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Volkswagen Jetta: Prices Paid & Buying Experience

721 messages,  Last post on Mar 03, 2013 at 11:10 AM

You are in the Volkswagen Jetta Forum.

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

Messages Page 4 of 73

#25 of 721 Jetta Purchase by cgatzke

Sep 04, 2004 (6:57 am)

Last fall, I purchased a Jetta GLS, 1.8t, manual trans. from Ed Schmidt VW in Perrysburg, OH. Great buying experience, although I have had quite a bit of trouble with their service department, although that is another topic.
 
Due to some stupid trade in's in the past, I was quite a bit upside down on my trade in for the Jetta, but the price was reduced to around $19K (what they said was invoice, and end of year), but with my extra added back on, it drove it back up much higher. I was glad to get the whole mess tied up in 1.9% financing, through VW. Many people who i've talked to lately are surprised that VW got it to go through. At least if i'm gonna be upside down, let it be on a new car with warranty, and all at 1.9%!!!
 
What does everyone think? Did I do the best for what I have, or did I get screwed?
 
BTW, I love my Jetta. I will probably trade in down the road for a larger Passat for more room, but no troubles except for faulty ignition switch.

#26 of 721 Re: Volkswagen Jetta: Prices Paid & Buying Experience [KarenS] by dpargento

Sep 05, 2004 (1:13 am)

Replying to: KarenS (Feb 13, 2004 9:14 am)
Hi I bought my 2004 Jetta GLS TDI wagon Indigo blue with cold weather and stability control packages at the beginning of August... live in central California but bought the car in Maryland were my folks live and will use that address for tiling info... I went through every dealer in a 100 mile radius and no one wanted to give me a deal... I ended up trying Russel VW one more time before actually getting ready to buy a Cooper S instead (if your gonna have to pay sticker I figured I'd get something fun;o) When I got to Russel I talked directly to the sales manager (Ray Notaro)and explained to him that I was from out of state but was ready to buy the car right then and there if he would work with me on the price... Long story short I bought the car for 200 bucks over invoice... IT was a fantastic sales experience and he had a great sales guy named Hans (smartest VW guy I have ever come across and he's a german import just like my wagon), get the car prepped for delivery...these guys know how to get lifetime customers...

#28 of 721 Fair price??? by jettagirl1

Oct 14, 2004 (2:34 pm)

I am a '98 Jetta GLS owner who is considering a trade-in for an '04 GLS while the 0% financing offer lasts.
 
The dealer is claiming their cars are normally priced at 1% above cost - I have no idea what that is supposed to mean to me. In any case, he is willing to sell it for $21.5K, plus I would get the $1K appreciation rebate, and 0% financing. He is only willing to give me $4K on my trade - which is crap. The car has only 48K miles, is in great physical shape - (he even said it himself - "it's like new on the inside....you must never even drive".) And the body has next to no damage or flaws. He also will pay the $673 service bill I owe for having a fuel hose replaced today - the impetus for my having even decided to shop around. But really - let's be real here...that costs him nothing - the price of that part has been tripled for me already.
 
Specs on the new car are as follows:
 
GLS 2.0L 4-cyl AUTOMATIC
Reflex Silver exterior with blk leather interior
Monsoon sound (standard)
 
What are your thoughts- can I get this guy lower, and is he even DOING anything for me here, or not really so much?
 
I had also planned to put at least $3K down.
 
Thx for your help!
 
Katie

#30 of 721 2004 Jetta GLS Wagon 1.8T w/Leather and ESP for $19,604 out the door. by nihilator

Nov 03, 2004 (9:17 pm)

Here's my buying experience with Ourisman Volkswagen of Laurel (Maryland). I had been looking for a replacement for my rapidly aging 1994 Honda Accord LX sedan, and I wanted something with its own style, good economy, excellent reliability, and I thought I also deserved something fun to drive. For some reason, I'm hot for wagons, and I wanted a manual transmission for the fun, the longevity, and the lower price. Other cars I considered (and the reasons I rejected them) included: 3-series BMW (far too expensive), Jaguar X-type (expensive and unreliable, and no manual in the 3.0 version), Mazda 3- and 6-series (too expensive for what you get), Subaru (AWD is nice, but poor styling and mileage), Chevy Malibu Maxx (too big, too plain, unproven format), and Ford Focus (awful resale, expensive to maintain).
 
