floraudi

I was looking at a 2020 R8 at my local dealer. The dealer offered $65K for my 2019 A8 l 60. First Edition, with only 2000 miles. What a deal.

angrypengu

This is the name of the game.

Buying these things is one thing ($$$)
Repairing these things is another thing ($$$$)
Depreciation when selling is yet another ($$$$$)

Which is why I have mad respect for one owner flagship cars that are 10 years old.

Respect? Maybe pity? I don't know what word I'm trying to find, but certainly it is an attestation for a total love of these sorts of behemoths

Omeletpants

This is why I lease

My January 2020 lease on a 2019 55 at $96,000 MRSP with $3000 down, Audi eating remaining $10,512 on my 2017 SQ5 lease is $990/mo for 42 months. Deal of the century.

angrypengu

It's not always the case of lease > finance. I mean, it really comes down to what you're looking to do with the car.

E.g. In my case, low mileage vehicle that I'm planning to keep for 10 years (with extended warranty). I'll win, long term, (for my definition of win = 'true' ownership of vehicle and long term cost of access to a flagship), but yes, short term, you win. It really comes down to objectives, of course.
''

Omeletpants

I have leased every car wife/me since 1989 (20+ cars). Current 42 month lease is longest. I'm always thinking and anticipating my next car and refuse to own a car that shows any wear. I also refuse to pay for out of warranty repairs. I have been fortunate to get crazy deals like the A8 and many concessions like waiving of the disposal fee, pull forward programs and lease tax concessions. I live for the negotiating process and confrontation with the dealership. I was a professional negotiator for years. So for me it's a fun game

gk1

I'm with omelet and seriously considering going back to leasing. But for now the car is paid and miles are relatively low.
2015 $85k S6 with 38k miles I think it would be hard to get $25-30k on a trade and I know the A8's are even worse.
But there is something to be said for picking up a sweet deal on like a $140k MSRP barely used S8. I've just never had the ***** to actually do it.

derfA8L

+1...I owned my first car (1985 5000S) that I had for about 8 years—loved the car, but too much time and $$$ spent on minor and major repairs. Thought about buying my last Audi off-lease (2015 A8L 4.0T) but the extended warranty was just ridiculously expensive vs. the car’s residual value, and for too short a period of covered time. Since then I just lease them, love them, and then fall in love with the next one all over again.

+1...for me the anticipation of a new car usually begins a year before lease ends. Probably have way too much ego investment with my cars—one of my numerous faults 😔

nashdm2

My car in the UK was 13 months old when I bought it. It had 2797 miles on it. It had many extras on it. The full RRP when sold was just above £98k. I got it for £39k. The depreciation on the A8, 7 Series and S Class is huge in the UK in the first year. It did take me a while to find the right car and I did have to travel a lot of miles to view it and then pick it up afterwards. There is an additional bonus that I later found out the car has a four year service package on it that I was not aware of when I purchased it. Just wish it also had the extended warranty.

Glisse

^^
It's funny how people quote the full MSRP/RRP when talking about depreciation, but talk about discounts when buying 😁

There was a relatively recent thread in this forum describing new D5 (55 TFSI) models being sold in the US for 30%+ below MSRP. So around $67k for a new car - not $95k.

As for the UK, nearly every A8, 7 series and S class sold will have been bought via a corporate fleet discount. Which typically ranges between 25 to 30%. So your car probably sold new for between £70-75k. Doesn't diminish the benefit of having a 1 year old A8 at a lower price than an optioned up new A4 sedan (at RRP rather than corporate fleet discounted prices, of course). Certainly in the UK and the rest of Europe you would be mad to buy a new premium model as a private buyer with no access to a corporate fleet discount, where you are typically looking at 6% (dealer) discounts off an inflated RRP. The downside can be that typical corporate fleet rate buyers tend not to pay for the extended warranty option - which ironically is one of the very few options that doesn't instantly depreciate in value.

But the two tiered new car pricing structure that operates in Europe has to be equalised in the used car market - so that's why there's often a dramatic first year depreciation hit (basically, as soon as you drive it off the forecourt) on the premium models.

The North American market doesn't have this two-tiered pricing structure - in effect Audi AG sell cars to AoA as if they were a single large corporate fleet buyer, and the discounts are baked in. It's a cleaner system, but costs Audi AG margin. As it does all the other European manufacturers, who operate the same way. Interesting to see how this changes over the next few years - in the UK buyers sites such as CarWow and Car Buyer seem to be growing their business amongst private buyers. Where they started out as sites that allowed dealers to bid for business, or to offload excess inventory, they are moving to a tool for the manufacturers themselves. Such as Mercedes buying a large stake in CarWow, which is now in several countries throughout Europe.

angrypengu

That's actually a very fair point. I bought my 2019 at dealer invoice price minus incentives (Canadian Bar discount). If I was not so damn impatient and bought one at the end of 2019, I would have had another $20K off directly from Audi.

So I would have paid something in the $80K range (Canadian), for a pretty well optioned A8. Interesting perspective, thanks!