The reason why you won't see a S3/RS3 for a while even if you ordered

[S3DUDE]

Folks. I have bad news... It is not official through the Audi channels yet but since I am one of the people affected (I placed an order on a RS3 back in late September) I'd thought I would share with you. If you are waiting for a S3 or RS3 you are going to have to wait, there is a hold up on the harness being built in Ukraine and they are trying to shift production elsewhere temporarily.

As of right now whatever was built and available that is it. Eventually this information will make it through the customers but I am just letting you know ahead of time. Dealers wouldn't be getting allocations for now but if you place an order you will have to wait longer. Trust me, it is a kick in the nuts, I traded a 2018 RS3 and I am driving a Civic SI. My wife was lucky that she was able to pick off the 4 available units from the West Coast discretionary inventory back in early October. What is the discretionary inventory? it is a small surplus of a few cars in case there is a true bad lemon RS3.

By no means I am trying to deter you from buying a RS3, I am sure other cars from other car makers/brands are going trough similar issues, maybe not on harness but maybe a fuel pump or a water pump or who knows.

[Potatohead_RS3]

Porsche reported the same problem many months ago. Chips are no longer the main problem, it’s the harnesses.

[Vegasgolds]

Folks. I have bad news... It is not official through the Audi channels yet but since I am one of the people affected (I placed an order on a RS3 back in late September) I'd thought I would share with you. If you are waiting for a S3 or RS3 you are going to have to wait, there is a hold up on the harness being built in Ukraine and they are trying to shift production elsewhere temporarily.

As of right now whatever was built and available that is it. Eventually this information will make it through the customers but I am just letting you know ahead of time. Dealers wouldn't be getting allocations for now but if you place an order you will have to wait longer. Trust me, it is a quick in the nuts, I traded a 2018 RS3 and I am driving a Civic SI. My wife was lucky that she was able to pick off the 3 available units from the West Coast discretionary inventory back in early October. what is the discretionary inventory? it is a small surplus of a few cars in case there is a true bad lemon RS3.

By no means I am trying to deter you from buying a RS3, I am sure other cars from other car makers/brands are going trough similar issues, maybe not on harness but maybe a fuel pump or a water pump or who knows.

I should have gotten one of these cars!!

A week after delivery of my 2022, service had my car for a week because of oil pressure malfunction.
less than 3000 miles after that, they replaced my transmission because the transmission coolant flange was pitted and it was leaking.
plus, my car had 220 miles on it from Germany. They said they were having issues with it in Germany before they released it for delivery back in early June
I currently have noises coming from the suspension as I did with my 2019 RS3

[S3DUDE]

Porsche reported the same problem many months ago. Chips are no longer the main problem, it’s the harnesses.

What you said makes sense. I just looked into the local Porsche dealer and they have zero new cars listed, not a single new car on any of their models.

[GTItoS4]

I should have gotten one of these cars!!

A week after delivery of my 2022, service had my car for a week because of oil pressure malfunction.
less than 3000 miles after that, they replaced my transmission because the transmission coolant flange was pitted and it was leaking.
plus, my car had 220 miles on it from Germany. They said they were having issues with it in Germany before they released it for delivery back in early June
I currently have noises coming from the suspension as I did with my 2019 RS3

Read up on your state's lemon laws. They can be strongly in favor of the consumer. That's if you'd like a refund. They may not have a car to replace it with.

[A4 Centaur]

Guess having a series of cars made in Mexico was a smart move by BMW. Labor is cheaper, and apparently is more advantageous than other markets too.

[S3DUDE]

Today I was a passenger on my wife's RS3 and I was reflecting on my experience with my own RS3s and I came to realize how lucky my wife was to get her Kyalami green on the perfect timing when the West Coast discretionary inventory was offered to her and she took it.

On a different hand I am at the opposite side. When I ordered my 2018 RS3 back in Feb I waited until it was built in May, then went to the factory in Germany to pick it up and drive it around for 12 days(June 20-30 of 2018), then had it shipped there and it arrived at my dealer right after Labor Day weekend(5-6 of September or so) so that is 6 months already without the car.

