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Prices Paid: Buying & Leasing Experiences Audi A4 Prices Paid and Buying Experience
1543 messages, Last post on Dec 07, 2009 at 11:05 AM
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Can anyone recommend a good one? I'm looking to buy or lease either an A4 Wagon (2.0 4 cyl) (other choice in a BMW 325ix wagon) and any info on local deals or good dealerships would be helpful. Thanks!
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Replying to: rolfs (May 08, 2006 12:42 pm) Thanks, BB |
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So I did all the research on invoice pricing, base money factor etc. I decided I wanted to get an A4 2.0T Quattro Tiptronic with most options except Nav. I went to my local Audi dealer (I won't mention it specifically but it's in an upscale neighborhood - not that I'm so upscale myself; that's why I cared about getting a good deal!). When I arrived they were very friendly and identified a car with the exact color/option combination I wanted that was already on the boat over from Germany and would be arriving in about a month (perfect timing with my lease return). I wrote down the VIN number to for future reference. I said great and we set a price of about $1000 over invoice which was within my target pricing. Everything seemed good. I had a check all written out for a small deposit and my salesman went to check with his manager to work out the numbers on the deal. I was sitting there for quite a while and heard raised voices coming from the back. I had called my girlfriend and told her they were really putting on a great show for me. I fully expected the good-cop/bad-cop routine when he came back, saying he had a tough time but that the manager agreed to it. However, the salesman came back looking defeated. He gave me the deal that the manager would agree to and it was fully $60 a month over what I calculated from the selling price and the drive off was $700 over what I was expecting. Over 36 months, the total was almost $3000 over what I wanted to pay. I told him he was way off, that I knew the AFS base money factor and what the payments should be. He laughed and said that people come in sometimes with numbers and calculators like that but that no dealer in his right mind would agree to it. Then the manager came around and added a bunch of BS to their explanation about why they couldn't honor the price they had set. However there was one thing that made sense. He said he only has a certain allotment of these cars from Audi, and that they are very popular. In other words, he knows that he can find 30+ people who are willing to pay considerably more than me for the cars he has to sell. Even understanding this, I was still a bit surprised that they actually let me walk out and did not really try to negotiate at all. When I went home and did the math on his offer, the deal equated to being about $800 OVER invoice! I thought to myself, if A4's are really this popular, then maybe I should look at different makes/models . So I went home and looked up all the Audi dealers in Southern California and emailed each of them explaining the options I wanted and that I knew what the money factor and residual should be on the lease. A number of them in various areas (normal and more upscale) responded with similar offers on the selling price. I also called my friend Chris who works at Toyota and explained my situation to him. The first thing he said was "can I get you into a Toyota?" I laughed and said that I had my heart set on the A4. He recommended that I talk to "Glen" (not supposed to use real names here, let's just say it's very very close to "Glen") at Auto Gallery in Woodland Hills. I was a little worried since it's also in a nice-ish part of town (and they also sell Ferraris and Maseratis) and I was thinking that I should go out to the desert or something to find the best deal. As it turns out, Glen was one of the people who had already emailed me back. I read his email again which was quite detailed and realized that he was taking me seriously. The other responses seemed more vague and I wondered whether they would also go back on their pricing promise. I called Glen and asked him if he could find the car I wanted. He found one very similar and gave me exact numbers including total drive off over email. I said great. He said great. After a couple days I realized that I just wouldn't be happy without the car with the exact options I wanted. He went to work again and got it. He wrote up the numbers and gave me a fair deal, with no backend nonsense on the money factor. I also asked for the VIN so I could call my insurance company to get a quote. It turns out that it was the exact same car that the other dealer had mentioned! Now, you can never be sure that the deal isn't too good to be true until you actually write the first check and take the keys. Glen stayed late at the office so I could pick it up as soon as it was ready. I was in and out in about 30 minutes and paid the exact amount we agreed upon beforehand (actually it was $1 less per month because the AFS numbers had changed, and Glen said I could have either one because I had locked in the earlier numbers). I could not be more pleased with the car  ! I think the lesson with leasing is to do a bunch of research (on edmunds etc), be willing to walk away, and **shop around**. Also, my entire deal was worked out over email/phone/mail/fax, and there's no reason to think that another dealer wouldn't do the same if they really want to sell cars (and of course they do!). Also, my good friend picked one up around the same time at Commonwealth Audi in Orange County and also worked out a good deal using the information I researched.
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When I say the first dealer's price equated to $800 over 'invoice', I actually meant $800 OVER MSRP!
