Ordering Quesitons
 

I've been a long time lurker and this is my first post so be gentle :D

I've been thinking of ordering an A3 since I can't seem find the right configuration that I want. I have some quick questions regarding the process. The reason I'm asking on here is that the sales person at my dealership was unwilling to give up any information unless I was going to do the ordering right their on the spot.

What's the average time from ordering to delivery? How much of a deposit is required? Can the deposit be refunding if something was to happen?

Any answers, info or insight that can be given is greatly appreciated. Since is pretty said that the dealership was unwilling to give me any info and I know the community is much more giving.

Thanks!!!

RE: Ordering Quesitons
 

I gotta say - Don't settle for bad service. If you don't get the answers you want, call or visit another dealer. I'm sure some people here can answer your basic questions, but really - you're the customer here...

Case in point - when I was looking for my A3 about 8 weeks ago, I had calls into 5 dealers in the SF Bay Area - 3 of the five were more than helpful in understanding what I was looking to know, looking to buy. Most of the dealing was done over the phone. I probably spent 20+ minutes on each initial call.

RE: Ordering Quesitons
 

Shoot this guy a mail bmccauley@unitedauto.com He works for Audi of scottsdale

He'll answer all your questions. Be sure to take a look at his A3 as well :D

RE: Ordering Quesitons
 

That's some BS sales service I have to say.

I wouldnt settle for that.

I just told my salesguy what I wanted. He had to look up the entire east coast for what I wanted, finally he found the A3 that I wanted and told me exactly how long it would take to arrive. Also told me exact date it was built in Germany and that it was in TRANSIT.

And this was all before even negotiating prices and what not.

RE: Ordering Quesitons
 

I'll gloss over the details and say that initially, when it seemed like the A3 I wanted was not on their lot and we'd have to do a special order, my sales rep. said it takes about 12 (TWELVE!) weeks for delivery of the car. I was pretty amazed, but I guess this makes sense, the car being built in Germany. I realized later the guy was being cautious - didn't want to over promise anything (which I'm fine with) - after the deal was done - price agreed upon, etc. - he admitted he's seen some cars take as little as 8 (EIGHT!!!) weeks to come in.

So I "bought" the car on Saturday, Sept. 23rd, and he placed the order on Monday the 25th. It's been a long, s l o w two weeks - with a possible 10 (TEN!!!!!!!) to go.

I gave him a credit card for a deposit and he asked "$2000?" and I said let's go with "$1000." Since there are weeks to go, the visit to the Finance Guy was short and sweet, as he admitted interest rates might change a lot in 2 months.

RE: Ordering Quesitons
 

i recently went to a dealership in benardsville, nj. the salesman tld me i can order the car by putting down $1000. he also it could take up to 3 months but said it would probably show up in 2 months. be fore you go to a dealership, make sure you have done your homework. i looked at msrp and invoice prices. i knew be fore i went into the dealership what they paid for the car. i'm looking to ordering my car this week.

RE: Ordering Quesitons
 

I would still talk to the Audi dealer in AZ to find out some better information. However, I can share my perspective and experience with you. I shopped 3 local dealers with an "over invoice" (as i calculated on Edmunds) strategy. I also had a trade and was buying - so trade value and finance rates were the other variables for me. I had the most success with the dealer i eventually went to by doing research on my trade and going in with what i thought was a fair number and a willingness to buy if he could get that part (along with the >invoice and finance parts) right for me. Once we settled on the trade number, we worked through the over invoice price I felt was fair (given that i negotiate contracts for a living - albeit not car ones thankfully - i think there's something to be said for your vendor still making a buck on the car). i ran into a couple "calculation errors" on the dealer side where their invoice didn't match mine, but i just kept true to an unbiased 3rd party perspective (again, edmunds) and they eventually came around. the things to watch out for, from my experience, were 1) quoted different (higher) invoice cost for certain options (ask for itemized list so you can drill into errors) 2) advertising fees (these vary from region to region - from $0 - ~$500) and typically a dealer doesn't see this as an invoice cost for whatever reason. now depending on how you order (i.e. if a car was built to be delivered to a dealership in a region with $0 advertising, you can have that rerouted from port and if you live in a pay the fee region, you don't have to pay the advertising. mine took about 3.5 weeks from the time it hit port (and it was the longest 3.5 weeks of my life... but i just got it a week and a half ago!!).

So all that rambling to get to one of your main questions: the downpayment. Although I was reluctant to give any money down, i put $1,000 down with the contingency that they put my sell price, trade price, and financing rate in writing as well - which they did. The other thing I discovered through conversations was that if i wasn't happy with the car, i didn't have to take delivery. If I didn't take delivery, they couldn't keep my $1,000. now I fortunatley didn't have to go that route, but my deposit had no paperwork with it; no contract - just a receipt from running it on AMEX with no line item. in other words, if there was an issue, it's ambiguous at best and i felt comfortable they they had nothing that showed that i paid a non-refundable deposit and i would at least have an arguement if it came to it. alternatively, you could always ask for it in writing that it's refundable if you don't take delivery.