Journey to the Q7
 

First post, Greetings. Just picked up our new Q7 Prestige 5/17 after taking our time and test driving everything my wife and I thought we liked over a couple of months and thought I'd share how we ended up with the Q7. Originally we felt $60K was the target...

1st stop local Mazda/Range Rover/Jaguar dealer: Mazda CX9 Signature was really, really nice for the money - just felt we wanted something on a different level. Range Rover Velar was next (my wife's idea) and at that point in our search was more money than I wanted to spend and it's a Range Rover which I'm not overly crazy about. She also liked the looks of the Evoque but I felt it was small and when configured the way we wanted we were in the low $70s - way too much for what you get! And lastly we drove a Jaguar F-Pace Sport with a supercharged V6, Good looking SUV but had a really firm ride and was priced in the mid $70s and it's a Jag! So much for our 1st day of shopping...

The following week or so we checked out a Q5 & SQ5. Nice! The Q5 is really nice but after seeing and driving the SQ5 it became the front runner and now we need to re-evaluate the budget! By the time I spec a Prestige SQ5 we're $70-72K! We like this car a lot. From the Audi dealer we go straight to the M-B dealership where we come across the AMG GLC 43. Wow what a surprise! This thing is gorgeous and has a cool burble sound to the exhaust when you romp on it! Love the looks of this thing! $73K! Seriously good looking... only problem is we like Audi MMI more and the virtual cockpit! Before you know it $70-$75K is the price of cars we're looking at and I need to take a breather!

After another week or so we check out the Acura RDX & MDX. The MDX had a nice ride, plenty room, good looking A-Spec package and was priced after SH-AWD in the upper $50s to $60K. Didn't like the dial and mouse pad for the system interface, no panoramic sunroof, and the interior seemed a little dated (2020 is supposed to be updated). We also liked the styling and sporty looks of the RDX, especially with the A-Spec package priced around $50K with SH-AWD. It was at this point in our journey I realized V6 was a must! Just can't compare a V6 to a 4 even if its turbocharged. Neither of the Acura's made us feel like the AMG or SQ5 did!

Once it becomes apparent $70K-ish is what it's gonna take to check all the boxes we check out the Porsche Mecan S (the Cayenne was out of budget and didn't even consider it). First issue is it's April of 2019 and Porsche hasn't released the 2019s yet and there's very little to choose from... in fact we had to test drive a CPO 2017, We move on. A few brands never considered were Infiniti (don't like a CVT transmission), Lexus (can't get past the styling), or sorry to say nothing American.

My wife and I get busy with other things in life and some time gets away until Saturday a week and a half ago we have a free afternoon and are going to either buy the AMG or the SQ5. Before we decide we want to drive the SQ5 again. Back to our local Audi dealer we go. We check out the SQ5 again but while there a Q7 and Q8 catch our attention. We drive the SQ5 again and love it as much as the first time but realize maybe it's a little small and we still can't shake that damn AMG! Then we drive the Q8 which was super nice but $80K and I hated the big touch screen that you have to use for everything! I like buttons and knobs and hate finger prints! Scratch the Q8! And last but not least the Q7... Felt like Goldilocks when I got to this one! The ride! The room! The looks with the Black Optic package and 22" wheels! What's an AMG GLC 43? Our search was over! Now to make our deal.

Our local Audi dealer is less than 3 miles from our house. I liked our salesman that helped us. I also like to buy local. However a dollar is a dollar and I didn't feel like the deal my local dealer was giving us was very much of a deal! But you know nowadays the internet is a powerful tool. I check the next closest dealer's inventory online and he has exactly what we want. A quick inquiry on their site and within 15 minutes a salesman calls me. He's a nice guy and cuts to the chase,,, What's it gonna take to make this deal? - I was looking for 10% off MSRP which was 5% more than my local dealer ($7500 off instead of $3750) - so I put my number out there and he says he needs to run it by the sales manager and he'll call me right back. 3 minutes later he calls me back and congratulates me - they'll take my deal! DONE and we couldn't be happier with our decision. We also bought the AudiCare.

Only knocks are small cup holders and small center console storage. And don't you think the Black Optics Package should include black emblems? I see Audi makes black rings but they're pretty proud of them at $200 front and rear. What about the "Q7" and Quattro emblems? Any suggestions?
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.aud...d72d087e3a.jpg
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.aud...07214af85c.jpg


Sorry for the long read but wanted to share the journey and say how happy we are with our choice! Great forum!

Black Emblems
 

Thanks for your story. I agree on the black emblems. Don't spend your money at the dealer on them, do them yourself for a fraction of the cost. I replaced all emblems on my A7 and my Q7 with emblems I found on Amazon and EBay. I spent a fraction of the cost and did them all myself. It was an easy project and most importantly, they look like OEM.

Your car is beautiful, but it would look even better with all black emblems!

Congrats on Q7! It is an amazing car especially with the 22s!

Did you get the Air Suspension?

We recently did the same journey test driving multiple diff vehicles and decided on something very similar.

The 22s with the BOP look spectacular.

Same gripe as you, small cup holders and barely any center console storage.

I inquired about getting the black emblems installed and they quoted me 2 hours of labor at 175 an hour plus the 200 dollars to to purchase the emblems.

Here are a few of ours in Navarro Blue:
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.aud...a7ae9b7064.jpg
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.aud...503b3d183a.jpg

That occurred to me as well, I also have a BO package ordered on mine (in shipment). Thinking more on it, I decided that all black would just make the emblem hard to see. I prefer the contrast myself. Just individual taste, really. :)

Agree on the Lexus! What were they thinking with those grills!? Just ugly on a stick!;)

Appreciate the tip. Don't know why I didn't think of that... I love eBay and Amazon! Much better selection on eBay. Gloss black Audi rings fr & rr, Q7 emblem, & Quattro emblem for about $115 and will do them myself too. Thanks again.



Love the blue too! Our test drive was blue but didn't have the BO package. We didn't get the air ride... can't say I remember seeing too many with it. Check out youtube for changing the emblems and at the very least you'll save $350 in labor! That dealer should be ashamed... probably figured bumper/grille removal to do it. Wait to you see videos of how easy it appears. We'll see - wish me luck!



Totally hate the grille! Here's the deal with the chrome emblems... That's the only chrome on the entire car! I even paid an extra $290 for black muffler tips! I can kind of see your point on the darker colors but again it'll be the only chrome on the car. On silver or white (my 2nd choice) it is going to look like I think a BO package should and the car will be totally chrome free! I'll post before and after pics when I'm done. What color are you getting?

So you are not in U.S. I take it? Asking as black tips are included with U.S. BO models.

No I’m in the U.S. - I stand corrected... you are right sir! It is included with the BO package.

Nice looking Q! I noticed your front side markers are blacked out vs the normal orange reflector. Did you have that done? Something new on the BO package??

Thanks!

Matt

Thanks! We like the way it looks too! Not part of the BO package... when I had the protective film put on I had them do that too. It’s not window tint - they said that wouldn’t stay on but more like a decal. Charged me $15 a side & looks way better than orange! Best $30 bucks I’ve spent in a while!

Just curious, do these reflectors reflect light after modification? What kind of film did they use?