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-   -   6-year old Audi A3 TDI | Upgrade or Add a beater car? (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/what-car/268156-6-year-old-audi-a3-tdi-upgrade-add-beater-car-2.html)

Ultimately, this is the most important point. If keeping the A3 affects your wallet, I'd recommend selling it off and getting a used, low running cost option. An Innova maybe? This will allow you to rack miles without burning your pockets and also opens up the option of getting a low mile sports car in future that you can keep swapping out now and then :)

It seems like as much as you like the Audi, you want something less worrisome and more of a beater! I have felt the same, and at times it feels like if you invest and buy a beater that lasts long, it opens up flexibility to fool around with the other car. Like get a project car, sports cars, old car….

I think the logic is definitely sound. If I were you, i’d consider these two options:
1. Sell the audi for now and get a new innova hybrid. The audi is great, but its not sports car for life. If you feel your done, you could move on. The innova hycross gives mileage, comfort, should last a while, and should not lose much value.

2. Keep the Audi for weekends now, and get a used beater. Budget matters here. You could get something like a used duster or go up to an innova crysta or fortuner and relook at your options in 2 years.

Sorry to be blunt. The single most important factor for not buying a German car is when it takes up your significant capital. Not only in German but to an extent in any depreciating capital good. You will be always stressed with impending service and resale costs. My suggestion would be to rethink the financial aspect and jump on the bandwagon again when you are more comfortable putting down money without taking the stress of resale or high maintenance.

My 2 cents.

You're young only once. Live it while you have the chance. While I admire your analytic mind thinking about cost and consequences, there will come a time when money will not be a constraint and when that time comes, you will not have the youth and the energy to enjoy it. In fact with the present environment norms coming up, I don't think that you can enjoy it if you're young in the next few years or so.
Speaking from experience as buying the Cruze in 2016 was the best decision I have taken. Now, I have the Safari which is serving all my needs well. But, everytime I think about the Cruze and it's raw power, my mind is in a happy place.

Off topic. You can give it away to a fellow BHPian.
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/shift...ml#post5589418

Thanks, the wallet isn't really an issue, but the uncertain future is. I'd gladly keep this car forever if I could, it's actually real bang for buck if you consider the sedans on sale today for around 20L. The VW twins would come close.

I had a City CVT 2017 before this that I used interim from my Rapid. It was the next perfect thing, fun to drive, paddles, petrol and after 30k kms added it sold for the same price I bought it a year earlier. Funny times in the used car market.

Less worrisome, more of a beater and STILL fun on the twisties, I don't think that's too much to ask! rl:

Right off the bat, the new Civic would have been ideal if It had half decent performance.

Thanks @drsnt, It had been a dream ever since I quite my job and got into business to buy either an A3 or a CLA. I pulled the trigger when I found this car.
It was on sale for slightly shy of 25L @3 years old. I gave them a low ball offer for well under 20. 3 weeks later it was home. Funny thing.
It was
-corporate registered (saved 4L on RTO tax)
-number plate matched my GST number for some coincidental reason
-CBU
- Diesel - 23-24kmpl odd on 450km journeys, it's bizzare.
- Belonged to Audi itself and was serviced well.

2 Years later it has been to the garage a total of 0 times other than oil changes and has increased in value because of the market.

What I do now however is a different circumstance and only because of the Diesel 10y ban, rest it would have been a forever car.

That would be akin to putting up a pet for adoption!

Thanks Neil,

I'll share a funny story with you. Back when I was in my teens in 2012, My parents decided it was time to buy a small car for me. We went over to the Chevrolet dealer close by and picked the Spark since we were coming up from a 17 year old Zen.

My dad happened to walk around the showroom and find the Cruze on sale for 17L!! (At the time a huge amount for a car, our Spark cost us just over 3L for comparison, with registration.)

The salesman looked at all 3 of us and said 'POWERRRRRRRR'

Great car that's aged really well even on the roads today that Cruze. I feel a bit sad that Chevy left too. Our Spark is alive and kicking and I've parked it at the factory in Kolhapur, 11 years and kicking.

I will take an offbeat answer here. If you feel you are done with A3 and want to try something new, go-ahead and do it. I agree with your depriciation cost of 30k-40k per month which is huge number. Given your age, will suggest to keep trying the machines you want to.

As someone with multi car garage and old German sedan, I would say enjoy the A3 till the car is in good shape, when the time is right, upgrade.

Beater cars can be expensive too, they need as much care as their expensive garage mates. You'll end up spending more, as things like Tyres, battery, insurance & oil service are regular recurring expenditure. One could instead use this cash to maintain your existing car.

Get a second car only if it's unavoidable :)

If the wallet is not an issue, I would suggest keeping it for a couple more years and letting it go then.

As we all know we are slowly moving towards electric so better enjoy such beautiful cars provided we have the budget and chance.

If maintenance and resale is concerning you, only in that case I would back you in selling it and getting something like a Harrier or Safari.

Hello, I was spending time on T-BHP (my evening destressing routine) reading about A3s and I stumbled upon this thread. I was curious to know the latest on your A3.

I’d say selling the A3 while it’s still in good condition could be a smart move, especially since you’re not driving it much and it’s racking up miles with those long trips. The Spark can handle the factory trips, and you can grab a pre-owned car under 10L for daily driving to keep costs low and avoid the depreciation hit. The Safari sounds like a fun choice, but with the diesel ban looming in Mumbai, I’d be cautious about going that route long-term. Maybe look into a newer petrol SUV or something similar that can handle the work and travel, and keep the weekend drives in mind for your sports car in a few years.