As far as I understand from my dealer, orders are placed into the Audi production system where they stay as "pending" until pulled for production (i.e. no need to wait for the dealer actual allocation). However, the system cannot give you an ETA until your car is pulled for production.

What is much more interesting though is how AoA will decide which car to "pull" for production. Real life example: #1 on the list of the dealership does not order the car. However, it does not seem that the #2 on the list becomes #1. The system simply shows the date and time of "placing" the order, not those of getting on the R8 list. Hence, someone who never put the $1K for the wait list but placed the order can actually become the first one to get the R8.

I called the R8 hotline to see what the deal is. They said that they will check with MY DEALER and get back to me. An hour later, I got a call from my dealer who was not the happiest of campers as he got a call from the R8 customer service with the question "why is this customer unhappy?!!!".

All in all, it will be really interesting to see how this all goes, but I can see how a lot of people would be really disappointed.

 

It may be old news here, but I don;t hang out much.

 

Don't forget that Audi also must acknowledge their dealers just as much as their customers. You think you deserve an R8 more than me, because you have bought 4 Audis while I have bought none. Well my dealership thinks they deserve more R8's than yours because they sell X times as many cars as your dealership. Same idea. Besides, it's not like they turned you down. You could have just as easily called my dealer and ordered one here.

I would also like to point out, that by only selling them to 'loyal' customers, they are not aquiring new ones. Audi isn't going to lose your business because you didn't get one of their very limited cars. You've bought 4 Audis in 4 years, you want the R8, you already made a deposit and you will eventually get one. It sounds like they didn't lose you as a customer and they gained a new one who may go on to buy just as many, if not more Audis than you. I'm pretty sure Audi would like to attract new customers whose first purchase is a $150K car.

I for one can tell you, that if I didn't get an R8, I wouldn't be buying one later or buying an Audi anytime soon. So if you ask me, Audi made the right decision. They gained me as a customer and didn't lose you. Not that they actually did this though. My dealer might just be bigger than yours.

 

and correction. they DID turn me down. i could have been 6 at a dealer that will already deliver 3 before the end of this year. why am i no longer on their list? because i got a call from audi 4 months ago asking me to pull all my deposits except one. i asked them, "how do i know the dealer i decide to keep the deposit with will be a full, service-only, or non-R8 dealer?" no answer. well, i went with the one i had done the most business with. result? they ended up being a service only dealer. they'll be lucky if they get one this CY. and supposedly will get one next CY. to me, that IS getting turned down. i could have had my car by quarter 1 of CY 2008. instead i'll be lucky if i see it before 2010. can you imagine where i'd be if it had ended up being a non R8 dealer? i'd be in the back of a 30 person wait list at some other dealer and i'd probably never see the car.

if you happen to work for a dealer or are a dealer sympathizer don't forget who puts the food on your table. me. not audi.

further, every "new" customer you acquire is not loyal. people like me are.

finally, i don't really care about the dealers woes. just like none of the dealers i have been involved with care about mine. to me it is irrelevant how audi allocates the car with respect to the dealers. what is relevant is that they inform me ahead of time before being asked to make uniformed decisions like the one i had to make and which resulted in an unfair 2 year mistake.

 

I'm not a dealer. In fact, I don't work in anything automotive related. I don't even drive an Audi. I drive an Acura RSX. It's my third post because I hardly come here. Only came to check to see if there was any new info on the car.

I don't care about the dealer either to be honest, I'm making the point that you aren't the only one whose desires Audi must try and fulfill. You don't care about the dealer, but I'm pretty sure Audi cares more about the dealer selling $20 million dollars worth of cars than they do about a customer who has bought a few.

Also, it is possible that Audi wasn't sure where they were going to send their vehicles. I'm sure a lot of dealers wanted them. Don't think that they pulled names out of a hat, because they probably didn't. I'm sure they looked at the market and their numbers and made an educated decision. Asking you to remove all your deposits expect one was not unreasonable and just because they couldn't tell you where you would be able to get one, doesn't mean they are at fault in anyway. They simply may not have known either. It's not like they were days away from being shipped. This isn't exactly the next Playstation.

But even if it were the next Playstation, whenever there is a highly desired product like this, there are always people who don't get one. Next time a product like that comes out, call corporate and ask them to tell you the exact quanity that a certain store will receive. I highly doubt anyone would be able to tell you, let alone way in advance of it actually shipping. Hell most stores won't even be able to tell you the exact number until late in the game and that is why they don't gaurantee you one even if you pre-order one.

As for the point I made about gaining a customer. Like I said, they didn't lose you, and they gained me. Makes business sense to me.

Now for this loyalty you speak of. Whether or not I become this 'loyal' customer, who knows. Heck, I don't think I owe Audi any loyalty. I'm buying their product. I owe them nothing other than the money I am paying. If they want to secure me as a future buyer, the R8 needs to come through and meet my expectations, if not exceed them, and they need to keep making cars that I like. They need to turn out the next version of the R8 or some other car that appeals to me just as this one does.

The idea of brand loyalty, from a consumer point of view, is ridiculous. In fact, I think you are mistaking your loyalty for simply liking their products. If you tell me that you bought your Audi's because you like Audi and not for the cars themselves, I will believe you are a loyal customer. I will however think you are an idiot. Your purchase should not be governed by the brand, but rather by the product you are purchasing. Someone buying an Audi every year is not necessarily being loyal to the brand. They simply like the product. I highly doubt that the people who buy an Audi consistantly, don't check out what the other manufacturers have as well. What would make you a loyal customer would be if Audi made a POS and you bought it simply to support the company or if you simply only bought Audi and made the effort never to consider anything else for the simple fact that you want to support Audi. In either case, you would be a fool.

If I really like my R8 and decide that next year I need another car next year, I will check out what Audi has to offer in the desired segment. But I will also check out what the other companies have to offer. If I like the other company better, I'll get it. If I find them to be equals, I'll probably go with Audi given the positive experience with the R8. If I like the Audi more, but the other car is pretty good as well, but is a much better value and with acceptable tradeoffs, I'll go with the other car. It's not about loyalty, it's about making an intelligent purchase. A purchase that fulfills my needs and desired.

Don't take this personal.

 

FWIW, I agree customer brand loyalty should be rewarded.

 

look, you have good points. nonetheless, you can't assume loyalty implies a blind buyership.

loyalty is simply repetitive purschasing of one company's product. regardless of cause. for it is the only outcome you can objectively measure.

to be honest i've bought my audis because i love them. plain and simple. the accord buyer down the street probably thinks i'm wasting my money. its all relative. but i do what i like.

regarding your statement- "the idea of brand loyaty from a consumer point of view is ridiculous"- ferrari and lamborghini would disagree with you. as i do. and if you were in my position you would too. perhaps the reason i don't look at it your way is because i love audis. i love 'em. and i've been miffed.

 

do a little research on the topic, especially in the automotive industry, and I think you quickly realize that it is a VERY powerful reality.

As a rule in business (any business really) one of the best things you can due is keep your current customers happy and maintain their loyalty to your brand/product. It's typically more expensive (with a lower ROI) to try and gain new customers. That's not to say Audi doesn't need to increase it's customer base, but doing so at the risk of losing their existing customers it's business+marketing suicide. Market share typically increases as a secondary benefit of working to keep current customers happy. Just look at Porsche...they're one of the most successful (and profitable) auto manufacturers out there and they've mastered the art of brand loyalty...just look at the 911 as the case in point.