2019 delays...any insight?
10-10-2018, 12:00 PM
#1
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2019 delays...any insight?
So I ordered my '19 S4 back in August and they show it will hit port in Texas on 11/13/18. I asked my sales person how long he thought it would take to get it up to Dallas. He said that 2019 pricing has not yet been announced and it could get held up at port until that gets announced. The website also doesn't show 2019 pricing for S4s (or most other vehicles).
This is historically very late as I think Audi usually provides pricing by August. Are they holding off on pricing because of the potential 25% tariffs or is there some other reason? Thoughts?
This is historically very late as I think Audi usually provides pricing by August. Are they holding off on pricing because of the potential 25% tariffs or is there some other reason? Thoughts?
10-10-2018, 06:58 PM
#2
AudiWorld Super User
So I ordered my '19 S4 back in August and they show it will hit port in Texas on 11/13/18. I asked my sales person how long he thought it would take to get it up to Dallas. He said that 2019 pricing has not yet been announced and it could get held up at port until that gets announced. The website also doesn't show 2019 pricing for S4s (or most other vehicles).
This is historically very late as I think Audi usually provides pricing by August. Are they holding off on pricing because of the potential 25% tariffs or is there some other reason? Thoughts?
This is historically very late as I think Audi usually provides pricing by August. Are they holding off on pricing because of the potential 25% tariffs or is there some other reason? Thoughts?
this is not historically anything tbh - Audi staggers their releases and has done so for the last several years. Some models come early, some come later. Multiple reasons for this.
10-11-2018, 05:22 AM
#3
AudiWorld Super User
they are holding on pricing because there is still adequate inventory on 18’s and 18’s are still arriving - I just got one last week in fact from port
this is not historically anything tbh - Audi staggers their releases and has done so for the last several years. Some models come early, some come later. Multiple reasons for this.
10-11-2018, 05:31 AM
#4
AudiWorld Super User
Your inventory comment depends on the region. In my area, there is very little inventory besides a surplus of Q5s and Q7s and it has been that way since August. Since I have been following Audi (~10 years), the A4/A5 releases have never been this late in the calendar year, excluding a complete redesign.
like I mentioned in a previous post, dealers are allocated ordering based on performance of a given model, based on their hitting targets, etc Allocation is a mathematical equation
18’s were, until last week, arriving at dealers for A4, A5, and their S counterparts. If your dealer had strong demand for those, they should have ordered more, if able to. Some did, some passed on them. Also, dealers can always do trades with other dealers for models they are slim on. I do it day in and day out. To keep inventory mix where we want them for our location. I have more SUV’s than anything too, since, in PA, winter is coming and that drives SUV sales even more than normal. The Q5 and Q7 are the ones in demand in the first place, as a nationwide trend. No one wants to be sitting on A3 or A5 coupes right now as an example.
10-12-2018, 03:51 AM
#7
Your inventory comment depends on the region. In my area, there is very little inventory besides a surplus of Q5s and Q7s and it has been that way since August. Since I have been following Audi (~10 years), the A4/A5 releases have never been this late in the calendar year, excluding a complete redesign.
When I ordered my B8.5 S4 it was the first batch to arrive and that was in December.
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10-12-2018, 05:56 AM
#8
AudiWorld Super User
S4 releases have been somewhat later at times. I remember looking at the refreshed 2013 A4 and it was already on dealer lots in the middle of the summer. I think some of the delay is due to difficulties in getting WLTP certification for the coming MY, which has caused the current MY to be extended. Couple that with Audi replacing its currently jailed CEO last week, and I imagine the company is in a chaotic situation right now.
Last edited by JD15; 10-12-2018 at 06:04 AM.
10-12-2018, 02:52 PM
#9
2019 S4 ordered 7/23. Production complete 9/20. Ship departure 10/20 (ETA). Port (Davisville, RI) 11/2 ETA. Talking to my dealer today, it sounds like they'll be held in port for a bit. My dealer said it was looking like the 2019 A4/A5s would be released probably around Thanksgiving.
10-13-2018, 06:39 AM
#10
I think I already know the answer to this question, but I'll ask just in case there might be a surprising answer.
I know perhaps 7 Audi owners, including my wife. They have never purchased an Audi that was in a dealer's inventory -- I don't think this means they wouldn't buy one from a dealer, it is just that when they're spending north of $50K or $60K they (me too) think "why settle?" Too, dealers seem to have a fairly small availability of Prestige cars (due, they say, to unattractive lease prices for the Prestige vs P+).
So, I assume the reason for this "concern" about dealer inventory is because we Amercans want to wake up on a Saturday morning and go to a dealer and buy a car, wham, bam, thank you, ma'am. Personally, I would not be against buying from inventory, but even after 33 Audis purchased, my wife and I can't seem to find the EXACT vehicle. Besides, our dealer has always told us that, generally speaking, an ordered car can be discounted more since they don't have any holding costs (unless we bail on the buy, of course). My wife was wanting to trade her 2018 SQ5 Prestige in for a new SQ5 with the (air) sport suspension and driver assist but with the standard wheels (not the larger ones). The dealer said the '19s would come standard with the driver assist feature and that most of the SQ5 Prestige models are equipped with the 21" wheels and so on and so forth, so we --again-- ordered a 2019 to get the EXACT vehicle.
The question is why not just have dealers who have cars to test drive and take orders for the "perfect" car for customers? Everyone I know who doesn't order cars (from whoever) always says something like "I wanted blue, but white was my second choice, so I bought the white one," or words to that effect. Then they drive their new white (I wish I had it in blue) car without the sport seats they would have preferred and with the oversize wheels which keep having to be replaced everytime they hit one of Ohio's horrible pothole (land mines).
Are "we" Americans so wealthy we can drop sometimes well north of $60K on a car that was a compromise?
I know perhaps 7 Audi owners, including my wife. They have never purchased an Audi that was in a dealer's inventory -- I don't think this means they wouldn't buy one from a dealer, it is just that when they're spending north of $50K or $60K they (me too) think "why settle?" Too, dealers seem to have a fairly small availability of Prestige cars (due, they say, to unattractive lease prices for the Prestige vs P+).
So, I assume the reason for this "concern" about dealer inventory is because we Amercans want to wake up on a Saturday morning and go to a dealer and buy a car, wham, bam, thank you, ma'am. Personally, I would not be against buying from inventory, but even after 33 Audis purchased, my wife and I can't seem to find the EXACT vehicle. Besides, our dealer has always told us that, generally speaking, an ordered car can be discounted more since they don't have any holding costs (unless we bail on the buy, of course). My wife was wanting to trade her 2018 SQ5 Prestige in for a new SQ5 with the (air) sport suspension and driver assist but with the standard wheels (not the larger ones). The dealer said the '19s would come standard with the driver assist feature and that most of the SQ5 Prestige models are equipped with the 21" wheels and so on and so forth, so we --again-- ordered a 2019 to get the EXACT vehicle.
The question is why not just have dealers who have cars to test drive and take orders for the "perfect" car for customers? Everyone I know who doesn't order cars (from whoever) always says something like "I wanted blue, but white was my second choice, so I bought the white one," or words to that effect. Then they drive their new white (I wish I had it in blue) car without the sport seats they would have preferred and with the oversize wheels which keep having to be replaced everytime they hit one of Ohio's horrible pothole (land mines).
Are "we" Americans so wealthy we can drop sometimes well north of $60K on a car that was a compromise?