A4rooster

That seems unreasonable. Unless an order is considered in their allocation it's pure profit (although small) and it gets them better sales numbers. I don't get it.

aquarian

After reading the entire thread, it sure seems like it's hit and miss. It really depends on the dealer. We bought our Q7 and A7 from this particular dealer and they told me straight away that the new Q7 is not negotiable. All of my 3 Audi's including my R8 V10 are serviced at this dealer.

I will call the sales manager today and ask for the 6% that Audi Club of North America offers. We'll see what happens.

snagitseven

In my experience purchasing four new Audis over 13 years under the Supplier or the ACNA program, a dealer can choose when or on which qualifying model to participate or not. Audi does not require or force a dealer to honor the programs.

aquarian

Just got a call from my dealer Bellevue Audi and they told me the new Q7 is not part of the program, just like what I expected.

snagitseven

Unless Audi added a supplement to the MY2016/17 supplier program, it's not excluded per the published supplier document.

"In general, unless there has been advance written notice to the contrary, all new and unused MY 2015, 2016 and 2017 Audi vehicles, excluding RS5, RS5 Coupe and Cabrio, Audi Q5 Hybrid, RS7, A8 W12 and R8 are eligible".

If there has been no added exclusion for the new Q7, as has been previously noted, a dealer can refuse to participate in the program across the board or for any model it wishes - it has always been this way. Since the model is new and apparently in allocated, limited supply, it stands to reason, at least for now, many (not all) dealers have made a business decision to sell close to retail price and don't want to foot a 4% discount (their share of the 6% supplier discount). As supplies ramp up, this will most likely change.

wookiee

update on market intel... had a central valley dealer offer $1,500 off MSRP.

mpatel1080

Is it still the case that Audi sold orders do not come out of dealer allocation? This was the case in 2010 when I ordered my S4...I was able to get it near invoice right after it came out because I was willing to order and wait for the car to show up.
If this is still true I am surprised the dealers won't take ACNA discount. I think the dealers will start accepting the discount 6 months or so down the road after the initial pent up demand has subsided...this is how it almost always plays out for high volume models.

snagitseven

Sold orders do indeed count against dealer allocations. If not, all a dealer would have to do to get more cars is create a bunch of ghost orders then cancel them after they arrive. Allocations are based on a combination of dealer sell though history, size and location.

aquarian

It's all about demand. The dealers think that there is no need to give up any profit on the cars that are so hot. Our Q7 was ordered and other than the $500 Audi loyalty and the all-season mats, there will be no discounts.

jperryrocks

The 6% supplier discount is a courtesy program. No Audi dealer is required to do anything. When there's a surplus of inventory, there's usually not a problem in trying to get an Audi dealer to honor it.

The issue with the Q7 will probably be for the majority of 2016. There's only one plant in Slovakia to supply most of the world with cars. And the allocation for additional Q7 build slots was slim for January. So it's going to be tough this year for U.S. Audi dealers.

But the main problem as I said is Audi pulling the funding of the supplier program. Dealers can no longer claim re-imbursement on a supplier deal and get 2% back from Audi. So every time a dealer honors a supplier deal, you're basically giving everything to the customer and getting -0- front end profit on the car.

Audi is still a luxury brand and not Honda and Toyota. You can't just live off back-end profit as a luxury car dealer. They're simply isn't an unlimited supply of luxury automobiles to go around and you can't sell everything at cost.

I find is amusing all the pre-hate on the 2017 Q7. Now that it's on the ground, it's going to be one of the most in-demand luxury SUVS on the market for the time being. It's really a wonderful vehicle. The ride and interior alone sells the car, even though the exterior might be a tad boring.