That is all really interesting about the Audi dealerships. That almost completely turned me awayfromAudi's during my initial search session when seeking to purchase a car back in 2006. In a way, it was good that the only Audi dealership in the Baltimore metro area was not the on located north of the beltway only five minutes from my place of employment. I had originally experienced that fine dealership experience to the point that it gave the term "letting the car sell itself" a whole new meaning. Fortunately, there was another dealership west of the city which was outstanding. From the moment I walked in the first time to when I came back and closed the deal. There service department is great. It's like night and day, when comparing those two dealerships. When Audi USA called me about my purchasing experience - I let them know about how pleased I was about the dealership I had purchase the A3 from. I also let them know about the dealership I had not purchased an A3 from. It's truly unfortunate that the car is being judged by the actions of a bunch of boneheads working (or not working) at certain dealerships.

I would take what some of them say about performance with a a grain of salt. One of them saying a C30 is faster and handles better than an STi....

I being that I own and A3 and an STi and test drove a C30 I can say that the C30 is slightly faster than an A3 2.0T but does not handle nearly as well, the steering is also numb and the brakes are not really as good with the C30.

As far as the STi is concerned they should not compare it to either the A3 or C30.