On this third RS3 order(I am taking my wife's original allocation/order) she placed the order in late September and I am 3.5 months already and no prospect of being built any time soon let alone the time to ship, clear customs, etc so in total it could extend into easily 8+ months back to back. On this particular instance my "old RS3" sold quickly and for a good chunk. This experience makes you re-think about how much is one willing to wait and sacrifice. In all honesty no one knew it would be so bad. my .2c

[RMode]

This has been discussed from corporate to dealers since the fall on nearly every single supply chain call. Your dealer wasn’t just given the info. They’ve known for a while, and have simply hoped it would improve. 2022 orders for all cars went exactly the same way.


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[RMode]

Porsche reported the same problem many months ago. Chips are no longer the main problem, it’s the harnesses.

It’s way more than the harnesses, I can promise you.


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[S3DUDE]

This has been discussed from corporate to dealers since the fall on nearly every single supply chain call. Your dealer wasn’t just given the info. They’ve known for a while, and have simply hoped it would improve. 2022 orders for all cars went exactly the same way.


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My Kyalami green was built on September 5th? Wouldn't that be falling under the same conditions.

[RMode]

My Kyalami green was built on September 5th? Wouldn't that be falling under the same conditions.

Cars are built over 1-2 weeks depending on spec. Not built on a specific day. It always starts on a Monday and most finish on a Thursday or Friday. Doesn’t matter what kind of car it is, A3 to R8. An exclusive order takes a little longer depending on what’s being done.

With that said, let’s say it was completed 9/8, since 9/5 was the start of the week. That car likely was allocated in June or July, and frozen to changes in July as well, or maybe early August. They don’t accept an allocated order unless they have all parts on hand to build the car as ordered, minus any deletions being done (which are previously communicated by corporate to dealers). By September, they already knew and were already telling dealers the writing was on the wall for all S and RS orders. I know because I was part of the calls.


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[S3DUDE]

^^ I would have to say that we are probably not being told the whole truth. As per my conversation to the sales manager I was given the explanation of the harness. The person just previously got on a conversation with a regional manager(West Coast). I am passing only was I was told but I am sure that there is more to it. What you said about audi not channeling all the information to the dealers is totally possible. if you find out more please share.

[JBones81]

I believe it. I bought my zl1 in June, and had to sign off on the fact that it was produced without the cooled seats and rear sensors, due to the chip shortage. I'm still waiting to get them.

[RMode]

^^ I would have to say that we are probably not being told the whole truth. As per my conversation to the sales manager I was given the explanation of the harness. The person just previously got on a conversation with a regional manager(West Coast). I am passing only was I was told but I am sure that there is more to it. What you said about audi not channeling all the information to the dealers is totally possible. if you find out more please share.

I won’t be hearing more beyond whatever conversations I have with people I once worked with - past tense. How they’ve handled things is along a variety of reasons I left at the end of September. 2022 in particular things got worse, not better. You’re never going to get the full story from anyone. You’ll get whatever they choose to tell you. They’ve had harness issues since the war started, which was long before September. The harnesses aren’t their only shortfall. There’s a host of issues. Nothing they will be solving this quarter or this year. It became a comedy of errors after a while.


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[A4 Centaur]

^ The folks in Germany (including my friends and former family) lost their collective minds through publicly released:
2020: Virus Pandemia self imposed crisis
Entire 2020: https://www.audi-mediacenter.com/en/...golstadt-12772
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-v...-idUSKBN2141P3
2021: Chip Shortage
May 2021: https://europe.autonews.com/automake...ge-report-says
2022: Wiring Harnesses due to the fighting in Ukraine
https://europe.autonews.com/automake...arts-shortages

However, when you do a little more digging it would appear that another aspect of the problem is that the folks at Audi are doing something else behind the scene and cutting over to build Battery Cars:

https://electrek.co/2022/12/20/audi-...tric-vehicles/

Meanwhile, nobody talks about how stupid the Germans allowed themselves to be screwed on energy from their former "buddy" in the east. They have no gas to run the plants, and are rationing energy:

https://www.reuters.com/business/aut...ty-2022-10-11/

[wahrs3]

I ordered same time as you but I got lucky, got offered a refused delivery order that got allocated to my dealership.

