# S3 lease deals



## redgli25 (Dec 9, 2014)

Went in today to a local dealer and checked out a gray base S3 with nav had a msrp of 45k and some, loved the car drives amazing etc. It was time to get some numbers, i went in with the intention to purchase the car with a 20% down payment, the dealership was barely budging on the price only dropping 1k off the msrp stating the car was rare, low inventory and high demand. So he comes back and tells me a 621$ monthly payment even with the almost 10k down payment and that was on a tier 1 credit. I tell him no thanks and he convinces me into looking at a lease and comes at me with 36M 12K lease with 4.5k down and $498 a month taxes included. My question is for those of have leased a s3, are these numbers sounding on par and is their more room to negotiate? Should I wait a bit longer and wait for these cars to stock up on the lots and finance the car or just lease this one. If you could share the kinda deals you got i'd appreciate it!


----------



## brookside (Jan 11, 2012)

*You can do much better.*...search the forum, there's a helpful thread of what terms and deals others are getting.
I'd do a lot more comparative shopping if there are other Audi dealers in your area.

I got 3500 off msrp on a 48k S3 black-on-black that I loved, without any hard bargaining and still, at least for the moment, walked away from the deal because I wasn't getting much for my trade-in-
a 2011 BMW 135i still under warranty. I think if I had wanted to go to some trouble I would've negotiated harder. I'm still weighing my options incl. keeping the bimmer.

The information about the rarity of the S3 is pretty bogus. My dealer has eight on the lot with four more, incl. two in Sepang Blue, arriving in the next week.

Happy Hunting.


----------



## Travis Grundke (May 26, 1999)

Ah yes, the good ole "it's rare" argument. 

Just do a search with Autotrader or cars.com to get an idea of inventory. There are 518 available nationwide, about 50 in Southern California. 

The downpayment amount on the lease is astronomical. The general rule of thumb is to put as little down as possible on a lease since all you're doing is subsidizing the monthly payment - plus, you lose that cash should the car get totaled in an accident. 

Audis, the S3 in particular, aren't terribly attractive lease candidates.


----------



## misaka (Feb 8, 2013)

Well, lower spec Audis can be good leasing options, ie if you get a premium quattro 2.0, the residual is decently high, and interest rates are low. The higher the trim you get the worse the residual value.


----------



## ndkkdn (Nov 19, 2014)

Not sure if it's a good deal because it really depends on the car and the amount of upgrades on there.

I leased mine for 48 months for 20k KM's /year and put no money down.

I suggest if you can, go about it this way... no money down, as low km's as you're able to go while comfortably within your annual mileage usage. If you want to lower monthly rate without a down payment ask about Multiple Security Deposit program -- lets you lower the lease rate by letting Audi hold on to some payments till the end of the lease.

I'm in Canada, so its a bit of a different ball game (less stock, higher taxes, crappy lease rates, etc...) but I used an online deal finding site called Unhaggled.com to help me with the negotiations. I was able to get $3000 off my car before even stepping into the dealership and I didn't have to spend too much time negotiating. I'm pretty sure the service is available in the US... you can use the free portion to give you MSRP of the car and its upgrades or pay $100 to get them to "haggle' for you with up to 10 dealerships near you.

This turned into a bit of an ad for the website i know, but I was very happy with the service so I'm trying to spread the word because more people really should try it!

Good luck.


----------



## turbo slc 2.9l (Dec 4, 2003)

Hello everybody I'm curious if anybody on the forum is currently leasing an S3 & wouldn't mind sharing what their monthly payment price comes out to. 
I'm leasing an S3 prestige with 18" wheels, convenience package, led headlights, etc & I "thaught" I got a good lease deal, but not so sure now after reading the quote they gave the original poster..
I ended up seeing the sticker price go from $51,500 to $45,500 & also threw down $4,500. I'm doing a 36 month/ 10k miles per year lease and my payment is about 100$ more per month than the OP quote.
Any info would be great


----------



## araemo (Dec 9, 2012)

turbo slc 2.9l said:


