rjabend

Interesting contrast. The one Q8 at my local dealer has been on the lot over a week and is still unsold. I got almost 5% off the $90,355 MSRP on the one I purchased.

rahrah215

Can you share the info of your sales person and dealership? Thanks in advance.

Ron.S

markcincinnati

The ACNA site hasn't been updated. Having said that, it surely can't hurt to try to get the 6%. Our dealer had 5 Q8's in stock on day one. One additional Q8 was "on a truck, bound for our dealership." All other Q8s, were "sold" orders. The dealership's forward-looking deliveries show the next Q8s coming in 8-10 weeks. That's it. Now, if YOU come in and say, "locate a Q8 for me," they will surely try. You'll have to give them the miles that you will PAY to have the car trucked OR driven (much lower in cost) to the dealer. Let's say you live in Indianapolis and there is a Q8 that a dealer will sell to your Indy dealer in Pennsylvania somewhere. Then let's say the truck cost is $1,000 and the drive cost is $300 (but the vehicle will arrive with 300 miles on the OD. The selling price of the car may be discounted (or it may not) PLUS you will have to pay the cost to get it to the dealer. OR, you could ask "what's coming, for inventory, that does NOT have a sold sticker on it already." OR, you could order the exact one you want and wait for 12 weeks.

The vehicle -- speaking of Cincinnati only, of course -- is HOT. Five cars came in on a Tuesday and were all sold by Saturday. The day we took our new one for a LONNNGG test drive, the dealer started texting us after an hour asking when we were coming back because there was a LINE of prospective customers. We walked into the dealership and told the rep (long time rep for us) that we will take the car (write up the deal) trade in our 2018 SQ5 and put down another $12,500.

The $1,000 loyalty bonus is ONLY good if you finance something through Audi Financial which is way higher than the Royal Bank of Scotland (where the SQ5 had been financed.) Current rate was 3.6%. We added Audi Care to the deal.

We said "conditional yes" -- and the condition is my 93 year-old mother-in-law must be able to get into the back seat (and front seat) without assistance. They gave us a $77K Q7 for the weekend to go pick her up (since the ride height would be similar, the Q8 a slight bit lower, in fact.)

MIL hopped into the Q7 -- we decided 100% on the Q8. Signed the papers and picked up the car with orientation on Saturday.

The $1,000 loyalty "bonus" is no deal.

The ACNA is a "probably not," and if you are in a market where there is literally a line of potential customers, any discount you get will likely be rather small. Plus 3 months, things may be different. This is EXACTLY what happened with the Q7 and the early B9 A4's (although that one was instantly on the ACNA list.) Hot and/or luxurious SUV's/CUV's are the "it" vehicles -- sedans are now #2 and falling. The A5 family SB is more popular than the A4 family's 4-door sedan. The A7 is somehow "worth" almost $10,000 more than an A6, and there is some pent-up demand for an Audi small CUV. The new Q3 is, finally, that vehicle. So, look at the showroom floor (which does, frankly, change weekly): How many Q's are on display compared to the sedans, coupes, and sportbacks? Here in fly-over country, the Q's on the showroom floor outnumber the rest of the fleet by 2 or 3 to 1. While we were at the dealer, I just watched the traffic come in and look at the Q5, SQ5, and Q7's on the floor. The R8 Spyder had it's fair share of lookers as did the 2019 $119,000 A8L which was placed in front of a brand-new looking, but actually, CPO'd last generation A8L for comparison.

The comings and goings as I watched the sales reps were mostly in Q5's with a "line" to test OUR Q8. The "sold" sticker went on our windshield wiper blade and that was that.

On Tuesday, #6 Q8 arrived and was sold on Wednesday.

I did not personally check the inventory at the other Cincinnati Audi dealer (we deal with the Audi Connection and the other one is Audi East), but it would be a low-risk bet that the same scene was playing out over there on the eastern side of Cincinnati.

By the same token, $5K off of a $90K Q8 seems a bit easier to understand since a lot of folks probably feel the "value" is there in a Q8 that is $79,999 or less (speaking from the perspective of a person in Cincinnati, not LA, not NYC, etc.). A loaded Q7 can be had for $77K and this means one that has the luxury package (which covers every surface of the interior with leather or Alcantara).

