Well my Pearl Blue S4 is here after 10 months.

I went in to look at the figures and they will only give me $ 23,000.00 on my 98.5 A4 2.8 fully loaded ($ 36,000.00 + when I bought it this past July) Santorin Blue with Ecru piped leather that has 17" R28s and etc.

Nice to know that my car has dropped in value $ 13,000.00 after 14 months.

I rarely keep a car for more than 2 years and I have never seen such depreciation.

to begin with anyway, less trade-in value for you, more $ for them. Call another dealership and inquire, or run a KBB and find out really what the value is. Don't let your dealer give it to you in your shorts just because they believe they've got your cajones in their hand (S4). If you ordered that S4, they know they've the upper hand and they're going to play it. If you trade in cars every 2 years, you should be privvy to this more-so than others. As much as I'd like a S4, I would not take it up the financial arse to get one.

<center><img src="http://www.kbb.com"></center><p>According to the Kelly Blue book, A 1998 fully loaded 2.8 with 15K miles should be worth 25,960 at trade in, and $31,240 Retail. And that's for a 1998, not a 98.5. Your dealer is trying to rip you off. See for yourself (link below)

Yet another reason to lease. Guarenteed residual value. Also, just sell the car yourself. You always get way way more.

The car has less than 15,000 miles.

My wife gets a new BMW approximately every 2 years and I lease a new car for my business every two years. Prior to this A4, I have had MB, BMW, Infinity and etc. I often get a bit restless and trade-in prior to the end of the lease. I do not sell on my own because it is simply too much of a hassle to me. I am accustom to seeing nasty drops in value, but never quiet that bad.

S4 being washed and delivered this evening. Audi's resale still sux.

where I live. You should know if you're trading every 2 years that that's a losing game, financially speaking.

It's been mentioned previously, but 23,000 is not the resale value of your car - it's that dealer's opinion of trade-in value. Publications like Edmunds and Blue Book show that quattro resale is better than the average car.

(Look on the bright side - wait for a 1 year old S4)

If reasle value was better, the trade-in value would be higher.

I was talking comparatively.

New S4 being delivered. I took the beating and now I am venting. I just do not have the time and energy to devote to selling a used.

As has been mentioned, buying a new car every 2 years is financially stupid. If you have to do this, at least lease.

When I bougt my A4 I found a buyer. For the sum of $285 the dealer did the transaction with my buyer at the price the buyer and I agreed upon. My truck sale showed as a tradein on the deal sheet, thus my sales tax was reduced. As an additional benefit the dealer is shown as the seller rather than you. If there are any problems with your old car the liability is with the seller (the dealer), not with you.

Kevin Craig
98.5 2.8QTip Avant

What the Blue Book says is not "true" . . . and what the market bears is true.

Blue Book is a joke. The blue book is compiled from dealer information. A dealer would like you to think a car is worth more than it is when you go onto a lot to BUY a car. Offer a dealer Blue Book price and they will sign you up immediately because you just got robbed, IMO.

Black Book is true value and what dictates what the dealer will pay. If you compare black book and blue book prices, I think you will be surprised.

Many will agree ... the dealer isn't going to give you market value for a trade when they have to turn around and try and sell it at market value. Therefore, they offer you $23k-24k, pump less than a grand into it (prep, marketing, overhead, etc) and put it on the market for $30k knowing they'll likely take around $28k.
<b>I am in no way supporting <i>any</i> dealership or their sales practices in general -- I dread having to deal with them myself.</b> I'm on your side, as a consumer, and know it sucks to hear $23k!
But, as someone who averages buying a new car about every 18 months (I've bought <b>five</b> since 1995) I am all too familiar with the buzz-kill of trying to "trade-in" a late model vehicle.
Now, about your comment on $13,000 depreciation over the last year. You are comparing full retail ($36k +) to rock-bottom wholesale ($23k). A better comparison would be between invoice price when new and their offer. If you look at invoice price when the car was new (which is still above what they actually pay on a per car basis) it'd be more like $32k -- so you're really looking at a $9k depreciation max (still sounds bad huh?). Well, if you could get $28k or $29k for it, when it listed at $36k, you'd be happy ... right? Well, that's almost the same depreciation rate as dealer invoice to low-book wholesale. And if you compare what you <u>paid</u> for the car new to market value, the depreciation is much, much less.
All I'm getting at is: No dealer is going to give retail (market value) for a trade unless they're making it up on the new-car sale; All vehicles experience heavy depreciation in the first two years; and you will always do better selling a vehicle on your own.

