UmIsThisThingOn

Hey Guys,

I'm looking for some advice on how to go forward in ordering a car. I have 6 'local' dealerships, which are within my 50 mile max range to buy a car from. I had started in May looking at A4's and contacted the closest 4 and received various levels of feedback. Most of them I got the 'form letter' email from the Internet Manager. One dealership actually called to ask me if I had actually bought a car yet, but it seemed more like a customer feedback kinda call, not a sales call.

I know there's talk about making sure your dealer has an 'allotment' so that you can effectively grab it, make your option choices, and start playing the waiting game. I'm looking for an S4 but still undecided between Prem+ and Prestige. I drove my future Father-in-Law's Cadillac on Saturday and really liked the convenience factor of the 'advanced key'... which makes me lean towards the Prestige: key, memory seats & mirrors, B&O are the options that are most appealing to me.

The fact that pricing is not out yet is really hampering my decision making process ATM. Since pricing isn't out neither is the 'Invoice' price to negotiate from, since that is where I would start.

Another factor is how much do I let on what I know of the overall process. There's talk of some dealerships/salesmen not liking to deal with people that have a good amount of knowledge of the process/car/pricing since it cuts into their ability to inflate the price. Do I mention the words 'allotment' and 'Invoice Price' - can I get an S4 from the 'Fleet Sales' department of the dealership?

Part of me wants to wait it out and let the prices come. But the majority of my thoughts go to this car becoming hard to get as soon as pricing is announced. I'd love to get into the car before end of Oct, since my current car's inspections are up then. At the latest, I would need to get into the car by the end of the year.

Here's how I see me going forward:
1 - Contact the 6 dealers again, reminding them of my previous contact. Give them exactly what I'm looking for in my car - options, etc.
2 - Wait for feedback, make appointments to visit dealerships, etc.
3 - Negotiate on price over Invoice since MSRP isn't out yet. I guess with 'I'll pay $2,000 over Invoice MAX'. Get this in writing, pay whatever deposit required.
4 - Play the waiting game - eventually take delivery.
5 - ???
6 - Profit!!

Thoughts? Ideas? Anything I'm leaving out or forgetting? I'd appreciate any and all feedback on how to go forward.

Li'l Penny

I don't have any advice on negotiating a price but on your question regarding the options I'd go for the ones you want.

Actually I should qualify that and say go for them if you intend on owning the car for the long haul. In the grand scheme of things I bet years later the difference in cost you paid won't be noticed but if you don't order the advanced key you might regret it. I know when I get a new car for my wife it will have to have Bluetooth and Advanced key. The number of times she sits beside the car fumbling around for her key to unlock it is mind boggling. She also has a tendency to leave her phone in her purse and toss it into the trunk or back of the wagon. Then when I or anyone else calls she can't answer the phone. So for me those options are must have.

UmIsThisThingOn

I agree. A few years from now, a few more dollars won't matter. I empathize about sharing driving - my fiancée takes *forever* in getting her keys out of her bottomless purse. Advanced key will help with that as well as memory mirrors/seats.

Eff it - I'll probably just pay the extra chump change to get Prestige at this point.

help me

could you explain the "fleet sales" you mentioned. i'm sorry i don't know what this means but i am looking to buy a new audi sooner rather than later...

UmIsThisThingOn

Usually car dealerships have a person in charge of fleet sales. Think rental car companies, and/or businesses who offer cars to their executives. The fleet salesman can *sometimes* sell individual cars to individual buyers. I'm not sure if Audi allows this or not... I'm still researching all the ins/out of buying.

help me

ok thank you

UmIsThisThingOn

Well, I was contacted by two dealers who have an allotment that ends today. They both said I can customize it to my spec. The only remaining question is: how do I negotiate the price at this point? One wants 5K down - yuck.

L0U

tell them you want 5% off msrp. That is fair enough that 1 should except. 1k down is enough. The car would sell no matter what, so there is no risk for them.