Paid MSRP but I did get PPM as a gesture of thanks to the finance manager who made true to his promise of MSRP

[Ladimer]

I put my name on waiting lists over the weekend with 4 regional dealers. 18-24months estimated wait, but no one has an allocation. One dealer doubted they would ever get an allocation and another wanted a $1K deposit. LOL
Meanwhile, my local BMW dealer stated about 18mo for an M2 order. I have a feeling I’d get an M2 before an RS3.

[RMode]

I put my name on waiting lists over the weekend with 4 regional dealers. 18-24months estimated wait, but no one has an allocation. One dealer doubted they would ever get an allocation and another wanted a $1K deposit. LOL
Meanwhile, my local BMW dealer stated about 18mo for an M2 order. I have a feeling I’d get an M2 before an RS3.

I bet you won’t see that car either tbh. The wait lists are long, and the production run will be small. They are simply punting, and hoping.


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[HODL_B58]

^ The folks in Germany (including my friends and former family) lost their collective minds through publicly released:
2020: Virus Pandemia self imposed crisis
Entire 2020: https://www.audi-mediacenter.com/en/...golstadt-12772
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-v...-idUSKBN2141P3
2021: Chip Shortage
May 2021: https://europe.autonews.com/automake...ge-report-says
2022: Wiring Harnesses due to the fighting in Ukraine
https://europe.autonews.com/automake...arts-shortages

However, when you do a little more digging it would appear that another aspect of the problem is that the folks at Audi are doing something else behind the scene and cutting over to build Battery Cars:

https://electrek.co/2022/12/20/audi-...tric-vehicles/

Meanwhile, nobody talks about how stupid the Germans allowed themselves to be screwed on energy from their former "buddy" in the east. They have no gas to run the plants, and are rationing energy:

https://www.reuters.com/business/aut...ty-2022-10-11/

Reeks like a conspiracy theory post, but I do worry is halfway true. Idk if it’s al to make EVs, I bet if I went to dealer to buy a Q5/SQ5 it wouldnt be an issue, so thinking maybe Audi is trying to limit RS3s for whatever reason. Idk, they suck. Plenty of RS5s available, for whatever reason it seems to be RS3 specific. Porsche and Audi know damn well what cars people want to buy, for whatever reason they choose to ignore it instead. Reminds me of the rant Daniel Tosh had about the restaurant in Culver City that has these famous cookies that they run out of every morning—rather than making more of that variety, they continue to make the other ones that sit and get thrown away after nobody buys them

[A4 Centaur]

^I can't prove causation but can prove correlation for sure on the failure of Audi to operate and deal with the impacts of globalization. To rant on how messed up Germany has become, they fired or rather the German Defense Minister quit as they can't even get their Main Battle Tanks produced to send to the Ukraine. They have frankly been caught flat-footed over the past few years, and the corrosive effects of decisions made both in and out of Brussels.

Back to the vacuous car issues related to energy, retooling and shortsightedness by the VAG leadership in Ingolstadt. My wife bought 2, yes two 718's from a dealership in SC. Sold the first one this past summer and made 5k. Picked up the second 718-T (Which she wanted originally) and picked up 29 August.

The deposit for the 718/ 718-T was only $500 at Porsche Greenville SC. Jim Ellis Audi in Atlanta got $1500 from me for my deposit last May-June.

Talking with the BMW dealership now in Scottsdale, the kid wants $2500 bucks for a 2023 M2 made in Mexico, just a few hours south of AZ.

So my question to VAG is: "What is going on in Ingolstadt? vs. labor and parts supplies in Leonburg/ Stuttgart?" The cars built in Germany are generally loaded and shipped on one big ass Roll-On-Roll Off ship. I can't fathom why 2 cars shipped within 6 months of each other from Rotterdam or Kiel and now we have the kind of amateurish supply chain issues from Audi, when their sister in Stuttgart has their apparent act together?

Still, I'm in no rush and again will probably just end up getting another motorcycle to keep me busy. It is a shame to watch however.

[Vegasgolds]

just checked Autotrader.... ONLY 4 in the whole United States. Whether or not these dealerships actually have these cars in their inventory is another question.

