Flyboy

If anyone knows the truth about the ordering process I’d love to hear it. I placed my order last month (2001 model) with my dealer and was told that this month the order would go to Audi and the dealer would learn what the delivery date would be. I called today to find out the status of the order and was told that through the allocation process Audi basically tells them what they are going to get. This month’s allocation was for an A4 and TT, so they need to wait and see what next month’s allocation is. They tell me the other possibility is to get the car via a dealer swap. Problem is, I ordered a straight S4 with only the sport interior option. I figure what are the chances this setup is the one Audi is going to make to send to a dealer. Now either my dealer isn’t too bright (a distinct possibility) or I’m playing the lottery waiting for my car to arrive. I thought when you placed an order that was it, sit back and wait for it to be built.

If there is a dealer listening in the Virginia area who knows the truth please contact me because I’m ready to start looking for another dealership to work through.<p>2001 S4
(scheduled arrival Sep)
6 spd
Santorin Blue
Silver Alcantara

hwj

Yes, you can place an "order" with your dealership, but unless your dealer has allocation on S4s, you're kinda SOL. There's no actual order until they place an order with the factory. If they have no allocation, you're essentially sitting in a queue at the dealership.

You're ordering your car the same way I did, with nothing but sport interior (except mine was Nogaro with blue Alcantara). My experience was this:

* went into the dealership in late January and said, "I want an S4." Was told that there was a waiting list for ordering, so placed my name on the list.

* on February 14th, the dealer called me and said that I was now at the head of the list (I guess some people dropped off) and he had allocation for a 6sp S4, April build. I said, "It's mine" and gave them my deposit check. They placed the order with the factory the next day.

* Car was built on schedule in early April and I took delivery of it on May 19th. When picking up the car, my salsperson noted to me that Audi hadn't given them any S4 allocation for May or June build months. I was pretty lucky, in retrospect, to get mine order in under the wire.

Your best bet if you want an '01 and want it ordered ASAP is to call around and find a dealer that has immenent allocation or has a car in the system already (that isn't spoken for) and is still options-modifiable (pre-D-status).

Good luck.<p>--
Hugh
<a href="http://home.austin.rr.com/hwj/hwj/cars/s4.html">'00 S4 Nogaro/Onyx+Blue</a>

TGM65

I just ordered a 2001 S4 so I'm familiar with the process. It sounds like the dealer you're working with is BS-ing you. Here's my understanding. Dealers are granted a certain "allocation" (number of cars they will receive with the options determined by the factory, plus number of cars they can "special order" for a customer)each month. The month I'm referring to is the "Production Month" (the month they begin building a car). The bigger the dealer, the bigger their monthly allocation is. If you're interested in a certain color/options, the dealer can look up his allocation to see if he is already getting a car to your specs. If not, then he can use one of the "Special Order" slots he has been allocated for that month. Or, the dealer can try to "swap" cars with another dealer, but since 2001 S4s are going to be rare, you probably won't have luck going this route. At this point, most dealers have used up their "Special Order" slots for the June production month, so if you want to special order your car now it will probably be built in July and delivered to you in September - October. If a dealer has accepted a deposit from you for a specific car, he should have only done so if he had a Factory specified car already allocated to him that meets your specs, or a "special order" slot allocated to him for the next production month, and he should have told you what the production month will be. Sometime during the production month, the dealer should be able to provide you with a "tracking number" so you can check on the status of your car. Here's my advice (I live in Northern Virginia). If you know what you want, call a few dealers to see if they ALREADY have a car allocated (May or June production) that meets your specs. If so, place a refundable deposit on that car. If not, ask them what the soonest production month is that they can "lock in" a special order slot for you, and place a refundable deposit. As I said, it should be July. Here are the dealers I recommend:
FSK Audi in Frederick, MD ask for Lisa Brown (301) 662-7600. They are a small dealership with a small allocation, but they are VERY nice. They might be able to special order a car for July production, and they offered me $2000 off MSRP (that's a GREAT deal).
HBL Audi in Tysons Corner, VA. They are a huge dealership with a large allocation, so they may already have a car allocated to your specs. If not, you can probably order a car from them for July production, and they offered me $1000 off MSRP.
Criswell Performance in Annapolis, MD. Offerd me $500 off MSRP. Not sure how big they are.
Heishman Audi in Arlington, VA. A medium size dealer with medium allocation. They can also probably order a car for July production, but they are arrogant and probably won't discount anything off MSRP. Good Luck!

Ron O

I was able to order exactly what I wanted, allocation never was mentioned. Ord.Sept '99 Del. Jan3 3

s4demie

I think TGM is right on the money here.When I ordered,everything worked as TGM describes.

Another Drew

<p>http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/AudiWorldPics/2000/Fikse1.jpg