[A4] Prospective A4 Buyer

[Nathan Widmyer]

That carsdirect.com site looks very helpful, thanks.  When I clicked on the
link, the sunroof and sport suspension options weren't selected as they are
in the car the dealership wanted me to get into.  When I selected those
options, the price only went up to $31,365 which is still under their
quote.  When I do buy a car, used or new, I want to walk up to the table
with lower numbers than they have so they realize I'm not some dumb jerk.

I asked them to appraise my 1994 90 at the sitdown we had.  Prior to the
appointment, I went to kbb.com and did my personal trade-in value of my car
and kbb.com put it at $3k.  The guy wrote down $1800 for the trade-in value
and knew I was getting the shaft.  I confronted him about what research I
did and got $3k and noted that $3k wasn't excellent, but rather
average/good.  He started naming minor things purely as a result of wear and
tear that establishes the $3k figure but he was counting the wear and tear
beginning at that $3k.  The defects he named were paint chips on the front
bumper from driving on the interstate, my rear headrests are cracked along
the seam, and poor tires.  The dealership is rather small, their lot is a
little bit larger than a Taco Bell and figured they wanted to charge me
extra (beyond the gouging stores [like bookstores]) for the honor of trading
and them having to manage it.

I felt quite unsure about doing business with them but I'll continue to talk
to them as long as they might be willing to compete for my business and save
me money.

On 7/7/06, Dan DiBiase <d_dibiase at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> **
>
> At 5:26 PM -0400 7/6/06, Nathan Widmyer wrote:
> >Hello everyone,
> >
> >I wrote to this list before about thinking about buying an A4. Since
> then,
> >recently I've been talking to my local Audi dealership about a new 2006
> A4.
> >They have a new silver A4 2.0T 6-speed, sports suspension, leather seats
> and
> >sunroof that looks pretty nice. They quoted me an out-the-door price of
> >$35k. I told the guy that I talked to that I'll be shopping around that
> >price to the other, larger dealership where my parents live and see what
> >they say. I fully intend on doing that but can some people say if the
> $35k
> >price is good or can I pull it down a few more grand?
> >
> >Also, my previous message I wrote, I was interested in the B6 A4
> (2001-2004)
> >and I still am today. Those A4's are coming down into the $20k range for
> a
> >decent one (average equipment, average miles).
> >
> >Would it be better to snatch a new A4 built the way I like with the
> 4yr/50k
> >mi. warranty at over $30k or hold out for an adequate B6 A4 with enough
> >compatibility with my preferences for a cheaper price? I know it's a
> tough
> >and very subjective decision but I'm interested in what people that
> >reflected upon if they were confronted with the same kind of decision.
>
> Strange, I'm not getting any of Nathan's notes, just responses to his
> notes..... My $.02 - buy (or lease, if you're a candidate) a new car if you
> can afford it. Especially with Audi's - unless you get a Certified car, I'd
> stay away from used. The price you noted seems pretty good - I've found
> carsdirect.com to have the best pricing, from an on-line perspective. I
> used their price to get the price I wanted from a local dealer. You can also
> buy through carsdirect directly (no financial interest etc). Based on the
> specs you noted, here is what they will sell it for -
>
>
> http://www.carsdirect.com/build/options?zipcode=08810&acode=USB60AUC017A0&restore=false
>
> Good luck!
>
> Dan D
> '04 A4 1.8Tq MT-6
> Central NJ USA
>