[grandpab]

just checked Autotrader.... ONLY 4 in the whole United States. Whether or not these dealerships actually have these cars in their inventory is another question.

And only 7 used ones that I can find online.

[Vegasgolds]

And only 7 used ones that I can find online.

5 used 8Y but 74 over all used RS3's across the whole U.S.

[grandpab]

5 used 8Y but 74 over all used RS3's across the whole U.S.

Feels like I spend half my day looking at them sometimes. When I'm not looking at 8Y RS3s I'm looking at 8Vs and TTRS's. There's a TTRS near me right now that's speced exactly how I'd want it, but it's $8-9k more than a RS3 and $8-9k more than I want to spend. Trade in values are dropping though and I'm not sure I want to wait another year. I just really want out of my car. I'm so over driving a manual. Kinda been considering picking up a TTRS or 8V and then trading it in for the 8Y if it finally shows up. I'm sure I could find a used turbo blue rs3 for $73-74k or under eventually, but who knows when and where that'll be. My area really sucks for these cars. There's 2 RS3s within 300 miles, 3 TTRSs, but like 24+ RS5s within 300 miles. An RS5 seems to be the easy option to go with. There's plenty of 19s in the 60k range to choose from.

The RS5 is at the back of my list, at least between 8Y RS3, 2019-2021 TTRS, and a 2019 RS5. I really want a 8Y though. It's gonna drive me crazy driving a manual for another year or longer.

[A4 Centaur]

^ Yea, I keep bouncing around the "idea" of an RS5. Then I wake up. Can't stand the B9 interior and the prospect of bringing that platform to big HP numbers is quite costly. I also have a hard time swallowing the "competition" variant as well.

That car still weighs what? 4500 Lbs? It is hot looking from the outside but at $90K and higher just seems like too much car, for too much money. There are also quite a few of them in Scottsdale driven by some real ugly old people and I was hoping not to be lumped into that group for a few more years.

[JBones81]

^ Yea, I keep bouncing around the "idea" of an RS5. Then I wake up. Can't stand the B9 interior and the prospect of bringing that platform to big HP numbers is quite costly. I also have a hard time swallowing the "competition" variant as well.

That car still weighs what? 4500 Lbs? It is hot looking from the outside but at $90K and higher just seems like too much car, for too much money. There are also quite a few of them in Scottsdale driven by some real ugly old people and I was hoping not to be lumped into that group for a few more years.

lol if you're going to join that group, you may as well spend a bit less and just get a corvette

[HODL_B58]

Feels like I spend half my day looking at them sometimes. When I'm not looking at 8Y RS3s I'm looking at 8Vs and TTRS's. There's a TTRS near me right now that's speced exactly how I'd want it, but it's $8-9k more than a RS3 and $8-9k more than I want to spend. Trade in values are dropping though and I'm not sure I want to wait another year. I just really want out of my car. I'm so over driving a manual. Kinda been considering picking up a TTRS or 8V and then trading it in for the 8Y if it finally shows up. I'm sure I could find a used turbo blue rs3 for $73-74k or under eventually, but who knows when and where that'll be. My area really sucks for these cars. There's 2 RS3s within 300 miles, 3 TTRSs, but like 24+ RS5s within 300 miles. An RS5 seems to be the easy option to go with. There's plenty of 19s in the 60k range to choose from.

The RS5 is at the back of my list, at least between 8Y RS3, 2019-2021 TTRS, and a 2019 RS5. I really want a 8Y though. It's gonna drive me crazy driving a manual for another year or longer.

.

I love my manual, but I’m sitting on an impractical convertible—made mistake of installing twin disk clutch, I love it but I need a RS3 to give me reason to possibly get rid of the hardtop.

^ Yea, I keep bouncing around the "idea" of an RS5. Then I wake up. Can't stand the B9 interior and the prospect of bringing that platform to big HP numbers is quite costly. I also have a hard time swallowing the "competition" variant as well.

