Ready to buy Audi RS3 but concerned about theft...

Ready to buy Audi RS3 but concerned about theft...

Author
Discussion

Adam-8hsau

Original Poster:

6 posts

4 months

Saturday 20th January
quotequote all
Hi all,

Long time lurker of these forums but never posted.

I am finally in a position to buy my (realistic) dream car after 8 years of obsessing.... a PFL Audi RS3, so a 2015 or 2016 car.

My only concerns holding me back are over it being stolen. I am unable to garage it but am able to block it in with another vehicle - albeit this is a pain at 630am to myself and neighbours.

Am I falling victim to only reading the bad news on the forums etc and the fact that nobody posts about the cars that don't get stolen?
Keen to hear people's thoughts on whether this issue is enough to put them off owning a car they've always wanted?

Cheers!

Griffith4ever

4,288 posts

36 months

Saturday 20th January
quotequote all
Any car that you are going to stress over is not a car to own. Its just not worth it.

georgeyboy12345

3,527 posts

36 months

Saturday 20th January
quotequote all
Where do you live?

PositronicRay

27,047 posts

184 months

Saturday 20th January
quotequote all
Griffith4ever said:
Any car that you are going to stress over is not a car to own. Its just not worth it.
This

vaud

50,609 posts

156 months

Saturday 20th January
quotequote all
georgeyboy12345 said:
Where do you live?
I had a Golf R for 6 weeks and a gang from Birmingham (a chop shop) came all the way to Yorkshire on a spree of thefts. Golf Rs, S3s, RS3s, etc. It seems they had a list of addresses... including one that had been delivered to a house in the middle of nowhere via a covered lorry only 6 hrs earlier..

They got them in the end and they went to prison. But I wouldn't underestimate what an organised gang will do for such cars.

Glasgowrob

3,246 posts

122 months

Saturday 20th January
quotequote all
Forget it

If your worrying
Before you’ve even taken a look at cars it’s going to be a constant worry

Go buy a nice superb 280 4x4 90% of the
Performance and the thieves wouldn’t be seen dead in it despite being a 280bhp 4wd yes you’ll miss the 5 pot noise but seriously not worth the worry or the hassle it sounds like ownership will be for you

Adam-8hsau

Original Poster:

6 posts

4 months

Saturday 20th January
quotequote all
Thanks for the replies....

My main train of thought is along the exact same lines, that its not worth the worry....

...my other thought is that why the f*** should I not have the car I want and worked hard for due to fear of scum stealing it.

I'm in the south west.

I also have a neighbour with a brand new M5 and there's an M3 comp up the road too.... even more frustrating that a 20k car would likely be targeted first over these.



Edited by Adam-8hsau on Saturday 20th January 09:52

Xenoous

1,020 posts

59 months

Saturday 20th January
quotequote all
If it's doing to cause you stress and worry, it simply isn't worth it. These scum will break into your house and threaten your family just to drive off in a car. It's a sad world we live in, but there you are.

Get a luxo barge with a big heavy V8 instead!

fouroaks

612 posts

145 months

Saturday 20th January
quotequote all
georgeyboy12345 said:
Where do you live?
Casing the joint already? He's not going to fall for it.. ;-)

Ham_and_Jam

2,241 posts

98 months

Saturday 20th January
quotequote all
I had a new Golf R when the mk7 first came out. Didn’t really worry about it and had zero issues.

However would I have another or an RS3 now? Nope, times have changed.

The prevalence of organised and violent thefts of these types of cars makes ownership very unpalatable.

Just to add, I test drove the RS3 with a view to purchasing after the G7R, but found it an uninspiring car with a very nice engine.

Personally there are so many better alternatives to the RS3 that don’t pique the interest of the thieving little scrotes. Choose one of those.

samoht

5,736 posts

147 months

Saturday 20th January
quotequote all

You could try running an insurance quote for the RS3.

If it's roughly in line with other cars of similar performance for your details, then potentially that indicates it's not at particularly high risk of theft.

If it's 50%-100% more than say an M3 or something of similar performance and value, that would indicate it's high risk.

Ultimately the underwriters have all the stats and have to make a reasoned decision about the actual risk.


Just as a thought, would a TT RS work for you? Same drivetrain and better looking, but less of a theft risk?

MC Bodge

21,657 posts

176 months

Saturday 20th January
quotequote all
Adam-8hsau said:
Hi all,

Long time lurker of these forums but never posted.

I am finally in a position to buy my (realistic) dream car after 8 years of obsessing.... a PFL Audi RS3, so a 2015 or 2016 car.

My only concerns holding me back are over it being stolen. I am unable to garage it but am able to block it in with another vehicle - albeit this is a pain at 630am to myself and neighbours.

Am I falling victim to only reading the bad news on the forums etc and the fact that nobody posts about the cars that don't get stolen?
Keen to hear people's thoughts on whether this issue is enough to put them off owning a car they've always wanted?

Cheers!
As others have said, it is almost certainly not worth the worry.

Get something a bit more niche/quirky, possibly a bit less conspicuous, and enjoy *driving* it.

andymc

7,362 posts

208 months

Saturday 20th January
quotequote all
I lived trough the Cosworth/TWOC years, it has always went on

Its Just Adz

14,134 posts

210 months

Saturday 20th January
quotequote all
I wouldn't worry about it. Just put a big steering lock on and get some cctv.
It's just a car,if it goes it can be replaced.

stanlow45

304 posts

7 months

Saturday 20th January
quotequote all
Ghost immobiliser? Unless you live in Bradford and if the insurance quote is reasonable I say go for it.

GT9

6,676 posts

173 months

Saturday 20th January
quotequote all
samoht said:
Just as a thought, would a TT RS work for you? Same drivetrain and better looking, but less of a theft risk?
The TTS would be worth a shout as well, less conspicuous than an RS, not to dissimilar performance to RS3 and, if preferred, available with a manual gearbox. Also available with magnetic ride which I don't think you can get on the RS.

Baldchap

7,678 posts

93 months

Saturday 20th January
quotequote all
Organised theft is less of an issue now they're nearly a decade old. They will target much newer ones.

DanL

6,218 posts

266 months

Saturday 20th January
quotequote all
To provide an alternative view - this is why you have insurance. Buy it, live with it, maybe get a camera or ring doorbell (other brands are available, etc.) to overlook it if you’re very worried.

Odds are it’ll be fine. If not - claim on the insurance, and get something else. Life is too short otherwise…

Might be worth buying gap cover as well for return to invoice protection in case it does go walk about.

Adam-8hsau

Original Poster:

6 posts

4 months

Saturday 20th January
quotequote all
Thanks for all the replies!
Put off getting a ghost or similar as if someone is determined enough to take it I don't want them threatening me or more so the wife for the code.

DaveH23

3,236 posts

171 months

Saturday 20th January
quotequote all
Within a 5 min walk of me there is 4 or 5 Golf R's and S3's all parked outside. Not sure i've seen any RS models though.

I think where you live is big part of the risk.