Advice on ordering S-line A4
03-01-2009, 02:28 PM
#1
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Advice on ordering S-line A4
First off -- I've been a lurker in this forum for quite a while a want to thank everyone for all of your real world feedback on the A4. I've finally decided that the car for me is an A4 2.0T S-line 6 speed -- this will have to be ordered since no dealers in my area keep S-lines on the lot. I've never bought a brand new car before, let alone special ordered, so I'm hoping that some of you on this forum who have ordered your A4's can give me some advice on the process and answer some of my questions:
-Were you able to negotiate price on a special ordered vehicle?
-If so, did you finalize your price and/or financing prior to ordering or did you have to wait until the vehicle arrived at the dealer to finalize?
-What kind of deposit did you have to put down when you placed your order? Refundable or not?
-How long did it take between placing the order and taking delivery? If I want the car by June, should I be placing my order now?
-Did the dealer try to stick you with any "special order" charges or fees?
Like I said, I have no experience ordering a new car, so I would appreciate any insight from someone who has been through this process before. I want to walk into the dealer knowing what to expect so I don't end up getting screwed over because of my own ignorance.
-Were you able to negotiate price on a special ordered vehicle?
-If so, did you finalize your price and/or financing prior to ordering or did you have to wait until the vehicle arrived at the dealer to finalize?
-What kind of deposit did you have to put down when you placed your order? Refundable or not?
-How long did it take between placing the order and taking delivery? If I want the car by June, should I be placing my order now?
-Did the dealer try to stick you with any "special order" charges or fees?
Like I said, I have no experience ordering a new car, so I would appreciate any insight from someone who has been through this process before. I want to walk into the dealer knowing what to expect so I don't end up getting screwed over because of my own ignorance.
03-01-2009, 03:26 PM
#2
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My experience...
This was also my first ordered vehicle and it was pretty smooth, other than the excruciatingly long 6 month wait. I placed my order back in April when the order guides first came out and long before pricing was announced. The dealer took a $500 (if I remember right) deposit that was refundable until 1 week after pricing was officially announced. I knew I wanted the car, so that wasn't an issue. The normal wait time is more like 3 months, but S Lines were delayed initially at launch. We agreed on a $1k discount when I placed the order and I also got another $500 off for attending the A4 Experience. There were no unusual charges that I can recall. I have a feeling you can probably negotiate closer to $2k+ off an ordered car with the current state of the economy and slumping car sales. Good luck!
03-01-2009, 03:50 PM
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My experience
Ordered a A4 2.0T Prestige 6 speed in January. Still waiting for the build date. Dealer agreed to invoice plus whatever incentives Audi or the dealer were offering at the time of delivery. That might be special financing rates or something like the discount certificates that Audi had in December. Deposit was $1,000 refundable.
The dealer allocations and getting a build date seem to me to be the biggest issue. My dealer is realatively new, so other buyers who ordered from dealers in other parts of the country with better allocations already have a build date and estimated delivery for the same order date.
To me, asking about the dealer's allocations and build date would be critical for a June delivery. My dealer originally estimated a March delivery. We'll see lol. To the dealer's credit they are attempting to move my order higher in the allocations by talking to whoever talks to Germany. Again, we'll see. Fortunately, delivery time is not critical for me, other than this being my first Audi and wanting to get my hands on it.
The dealer allocations and getting a build date seem to me to be the biggest issue. My dealer is realatively new, so other buyers who ordered from dealers in other parts of the country with better allocations already have a build date and estimated delivery for the same order date.
To me, asking about the dealer's allocations and build date would be critical for a June delivery. My dealer originally estimated a March delivery. We'll see lol. To the dealer's credit they are attempting to move my order higher in the allocations by talking to whoever talks to Germany. Again, we'll see. Fortunately, delivery time is not critical for me, other than this being my first Audi and wanting to get my hands on it.
03-01-2009, 05:43 PM
#4
An ordered car is often a less expensive car. . .
. . .when a car is ordered by the dealer for you, and you pick up the car when it comes in, there are lower costs for the dealer.
Think of it this way. If the "holding cost for inventory" were $10 per day (a made up number for ease of discussion) and a car ordered without a customer comes in and sits on the lot for 60 days, there would be a $600 cost added to the car (or a $600 reduction in income).
You order a car and there are approximately zero floorplanning costs associated with the car -- the car is ordered, the car comes in, the car is paid for by you and you drive off. If the car came in on Monday and you pick it up on Tuesday, there would be in the example above a $20 charge for holding the car.
The line of thought continues: the dealer can make the same amount of money or more on ordered cars -- you can pay equal to or less than (typically less) on an ordered car than on a car that has been in inventory.
Now, the issue with the SLines . . . they have lower residuals than the non SLines.
Sometimes the difference in the residual value of the SLines is several percent.
I wanted an Sline.
I would have accepted the SLine's more rapid depreciation.
Slines don't come in color combinations I would want.
Instead, I ordered 19" sport package and Prestige -- which gave me SLine lite.
