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Volkswagen Passat Prices Paid and Buying Experience

3318 messages,  Last post on Nov 12, 2009 at 9:57 AM

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What is this discussion about? Volkswagen Passat, Sedan, Wagon

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#655 of 3318 brentwoodvolvo... by snurple Feb 27, 2001 (10:03 pm)
For someone who professes to be here to listen...   You sure do a lot of talking.
#656 of 3318 Brentwood by chippervw Feb 28, 2001 (6:18 am)
Ok. Thanks. I was thinking about Silverstone with gray velour or leather. Really do want leather, but without it I'd be $1500 closer to getting a Passat. Probably will be this summer anyway. Any advice on leather vs. cloth in Florida? So, you're saying to actually make an offer to a dealer instead of ask for his "best price"? Would be easier that way anyway. Thanks for the advice.
#657 of 3318 "Best Price" by ffxvw Feb 28, 2001 (8:47 am)
Here's the deal with that. If a dealer gets a fax from a customer asking for "Best Price", they know two things automatically. One, the customer sent this to every dealer in a 50 mile radius, giving you a 1 in 12 or 1 in 15 chance anyway. Two, experience has shown that 9 times out of 10, the customer won't bother to go to the dealership that offers the best price anyway. They'll just use the number as leverage against their local dealer (or whoever has the color/options). This makes responding to these types of requests a HUGE waste of time. That's also why its hard to get a decent response in a dealership with that line as well.   Jason
#658 of 3318 OK, but... by snurple Feb 28, 2001 (9:41 am)
If you send out 20 faxes with a $20,000 offer, what do you do when you get back faxes from 10 dealers accepting your offer? Now, you can only accept one. Next thing you know, the other 9 dealers will enact a policy that they "will no longer waste their time with responding to faxes proposing a price, because people never take their heartfelt offers."   I think it all comes down to a dealer wanting to be "the only dealer in your life" and being able to set their own price without being bothered by other competitors. But, in a buyers market (which is what we are in), it is in the seller's interest to "compete for any possible sale." And, it is most certainly in the buyer's interest to cast a wide net in order to find several acceptable options to pit against one another--this is the very definition of "letting the market set the price."   Joeboy says: "Then, I started calling around for any car with the features that I wanted. I didn't care what color int. or exterior. I got a much better price."   Exactly. If you appear open to "taking a slow seller" off a dealer's hands you will get a better price. The flip side is if you exhibit wild-eyed excitement upon discovering "the perfect car." In that case, the dealer--who just happens to have that model on their lot--will immediately tack on another $1000 to the price. If you go to one dealer and ask them to canvas the local area for your perfect car, they will also tack on $1000, since they can claim to have "added value" to your buying experience...   According to "Capitalism 101," Competition insures a healthy market. You want a car--and the dealer wants your money. If you are focused on the first, without being mindful of the second, you will leave more money on the table.
#659 of 3318 Negotiating by its_kristy Feb 28, 2001 (2:55 pm)
First and foremost, I think that if you plan on getting competitive pricing, you must be committed to buying within 2 weeks. If the salesman knows a sale is imminent and inevitable, they will be more agressive in trying to gain your business.   For me, the best tactic has been to visit the 2 dealers in the area who have the most competitive pricing, based upon posts from those who have actually purchased. This is your opportunity to drive the cars and decide exactly what you wnt. Get pricing from them, then go home and call other dealers. Make sure you tell them a purchase is imminent and that the only thing you are doing now is getting pricing. Ask them what their best price is. If it's higher than your lowest quote, tell them what your lowest quote is and ask them to beat it. Once you have initial pricing from all dealers, go through the process one more time with the 2 or 3 dealers who offered the best price.   I think it is critical to make phone calls because of the point that was made in the above post. Dealers who get 'form letter' faxes and/or e-mails have no idea how serious someone is about buying or where they are at in the process. From a conversion standpoint, it's probably not very productive for them. E-mails did work for me, but I made sure that I got the person's name and did not send them a emotionless/monotone 'form letter'.   I had no problem getting down to about 2.1% over invoice ($27,231 2001.5 GLX)within 4-5 calls. In the end, I was able to get the car at invoice through a co-worker who knew the sales manager. Believe it or not, the other dealer in town said he would match that price! The only "bogus" fees I paid were a $50 doc fee and about $70 in inventory taxes. Final price on a 2001.5 GLX $26,664, drive out of $28,557.