> Hello everybody I'm curious if anybody on the forum is currently leasing an S3 & wouldn't mind sharing what their monthly payment price comes out to.
> I'm leasing an S3 prestige with 18" wheels, convenience package, led headlights, etc & I "thaught" I got a good lease deal, but not so sure now after reading the quote they gave the original poster..
> I ended up seeing the sticker price go from $51,500 to $45,500 & also threw down $4,500. I'm doing a 36 month/ 10k miles per year lease and my payment is about 100$ more per month than the OP quote.
> Any info would be great


You put down less than half as much as he did, that's why your payment is higher. It's basic math, you're leasing $5.5k more car than he is.


----------



## ProjectA3 (Aug 12, 2005)

Those numbers sound correct.

The S3 is a new car with no lease/resale history in the US, and it will take Audi to figure out how they want to continually lease these. If you look at an S4/5/6/7 etc.. none of them lease well. It's a low volume car that have zero reason to be incentivized or given away on cheap lease rates. The flip side is higher resale value vs. competitors that tend to increase residuals without caring about resale values.


----------



## redgli25 (Dec 9, 2014)

I was looking at a pretty basic s3 the only option it had was the mmi nav and the msrp was like 45.3k they brought it down 1k and wanted 4.5k down for that 498$ payment


----------



## IHIERBal (Sep 26, 2014)

Take this with a grain of salt because I work for Audi.

Premium plus S3 
Mag ride with 19's 
B&O sound system
Full LED headlights

Vehicle came out to $45,xxx if I remember correctly. 
I put $1,500 down
I pay $450/month with Audicare.


----------



## turbo slc 2.9l (Dec 4, 2003)

Ok I guess I'm a little confused, the original poster said they took off $1,000 off the msrp of $45,300 making it $44,300. ( $1,200 less than the adjusted msrp that I got for my S3) with the same down payment of $4,500. They quoted him at 12,000 miles per year, where my lease is set at 10,000 per year.
Does the fact that my S3 is better equipped really affect the payment price when our purchase price is only a difference of $1,200? This is my first time leasing so I'm not sure about what variables can play a part in the final payment price, but when he posted $498 per month I couldn't help to think I'm paying too much.
I should also mention that I opted for audi care to cover scheduled maintenance through out the lease that was rolled into my payment.
Maybe I'm just over reacting but figured some input from the forum would be helpful, thanks in advance


----------



## grAh4m (Oct 20, 2008)

Travis Grundke said:


> *Ah yes, the good ole "it's rare" argument.*
> 
> Just do a search with Autotrader or cars.com to get an idea of inventory. There are 518 available nationwide, about 50 in Southern California.
> 
> ...


I got a good chuckle out of that too. These cars aren't rare and never will be.

My Cactus and Imola Avants...now those are different stories.


----------



## turbo slc 2.9l (Dec 4, 2003)

Ok well I got some more info today, I spoke with different local dealership this afternoon on the phone to get a quote for the same car I have now at roughly the same price & they tell me a figure that's just about identical to what I'm currently leasing at, and that wasn't including the audi care.

Makes me feel a lot better knowing this, he assured me a base model like the OP described would bring the payment down closer to $498 month w $4500 down like the quote the OP got.

Thanks for everybody's input


----------



## redgli25 (Dec 9, 2014)

turbo slc 2.9l said:


> Ok well I got some more info today, I spoke with different local dealership this afternoon on the phone to get a quote for the same car I have now at roughly the same price & they tell me a figure that's just about identical to what I'm currently leasing at, and that wasn't including the audi care.
> 
> Makes me feel a lot better knowing this, he assured me a base model like the OP described would bring the payment down closer to $498 month w $4500 down like the quote the OP got.
> 
> Thanks for everybody's input


yeah man I think it really matters about location and current inventory.Also I think the residual the price you can buy the car at the end of the lease was well below blue book value meaning your monthly payments are higher, but the end purchase price you'll have plenty of positive equity in the car meaning you can buy it out and sell or trade it in for profit that could return some of your money. 
I know everyones gonna hate this but I checked out a 2015 is250 f sport today, 42k msrp. 36m 15k lease they had me at at 438$ taxes in and 2.5k down. Very tempting.. only problem with the lexus is the lathergic v6 engine only 204 hp and paltry fuel economy. Much nicer features in the 42k lexus vs the 45k base s3 but no where close in performance :laugh:


----------



## silvrevo (Mar 11, 2010)

IHIERBal said:


> Take this with a grain of salt because I work for Audi.
> 
> Premium plus S3
> Mag ride with 19's
> ...


