Do like the look of these......
 

http://www.romansinternational.com/c...rcedes-a45-amg

Prefer these to the Audi RS3 tbh...

opinions?

I like them a lot.

Worth buying that one just to say you're a customer of Romans. :lol:

I was there for a meeting the other week and someone arrived to pick up their bright yellow F12. I wasn't jealous...!

Their stock list is insane.

The A45 is pretty quick.... i was chasing one round the Ring last year when the scoob overheated :lol:

I'd personally have one over the RS3. Don't get me wrong, I like Audis but prefer the Merc AMG styling.

I'm not so sure if I was spending that sort of cash on a hot hatch I would want a turbo charged 2.0L 4 banger... it's a great car I am sure of that and the power figures are insane for a 2.0L hatch, just think I would prefer another cylinder, i.e. the Audi!

How about even more cylinders and an M140i...?

Quick cars and some good results from fitting warranty friendly tuning box's.
I think all the pops/crackles would grate after a while though if you are trying run it as a family car with a bit more of a grown up/prestige image.

They were on my list of potential next cars but after having an A-class rental we decided it was too small and the fit/finish of materials was no better than my 8 year old SEAT. The boot was considerably small despite what the spec sheets tell you.
I was quite lucky to get the A-class rental through work as it ended up quite decisive.

I was looking at an S5 yesterday. 6 cylinders a supercharger and the potential to hit 480bhp with an MRC Stage 2 remap ;)

RS3 are still over priced and in the wrong spec look like a regular A3 sportsback.
Why would you spend £38-£40K on a used RS3 when that money opens up the options for many RS4 ranging from £33K upwards

These guys normally have a few in stock http://www.churchsperformancecars.co.uk/stocklist

But only the 2016 facelift comes with adaptive damping. They are quite firm without it.

I got my scoob from them back in 2007, and Tim got his blob from them too. At the time, I said i wouldn't buy from them again - the scoob was fine but the guys running it weren't the best.

But that was 10 years ago, so it could be completely different people now. I keep an eye on their stocklist now and then, as they always seem to have some interesting motors to suit a wide range of budgets.

One of these beasts was at Blyton - had me in the M3

Tried to keep up with it, not too far off but had the edge in pretty much all areas. Really is a tool. Struggle to like it, but you have to respect it.

http://i1297.photobucket.com/albums/...ps4ymljmln.jpg

I think it's a family firm so probably the same people.
2nd hand dealers can be a bit funny. The guy I got my K1 off would of scared a lot of people off with his attitude. But once he worked out I was a genuine buyer that wasnt put off by his no messers attitude he turned into a decent chap. A bit of a geezer but a proper petrolhead.
He has ****e reviews for being rude as I believe do Church but sometimes you have to look beyond that if the car you are after looks to be genuine.

In my case it was a modified K1 with 9 previous owners sold by a pleasant sounding salesman Vs a genuine 1 owner K1 sold by a sales geezer.

Had a variety of A classes as courtesy cars since we got the C class, but never the AMG of course. I've not liked any of them, just don't feel that well built.

speaking to a dealer friend of mine i think any new Mercedes would be at the bottom of my wish list quality wise..........

Really like the look of the A45 AMG, but its a pricey car and, if I was buying today, I think I'd end up signing up for a Focus RS*!


(* Yes, I appreciate that there is going to be a significant difference in interior finish, but I'm still favouring the Focus!)

I can certainly appreciate why. Our C250 has been back to the dealer for numerous fixes and needs to go again. Very disappointing. All minor issues, but I believe if it's got a feature it should work. Just about to go back to replace the door handle lights for the second time (I know, I know, first world problems) and get the traffic updates back on the satnav. I suspect a major part of the issue it the lack of knowledge/expertise in the dealer. When I first got the car I suspected I knew more about it than they did as it was a new model.

Having said that it is a great car with decent performance and I still choose it over the Scoob every time. Probably why the Scoob only did 800 miles last year.

I like all these newer sports cars but I don't like the repair bills they all seem to attract if/when they go wrong. Just the basics seem to be astronomical let alone serious failure. Audi's mechatronic gearbox goes wrong (and it does more than it should) and it can be anything up to £12k to replace. E9* V8 engine £16k, dct gear box £14k (not common),, RS3 engine £18k and so on. They were just three of the cars I wanted instead of another Subaru and they're all great cars but tinker at your peril. Personally I absolutely couldn't afford to take any chances and would need a warranty which would be null and void as soon as you start playing around with them. That's the best part of performance car ownership in my opinion. Maybe I'll get bored of it one day and just be able to enjoy and appreciate a car as it was designed. I doubt those that tick those boxes will ever be affordable to me though!

New cars seem to be hugely underdeveloped, so it does seem customers are doing the testing.

I've been put off loads of cars for exactly the reasons you have outlined.

A friend of mine once said to me, when I was about to buy a RS4, "if you have the money for two, you can afford one". I thought twice and decided against it.

The Audi mechatronic unit is 3K and the Gearbox is 6.9K +VAT and fitting (so 10K).
Problem seems to be 2009-2011 models that have not switched gearbox oils. The original oil broke down into a contaminant that damages the electronics in the submerged mechatronic unit. The newly recommended oil prevents this. I don't believe many 2012+ B8.5 have had this issue.

There are some good warranties out there but you looking at about £600 a year on an S4.

To be fair, the 8.5's were/are out of my price range so didn't read up too much on those. Still not sure I'd trust them mind and they are still silly money to fix if they go badly wrong, assuming there's no warranty of course.