zipzipzip

Would still need EPA approval, regardless.

zipzipzip

I stand corrected. My friend is the corporate attorney for audi.. The car in the Facebook video is a test, not for sale rs3. Showroom only... Not subject to same epa standard.

And yes, epa is an issue. Audi goofed and only registered 2018 rs3. They are petitioning the epa now. Should take a week, perhaps 2...

xcellr8tion

Now that's some insider info, good find. Also frustrating! Maybe a more simple answer would be to not register these as 2017's, but rather 2018's :-) They are, after all, arriving all about the same time!

zipzipzip

To add..

Audi is well aware of the value proposition by purchasing a 2017 as well. Unfortunately, epa has been very strict since disealgate so the petition is being heavily scrutinized.

This also happened with the Q5 that resulted in over a month's delay. Luckily we're 2 weeks in the epa process now.

So that's the official attorney response. Nothing audi can do to speed up, all at mercy of EPA now.
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GrimTango42

I wonder if they could do that. Do they mark the model year of the vehicle by the VIN? I would assume so, which might make it hard to do that.

I get the feeling that the 2017 models were a last second thing that Audi did. I don't exactly know how all this works... but I wonder if it would have made more sense to have the 2017's listed as 2018's "Launch Editions" could have been the same thing, but with the newer model year markings and everything. There is also the problem of the car seeming to be a year older than the 2018's when they in fact aren't. I could see that being a problem in the future if they are ever sold. A 2018 would realistically be worth more than a 2017 based on age and model year depreciation. It's hard to explain to someone that the 2017 is really just a 2018, unless they are in the know.

core10

Well at least one RS3 has made it out of port. Someone posted a link to this over on VWVortex:

Having trouble posting links to facebook...

URL www(dot)facebook(dot)com/mcgrathaudi/videos/10154448129917273/ /URL

zipzipzip

spoke to my friend (Audi corporate attorney) to address some points...

1. Retail Value - RS3 is an enthusiast car. If you compare the retail value of a 2017 to 2018, in 4 years, you'll see a minimal difference price wise (the same miles and packages). We know this to be true based off how the M2 prices (RS3 is a much better car) - fairly consistent pricing regardless of mile year. The retail difference comes down to how many miles you drive the car on a yearly basis. Miles driven / yearly is the X factor to retail price, not model year.

2. Its not out of the realm for Audi to reVIN the 2017 RS3 a 2018, as far as I am told, but that is an incredibly time consuming process. Audi is aware of the value proposition here and will likely be addressing this in the weeks to come. Audi is also negatively impacted (their fault) as audi wanted to release a few 2017 RS3s to build hype over the summer but that didn't occur in the time that they wanted. Their release was TODAY!

3. 2018 Audi RS3 EPA requirements are a done deal. I do agree that 2017 might have been an afterthought but I don't agree that it was done last minute. This requires plenty of planning.


Either way, we'll know more by the end of June.

Zephyr007

Got some less than desirable news on my order yesterday. My order was placed the day it became possible and the status initially showed "Order Waitlist" then in early May it changed to "Factory" with an ETA of 08/02/2017 - 08/30/2017. But yesterday I checked on it again and it's now listed as "On Hold" with the ETA listed as October. No explanation given for the delay or the "On Hold" status. Now of course it could just as easily be changed back by Audi at some point but it's a bit of a mystery right now.

For what it's worth my car is an Audi Exclusive paint request car, but it's an Audi color not a match to sample. This may be responsible for the hold, but you'd think for an extra $4K they wouldn't want to hold those cars up.

GrimTango42

In reality, It is rather likely due to the exclusive paint color. From my past experiences with ordering cars, I have always been told to expect extra significant delays when it comes to ordering special colors outside of their color lineup.

The reason I was always given is around how they paint the cars, and the amount of work and the interruption it causes the manufacture to produce. They schedule rounds of production with a single given color, and switch it up at set intervals. So, they may do a week of Nardo production, then switch it up to Daytona, then to Aura, and so on. That is why some orders have later, or earlier scheduled build weeks based on the color ordered, it can make the difference of getting a car one week, vs the next.

However, when it comes to a special color, most manufacturers collect custom color orders for a whole production year before they start. Meaning, they collect a full years worth of exclusive or special color orders, and then find out how many of a given color was ordered vs another, and then roll those through the production line. It is very expensive to switch colors for a production line. There is a lot of cleaning and prepping that is involved with changing out the equipment for other colors. The makers do everything in their power to get all custom color orders down at once, and only once a year.

I was told this when I ordered my Porsche last year. I wanted to opt for a special color, but was advised against it based on when I was placing my order and the timing of that, that Porsche had just sealed off that years custom color orders, and adding a custom color would add over an additional year to the wait time. I opted against it because of that.

What I think this means is, your order has been accepted, and is now on hold until they freeze this years custom color orders (not sure when that is) and then your car will go into production with the rest of those orders, and built together with others who ordered the same custom color as you.

Your dealer should have gave warning on the extra time needed for custom color orders, as it is a very real thing. The cost is also something that is not actually of any real benefit to the dealer really. Especially if they only get one or a couple orders for a given color. The cost to Audi to change up the production line for a new color is significantly higher than 4k. The extra 4k is really just a mitigating cost for Audi here. They likely lose money on it, but still do it to compete, and offer a higher range of selection and to provide a service to their dedicated customer base who have come to expect it.

Jono72

It may depend on the plant, but most paint shops can switch colours pretty easily. Most of the production line videos you see show cars coming off the production with a variety of paint colours one after another. I have no doubt that Audi Exclusive is a different matter, though.