Why do you say take this with a grain of salt??

Because you got an inside good deal?? The point of this is letting us know what and HOW you got your numbers.
So please full us in more if you don't mind.

Thanks


----------



## ProjectA3 (Aug 12, 2005)

As Audi employees we get a higher discount % than what is available to customers. Thus the "grain of salt" because it doesn't apply to normal customers, only employees.


----------



## Audi/VWR (Sep 6, 2012)

ProjectA3 said:


> As Audi employees we get a higher discount % than what is available to customers. Thus the "grain of salt" because it doesn't apply to normal customers, only employees.




Then why even post your lease numbers knowing Damn well that doesn't apply to 99% of the people who are on this forum. 

It also depends on which state you live in. Some states are a monthly use state and others aren't. Here in Illinois we just switched to a monthly use tax. 

I work for Audi also. They are not going to build too many S3's and ship them to North America.


----------



## Audi/VWR (Sep 6, 2012)

To the guy who thinks 518 cars in 50 states is a lot. Please take out your calculator and divide that number and see what the average comes out to. Then divide that number by how many dealers there are in North America. Still think that's a lot of cars?


----------



## Travis Grundke (May 26, 1999)

Audi/VWR said:


> To the guy who thinks 518 cars in 50 states is a lot. Please take out your calculator and divide that number and see what the average comes out to. Then divide that number by how many dealers there are in North America. Still think that's a lot of cars?


Not every dealer gets the same allocation of cars. I'll put good money on SoCal dealers getting more than the average.


----------



## Audi/VWR (Sep 6, 2012)

Travis Grundke said:


> Not every dealer gets the same allocation of cars. I'll put good money on SoCal dealers getting more than the average.



Yes that is correct. Cali will receive more cars then any other state. Each dealer is allocated so many per quarter.


----------



## robopp (Aug 5, 2012)

Audi/VWR said:


> Yes that is correct. Cali will receive more cars then any other state. Each dealer is allocated so many per quarter.


There are a lot of cars in the NE region. Doing a quick cars.com search gets 79 S3 hits for 150 miles outside of Boston, MA. Searching for all cars in US comes back with 556. My neck of the woods is saturated with S3s!


----------



## livestrong191 (Nov 18, 2013)

When I got my A3 no one would give a good deal. I emailed all the big Audi dealers in the country for a quote . Paul Miller Audi in NJ gave me the best price from $31 200 to $27500 and that was my first e-mail to them and stepped up big time. I used that to get my A3 closer to home for even better deal $26 500 out the door. Give them a shock if you serious


----------



## the_phew (Oct 19, 2012)

I like Audi cars, but their lease deals are atrocious compared to BMW. You could lease an M3 for the prices being discussed in this thread.


----------



## DeeJoker (May 5, 2001)

the_phew said:


> I like Audi cars, but their lease deals are atrocious compared to BMW. You could lease an M3 for the prices being discussed in this thread.


Maybe for a lease on an e46 M3 10 years ago... A quick trip to BMW's page quotes a 36 month, 15K year lease with $2500 down nets $786/month. 

In the same category, the GLA45 AMG and CLA45 AMG are $500/month, 10K/year 3 years, and $6K down. That is a stupid amount of money for a DP for the privilege of renting a car. The M3 is far more reasonable (and that is the only time anyone will ever use "reasonable" and "M3" in the same breath.) I suppose they are counting on idiots trading in a car to get a lower payment. 


