A5blkcin

I recently read a site that argued that - contrary to what dealers would have you believe - it is cheaper for them to order a car custom than sell one off the lot, and so one should be able to get a better price, similarly equipped.

Not sure that's the case, though, with Audi, esp. if I'm thinking of ordering an A5 with the 2.0 engine, which is new to the US and not even priced yet...the saleman told me they get limited allocations of orderable cars, too, therefore at least the suggestion of scarcity.

Can I expect to pay list, less than list? Think they'd throw in the maintenance plan as part of the deal?

scottacus

I agreed to around $1K over invoice on my 2.0T A5 order. At that price you may not get AudiCare thrown in for free but you may be able to get them to throw it in at their cost.

Don't listen to the song and dance the dealer is giving you about how scarce the car is, especially if you have multiple dealers in your area. There is no shortage of A5 allocations and you should not pay sticker.

Be firm and negotiate a markup over invoice. Remember 2010 pricing is not yet released so a margin over invoice is the best you can do. The dealer will probably want to work off of MSRP, but that leaves two unknowns (sticker and invoice prices) and gives the dealer more opportunity to take advantage of you. If they won't deal, walk away and find a dealer who will.

rs4-380

I could see it being cheaper if they had to finance it (themselves) for a shorter period of time because it was not sitting on the lot.

sbkim

Scott

I still don't understand why negotiating from invoice is more beneficial. After the 2010 prices are annouced, it seems like both invoice and MSRP should be clear. I specificaly mentioned MSRP on the sticker (without any BS dealer adds that you sometimes see on cars - eg., rust proofing, pin stripping etc). In fact, I started to negotiate from invoice but I already realized that there were two fees that I wasn't aware of and decided to move on to another dealership using MSRP.

Thanks!

scottacus

When you negotiate based on invoice, you and the dealer have only one unknown -- the invoice price. Basically you are setting a markup over their cost.

When you are negotiating based on MSRP you have two unknowns, invoice price and MSRP. While Audi will generally have about the same spread between invoice and sticker, there is still some uncertainty as to how much. Dealers can try to exploit this by saying something like "since I don't know my margin I can only give you $X off of MSRP". Negotiating based on invoice price is the cleanest way to set a price that is fair to you and the dealer (as it lets both you and the dealer know how much profit they make).

As for the ad fee and port prep fee, they are indeed on the invoice (the dealer pays Audi these amounts when they are invoiced for the car). They just don't get listed on sites like Edmunds for some reason.

SFV A4

I think it's a wash. On one hand you have a dealer who will not be sitting on a car. That's a plus for him, which might give you a lower price. Then on the other hand, you are putting a salesperson to work for three plus months. That's extra work for him, which might raise the price. So it looks pretty even to me. Personally, I don't like special orders at my job. It's extra work for me! ; )

Andrewaw

If you believe that invoice is "dealer cost", then the way I like to negotiate is in my mind, thinking how much profit I would like the dealer to have. I think $1000 is the MOST profit a dealer should get from a car like this. it all boils down to how much money you want to leave on the table. If you start with MSRP, you are potentially leaving money on the table. I negotiate profit to the dealer, then at the end when there are rebates, etc, i take them also as we already agreed on profit to dealer. just my 2 cents

scottacus

+1 - good explanation. Just about every car-buying guide supports this method as well.

socarwolverine

not to hijack this thread, but I thought the 2.0T A5 wouldn't arrive til 2011, or is it coming to Europe before it hits stateside?

scottacus

2.0T has been in Europe for a while now and is coming to US in 2010. (Do a search and you can find the order guide with all the details.)\

Perhaps you are thinking of the supercharged 3.0 V6?