HopefulA3Owner

Hey everybody,

New to the boards here. I have been following the A3 ever since I heard the news of it being released, and I am smitten. A little background, I currently drive a Jeep Wrangler, which lease ends this coming March 2015. I'm definitely looking for a more refined driving experience, so I am looking at two cars in particular, the Audi A3 and the BMW 228i. My biggest question to all of you with Audi experience is: When should I start actively looking in dealerships, assuming that the car may have to be ordered? My current lease is up at the end of March, the 28th to be exact. Based on how much time it could take, when do you folks think I should start the process, in case the A3 I want isn't available in dealer stock? I just don't want to have any time period without a vehicle, lol. Also, any new A3 owners on here have any advice for me, about what I should expect in the sales process? Negotiation tactics

Thanks in advance!

eltook

Welcome!!
Normally, when ordered, the cars show up at dealer within the next 3 months! You should start negociating begginning of january. You could expect 3% to 6% off after negociating!

HopefulA3Owner

Thanks for the info! I'll go in January and see what the deal is. I've built the vehicle online a couple times, and figured out the options I want. Now all that's left is the price. Most likely going to be a lease, so I'll have to try to bargain my way around to get the monthly payment that I want. Hopefully it's not too difficult, haha.

dplaw09

Get the Audi North American Club Membership. If you become a lifetime member, they will give you 6% off MSRP immediately. Otherwise you must have membership for 6 months prior.

HopefulA3Owner

Does that only work for purchases? Or leases as well?

DennisMitchell

Both.

HopefulA3Owner

That's good to know. Might be worth the $750 to be a life member. Thanks for the info!

kdigital

I didn't know they'd honor the 6% on a lifetime membership. Good information to have. Just be careful. You may get the same or similar discount with no ACNA membership. So don't think you need to spend $750 to get 6% off MSRP. Ask the dealer for a discount before you spend the money on the membership. They may give you that kind of discount without it. Also, the dealer is much more likely to negotiate the deal with you if the car you want is on the lot too, particularly if it's near the end of a fiscal quarter. Good luck! And btw ACNA member benefits seem pretty cool, so outside the discount, lots of other reasons to join.

HopefulA3Owner

That's a good point. I should try the negotiation on my own first. Never really tried to negotiate before, but to get the discount on an A3, I'll definitely have to try. Any tips? lol

gamegenie

make sure you get your research together for that.

I'd recommend looking over your car's invoice on Trucars.com and seeing what the average rate is going for.

and get a quote from more than 1 Audi dealer so you will have some leverage in your negotiation.


Trust me this will work.


It's all a game, but only one will either you or the salesperson.