So again, what is the best deal that us civvies can nail down? I am seriously considering leasing an S3 for a low down payment and 12-15K per year. In three years I'll buy something bigger and better. Hello S6!

IF... Audi had a comparable lease option for the S3 vs the A3 promos currently running, then Yee Haw! But to spend $5K for the ability to rent their car for 3 years? Nope. I want into the game for the least amount of cash and the best outcome. If I'm putting $5K down I'll buy it and pay more and actually have something of my own.


----------



## zvwggtip09 (Oct 14, 2014)

the_phew said:


> I like Audi cars, but their lease deals are atrocious compared to BMW. You could lease an M3 for the prices being discussed in this thread.


it's all in the residuals... bmw residuals, altho slowly declining, are way better than any premium carmaker out there. you can lease a nicely equipped 528i (close to $60K MSRP) with about $2-3K down for around $550/mo. add to that, the rebates that manufacturers give away. that's way better than the salesperson at DCH Audi was quoting me, around $600-650 for a $49K S3.

but good luck getting an M3/M4 around $850 right now, very little rebates on them, if there are any at all.

i can still remember when m5 first came out... i was signing customers for $15K down, $1500/mo!


----------



## the_phew (Oct 19, 2012)

DeeJoker said:


> Maybe for a lease on an e46 M3 10 years ago... A quick trip to BMW's page quotes a 36 month, 15K year lease with $2500 down nets $786/month.


Surely you know enough about BMW leases to understand that the "lease offers" on the website are literally the worst you can do. 

A base M3 with metallic paint and the 6MT has an MSRP of $63,500. European Delivery invoice price is about $58k (after the first year, ED on M cars does not come out of the dealer allotment, so you can readily negotiate). Base MF on ED is 0.0016, but this can be bought down to 0.00111 with 7 MSDs. Residual for 39mo/10k is 60%. 

This yields a monthly payment of ~$600, plus your state's tax. Assumes only fees and MSDs up front, nothing down. That's basically identical to the OP's S3 quote, for a car with an MSRP of almost $20k higher!

Personally I'd get a 335i for <$500/month, as the M3 is more than I could use on public roads. Even the 335i is arguably more car than the S3.


----------



## DeeJoker (May 5, 2001)

Quite candidly, I know very little about leases, as I've always bought and financed, not leased. So, it is uncharted water for me.

So, if a newb to the lease world were attempting to make this work, what is the appropriate or suggested tactic for negotiating a low payment on an S3? Or for that matter, any of the similar vehicles being discussed?


----------



## BGR (Jul 23, 2014)

the_phew said:


> Surely you know enough about BMW leases to understand that the "lease offers" on the website are literally the worst you can do.
> 
> A base M3 with metallic paint and the 6MT has an MSRP of $63,500. European Delivery invoice price is about $58k (after the first year, ED on M cars does not come out of the dealer allotment, so you can readily negotiate). Base MF on ED is 0.0016, but this can be bought down to 0.00111 with 7 MSDs. Residual for 39mo/10k is 60%.
> 
> ...


That's pretty darn good...


----------



## cgpublic (Aug 8, 2014)

*Agreed*



the_phew said:


> Surely you know enough about BMW leases to understand that the "lease offers" on the website are literally the worst you can do. Personally I'd get a 335i for <$500/month, as the M3 is more than I could use on public roads. Even the 335i is arguably more car than the S3.





BGR said:


> That's pretty darn good...


The S3 is a fine car to purchase outright, or finance provided you have top tier credit and can negotiate 3K off the MSRP, but Audi does not offer a very competitive S3 lease; in fact, other than the A3 2.0T Premium, all of the potential lease deals offered left me re-considering BMW. That said, both the A3 and the S3 are selling well, so you really can't argue with success.

Depending on the driver and what is most important to them, right now I would agree that the S3 and F30 335 is a toss-up (although the E90 335xi hands down), but unless BMW introduces a major price increase/changes lease incentives with the LCI, I'd have to go with the 340 and cross my fingers they've improved the steering feel.


