Hi all,

I am new to this forum. Even though I have been a passive reader for many months, I have found this forum to very helpful.

I live in the SF bay area and after 6-7 months of research on various crossovers and test drives, me and my wife decided we *must* buy a 2012 Q5 2.0T and decided to throw our money at Audi for creating such a wonderful vehicle.

But every time I deal with an Audi dealer in the SF bay area, the more I am re-thinking my decision to buy an Audi for their customer service (or lack there of).

I have spent several days trying to talk to the Sales Managers at various dealerships - Stevens Creek, Carlsen, Rector, Audi Concord - No one seems to care or be interested in trying to make a sale!!

They all seem to think they have gold or diamond on their hands with buyers waiting in line to buy the Q5(similar to an iphone event).

I don't see that many Q5's on the road anyway - probably 1 out of 100 cars nor are any customers lining up at these dealerships. Yet the Audi dealerships won't respond to emails or return calls and even refuse to answer questions beyond the basics.

Most of them claim it is 3-to-4 months delivery time frame. One dealer said they won't even take a deposit through the Supplier discount program for their current allotment (with delivery in late April) and I have to wait > 4mos.

Sorry about my rant - but can someone please tell me what is going in with Audi and the Q5? Please convince me the Q5 really is worth all this headache, hype, the long wait times, and terrible dealership experiences... I am almost on the fence to going back to BMW or Lexus

 

Well its 2000 miles away but Atlanta Audi has 5 Q5's
http://www.jimellisaudiatlanta.com/n...&SBprice=clear

A little closer Oakland has 4 Q5's
http://www.audiofoakland.com/invento...di_Dealer.html

If you need to order one it will take about 3 months

I've been researching a S5 and finally had to order one. You are right, they don't like to talk on the phone or email. But thats the only way I will buy a car. If you go in to the dealership they have control over you.
Call AOA customer service. Tell them your issue. They have been very responsive to me.

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There are two 2.0Ts and one other one at Niello Audi in Sacramento. That's where we got ours.

 

You got it right. The dealer who sold me my Q did me a favor. I was lucky he accepted my money. > That was my experience, at least. Supply and demand is most definitely in their favor. The car is worth the wait, however. It's a blast in sport mode, and economical around town.
I would keep looking for a decent salesman in your are, there's got to be one close by. I went here: http://www.dealerrater.com
read the reviews, and asked for a salespeerson that got favorable feedback. Good Luck

 

We got ours at livermore Audi last year. They took the deposit and then you wait for it. I had a good experience with them. Paul was my sales guy and he was good with communication, both phone and email. Give them a shot if you already haven't.

 

One point about looking at inventory online, is it can really be inaccurate. They put in incoming ordered cars that already have a deposit down. Dealers are also not the quickest at removing inventory that has already been sold and off the lot.

Looks like demand is still as high as ever. I don't know if the Q5 spreadsheet lists ppl who ordered but I would think it would be a pretty high number here. So do you want a ride you love that is still unique or do you want to blend in with all the bazillion Lexus/BMWs out there?

http://www.leftlanenews.com/tight-su...-s-growth.html


Oh and your experience with dealers in the bay area is not unique to just Audi. I had issues with MB and even Honda on the sales side.

 

You want to talk with David Stevens at Carlsen Audi - great prices and great service - I have not found anyone matching him yet. Tell him "Clemens" recommended him to you and he will help you. Good luck.

 

Thanks for your reply. I think I did talk to David Stevens and he seemed to be impatient on the phone and didn't look too interested. Carslen publishes a deal for free Audi Care with Supplier Discount on their own Website (for Google Employees) but he just backed off and told thats not possible (classic Bait and Switch) for other Suppliers even though they qualify - Not sure why Google is special.

I will give him second chance and mention your name :-) - See if anything changes.

Stevens Creek Audi was the absolute worst IMO.

 

Q5s are in global demand, so production is limited to the US. Ordered vehicle will take priority over just dealer inventory. AFAIK, current order wait time is 4 months+ for Q5s.

 

I would definitely try calling out of your local area if that's how you are being treated. If you can establish any kind of relationship with a dealership, they can tell you what they have coming in on order--the dealerships here always seem to order at least a couple of cars that are not preordered. My dealership traded with another for my Q5, but I think they were sick of dealing with me and ready to do whatever it took to sell me the car!