I am/want to be in the market for a 2011 A4. I have included the last 96 hours of attempt to work out a deal and all of the emails to go along with it...

Went to the dealer to test drive on 8/12. Drive went well and the salesperson told me of a lease deal of 2995 down + tax for a 12k 39mo. lease on a prem plus (and first month payed). I had also seen the Summer deal of 0 down 0 fees, etc... 10k for 42mo. and 499/mo. Being that mileage is something that is one of my concerns and 15k is where I usually land I went with the deal he told me about. At this point I had not seen the deal he was referring to, only taking his word on it.

8/13 I email him in the morning and ask him to get me some numbers for what I am looking for in order to start my negotiations. I wanted to get a feel for where I would start. No response.

8/14 I call in the morning and reach the sales person. He says he was out the prior day (that is ok with me) and he will get me numbers soon. The dealer is open to 4 and the call was made at 11:30am. Plenty of time.... no response.

8/15 10:00am Still no email. I call in and ask for a new salesperson because I am interested in the car and I don't like being put on the back burner. I'm a customer and if someone wants a sale they should assist me, right? I hang up with a new sales person and 5 min later my old guy calls me. Says he was "busy" all day. There are not enough cars on that lot at the moment for him to be that busy... Regardless, he emails me, and this is where I begin to get flustered.

<names have been removed to protect the innocent>

SalesRep:
The car we drove with just plates ot of pocket comes in at $582. With tax down it is $525. The ad you saw must have been for a premium car not a premium plus with tax down. Here is the ad we ran Sunday on that car. $2995 plus tax at $419 with 12000 miles per year. In all the examples Audi make your 1st payment.


Me:
Thanks for the information SalesRep

Just as an FYI, here is the lease offer I saw:

<insert web ad for all of audi>

It is a little different than the one you are speaking bout I think. Regardless, just so we are on the same page, I am looking at 2995 down + 419 tax. Does this include plate fees?

Here is what I am looking for, and if you can make it happen I will take the car as soon as I have mine fixed, which will be by next Tuesday/ Wednesday depending on my work schedule.


$3000 down plus tax

15,000 miles

410/month.


The only other item of interest would be the reacquisition fee because I would not be leasing another Subaru. Is that something that Audi would take care of additionally I know other leases I have done ate that cost for me as well. Thank you for your help Mark and I look forward to hearing from you.


SalesRep:
The $419 that we ran is with plates down also. That will run $180 if we transfer plates. Our payment includes the acquisition fee. I would not be able to help with your disposition fee. With the $3000 plus tax down your payment comes in at $449.95. Audi will make your first payment. Let me know what you think. I know it more than you offered but the difference is $1.30 a day to drive one of the nicest cars out there.
Thanks

Me:

Salesrep,
I'm confused. Assuming the $180 was included with the down payment previously in the 419 quote, how does taking that out plus the 3k extra miles hike the price up to 449.95? On our test drive you mentioned that upping mileage should be about $9.00 per month. Please clarify how you arrived at a number $30/mo more than original. Also, you said "IF" I transfer my plates. Is there another option that is cheaper such as new plates? I figured that would be more expensive.

SalesRep:
New plates would be more expensive. From what "Dealer Manager" is telling me our newspaper ad was supposed to read 10K per year in miles like our web ad said. It’s about $9 to jump from 10 to 12 but 10 to 15 is more. Sorry for the confusion I hope you decide to go with it.

ME:
Salesrep,

What your ad says and what you mean cannot be two different things. The car should be sold as advertised. I have the ad from the Buffalo news here:

<Link to newspaper ad with the exact ad he was referring to in the car, stating: 2011 A4 Prem Plus, 12k/ yr, 2995 due + tax/title/fees, and 419/mo.>

I am not uneducated as far as new car leases and I am insulted that changing the terms of advertised lease, from what was advertised in writing, is even happening at this point. I immediately could tell something was off from the previous email when the number spiked as much as it did. Now I feel that my time is being wasted and I do not appreciate it. Please speak with Mr. Dealer and see if we cannot come to some type of agreement because this is ridiculous.

