Ralph74

I am looking at getting a Q5 new 3.0T fairly loaded with options.

Dealer says the prestige is lower residual 52% compared to Premium Plus 56%

Is there a reason why prestige would have lower resale value? Is there a reason not to get the prestige?

For map updates on navigation if you don't do the monthly subscription service how do you get updates? Can you do monthly for a single month get the update and then cancel? Trying to find out how this will work for newer model and find what I think is old info on previous model years.

From what I have read here I think I should shoot for 6-8% under msrp for pricing.

Any other recommendations / general advice is welcome.

This is the car I am looking at. Click here

Another question..

The ventilated seats? Can you feel it? For those that have it do you use it? Why or why not?

idale

Maybe it's more than the majority want to spend, so Prestiges end up needing to have their price come down more to get people to go for them? Not sure. Personally I try to keep my cars for more than long enough for residuals to not matter anymore.

Map updates and Audi Connect aren't related; map updates are applied by the dealer and seem to be fairly rare (and they're also something silly like $300). With Audi Connect you'll have the option of a Google Earth overlay to see new satellite images, but the navigation itself uses what's installed on the MMI's hard drive (which is only updated via SD card data that owners don't have access to).

If you qualify for the Supplier Program (through your employer or through 6+ months of ACNA membership), that's a guaranteed 6% off. People's negotiating skills vary but a number of people have gotten at least that much off just through negotiation.

No comments on the exact vehicle, but I'm in Austin, too. Audi dealer here's pretty good, and both North and South dealerships are "the same" (both Roger Beasley-owned, they basically split the North dealership and some people went down south). Sales and finance sides were definitely no-pressure which was nice (I didn't even get offered any "extras" when I bought mine). Can't speak on negotiation experience since as an ACNA member I qualified for 6% off via Supplier discount, which went smoothly enough even though they forgot I qualified until I brought in the documentation at delivery (they changed the purchase docs to reflect the proper price and didn't give me any grief over it).

I don't have them, but it sounds like people who have it love it and would be unlikely to be able to give them up. One thing to note is there's no active cooling, just airflow (but that should really be all you need, get airflow going to help keep you from sweating and give you some "wind chill"). It'll also force you for the standard-style seats instead of having the ability to have the sport-style seats, but if you weren't looking for the sport seats in the first place then that shouldn't be a big deal.

Ralph74

Thanks for the reply. That sucks about the map updates. I live in Pflugerville and with the rate at which roads change around here it makes the map updates important but I hate the idea of paying the $300 for an update. That is such a rip off.

The residual doesn't matter so much as just me looking at it to see how the maker (audi) values the resale of their car. It is fun to go into someplace and have the dealer talk up how great their car holds up resale value etc... then find out their residual value is 25% or something.


I posted this elsewhere also but what is the deal with Audi Care? If you take your car into Audi and get the 45k mile service how much does it cost? Purchasing audi care looks to me like they are charging $333 for an oil change and inspection. Have you paid for individual service at dealer? What did they charge you?

idale

I'm actually in Pflugerville, too (obviously, from my location tag). If you see a medium blue Q5 driving around in the Pecan/685 area (or south into Austin proper), that should be me.

Maps are definitely a bit stupid. The cost is due to labor charges, which is just due to the time it takes for the update to happen (during which time a bay's being taken up, so it's "labor"). Apparently soon in Europe, new A6 owners are supposed to be able to download the update package themselves for installation on SD card -- it'd be awesome if we were able to do the same thing, but I'm sure that won't happen.

On the VAG side, it should be fairly realistic (or possibly even conservative). They aren't usually the ones touting "resale value" as a selling point and possibly inflating them or picking and choosing the "best" examples.


No idea about 45K (5K and every 20K after is the basic "mostly oil change"), but my TDI's 15K would've been over $600, much of which was apparently labor for all the inspection points they're supposed to do during that service (it was in for a half day, plus another half due to having issues connecting to Audi for a TCM software update). Needless to say I went for the Audi Care instead since 35K will be pretty much the same type of service. The TDI's probably the worst case, though (and therefore the best value for Audi Care, since the price is the same for any engine choice in each model).

ronbars

The lower residual value of the Prestige models is a direct a function of more expensive cars depreciating at a faster rate (relatively speaking). There are a couple of features only available on Prestige models, but if you can live without them you're much better off loading up a Premium Plus and going that route. Across the Audi lineup, models available in the Prestige trim level have lease residuals between 2-4% lower than the other trim levels. Higher residuals = lower monthly lease payments, so it makes sense to pay attention to the details.

Also, AudiCare is a bargain given that even simple oil changes cost a small fortune at the dealer. If you're leasing, it's an even better deal, as selecting AudiCare raises the residual of the vehicle by 1%, effectively lowering the cost of the prepaid maintenance even further.