#660 of 3318 Um, but... by ffxvw Feb 28, 2001 (5:08 pm)
People don't respond to these letters. It seems like a plausible way to get a superior price for minimal effort, I'll admit that. But many dealers just throw them away as soon as they come over the fax. There are a lot of people just walking in, calling, and e-mailing. You'll find that there are very few VW stores (at least in my area) where customers don't end up walking out on the weekends because its so busy that there wasn't anyone they could talk to. I tell you, I used to quote prices over the Internet when customers e-mailed. It was the party line from all of the services we subscribe to. And you know what? Nobody bought. We only sold about 5% of our Internet sales leads during that period. People would say, "I went to X dealer, and they matched your price." Well, duh! Everyone pays the same for the cars, so everyone can pretty much sell them for the same prices too. Then I switched it over. Now, I make it my job to get the customer the price that THEY want. I'm at 12% and climbing now, and the main thing is that my customers don't have to work at getting a car. I'm the one getting paid for it, I don't see why they should have to do the work. Sorry for the long-windedness.   Jason
#661 of 3318 Price check anybody? by driver55 Feb 28, 2001 (6:16 pm)
I was told that the invoice price for a 2001.5 4-cylinder (1.8T) Passat, Automatic, with no extras is $21,580. This would include the destination charge. Does this sound right? I know what they say on Edmunds, but given the dealers invoice can include "other things", I just wanted to get a sense for what other dealers are actually stating as their invoice for Passats.   thanks.
#662 of 3318 Chipper by im_brentwood Feb 28, 2001 (7:06 pm)
Basically,   What ffxvw said is part of the reason why I won't respond to them. Also, what usually happens is some screwball dealer will lowball the customer to try to take them out of the market.   Say I "hit" someone at $20,500 on a car with a $20,000 invoice and a $22,000 MSRP. Assume that that is a strong price. Some jerk is gonna call the guy and say $19K or something just to take him out of the market. Then I either look A) Greedy or B) Like a liar/jerk/etc   Not worth the aggravation.   However, there IS a way to get my attention. Immediately. Do it like this (If Snurple listened 1/10th as much as he posted he would have remembered that I've posted this before):   Make a realistic offer. If people seem to be buying the cars for $500 over, offer that. You know it's a doable price. If 1 person claims to have paid invoice and 10 people claim to have paid list, well, then... offer invoice but dont get your hopes up. You can offer a dealer invoice for an Odyssey all day long, but it doesnt mean that you can get it, right?   But fax me this, and if it's realistic, I will respond ASAP and fax it right back to you. The best way to get my attention is to make it clear that you want to buy right now, not in 3 months.   Read the following: ============================FAX=====================================   Attn Sales Dept/Manager/Fleet Manager:   Hello, My Name is Bill Clinton. I would like to buy a Huyndai Accent GLS 4-door with the Touring Package, A/C, CD Player, Wheel Locks, and Cigar Holder. I understand that this vehicle has an MSRP of $12,750, a dealer Invoice of $11,050, and a rebate of $500.   I want one in Scandal Red with a Liar Grey Interior. I want to buy this car TODAY. I will take an in-stock car for delivery TODAY. I will also sign paperwork and leave a deposit and commit myself to the purchase of an incoming car IF i can be provided a VIN Number and a gurantee of delivery within 2 weeks.   The FIRST DEALER to Respond to this FAX that agrees to my price gets the sale. I would like a purchase order faxed back to me with a VIN and I will then fax back my credit card information. I am pre-approved at 7.95% through my credit union, I am willing to finance through you if you can match or beat that rate.   I WILL BUY THIS CAR TODAY FOR $10,950 INCLUDING ALL FEES PLUS SALES TAX AND REGISTRATION FEES ONLY.   Please complete paperwork as follows:   William Jefferson Clinton 1600 Pennsylvania Ave Washington, DC 123456   Thank you for your consideration,   Bill Clinton.
#663 of 3318 brentwoodvolvo by div2 Feb 28, 2001 (8:23 pm)
You forgot to add: "P.S. What is the headroom like? BC"
#664 of 3318 Once again, Thanks Brentwoodvolvo by chippervw Feb 28, 2001 (8:31 pm)
Thank you for the advice again Brentwood. Nice Clinton example! Haha! Do you agree with an earlier post that I would get a better price if I were "flexible" on color, etc? Can a Central Florida VW dealership get the EXACT car I want? I could be flexible somewhat. Thanks in advance...

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