SalesRep:
We did not change the terms of the ad. The price goes up because of the miles being added to the lease. If you would like to buy it as the ad states we can do that for you.

Me:
I honestly cannot understand how you don't see the ad as not being changed. I sent a link to the exact ad! You told me "From what Jerry Schmitt is telling me our newspaper ad was supposed to read 10K per year in miles like our web ad said." "Supposed to" and what it actually states are two separate things. The material on the ad is completely different from the online advertisement. Maybe I am taking it for granted that Mr. Schmitt should realize that. The online ad from Audi is offering a 0 down 499 a month with 1st months payment while the ad in the paper has a different term, payment, and mileage. The ad in the paper is for the exact car I drove. I've compared the stock numbers on the car and the ad. When I am jerked around by "our ad says this, but we mean something else" (which is highly unethical to begin with) I cannot help but be displeased with the service I am getting. I was very willing to negotiate before, but now my trust in the whole deal had been shattered. If you need me to send you both online ads I can do so. If you can work something more manageable please let me know, otherwise thank you for your time.

SalesRep:
We have a retraction from the news about the miles. I was trying to explain why there was a big jump to the 15000. The price for 15000 is what it is. The mileage mis-print in the news has nothing to do with your price at 15000 miles per year. If you want to buy the car as the ad states we will honor that price.

This is where it has ended for today...

Am I lost? Screwed over? The car is sadly exactly what I want and there aren't any other Audi dealers close. On top of that, the next closest doesn't even offer a 6MT. Is this a good deal or should I keep fighting. I don't want to do it JUST for the principle of the matter, but I do feel like I'm being bent over with all the term switching.


Thanks for any input.

-Bob

 

walk into the dealership and ask to speak with the manager of the place. the manager makes no commission so he has no reason to make a buck off of you. make him an offer on the car and take it from there.

 

Given your Dos Equis man avatar, I have no choice now I did not realize that they didn't make anything extra off the deal though. I will give that a shot and hope for the best. I emailed him early this morning and did make an offer of 15k miles and i would keep the remainder of the deal because I didn't think it was terrible until he jacked the price up as much as he did. I was just playing the negotiating game. If that does not work I will be going with that method and crossing my fingers. It sucks where I live because I'm captive to the one dealer for the most part.

 

the owner of the lot is more interested in turnaround of inventory. the owner/manager will practically sell you a car with no dealer profit. the dealer gets bonuses for number of units sold. the salesman makes a personal bonus on how much more over the invoice that he gets. my friend used to run a few chrysler dealerships and told me all about the business. i'm sure they all work the same way.

 

FWIW, usually when a lease ad is run they want to show the lowest possible payment. So when they put it out the price shown is almost always for a base model at 10K miles/yr. I believe the sales guy when he says the ad you saw in the paper was a misprint. In these cases the (advertiser) is not obligated to honor the terms advertised (though sometimes they do).

I agree with esandes. See if you can strike a deal with the manager. Just be aware sometimes the manager can't/wont really talk to a customer directly because it undermines their sales people.

You already said that the car they have is exactly what you want. Don't let them know that. If they think they have you "hooked" they will continue to hold out until you are too tired to fight anymore. If they think you are going to walk they will be much more willing to try and meet some of your terms. It also depends on how desperate they are to clear inventory.

Finally, if can't walk away you might have to give in and settle for a higher payment. If you can't give in you might have to walk away.

good luck. let us know how it goes

 

The dealer contacted me himself. The deal has not sweetened

My name is dealer I am sorry for the confusion in the add in the Buffalo News they have sent me a letter of retraction for the mistake that they made you may see a copy anytime. I am still willing to try to make a deal with you in the add the vehicle was marked up 700.00 over my cost taking the markup to 400.00 this saves you 300.00. The new program would look like this.

419.00 the payment you want 165.00 fees and ins 1531.13 up front taxes 3823.94 cash reduction to arrive at 419.00 payment 5939.07 total drive off -419.00 summer of audi makes 1 st payment. 5520.07 total cod

Bob this is my final offer its is a great deal if interested please contact Mark if not thanks for you interest.