Will my new petrol Audi A3 be worth less than a diesel one?

I've just bought a new Audi A3 Saloon 1.4 (petrol) as I do very low annual mileage and mainly urban driving. Will I still take a hit at trade-in time in the next three years or so, due to petrol engine rather than diesel?

John Slevin (Limerick)

Aug 2014 Filed under: resale value

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Expert answer

Hi John,

To be honest, it's a little hard to tell. The A3 Saloon hasn't been out long enough for us to get a solid handle on its resale values but we can work from a couple of basic assumptions:

 1. Yes, diesel is currently more highly valued than petrol.

2. That won't always be the case - now that the mad post-2008 scramble for diesel has subsided buyers are starting to get wise to the value of petrol power again, helped by improved engine tech.

3. An Audi, any Audi, will likely have stronger residual values than most other marques so you're already ahead of the game.

So I guess the answer is yes, your depreciation will be a little sharper on petrol than on diesel but I suspect it won't be by very much. Fret not and just enjoy owning one of our favourite current cars. 

 

Neil Briscoe - Complete Car Adviser
@neilmbriscoe