ru with me drhoo

I've never leased, but my current job makes it strongly desirable. I prefer the A3, so I went on Audi USA, and "built my Audi." On the A3, I went with 2.0T, DSG, a few options that led the MSRP to a bit over $32K. I then built an A4 Avant with the same engine, AT, Sport, S-Line, etc. to an MSRP of $42K. Guess what...for a 36 mo. lease, the A4 was LESS MONEY. For a car retailing at $10 more to purchase. I don't understand this. Does Audi believe that the A3 will depreciate that much more? If so, I gives me less incentive not only to lease it, but to buy it...b/c my resale after purchase will be lousy as well.

jclarkv

At least on the two year lease, Audi is assuming a residual value of 75% on the A4. My understanding of how leasing works is that if the car winds up being worth less than 75% of the purchase price at lease end, you're responsible for that ammount. Can anyone confirm?

alanbns

for fees for wear and tear, above "normal"
or excess mileage or damage.

If the market takes a dump, and the car is worth way less than they predict - then thats their problem.

Most manufacturers have wized up to the true value of used cars now, so leasing isnt nearly as attractive as a few years ago.

April

The BMW 318ti and Mercedes C230 Coupe both bombed. I think timing is a bit better this time around for the A3, but it's never destined to be a volume car like the A4.

On an unproven model like the A3, that means they tend to be conservative. The A4 has been around a long time and has a proven track record of decent resale, so they can offer higher residuals.

I leased my A3 despite the crappy residuals, simply because I hope there will be a V6 stick on the market in another 2 years from now. I don't want to assume the risk of resale, so I'd rather pay it up front. If the A3 has better than expected resale in two years, then I may sell the car on my own or trade in the car for more than the buy-out cost and pocket the difference. That happened a lot to early A4 leasors.

I'll buy the V6 when it arrives, and keep it so long that resale will be a non-issue;-)

In the end, nobody knows for sure what resale of the A3 will really be like. Buy or lease the car in the price range you can afford, that you enjoy the most. After all, you'll be driving it every day, and the importance of a few dollars in payment difference will fade away with time.