But my personal color choice preferences aside, the SLine adds some very desirable (but apparently not FINANCIALLY so) features, like the seats for instance. I have sport seats, but not SLine seats -- they sure are purdy.
But I just don't like black interiors.
In any case, fear not the ordering of a new car.
Finally, consider that cars ordered after a certain date will arrive as 2010's -- if you are leasing this, too, will be in your favor since the younger the model, the lower the payment because the residual is better for the newer car. Of course if the discount is large enough, that might be enough to offset the residual differences.
Think of it this way. If the "holding cost for inventory" were $10 per day (a made up number for ease of discussion) and a car ordered without a customer comes in and sits on the lot for 60 days, there would be a $600 cost added to the car (or a $600 reduction in income).
You order a car and there are approximately zero floorplanning costs associated with the car -- the car is ordered, the car comes in, the car is paid for by you and you drive off. If the car came in on Monday and you pick it up on Tuesday, there would be in the example above a $20 charge for holding the car.
The line of thought continues: the dealer can make the same amount of money or more on ordered cars -- you can pay equal to or less than (typically less) on an ordered car than on a car that has been in inventory.
Now, the issue with the SLines . . . they have lower residuals than the non SLines.
Sometimes the difference in the residual value of the SLines is several percent.
I wanted an Sline.
I would have accepted the SLine's more rapid depreciation.
Slines don't come in color combinations I would want.
Instead, I ordered 19" sport package and Prestige -- which gave me SLine lite.
But my personal color choice preferences aside, the SLine adds some very desirable (but apparently not FINANCIALLY so) features, like the seats for instance. I have sport seats, but not SLine seats -- they sure are purdy.
But I just don't like black interiors.
In any case, fear not the ordering of a new car.
Finally, consider that cars ordered after a certain date will arrive as 2010's -- if you are leasing this, too, will be in your favor since the younger the model, the lower the payment because the residual is better for the newer car. Of course if the discount is large enough, that might be enough to offset the residual differences.
03-01-2009, 06:01 PM
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Re: An ordered car is often a less expensive car. . .
Blake P and bill3956 - thanks for sharing your experiences. Sounds like I better get the ball rolling if I want this car by summer!
markcincinnati - your explanation of lower dealer holding costs for an ordered car makes perfect sense. I tried to explain this to a couple friends of mine, but they were convinced that an ordered car would certainly cost more than one off the lot -- of course neither had ever actually ordered one themselves.
markcincinnati - your explanation of lower dealer holding costs for an ordered car makes perfect sense. I tried to explain this to a couple friends of mine, but they were convinced that an ordered car would certainly cost more than one off the lot -- of course neither had ever actually ordered one themselves.
03-01-2009, 07:40 PM
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Re: Advice on ordering S-line A4
1) Yes, you can negotiate on a special ordered vehicle - I did - and got about $2700 off MSRP, in January.
2) Finalized purchase price prior to ordering, on paper. Specified the then-current January 4.9% 60 month financing deal with AFS. However, if AFS offers a better finance deal when I take delivery, I'll get that deal.
3) $500 deposit - I want the car, I don't want the $500 back.
4) Placed order mid-January. Was given a production week allocation of week 10/2009, which should mean production during 2nd week in March. That should mean delivery about 4 weeks later, roughly 2nd week in April. Total time from order to delivery: about 12 weeks.
5) No "special order" fees that I know of.
2) Finalized purchase price prior to ordering, on paper. Specified the then-current January 4.9% 60 month financing deal with AFS. However, if AFS offers a better finance deal when I take delivery, I'll get that deal.
3) $500 deposit - I want the car, I don't want the $500 back.
4) Placed order mid-January. Was given a production week allocation of week 10/2009, which should mean production during 2nd week in March. That should mean delivery about 4 weeks later, roughly 2nd week in April. Total time from order to delivery: about 12 weeks.
5) No "special order" fees that I know of.
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03-01-2009, 08:38 PM
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when i ordered in january i got a price of....
41,855.40 (based for a lease) A4 2.oT 6 speed manual. prestige, Navigation, s-line package. brillaint black. Ive been on this site for a few months now and went through the process of ordering my A4 with help from other members. Recently, I have cancelled my order for the A4 and will put a deposit on a A5 with s-line within a week or so(nothing against the A4 as i still think it is a beautiful car, just decided on a coupe) Anyway, from what I have heard i got a pretty good deal when i ordered the A4 and as i have written in a previous post you may be able to contact ANCHOR AUDI in lynbrook , New York and see if you can either get the car I had on order minus the long wait or at least use that price as a gauge in your shopping. either way ...Good Luck
03-02-2009, 05:10 AM
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Just a couple of things to add to what other posters already said:
1. Deposit should be refundable up to a point when the car arrives to the dealership.
2. You might want to consider waiting and ordering a 2010 model at this point, especially if you are want MMI+Nav option which will undergo a major upgrade. If you order right now you will get the car in June.
2. You might want to consider waiting and ordering a 2010 model at this point, especially if you are want MMI+Nav option which will undergo a major upgrade. If you order right now you will get the car in June.