# this thing is gonna be quite pricey...



## NoDubJustYet (Mar 25, 2002)

i was playing around on the german audi site... using the konfigurator i was checking out the A3- man o man... you could have like 15,000Euros of options! I thought I was building a Porsche for a minute. I had a 2.0FSI 6 speed, pear effeckt paint, alcantra lined seats, NAV unit, xenons, etc and the thing was pushing 40,000 Euros! Granted the huge sales tax was added in and we will never see any of those extras in North America, but man this thing is going to be super expensive! Might as well buy an A4... the car is was building didn't even have Quattro, let alone the 3.2L V6. How much will the S cost? I was hoping VWoA was going to have the entry price for this car right around where the GTI or Jetta top out. The thing that doesn't make sense is the fact that this thing is as expensive as the A4. Meanwhile the Jetta/Golf starts much lower than the Passat. I'm not sure if I understand all this


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## Travis Grundke (May 26, 1999)

*Re: this thing is gonna be quite pricey... (NoDubJustYet)*

You cannot go by the Europricing to get a good estimate of US pricing. Volkswagen prices their vehicles differently in every market, just as they offer different options and warranties for every market. Keep in mind, for example, that the Europeans do not get the 4/50,000 warranty, etc. Also remember that most listed Europrices are priced with VAT (value added tax) included - which can add around 16% to the pricetag. Ain't cheap.
I was in Spain two weeks ago and had the opportunity to putz around with a new A3, relatively 'base' 2 door model and I believe it was priced at around €23000 in a FW drive configuration. 
For the US market, Audi is going to have to offer a competitive package on the A3 that starts around $25-$26k. I pick this price range as it would be competitive with new offerings from Saab, Acura, Volvo and BMW. Currently, the Acura TSX hits the ultimate price/performace/design sweet spot for me at $26k with the only option being a navigation system. Audi, ideally, should offer the A3 starting at $26k with Quattro, cloth interior and sunroof to be really competitive. The AWD will make the model a great standout at that pricepoint and I could see it being optioned up to about $30k.
When it comes to the S3 model, that's a whole different story. I just don't think the US market will be open to enough sales of a $35-$40k 'sport hatch'. If the S3 were priced right around $30k, that would be a different story - but anything over that price point would probably price the S3 out of most peoples' minds. 
It will be interesting to see the configurations and pricing that Audi comes up with for the North American market on the A3. Again, if they can create a starting point of $25k or so with Quattro, I'm sold without a second thought.


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