The Audi dealer quoted me £17600 GFV on an S3, but said Audi are very conservative on theirs, and to expect £3k on top of that...
That statement reminded me of when we were setting up our first mortgage and every Financial Advisor we spoke to were very keen for us to go with an Endowment mortgage and basically refused to discuss a repayment one.
It went along the lines of "After your endowment finishes, you will end up with more money and be able to buy a wee sports car with" That was literally the script of each FA. And we know what happened with endowment mortgages 
Why am I mentioning this? Well if the Audi dealer are so sure you will be offered an extra £3k on top of the GFV why aren't they upping the figure or at least closing the gap? Is it not a line to get you to buy?
The salesman who sold me my Mk6 told me I should realistically expect £1500 as equity on a deposit for a new car. Now that car was in pristine condition. All machine polished and spotless and the very same salesman offered me £500 over the GFV. He never even looked at the car. In fact several dealers never even looked at the car.
I personally think when the salesman asks for your registration and permission to access your finance account, they are looking for that magic GFV figure and offer you slightly over to give you a feeling you've made some money on the car. If they were honest then that should be the last thing they look at.
I'd be curious to see what they do offer.
If they are anything like the majority of the Audi dealers I dealt with when buying the A1 then I wouldn't hold my breath.
I totally get where you're coming from with this post. £3k expectations on top GFV does make Audi seem extremely cautious - why can't they put their money where their mouth is?
On the other hand, compared to the GFV on the R, the S3 does look genuinely too low for the car. There'll be fewer of them made than the R, you have the "premium" of the Audi badge and that sumptuous interior over the R. It makes sense to me that if a £30k R is worth £18100 at 3 years according to the GFV, then a £31k S3 should be worth £20k after 3 years. Of course i've also considered the leverage they can hold over you when you're looking for a discount on your next car: "you want £3k over GFV for your p/x and 10% off the new car?"
When I gave DTUK Andrew's S3 a look over and tapped a few panels - it did seem more solid than the MK7 Golf. I think the use of Aluminium on a lot of their panels has kept the gauge thickness up. I much prefer the old solid feel of pre MK7 Golf, for the sake of 23Kg saved. The new Golf does feel a bit more hollow when you tap the panels, and i'm sure they'll ding/dent easier than before.
There was a lot of sales patter/bullsh!t coming from Mr Audi at my local dealership. I said i'd be after an S3 or an R next time, but the S3 interior may swing it if a deal can be done. He made out that they pretty much only share 20% of the tech and components. Inside I was scoffing at that remark - save for the better interior, some Aluminium panels and minor software differences to the way the engine/haldex/electric steering works, they're undoubtedly the same car under the skin.
It does make me laugh when I chop a car in and i've kept it pristine, they give it a cursory glance at most and it looks twice as good as some of their used stock of the same age (scuffed alloys, dings, dents, bumper scuffs etc). When it's in the dealership network, the monetary difference between pristine and reasonable condition seems negligible. When I look to chop my car in, I have a good look around their used lot and expect to get 80% of their sticker price as p/x value. If they expect to get more than 125% of my p/x value on the used lot then I consider them to be greedy.
My current GTD isn't under VW finance, but I know what the 2 year and 3 year GFVs were quoted to me prior to purchase and I expect any dealership buying my car off me to match those figures at the very least (and realistically only expect another £500 at best), especially at 2 years (next Sept) when I doubt there'll be many used 2 year old ones to choose from on the used lot and they haven't yet left the dealership network.
If i'm part-exing within the VAG group I'd expect a bit more. At the end of the day, the salesperson can be as friendly as they like, but while i'm negotiating the cheapest cost to change for my next car they are not my friend.
If I can lease an R for £100 a month less than leasing/buying (without finance) an S3, I think i'd forego the better interior of the S3 for that level of saving.
