Hey everyone.... I have been stalking around here for a couple of months now... finally getting around to posting.... and now I need some help...

I went in for the big first negotiating session (VanDyn Hoven in Appleton, WI) and was a little suprised... first off... I am ordering a Silver 1.8TQMS... the gentleman that I was working with began talking about a 2% dealer holdback ($528)... now he said that this was automatically added to the invoice price, and we should start working from there... I was under the impression that a dealer holdback was provided to the dealer by the manufacturer and could be considered as (nearly) dealer profit... so now (by my understanding) he is trying to get his 2% from the MFR and from me... am I wrong???? I have him agreeing to $1000 over invoice, but his invoice is different than mine (by $528).... should I just go somewhere else???

BTW... got some interesting lease numbers for anyone interested... here in Appleton, he was quoting me a residual of 64% and a MF of .00299 on a 2000, 15000/36 lease... lots better than I was expecting....

Well, please help if you can....

Chris
00 1.8QMS (w/ a lot more)(ordered soon... hopefully)

nt

nt

I leased my 99.5 1.8TQM at International Autos in Milwaukee, WI. The sales person told me there was a 2% holdback. Now, I did pretty well anyway ($629 or 2.68% over invoice back in June), but why are they lying?

I love the car but what's up with all the damn crappy dealers?

Buy on the net now and skip those guys with the bad suits and terrible comb overs!!!

Car dealers are pigs. This one is bad news. Do yourself a favor and don't buy from this dealer. The quality of Audi dealers varies an incredible amount. If you can't find a good dealer where you can buy and have serviced I would find another car. He's just a con man.

I recently paid $26,100.00 for a '99 A4 1.8T with Quattro, sport pkg, all-weather pkg, and sunroof. I checked around the country, and the best deal I could nogotiate was $400 over invoice, but the shipping costs negated the savings. I think I ended up paying about $600 over invoice based on info at http://www.costcoauto.com/carre/.

Was he trying to ADD IT to the invoice to get more money from you?
He should take it off if anything. Check out <a href="http://www.edmunds.com/edweb/holdback_list.html">http://www.edmunds.com/edweb/holdback_list.html</a> for an explanantion of holdbacks.

The "invoice" (divined from information gathered here) is $26887.... that is for 1.8TQ w/ sport, convenience, and cold weather packages, bose, sport seats, and destination.... so I thought that we could start working from there... he tells me, right off the bat, that there is a non-negotiable 2% holdback... I question it (I have read edmunds.com and others endlessly, and am well aware of what a "holdback" is, and that edmunds.com claims that there is none for Audi's).... he tells me that the actual price that they pay for the car is $27415 (or 2% ($528) of invoice before destination)... then he adds the $100 dealer prep (which I know is BS, but practically unavoidable).... so he says that we can start from $27515... So I get into an argument w/ this guy, because I believe that the 2% should be DEDUCTED from the invoice price (as is typical w/ holdbacks)... he explains that this is money that Audi pays to them for their overhead and for their advertising and such, and is not negotiable... I say "bull", that should be what dealer profit is for (which I am offering 3%)...

My question is... should I go elsewhere (the nearest Audi dealer is 2hrs away (International in Milwaukee or Zimbrick in Madison)??? will I see this $528 (or $628 w/ "prep fees") dissappear???? will my service suffer since this is probably where I would take the car??? has anybody had good luck dealing in Wisconsin??? should I just go to Chicago or Minneapolis??? Has anyone else paid this "holdback" (which I believe that VanDyn Hoven is now collecting at the IN door and the OUT door)???

Any and all help is appreciated....

Chris
hopeful '00 1.8TQMS

Other than the $100 dealer prep (which is indeed a joke), are you paying a destination charge and if so, how much. You really can't get around this and it is usually $525 for A4's. Maybe you and the salesman are just communicating poorly?

Good luck, but if you are being charged for delivery twice, go elsewhere.

Will
99.5 A4 2.8QM

No... the detination charge was already included... this was strictly (in his words) "money we recieve from Audi to cover our advertising"... sounds to me like the fishy "advertising fee"... not a dealer holdback... I have the feeling that this is a screw that they try to pull over on the under-educated... but, I have been looking for 10 months now, and I'm in no hurry... just want to know if there are any "better" dealers in the Great Lakes area that I should look at (I am probably going to go to International in Milwaukee this weekend)....

Chris
doubtful(???) '00 1.8TQMS

holdback obviously but recoupment of expenses. 2% is absurd. Negotiate from "your" invoice and if they won't play ball, **** 'em. Get the car elsewhere. The service guys at this dealer won't know who you are anyway. But get the car somewhere!

Both dealerships owned by same party. Too much demand for cars and no competition negates your chances to deal.

that will go by different names. I found that the conveyance fees differed between dealers ($139, 189, 225). I happened to buy from the dealer I had the most confidence in (since there is <$100 difference here. Everything said and done, I paid the dealer

invoice price of the car as found here on A4.org
$525 destination
$1200 dealer profit (4.44%)
$189 conveyance fee

I feel comfortable paying this price, but somewhere else someone may pay $1200 w/o the $189 and get a better price. Did I pay $1389 over invoice? Yeah, I guess. But one thing to look for is to see if the dealer is lying to you. If he's making up fees, go elsewhere. If he seems straight foward about this extra $528, then check other dealerships (call if they are far away - tell them of your seriousness in purchasing, but you want to know what to expect before going all the way to their dealership. Tell them if when you get there, they tell you of some other fee, there is no way you will buy from them because it is obvious they are trying to take advantage of you). A good salesman will tell you straight out "I can call my profit whatever you want (Ad fee, paperwork fee, etc) Bottom line is your cost is some $ over invoice. Here is what I can offer and be sure when you go to other dealers you take into account whatever they call their profit". It's the same with trade in's. The co's that say they'll give you $2000 for your car whether you push, pull, or drag it in, will just make up for it in the cost of the car.