----------



## the_phew (Oct 19, 2012)

cgpublic said:


> I'd have to go with the 340 and cross my fingers they've improved the steering feel.


340i with the MPPK or a piggyback tune will be putting over 350 HP down to the wheels; E90 M3 territory, with vastly more torque. If anyone doesn't think that's enough for legal use on public roads, I fear for the lives of any motorists they encounter. 

Not bad for a car that can be easily leased for $450-$500/month (nothing down). I hear you on the steering (I drive a 320i); since most of their competitors have figured out EPS now, hopefully BMW fixes it in the LCI.


----------



## BGR (Jul 23, 2014)

the_phew said:


> 340i with the MPPK or a piggyback tune will be putting over 350 HP down to the wheels; E90 M3 territory, with vastly more torque. If anyone doesn't think that's enough for legal use on public roads, I fear for the lives of any motorists they encounter.
> 
> Not bad for a car that can be easily leased for $450-$500/month (nothing down). I hear you on the steering (I drive a 320i); since most of their competitors have figured out EPS now, hopefully BMW fixes it in the LCI.


I couldn't believe how bad the EPS was on the BMW loaners I got when my 135i was in for service. 

I would go the route of the F30, but it has gotten so big, and their xDrive version is too heavy and too soft for the track days I plan on doing.

My friend leased a M235i with pretty much all the options and M Performance parts for zero down and $500/mo. If it had four doors that is definitely the route I would have gone.


----------



## RandyG (Oct 22, 2000)

*Mercedes C300 Comparative Info*

I just leased a 2015 C300 Sport. MSRP was $49,965. Car Details:
Palladium Silver
Premium Pkg
Heated Seats
Panoramic Sunroof
Multimedia Pkg
Open Pore Wood
Blind Spot Assist

Capital Cost: $41,965

I then added prepaid Maintenance for $975 but is residualized in the lease.
I also included the lease acquisition fee of $1,095 in the lease.

Drive Off - $900.00

Monthly Lease including CA tax: $463

No, not a S3, but I'm posting just for comparative leasing. 

Mercedes aren't always great lease cars, but in this case I got a great deal.


----------



## TnTNYC (Aug 1, 2012)

*S3 Lease*

A dealer in CT offered me a lease on an S3 for about $600/mo. for 39 months with $0 down. Just title, fees and first month's payment due at signing. He said that monthly payment included CT tax. Metallic black on black. Was a Premium Plus model with LED headlights, MMI and B&O. They weren't using the standard lowest Money Factor, though. MSRP was about $46,XXX and he was taking about $3K off that as the sale price. One of his complaints about the leases for the S3 not being super competitive was the relatively low residual on them currently. My understanding is dealers don't/can't tweak the residuals on leases. Not sure why it would be low for an S3, but maybe because it's so new they don't know what to put as a reasonably accurate number?


----------



## misaka (Feb 8, 2013)

TnTNYC said:


> A dealer in CT offered me a lease on an S3 for about $600/mo. for 39 months with $0 down. Just title, fees and first month's payment due at signing. He said that monthly payment included CT tax. Metallic black on black. Was a Premium Plus model with LED headlights, MMI and B&O. They weren't using the standard lowest Money Factor, though. MSRP was about $46,XXX and he was taking about $3K off that as the sale price. One of his complaints about the leases for the S3 not being super competitive was the relatively low residual on them currently. My understanding is dealers don't/can't tweak the residuals on leases. Not sure why it would be low for an S3, but maybe because it's so new they don't know what to put as a reasonably accurate number?


I think it's probably because of 2 things. 1. Demand - they can sell or lease them easily enough right now, they will raise the residuals or lower the money factor to make it easier to lease. 2. It's an S series car of the lowest end of audi. If you imagine that people who buy the S cars tend to beat on them a little more than the A series cars usually, and the fact that after the warranty is up, it's probably less reliable and may need more work than the A series, I can see why it's not worth so much after. The idea is, what kind of car would I look for used that's 3 years old? More used car buyers are more of a practical lot, and don't necessarily look for speed.