The Jetta wagon seemed a good choice for lots of reasons, including a nice test drive in a TDI sedan, but the kicker was the $3,500 in factory-to-dealer incentives for all non-TDI wagons. The TDI would have been nice, but I would have ended up paying about $5,000 more for it, and that's not worth it.
 
Interesting note: the factory-to-dealer incentive for non-TDI wagons is $3,500, and the incentive for non-TDI sedans is $2,000. The differential between the sedan and the wagon is only $1,000 (MSRP) to begin with, so this makes the wagon actually $500 *cheaper* than the sedan!
 
I called a VW dealer local to my work and asked if he could find "a Jetta wagon, manual transmission, GLS trim, 1.8T engine, in black, white, or any of the blue shades" (there are three or so blue-like shades available.) That was all I gave him to go on. He called me back within the hour and told me that an Indigo Blue wagon matching that description was available from a nearby dealership. It also had the Leather package (I was fine with or without it) and ESP (electronic stabilization program, a nice supplement to ABS and standard traction control). He offered to have the other dealership hold the car until he could meet with me to discuss it.
 
The costs break down as follows, according to Edmunds.com:
Item (MSRP / invoice)
Jetta GLS 1.8T wagon (21,940 / 20,022)
Leather (1,050 / 928)
ESP (280 / 247)
Destination (575 / 575)
 
Total MSRP: $23,845. Total invoice: $21,772, but the dealer quoted me an invoice of $22,114; he included a $342 fee package comprised of three profit-only items. Something like $25 port prep fee, $75 something-or-other, and $242 advertising somesuch.
 
On arriving at the dealership, I asked the sales manager, with whom I had been dealing over the phone, to let me (a) see a car in the same shade as the car he was holding at the other dealership, and (b) let me test-drive a manual 1.8T (sedan or wagon, as I had only driven the TDI at that point). We found a car on the lot and he handed me over to a floor sales rep for the drive. I took a drive and was highly pleased with the experience...the shifter was notchy but positive, the engine smooth, the interior very well put-together. I found out later that, oddly, I had not been driving a 1.8T after all, and had been impressed by the (very) base 2.0 normally-aspirated engine. Even though I had not driven the 1.8T, I was ready to deal...I was impressed enough with the base engine that I knew I would love the turbo version!
 
In my initial phone contact with the sales manager, he had readily agreed that there was $3,500 in marketing support available and offered not only to hand it *all* over to me, but to start the negotiation at invoice, not sticker. To *his* invoice price (including the $342 fee package) he added a $99 documentation fee. My counteroffer was simple: I offered to let them keep $200 over invoice (not $441). I went to take a cell phone call, and when I got back 15 minutes later, they agreed to my offer. Painless.
 
I signed a contract, after reviewing my numbers to make sure I didn't make any mistakes. Final figures:
 
Jetta as equipped: $18,373.38
State sales tax (5%): $923.62 (should be $918.67, but it's close enough for me)
Title fee: $23.00 (legit MD fee)
License fee: $128 (also legit MD fee; new tags plus two years registration)
"Profit fee": $156
Total out the door: $19,604.00
 
Total for the car (not including taxes, tags and title): $18,534.33...and MSRP was $23,845. I paid $5,311 (22.2%) less than sticker!
 
I did my calc based on letting them have $200 of profit over invoice; they apparently mis-mathed it out to $156 (plus $4.95 I got over-charged for MD taxes). Overall I think it's a great deal, considering how little effort it took. Yes, they took my first counter-offer, but I'm pleased to be getting a great car for a great price, and isn't that what's important?
 