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Replying to: spencermfi (May 11, 2006 9:14 pm) I recently signed for 36 month/12k/yr lease on A4 quattro, auto trans, quartz gray/ebony with the following options: Technology package Sunroof package Premium Package NAV system Dark walnut trim on dash Rear Parktronics Edmunds - MSRP 40,460 Edmunds TMV= 39,118 Edmunds Invoice 37,498 (supposedly, there is another $495 in fees- nat'l advertising ($300)and port setup ($195)=$495.00) Cap cost $38,155 0 down, taxes rolled into lease. Monthly payment is $495/month. Inception =$1478 If I accept the $495 extra fees as real-several dealers gave me the same nubmers, it comes to $163 over invoice. |
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Replying to: dino11 (May 17, 2006 2:24 am) 2006 Audi A4 FWD 2.0T with CVT Automatic Brilliant Black Ebony Leather 36 months - 12k per year OPTIONS: Premium Pkg Sunroof Pkg Tech Pkg Walnut Trim Walnut Steering Wheel/Shift Knob Rear Sun Shades Sport Suspension MSRP - $36,735 Invoice - $33,919 Negotiated Cap Cost - $34,032.18 ($113.18 over invoice) Down Pmt - $430.06 Net Cap Cost - $33,602.12 Residual 55% Money Factor .00038 (0.91%) Pre-Tax Pmt - $392.61 Tax (8.75%) - $ 32.39 Monthly Pmt - $425.00 I was also initially quoted the Advertising and Prep Handling fees of $495 but I quickly negotiated that out of the deal too. If I count those as legitimate charges I actually got the car for $381.82 UNDER invoice. Both the salesman and the finance manager mentioned that I was getting the car go below cost. The finance manager actually called the salesman to make sure the numbers were right -- though, it may have just been theatrics. Who knows. Regardless, Audi is really dealing aggressively on this car right now ... at least at the dealership I went to they were. You still have a couple weeks before the latest promotion is over. I suggest you move now if you are interested in this car. I don't know what information is appropriate to post here, but if you want details on the dealership and who to talk to just e-mail me. I'll be happy to set you up. It was the quickest, cleanest, most pain-free car transaction I've ever had. Everything was handled over the course of a few of e-mails, he e-mailed me a 1-page credit app then called me the next morning asking when I wanted to come pick the car up. I spent about 20 minutes test driving it before buying, 15 minutes signing papers, and 15 minutes going over the features with the salesman. We were in and out in about an hour. As I'm sure has been mentioned before, getting informed beforehand is the key. Know what you want, what its worth, and what you're willing to pay for it. E-mail YOUR TERMS to the dealership in a "take it or leave it" format. Get a good Excel leasing worksheet (or do what I did and make your own) and spell out everything down to the last penny. (you'll never match the dealer exactly, but you'll be within a few bucks that way). And when they try to switch you to something else, stand your ground and be prepared to walk away. The best part of having a good leasing worksheet is the ability to quickly recalculate payments on the fly to make sure that extra feature or new residual isn't being manipulated by the dealer to pad their profit. Dealers know that once most people make up their mind and are actually standing in the dealership investing time in the process, they usually won't balk if the price jumps a few extra hundred dollars. Don't fall for it. The car I got ended up being more than I initially wanted, but my complete reluctance to the additional options (tech pkg and wood steering wheel) allowed me to essentially force the dealer to give those options to me below cost just so he could sell me a car off his lot rather than trading with another dealer for a car. I have the highest praise for this dealership, and my salesman in particular. He was highly motivated to sell my my car, but I never once felt like he was trying to pull a fast one on me (that could be due to him being an honest salesman, or the fact that he simply knew I wouldn't fall for it anyway). All in all, we are definitely "extremely" satisfied. |
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Replying to: dsinsocal1 (May 17, 2006 11:08 pm)
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Replying to: spencermfi (May 18, 2006 8:35 am) $430 Down $ 35 Taxes $575 Acquisition Fee $425 First Pmt $323 License/Title $ 13 Gov. Fees (tires, etc) |
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I think this is not a good deal, but I'm not sure. They had a quattro advertised for $349+tax $1900 due at sign in. I went in and wanted an A4 without quattro and they wanted $399+tax and $999 due at signin. Here are the specs of the car: A4 2.0T 8EC5EC FWD Sedan 4D (Manual) Premium, 17in, MoonRoof, and heated front seats. MSRP 32760 Invoice 30222 Price: 30900 what should I expect on a lease?
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