----------



## TnTNYC (Aug 1, 2012)

misaka said:


> I think it's probably because of 2 things. 1. Demand - they can sell or lease them easily enough right now, they will raise the residuals or lower the money factor to make it easier to lease. 2. It's an S series car of the lowest end of audi. If you imagine that people who buy the S cars tend to beat on them a little more than the A series cars usually, and the fact that after the warranty is up, it's probably less reliable and may need more work than the A series, I can see why it's not worth so much after. The idea is, what kind of car would I look for used that's 3 years old? More used car buyers are more of a practical lot, and don't necessarily look for speed.


Agree, very good points.

On a side, who puts money down on a lease? If you "intend" to purchase it, you're doing yourself a disservice by not negotiating a purchase price up-front. The cap cost or purchase you negotiate in a lease deal is not a real purchase price. Leases introduce complexity (i.e. cost) to a basic purchase transaction. It's easy to let the numbers trick you into a not-so-great deal, but the easiest way to trick yourself is to put money down. I know leases make sense to some, just don't offer to pre-pay rent!


----------



## drober30 (Jan 5, 2015)

TnTNYC said:


> Agree, very good points.
> 
> On a side, who puts money down on a lease? If you "intend" to purchase it, you're doing yourself a disservice by not negotiating a purchase price up-front. The cap cost or purchase you negotiate in a lease deal is not a real purchase price. Leases introduce complexity (i.e. cost) to a basic purchase transaction. It's easy to let the numbers trick you into a not-so-great deal, but the easiest way to trick yourself is to put money down. I know leases make sense to some, just don't offer to pre-pay rent!


Putting money down only lowers your payment, it does nothing to the end of lease buy out price. Only longer terms or increased miles will lower the end of lease purchase price (not talking residual values). 

Once you have everything negotiated, there is nothing wrong with putting a few grand down to lower your payment so you have a more manageable or comfortable payment over the next three years. Yes you could invest your money and make a small return, maybe, but not that much to matter. Some people due a one time lease payment and pay for their entire lease upfront.


----------



## silvrevo (Mar 11, 2010)

I would like to see a comparison of the S3 to the Golf R lease wise.

$0 down 

And leave out taxes! Because each state has different rates.

Maybe a $40k R at 36 months.

vs 

S3 at $47k at 36 months. 10k miles per year. 

This would help shed some light on which way I would lean.


I do know BMW leases are very strong,,, this is why I'm keeping an 235i in the mix.


----------



## Labret (Mar 11, 2015)

prices i got so far.

Base S3 40k $500 a month with 2400 due at signing.

Base Golf R 37,500 $432 2700 due at signing.

problem with the R is i am getting conflicting information between dealers. some say that there is no lease program. im just very confused on how the leases can be so close with 4kish price difference.


----------



## TnTNYC (Aug 1, 2012)

How are they close? There's a $70 difference between the two monthly payments. Are the terms all identical? I guarantee the base rate differs between the two. You should know exactly what that is or you set yourself up to overpay.


----------



## robopp (Aug 5, 2012)

Labret said:


> prices i got so far.
> 
> Base S3 40k $500 a month with 2400 due at signing.
> 
> ...


The standard 2015 golf R residual on a 36/10K lease is around 69%. That's REALLY good and why you're seeing such a big difference in monthly payments.


----------



## redgli25 (Dec 9, 2014)

I think the verdict is that the S3 is a terrible lease candidate :banghead:


----------



## gstrouse (Oct 13, 2000)

drober30 said:


> Once you have everything negotiated, there is nothing wrong with putting a few grand down to lower your payment so you have a more manageable or comfortable payment over the next three years. Yes you could invest your money and make a small return, maybe, but not that much to matter. Some people due a one time lease payment and pay for their entire lease upfront.


Here in the state of PA, we don't have a sales tax on a lease, rather there is a 9% "usage" tax on each monthly payment. So any money down will lower the overall cost due to the high tax rate on the monthly payment. Granted, in the big picture of a lease, the tax is a smaller percent, but every dollar counts in my book.


----------

