robodoc

snagitseven--thanks for the pros and cons re AudiCare. I will likely do it for my new Q5 but was wondering about waiting until the 15K service. Given my usual mileage, it might take me 2 years--just wondering if the price will go up next few years and if it is worth paying for now and locking in vs waiting a few years and the risk that the cost of AudiCare will go up.

snagitseven

Actually, I should have clarified it better. Scheduled service intervals after the 5K initial service (or approx 6 months in your case) specify each 10K miles or 12 months, whichever comes first. If you only drive 7500 each year, you would still use the scheduled four services provided by Audi Care over the four (and a half) years. So, in your case, you could buy it when you bring in your car one year after the 5K (or six months, whichever comes first) service. Or get it now - it's really up to you how long you want to hold on to your money or get it out of the way early.

As to the price, in my experience, each year, Audi tends to raise the cost of AC about $40 to $50 so the risk of waiting is not that great. That said, so far, the MY2014 price has not gone up from last year.

Here's the details:
http://www.audiusa.com/content/dam/a...s-Brochure.pdf

amstrad

Excellent info. Cheers for that.

03EX

Yes and whether you buy (finance) or lease roll into your payments. A lot cheaper than paying for it up front. Just about 50% cheaper.

About the VW Touareg, fully loaded TDi is sub $60K but you get the level of service as stated from a Ford, Chevy dealer etc. That is rather irritating since I looked at the Touareg prior to the Q5 TDi.

visualguy

I also looked at the Touareg, but felt it was too big. VW dealerships aren't any better or worse than Audi where I live - similar mediocre scores on Yelp, for example.

snagitseven

Actually that's sort of correct. Since the Audi Care profit is very small to dealers, they will rarely discount it. Some say it was "thrown in" or "half price" but since it was equivalent to a discount that arguably could have been negotiated on the car price, it isn't "free". However, if Audi Care is purchased (and rolled into the lease) at the time of delivery, AFS will increase the lease residual by 1%, reducing the payments and making it a no brainer for lessees. I don't believe buying AC affects a finance transaction in any way, however,

03EX

Audi dealers are NOT discounting AC, nor did I say that. I am saying that AC rolled in your purchase / lease is cheaper than paying for it up front. The 'discount' in question is done automatically. AC is $840 approx., when rolled in, it is broken down to a sum of $420 which in turn is a no brainer at that point. The dealer is not doing that, Audi Financial calculates it. The profit margin is slim as you mentioned.