--Chris

#31 of 721 Re: 2004 Jetta GLS Wagon 1.8T w/Leather and ESP for $19,604 out the door. [nihilator] by fish8

Nov 04, 2004 (6:02 am)

Replying to: nihilator (Nov 03, 2004 9:17 pm)
Congrats on a great car and deal!!!

#32 of 721 Re: 2004 Jetta GLS Wagon 1.8T w/Leather and ESP for $19,604 out the door. [nihilator] by kirstie_h HOST

Nov 04, 2004 (7:08 am)

Replying to: nihilator (Nov 03, 2004 9:17 pm)
Yes, they took my first counter-offer, but I'm pleased to be getting a great car for a great price, and isn't that what's important?
 
Absolutely!! It's not always about getting the rock-bottom, lowest possible price. Sometimes working toward that can be stressful, and excessive haggling can leave you with negative feelings about the overall process. You got a very good price for a car that you wanted. Now go out and enjoy that ride!
 
kirstie_h
Roving Host & Future Vehicles Host

#33 of 721 New 2004 Jetta GLI VR6: $20700 by cpurick

Nov 19, 2004 (5:38 am)

This was a leftover '04 that had been on the dealer's lot for over six months. Car had 64 miles on it. This is the original GLI w/ VR6 and 6spd, NOT the 1.8T w/ body kit.
 
Reflex silver/Black leather/Sunroof & Monsoon
 
MSRP - - - $25675
Haggle - - -1475
VW incentiv -2500
Cust Loyalty-1000
 
Sale Price $20700

#34 of 721 2004 Jetta GL 4SP Auto w/ESP, $14131 by tgoodnow

Dec 01, 2004 (12:59 pm)

My own car purchase 5 years ago was very complicated and took quite a bit of maneuvering to get what I wanted at the price I wanted. A few years ago, I helped my husband buy a new Passat and it was a comparatively painless experience to get exactly what we wanted at the price we wanted. This time, I was helping my brother make a Jetta purchase (because of my husband's Passat, my brother really had his eye on a Jetta). Admittedly this was a difficult purchase to research because we started out looking at CPOs and prices vary widely. But we finally made our way back to the dealership where my husband had bought his Passat and had another very positive experience there (Antwerpen Volkswagen in Pasadena MD... I would recommend them to any VW shoppers in the area).
 
Here's what he bought: a "demo" 2004 Jetta GL Automatic w/ESP in platinum grey sold as "new" with full factory warranty (that begins counting from his purchase date and the existing odometer reading). The MSRP is $19160 and the invoice is $17984. We got it for $14131 + destination charge and TTL. I'd read a lot of pros and cons about demos, especially when they have a few thousand miles as this one did. But we checked it out thoroughly, gave it a test drive and felt fine about it having been, essentially, used.
 
The price seemed good, even if you research it as a used car, and especially compared to all the 2000-2002s that we checked out in our area. As a used car, Edmund's TMV pricing puts his Jetta at $13,982 private sale, and $15,746 dealer sale. They also suggest $16,461 as a dealer CPO price. Of course as a used car, you'd have no destination charge, so a fair comparison on price would be to include the $457 destination charge my brother paid, making his car $14,588.
 
So the numbers seemed right whether you looked at used car pricing or new car pricing. And he got all the benefits of a new car. My brother was basically able to get exactly what he wanted in a newer model, with lower mileage than what he'd found elsewhere and that was because it was a demo. There was simply more negotiating room because of the VW new car incentives. We walked out of the dealership feeling really happy about the car and the price.
 
Here's the breakdown:
 
Car: $14131
Freight: $457
Tax: $729 (5% MD)
Documentation Fee: $49*
Title/Tags: (I don't recall this number, but it was what we expected it to be)
Financing was done at 4.99%
 
* I was pretty sure this was a dealer profit add-on to the bill, but honestly, it wasn't big enough to cause a fuss over (they have to make thei money someplace).
 
I know it can be difficult shopping for a used car or for a demo because there isn't as much information. So I hope this experience helps someone else out there.

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