Good luck with your '00 S4! : )

<a href="http://131.107.68.28/a4.org/registry/details.asp?car=909"><img SRC="http://131.107.68.28/a4org/LV4.jpg" BORDER=1 height=78 width=200></a>
Rob O

Did you bother to even consider selling the car yourself. If not, you're just chumming the waters for the sharks in the showroom. Your new S4 is there, and they wanted to see just how badlky you wanted it. About $5K by my estimation.

My Audi dealer offered me $700 BELOW loan value for my Integra GS-R sedan when my Avant arrived last year. They had my back to the wall and, needless to add, pissed me off. It was my fault, though, for not starting to advertise the car sooner. I sold it a couple of days later for about $2K more to some friends (they got a sweet deal -- the Integra was in great shape.)

I could well be mistaken, but I do know that consumer laws vary from state to state (I am in Texas). I am no kawyer or legal expert, but the liability issue was explained to me similarly by two different dealers.

Many will agree ... the dealer isn't going to give you market value for a trade when they have to turn around and try and sell it at market value. Therefore, they offer you $23k-24k, pump less than a grand into it (prep, marketing, overhead, etc) and put it on the market for $30k knowing they'll likely take around $28k.
<b>I am in no way supporting <i>any</i> dealership or their sales practices in general -- I dread having to deal with them myself.</b> I'm on your side, as a consumer, and know it sucks to hear $23k!
But, as someone who averages buying a new car about every 18 months (I've bought <b>five</b> since 1995) I am all too familiar with the buzz-kill of trying to "trade-in" a late model vehicle.
Now, about your comment on $13,000 depreciation over the last year. You are comparing full retail ($36k +) to rock-bottom wholesale ($23k). A better comparison would be between invoice price when new and their offer. If you look at invoice price when the car was new (which is still above what they actually pay on a per car basis) it'd be more like $32k -- so you're really looking at a $9k depreciation max (still sounds bad huh?). Well, if you could get $28k or $29k for it, when it listed at $36k, you'd be happy ... right? Well, that's almost the same depreciation rate as dealer invoice to low-book wholesale. And if you compare what you <u>paid</u> for the car new to market value, the depreciation is much, much less.
All I'm getting at is: No dealer is going to give retail (market value) for a trade unless they're making it up on the new-car sale; All vehicles experience heavy depreciation in the first two years; and you will always do better selling a vehicle on your own.

Good luck with your '00 S4! : )

<a href="http://131.107.68.28/a4.org/registry/details.asp?car=909"><img SRC="http://131.107.68.28/a4org/LV4.jpg" BORDER=1 height=78 width=200></a>
Rob O

Use the NADA guide for used cars. They *are* reputable.

and the insurance company came up with a valuation of $28,875. My car was 20 months old and had 25K miles on it. I had done my research (Kelly's, Edmunds, every Internet classified ad for an A4 I could find) and I had come up with a reasonable value of between $29K and $30K. I thought their valuation was pretty reasonable and took it.

Keith

.....assuming it's a 5 speed, and preferably with the sport package. Let me know....

Sorry. It is gone.

It had tip, Q, Sport, Conv. pack., leather, Bose, Cold weather, trip, 17 inch R28s.

What was the milleage???

Nada is also dealer information (This is stated in the NADA book). Ifyou are a dealer, would you not want the values higher so that the consumer believes he or she is getting a good deal when buying a car from their lot? Yet, they always have some excuse for not offering NADA for your trade (overspray, slow market, have to prep, high miles, and etc.).

If you want to know what dealers will pay or paid for the used car you are looking at, only the black book will help you.

NADA is too high.

I authored a book a few years ago titled: Complete Guide to Purchasing an Automobile. What Dealers Don't Want You to Know. I compiled the information with the help of two friends both of whom owned car lots and had previously worked for numerous dealers as sales people when younger.

For instance, a 2 year old Deville trade in value was about $ 5,000 higher in the NADA than in the Black Book. I have attended a few auctions with one of my friends and have seen 2 year old Devilles close at about $ 10,000 to $ 12,000 under NADA. If you go and pay NADA on one of those cars, the dealer just made a killing on you.

This is only an example of a single make and model and the trends are indicative of other makes and models, except that Cadillacs do particularly bad at auction.

I knew I was going to get hammered on my A4. I, however, already have two boats because I did not feel like taking a beating on my older 1999 that I got last August on trade value (marine is much worse than autos during year 1 and year 2. With winter approaching, I will be stuck with two boat notes until spring. I did not want both an A4 and an S4 for the next few months and I already do not have time to show my boat much less a car and a boat.

Dealers use a book called a Wholesalers guide that shows how much the cars are going for at auction, which is usually much lower than the blue book. They may offer you more, but they are not going to come down on the vehicle as much.