broke down the other week


Driving it was 'interesting' to not use the swear filter

[directhex]

Could be worse. When my Jazz got rear-ended last year, I was a proud owner of a Vauxhall Meriva for a fortnight -_-

[finlay666]

Could be worse. When my Jazz got rear-ended last year, I was a proud owner of a Vauxhall Meriva for a fortnight -_-

I could accelerate, brake, change gears on a nasty, squidgy and oversized gear stick OR turn, no permutation/combination of those, I didn't have enough leg room even with the seat as fat back as it would go and the wheel was unadjustable

Only plus side was it did Guildford to Newcastle on ~£30 petrol

[kalniel]

Hmm, now I've RTFM I see that the whole trip MPG was about 66.. the same as my Astra Want my car back now.

[LWA]

I had an 08 Ford Ka when my Accord broke down the other week


Driving it was 'interesting' to not use the swear filter

I had the same vehicle when mine had to go into the garage.

Being 6' 5" and driving one of those kiddy sized cars was not fun!

[kalniel]

Got my car back. Wasn't ripped off by the dealers - Audi dealer cheaper than independent vauxhall specialist shock.

[Biscuit]

i drove that car not so long ago (company gives us hire cars when we have to travel for projects) to belgium and back, i wasnt a big fan either!
Strangely enough i recently also drove a Skoda Fabia estate with the same engine. Damnit that thing was a pleasant drive but as soon as you got out and looked at it it was just pure dissapointment.

[Saracen]

When I took a brand new BMW M3 in for a service, the courtesy car offered was a Toyota Yaris. And no, I'm not kidding. Mind you, when I opined that if they thought I wanted to drive a Yaris to see clients, then maybe I ought to buy a Toyota next time, they thought better of it and I ended up with a 5-series Turbo Diesel.

You just have to offer the right motivation.

[Jay]

how much is that costing from Audi?

My service, 2 tires, front disks and pads was quoted at .... wait for it.... £1115 from Audi. I told them to service it and stamp the book and thats it. The service was close to £300

[kalniel]

how much is that costing from Audi?

My service, 2 tires, front disks and pads was quoted at .... wait for it.... £1115 from Audi. I told them to service it and stamp the book and thats it. The service was close to £300

~£700. Including optional 'extras' such as waterpump, pollen filter and courtesy car insurance (would have been free to get car pick up/drop off or lift to/from work). Two independents I checked when I had the Astra for the same amount of work wanted nearly £800 (500 belt/pump, ~250 major diesel service, 50 MOT, and they wouldn't have valeted the car inside and out ) And I shouldn't need a service again for nearly two years, while the Astra was yearly (though the non-major service was a little cheaper).

Audi have gone on a big drive to get rid of the expensive to service label.. if you ask the dealer how much they'll quote you something silly, so just mention the fixed price servicing on the internet and the prices drop down:

http://www.audi.co.uk/owners-area/se...servicing.html

So yours should have been a lot cheaper! Have several things done and you can get a little bit further knocked off the labour. And MOTs are free now for Audi.

That said, I think the Vaux independents would have done a bit more tweaking - brake adjustments etc to make it feel newer. The Audi could do with some of those, but as they were obviously within acceptable limits they didn't bother.

[Jay]

To be honest it worth the money, such a fantastic car to drive.

[kalniel]

To be honest it worth the money, such a fantastic car to drive.

Which car's that again?

The A3 is all right - powerful, comfy and amazingly planted, but it's not what I'd call a fantastic car to drive.

[yamangman]

I got a 10 plate E350 when my Scirocco was in for some repairs this month .

[Guy]

I had a 6 month old 116D M-Sport, when the 530D was in for a bit of work.

Fairly well speced for a courtesy car, bluetooth, climate, I-pod etc.

Nice car, great to drive, just a little underpowered. Economical though! Even if the stop-start system frightened the life out of me first time it happened.