Ok obviously I’m biased, but I can’t understand dropping the $$ on a RS5 rather than a M3 x-drive comp, or a M440i Gran Coupe. You have to really hate BMW or love Audi to drive a RS5

[clerkpalmer]

All of these "new" cars will be presold. No chance any of them are available.

[Jetdriver]

All of these "new" cars will be presold. No chance any of them are available.

Yes, any time a dealer is going to get inventory stock, it is usually automatically listed as a new vehicle on these websites, but more than likely, these dealers have a waiting list.

For the people that are 1-3, maybe 4 on a waiting list, your best bet is to take an inventory stock when the dealer gets one. My dealer has only gotten two of them in the last 6 months with no allocations. One of them in September, right before I got on their list as #2, which went to the former #2 and another one in December, which was offered to #1. He passed and they offered it to me. I passed as well and I assume by that time, their list had grown because my salesman asked me to get back to him ASAP since there were people behind me. It was a Kemora Grey, which wasn't really in my top choices of color and I was aiming toward purchasing a new car closer to next Fall/winter anyway. I probably would have taken it if it were this time next year, though.



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[jazzfanatic]

I didn't realize how lucky I was. I only wanted a blue RS3 with the black optics and no dynamic package. Wasn't really looking hard as I already had a 2016 S3 and then I went browsing one night in November of last year and a blue one was at my local Audi dealership. Texted and they said it was sold. Just said, "oh well" and then he texted back the next day saying it actually wasn't and that the guy had actually not bought and they forgot to mark it. I bought it the next week with only a 5k markup (sucks to do any markup I know). Fast forward to today and there are only 4-8 in all of North America "available" at any one time, let alone that color and no dynamic package.

[RudyH]

^ Yea, I keep bouncing around the "idea" of an RS5. Then I wake up. Can't stand the B9 interior and the prospect of bringing that platform to big HP numbers is quite costly. I also have a hard time swallowing the "competition" variant as well.

That car still weighs what? 4500 Lbs? It is hot looking from the outside but at $90K and higher just seems like too much car, for too much money. There are also quite a few of them in Scottsdale driven by some real ugly old people and I was hoping not to be lumped into that group for a few more years.

ya that's my problem too... (4000 lbs not 4500 lbs)
Especially since we don't get a 8Y RS3 right now. The B9 is quite heavy which I don't like, but it has the better AWD system. It does have a nicer interior - but my wife prefers the S4 over the S5 Sportback...from my past history I am a bit swayed towards a S4, even though I kind of like the S5 SB.

The B9 lacks the engine, transmission and it is sized now as an executive NOT a compact.

I think I have talked myself out of the B9 when I bought my Golf R for these same

[o1turbo30v]

ya that's my problem too... (4000 lbs not 4500 lbs)
Especially since we don't get a 8Y RS3 right now. The B9 is quite heavy which I don't like, but it has the better AWD system. It does have a nicer interior - but my wife prefers the S4 over the S5 Sportback...from my past history I am a bit swayed towards a S4, even though I kind of like the S5 SB.

The B9 lacks the engine, transmission and it is sized now as an executive NOT a compact.

I think I have talked myself out of the B9 when I bought my Golf R for these same

The B9 S4 is a very nice place to be, arguably a better daily then a A/S/RS3 however, it is no where near as fun to drive, like you wont be standing in front of an s4 and rs3 and say yes im going to take the s4 for a rip on some backroads

[A4 Centaur]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4OmtyaBHFE

[nitramdj]

I didn't realize how lucky I was. I only wanted a blue RS3 with the black optics and no dynamic package. Wasn't really looking hard as I already had a 2016 S3 and then I went browsing one night in November of last year and a blue one was at my local Audi dealership. Texted and they said it was sold. Just said, "oh well" and then he texted back the next day saying it actually wasn't and that the guy had actually not bought and they forgot to mark it. I bought it the next week with only a 5k markup (sucks to do any markup I know). Fast forward to today and there are only 4-8 in all of North America "available" at any one time, let alone that color and no dynamic package.

It’s amazing how similar our stories are! I also had a 2016 S3 and ended up getting exactly the spec RS3 I wanted (white with graphic alloys) on Halloween day. It was the last one in the state at the time and I gladly paid a 5k markup with a very fair trade in price.