You have to want to pay MORE for a car that is less cavernous than another less expensive car. The Q8 vs the Q7 will likely appeal to different people. My wife and I need the space for 3 people (and the 93-year-old is 5' tall) and a 19 pound Sheltie. The Q8 is very large in the back seat but has no possibility of a third row. The Q8 is attractive to someone who wants a sportier Q7 and doesn't care about losing some "trunk space." The Q8 is a sport-luxury CUV where the Q7 is more of a traditional CUV (or SUV if we need to speak a common language).

At $90K for a Q8 -- in Cincinnati -- my opinion/observation is that people want more HP and torque, not that the Q8 is underpowered. But, the Q8 should have had the S4 engine, at least or a bit more help from an electric motor than it gets with its mild-hybrid current configuration. So, when you get to $90K, you may (to quote the song) ask the question "is that all there is?" Perhaps the X5 looks like a contender -- although I think the concept was developed more as a competitor to the X6. The Q8's styling, however. is less polarizing than the X6.

So, wait until Jan/Feb and if there are some Q8's in stock, the discounts (in Cincinnati) may get to 6% or perhaps more.

Or, do the thing that will likely get you the best deal possible: Order one.

We had a 2019 SQ5 Prestige scheduled for 12/5 delivery -- we had ordered it some 10 weeks ago. The fact that my wife loves black cars and the the Q8 had heated rear seats and the first-year package was enough to change her mind.

So, we got a high spec Q8 P+ with first year, driver assistance, towing, dvd, audi beam rings, premium paint and cold weather. Somehow there was a $400 credit for the red brake calipers (part of the first year package being the reason, I suspect). We added Audi Care. We will continue to change the oil and filter every 5,000 miles. I will, meantime, wait for the B9.5 S4 which I have to assume will put the Star Ship Enterprise-like dashboard on the list of refreshed items.

Apparently, there are locations that have inventory that isn't moving as quickly or the price point (@$90K) gives someone pause.

Even though I personally believe the Q8 is the Cayenne Porsche wishes it had, once you get to $90K, or more, for the Q8, I would ASSUME folks might cross-shop the Cayenne because, well, because it's a Porsche. "Accept no substitutes," or words to that effect from Risky Business.

And, I do agree that the service dept. probably doesn't and doesn't know how much you paid.

I remain: Often wrong, never uncertain.

audi40

ACNA members get the discount through the Audi Affinity program, which excludes the Q8:

Audi Affinity Program

markcincinnati

The SQ5 was not part of the ACNA discount program, however, our dealer did discount our 2018 SQ5 by 6%. The program is worthwhile, but the popularity of CUV/SUVs has reduced the number of vehicles that qualify, but like I said, you can ask for the discount or you can OFFER 6% below MSRP and hope your negotiating skills are sharply honed.

If you have a long-term dealer relationship, you may find yourself in a better position. Sometimes, especially as vehicles go from "HOT to NOT" dealer margins erode. Given that these dealerships are businesses, I ask myself (using the Q8 to make my point): If I had a new vehicle that was generating both buzz and bringing in shoppers who become buyers (and there was a limited number of cars available), wouldn't I try to keep as much margin as possible for as long as possible? Shoppers who have to have (for whatever reason) at least 5% off, perhaps the first round of Q8s to hit the market are not the ones to shop for. We already knew we would be getting a new SQ5 in December with an MSRP of over $66K. We loved the Q8, but it was $13K more. We decided to go for it. Waiting another 2+ months for the next round of inventory of Q8s wasn't going to work for us what with the SQ5 arriving on 12/5. We pulled the trigger.

If you can get 5% off of a $90K Q8 at this juncture, take it -- unless for some reason you are in a market that is only mildly interested in the car. Cincinnati seems to have a decent amount of pent-up demand for a super premium, somewhat larger "personal luxury CUV" that is affordable by mere mortals. The Q8, today, looks like a "better Cayenne."