hey, what's up?

i placed an order through carorder.com and after three weeks they still don't know when i will get a delivery date (i am 99% sure it will be a 2000). anyone have the same experience or have any ideas/suggestions? also, do you know which specific tires come standard on the 2.8 non-sport?

and finally, i told carorder i wanted to trade in my current car at the dealer where i pick the A4 up. they said none of their customers had had any problems doing that so far. has anyone done this and, if so, what was your experience and how did you go about it?

thanks for your help.

adam e.

the dealer, without a deal for a new car in the works, will try to steal it from you. There are several good books on making a car deal, and most mention the process of selling your old car yourself.

Selling your current car yourself may be a good idea, but there is a caveat. You probably will owe sales tax on the full price of the new A4 if you don't do a trade. If you do arrange a trade, you'll probably owe tax on just the difference between value of the trade-in and the price of MY2k. The tax difference can be significant, depending on where you live. So, keep the extra tax in mind when you estimate the difference between what the deal offers and what you think your old car will command.

You buy the car at whatever price you negotiate...you pay tax on that amount. It does not matter what your trade in is...it has no effect on the tax you pay. Well, at least in California it doesn't.

Some people try to negotiate the lowest they can on their new car...and take whatever they can get on their old car. This keeps the new car sales tax to a minimum. Remember, these are essentially two separate transactions.

I would just sell my car privately...you can usually get $1-4K more if you do so, depending upon conditions.

Steve S.
97 2.8QM
00 S4 (jan?)

...Here's what I did, and I never knew it was possible.

I've got an S4 coming, and the dealer is far away. I was concerned about what my trade in would be, so I attempted to sell my outgoing Dodge Durango myself.

After a week of little success, I took it to my local Dodge dealer for a final warranty inspection prior to trading it in. I told the dealer what I was planning, and he bought the truck on the spot. I am positive his offer is better than what the Audi dealer would have given--he's a Dodge dealer himself and had no 4x4 Durangos on the lot.

But wait, it gets better--he sent the draft to my Audi dealer, and my Audi dealer is paying off the note. You guessed it...I still get to show the Durango as a trade on my new S4 and I pocket the sales tax.

BTW, the trade+sales tax savings was undoubtedly better than what the market was bearing for private-sale Durangos in my town.

If your trade-in isn't an Audi, and it's in pretty good condition, shop it around--especially to dealers who sell the marque!

Can't beat it, as far as I'm concerned.

Can't speak for California--I currently live in North Dakota--but I recently traded a '97 A4 2.8 QM for a nearly identical '99.5. Paid tax only on the difference, not the total price of the '99.5. If I had been taxed on the total price of the new A4, I would have paid an additional tax in the neighborhood of $1,500. When I bought the A4--in Illinois, and without a trade--I paid nearly $2,000 in sales tax. My recent transaction included taxes of $500 more or less.

:-(

Shoot...I would bought your Durango too....

Steve S.
97 2.8QM