I posted this earlier on the wrong forum - b5 platform.

What should I expect to pay for 2 A4's. Fronttrak, premium and sports packages - in ming blue with tan interiors?

I faxed several dealers asking to bid and got prices over MSRP back. I hate dealers. I will be buying this weekend and was trying to avoid the 100 miles of driving I'll now have to do to get price quotes at 5 different dealers.

 

from you. Showing up in person shows that. They know you are just going to take their numbers and go shopping at other dealers. They also know that some dealers will low-ball you just to get you to come in. It's fairly rare that faxed quotes come true. If there are real live customers on the lot, they always get first preference - as it should be. The more you head into Summer, the busier the dealer will be.

Two cars normally don't get you much more of break unless they are slow movers. I would expect another $100 or 200 off the price at best. Most people here get around 3 to 5% over invoice. Ignore the lowest 10%, as they often have such special circumstances as being pals with the dealer's family, the car is purple with agreen interior, it's the new year and it's a year old car, etc, etc.

Call the dealers. Ask to speak to the sales manager. Ask them to put you in contact with an Audi Brand Specialist. Every dealer has one, and they are trained by AoA. Still no guarrantee of great treatment, but it's better than wandering onto the lot and taking the first person you see. You can also go in through the service drive and ask the service manager from whom they would buy a car. They get to see and hear about broken promises.

 

I bought mine for $295 over invoice www.mycarmyprice.com

 

I did the fax method and came up pretty good. Out of 15 dealerships, 6 responded but I wound up with my '03 A4 1.8T Avant for 635 over invoice. According to fightingchance.org, you should expect to pay 600 to 1200 over dealer invoice for an A4. Audi doesn't do dealer holdback like most of the dealers out there where you could expect to get your vehicle for under invoice. Audi delaers get their money form CSI rating and reports. Be sure you are faxing to either to Fleet or Sales manager and their direct faxes.

SSLEDGE1234 - $295 over is an awsome deal. What general area are you located. SoCAL where I am at has a high demand, so dealers don't break as much. Even less on Avants.

 

I have price shopped all 3 dealers in my area. I didn't make them compete against one another, I gave all three of them the same offer. It was 50% off profit (about $1500 off MSRP) which is a fair deal for both me and the dealer, I think. Only one of them accepted my offer.

One matched my "meeting you half way between invoice and MSRP" via e-mail. I have not talked to him before (neither on phone nor in person), I just sent him an e-mail and told him if he's willing to sell for that price I'll be driving over putting my $1000 deposit down. He agreed and got my business. It was simple as that.

I got another dealer to agree $1100 off over the phone. I previously visited them, so they knew I was serious, we just didn't talk price back then as I was still contemplating a different brand. After I told them that I already have a $1500 off offer they lowballed me via e-mail. It was a closer dealer than the one I ended up purchasing from, so had they just accepted my offer I would have gone with them. But since they didn't until I told them that another dealer already did. I did not want the cheapest deal or lowball the dealers, I wanted a fair deal. And this dealer wasn't willing until they felt they had to just to match competition. So at that point I didn't care if they wanted to sell me the car even at invoice, I didn't feel comfortable with them.

The third one, I met personally took a test drive, they quoted MSRP, I offered $1500 off, they rebutted with $500 off. I told them "thank you" and left. They were not willing to negotiate they claimed that a 5-speed Avant is such a hot item that they can sell them MSRP. I asked this dealer because they said they cold have gotten me a car that was already in the factory bank and I would have had to wait only 2 months instead of 3, not because I was still looking for a cheaper price.

I think if you e-mail the internet manager of the dealerships and you're honest with them that you're not shopping their price against another dealer, and you just want a fair price not an ultimately cheap price they will work with you. Also if you make an offer (a fair one not a $100 over invoice one) to them rather than you asking them for an offer makes it easier.

I also don't think that getting two A4s will make much difference, I think the $1500 off would be a fair offer.

 

If it means anything, my dealer *HAD* a Ming/Beige A4 on their floor <b>AS OF 3/31/03</b>... from what I could tell, it had Premium pack, sports pack AND Bose... it's probably gone though. A FINE girl from my univ was really interested in it... Prestige Audi in North Miami Beach, FL- (305)-947-1000 if interested. They got me a good deal on my lease.

 

I can recommend Kathrine Fleming at Keyes in Van Nuys. She was VERY straight forward and down to earth with me. We didn't make a deal, but when I sell my car privately, I will be back to see her. Not to mention, Keyes had a huge inventory.

 

If a dealer doesn't honor a fax quote, walk out. If a dealer doesn't honor ANY quote, particularly written ones, walk out. Its a quote and they should honor it. Otherwise its "bait and switch" and should be illegal.

(general dealer rant follows...)

I've gotten the "we don't hand out quotes unless you're serious" line too, those dealers don't get my business.

CR says that 4-7% of price in gross profit (over invoice) is reasonable. $295 over is a complete steal; I paid $750 over for a 1.8T, paid $30k, so I was even under that benchmark.

I think the whole "dealers don't like the customer to shop around" thing is crap too; they know you, as the customer, are going to do it, and should just be upfront with the best price, or at least one that is moderately competitive. MSRP is not competitive. Assuming that every customer that walks in the door is like the old lady that pays full price for her Buick is insulting.

Once place I went to got me shunted to the Internet sales mgr. and he gave me a really low quote, but the first guy I ran into first was a total *** (didn't know the inventory, pressured me into trying to bring in a car from another dealer out of region), and even the internet mgr had a coat of slime on him, and that lost the sale. Customer service matters.

I hate buying new cars.. but once its done I feel a lot better :-)