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Sedans Audi A6 Audi A6
6896 messages, Last post on Aug 19, 2009 at 3:36 PM
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Replying to: markcincinnati (Oct 17, 2007 4:33 am) I recently 'Lemoned' a Lexus and was in the market for a new car, and I had a short list: an A6 4.2, and a BMW 535i. The 2008 A6 was just out, and nobody had a 4.2 that I could test. I decided to test a 3.2 since everything about the car other than the engine was the same, and I liked it. Didn't love it... just liked it. I had been calling the salesman regularly, waiting for the 4.2 to get in (I'd get the usual 'it should be here any day' response). In other words, any salesman would tag me as 'very interested', and since I was paying cash, I'd imagine I'd also be tagged as 'able to purchase'. In the mean time, I did a few tests of the 535i and decided that it was the car for me. I ordered, and it should be arriving in NJ 10/22, and be in my eager hands a week later. No calls from the Audi salesman. I called just to check, and he is still working there. Add to that: my Dad's A8 warranty is up in February, and he will be looking for a new car and is leaning towards a new A8. My salesman knows this, and still hasn't even mailed the A8 brochure to me or my Dad as I asked, or given him a call. Amazing. No wonder their sales are lagging.
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Replying to: bdkinnh (Oct 17, 2007 7:35 am) I had been calling the salesman regularly, waiting for the 4.2 to get in (I'd get the usual 'it should be here any day' response). In other words, any salesman would tag me as 'very interested', and since I was paying cash, I'd imagine I'd also be tagged as 'able to purchase'. In the mean time, I did a few tests of the 535i and decided that it was the car for me. I ordered, and it should be arriving in NJ 10/22, and be in my eager hands a week later. The A6 is a great car. I think you'll love the 535 though. |
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Replying to: bdkinnh (Oct 17, 2007 7:35 am) We've had (1) new 4.2 A6 for dealer stock in the last 9-12 months. How can you sell a product when you can't even drive a car with a customer? Same thing with A8's. 1/2 the time we don't even have one to drive. My personal car is a 4.2 A6, and I wish more people could appreciate how incredible this car is. You can go to the Lexus, BMW, and MB dealer, and they'll have a 1/2 dozen or so of all their high end cars available for test drives and immediate delivery. Audi is having record sales everywhere in the world over the last 5 years, and record profits as well. But Audi just doesn't support their high-end cars like other manufactuers...with supply or deals. When you can lease a 7 series BMW for $200/mo less than an A8, it doesn't matter how much follow up your salesperson does and how good they are. Same thing w/ A6 leases. It's been really tough to sell the A6's last year. $800 a month to lease a 255hp A6 with some nice equiptment? People go straight to the BMW dealer every time and lease a 5 series for $150 mo/ less. It's 950-1000/mo to lease a new 4.2 A6. We sell a ton of A3's & A4's, and the new Q7 does really well. It's frustrating at times to deal with high end Audi's. Everybody keeps wanting better and better deals because they bought a car before. Even if you roll out the Donald Trump red carpet and follow up diligently with your customers, it's always tough to keep the high end folks coming back. The car business in an emotional business. I've followed up with customers for 6 month to a 1 yr at times. And 95% of the time they lose interest and buy something else. You should always follow up with repeat customers and prospects. But time is money and it's difficult to chase after high end Audi business. Audi ships so few of these cars to the US market that you have to focus on bread and butter business and what people can afford in volume.
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Replying to: rjlaero (Oct 18, 2007 5:37 am) I'd like to know where I can get a "7 series BMW for $200/mo." or a "5 series for $150/mo. or less". |
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Replying to: carnaught (Oct 18, 2007 7:10 am) Best Regards, Shipo |
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Replying to: shipo (Oct 18, 2007 7:25 am) BMW's have inflated residuals most of the model year. BMW is very dependent on the US market for the 5 and 7 series, and they need to push these cars. They really have become the General Motors of the German car market. Many people are not leasing a BMW because it's the Ultimate Driving Machine. It's more like the "Ultimate Lease Deal" It's hard to compete lease wise when an A6 has a 47-48% residual and the 5 series is 56-57%. The A6 may be a better overall car, but it's tough to justify spending an extra 125-150/mo for a lot of customers. You can lease a $80,000 7 series for 1050-1100 mo. It's tough to lease an $80,000 A8 for under 1300/mo. Once again, the A8 might be a better car, but the US market is so "deal" driven, people will lease the 7 series to save a couple hundred bucks a month. Even though the quirky bangle BMW styling and horrid I drive are still major drawbacks to the bimmer. Audi doesn't really need to sell many A6's and A8's in the US market. Audi is making so much money on these cars in the European and booming Asian/Chinese markets, why send them to the US and have to give them away to compete with BMW lease deals? There's a reason Audi is having record profits and sales world-wide. Audi is hoping to overtake BMW in profitability by 2010/2011.
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Replying to: rjlaero (Oct 18, 2007 8:11 am) Ya know..., I've been hearing comments like that for so long that it seems to become some sort of an urban legend. That said, in my experience it doesn't hold true. Why? Well simply put, I've now leased two BMWs, and in both cases they fetched well over the "inflated" residual value when resold. In the case of my 530i, it was CPOed and put on the lot for a whopping $9,500 over what the residual value was, and it fetched over $8,000 more than my residual. With the above in mind, I keep wondering how folks can constantly claim that the residuals on BMWs are inflated. Best Regards, Shipo
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Replying to: shipo (Oct 18, 2007 7:25 am) Sure, I agree with your statement. When someone's (nlaero) trying to make a point using figures, I take it as fact. |
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Replying to: shipo (Oct 18, 2007 8:21 am) There's a huge difference between wholesale/auction values and what a dealer may sell a car for  full retail. I wish I could make $8000 on every deal selling certified cars. You always have a few people that buy high, but the average used car profit is not $8000. Most car dealers are happy if they can average $2500 - $3500 profit on a used cerified cars. And after 6 + years in the car business, that's just about right from my experience. |
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Replying to: rjlaero (Oct 18, 2007 5:37 am) 1) I was paying cash, not leasing, so the comparison to BMW's lease rates don't matter. 2) Regarding "it doesn't matter how much follow up your salesperson does and how good they are...": he hasn't called me ONCE. When you have 'a fish on the line', and you don't call or follow-up even a little, you're not going to get the sale. And you're going to lose the A8 sale to the fish's Dad. 
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