The sales guy was pretty cool. The car has power throughout the powerband. Was seriously thinking of trading my car in, until the salesman told me what my car would be worth... F#$#@%!!! First they screw you with a high-price used car, then they rape you for the trade-in and want to ask for full price on the new one.

I thought Audis held better value...

...played phone and email tag for three days and got nowhere, so I went in at lunch today thinking I could make some progress.

The only progress I made was finding out that they wanted MSRP for A4 ultrasports, period.

No value given for my trade in, no CVT test drive, and they didnt talk pricing on new 03 inventory. Told these guys that I was interested in a preowned car on the lot, new 03, and new 04 and have $10k in equity on my current car. I had specific numbers and configurations too. Can you say qualified buyer? Idiots. Three strikes, boys - you're out.

These jokers either failed sales 101, or they're turning into the indifferent "MSRP or leave" BMW type sales people.

Momentum, being true to form, has yet to even respond to my initial email sent on Tuesday. Since these dealerships are owned by the same company now, I guess its pointless to waste my time at Momentum.

If this is representative of the new Audi attitude, its sad to see that they're going to piss away the market share they've worked so hard to regain over the past decade.

afaik Advatange was recently sold off. Ultrasports are not going to dip much below msrp right now since there are so few of them. Try them again at the end of the month. Who did you talk to? I know them well since I used to work there. Talk to Fazal for the best deals and treatment, he is a decent guy.

Well you do have $250 Audi Loyalty toward any new A4.
Momentum and Advantage are both owned by the Sonic Corporation which also owns the University Park Audi dealer in Dallas.

But KenK is right; Ultra sport won't go much below MSRP because of it being fairly new and very popular.

...which makes no sense, because they should have their inventory corrected by then and I can guarantee you those things wont continue to fetch MSRP for that long.

One of the two guys I talked to blathered on about the Sonic aquisition, what they couldnt do, how Audi was so great now, and how things were changing for the traditional Audi customers accustomed to a "good deal".

Once I cool down, I might give Momentum a shot and maybe Fazal too...but I'm still pretty pissed at how indifferent Advantage was.

I had similar experiences this summer; Advantage really has an attitude problem to the extent that it shows though in email. Momentum took a week to respond; and has an equally bad attitude.

I had *REALLY* good luck with Roger Beasly Audi in Austin though; they are friendly and don't have an attitude problem, but more importantly they are straightforward, honest, and are willing to work with you to make a deal work.

I purchased my first A4 there this summer, and am now planning to purchase my second one (see pic poster if you wonder why). Austin is not that far away and its worth the drive in my opinion. If you go, talk to Joe Leal (joeleal@audiaustin.com) and he will make sure you get a good deal. You can even say that I recommended him, if you want; my name is Will.

I know I don't usually post in the Texas forums, but this summer I was so put off by my dealings with Houston Audi dealers that it was important to let people know we don't have to take it and have other options.

i was looking for a B6 back in march 02 and they were few and far between with any kind of options on them.

he was one of the FEW willing to find me a car.

only things that sucked were the scratch on one of the wheels (he had it fixed for me) and the fact that they put on a front plate when i specifically told him not to (however i think it was because he got the car from another dealer).

Is your car fixable?

Drunk driver hit me from behind while I was stopped and he was going about 45. After he hit me, he kept on going; however the police were able to get him later. Luckily he was insured and they are paying for my medical, my passengers' medical, partial rental car expenses, and damage to the car (about $8,500 in car damages so far).

I aim to sell the car to a dealer and take that money plus repairs to buy another A4. I do not expect to break even, but I can really see the car having problems after it is fixed, and I don't want to spend two more months in a rental car.

Here are pictures from the body shop:
http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/54071/mvc-013s.jpg

http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/54071/mvc-014s.jpg

The big things that are being repaired:
1) Frame is bent
2) Control arm destroyed
3) Suspension destroyed
4) External damage
5) Wheel damaged

Because of this I can really see the car having problems in a few years or so, that's why I'm in the market for a new one :) Considering a 3.0 this time.. we'll see how it works out.

Getting hit by a drunk driver... You pretty much got the other insurance company by the Ballz.

But I think the damage has to be over half the value of the car which would be around 15k.

Austin went from having an Audi dealership that everyone avoided to having one of the best in the state. Thank you, Roger Beasley, for saving us from Maund.

I then immediately traded the car in when to the dealer at a loss, which was offset by the insurance. ~$4k on my 01 b5 a4 at the time.

Its worth a shot.

When I come back from my Thanksgiving trip, I'm going to have to start negotiating with the insurance people; any insight you can provide would be a big help. Please feel free to email me.

Right now the dealer is offering me $11,000 for the car as is and insurance damages are less then $10,000; this still leaves me very far from the value of the car before the accident (2003 1.8T Q with my options and 6,184 miles book value = $31,000). I still owe $19,000 on the car; it is just a really bad situation. The accident was an attempted hit and run by the other driver and I and one of my passengers have high medical bills so I have leverage if I take it to court, but I think that would be expensive and take forever.

I just want everything as it was before the accident :-/

that's just a bit optimistic.

At the time of the accident my S4 was on order. State Farm repaired the car, but when I went to trade it in a week later after the repair they said it was wrecked and offered 15k. I sold the car private party for $20k. The difference along with my medical bills, which were $0, were included in my settlement.

The medical bills + perceived diminshed value were what was paid to me. I had to sign something to the affect, I wouldn't be suing for medical at a later day.

Though in Houston, I've experienced great dealings with 2 dealers -- though the drive/flight would have to be taken into consideration. Baton Rouge's Audi/Porsche dealer is great on service -- taking me in immediately when I was on the road with a minor crisis, no appointment and great, friendly sales people. Then the Audi/Porsche dealer in Denver (Prestige Imports, I believe) has been great on my trips through there as well. If service says anything about a dealer, then maybe the sales is as good and a telephone call would be worthwhile. The best part is driving the car back home! (Or consider it low-altitude flying...)

or see is that you brought an attitude with you to each dealership that you visited. People simply respond to what you bring. If market conditions bring sticker, noone is mistreating you by asking for market value, and you are not special to deserve more than someone else (outside of your own negotiating skills). If you can't get the car for what you want (I know you say Momentum gave it away because you bought one from them before), then just keep waiting or keep trying. But, bad mouthing hard-working people is immature at best and childish to say the least.

You're putting a lot of words in my mouth, you completely missed the point of my post, and your assumptions are wrong too.

Your comments about my attitude are laughable at best. Were you there? Do you know me? No.

I never said I was mistreated. What I did say is that Advantage blew an opportunity to sell me a car, and I wasted a lot of time finding that out.

I never said that Momentum "gave it away". I said I was happy with the deal and the process.

I also made a subsequent post that said advantage (someone other than the two people I initially talked to) tried to salvage the deal and had offered a reasonable number. Had they done that the first time around, they would have won my business and retained my service business too.

Telling the truth about my experience is not "bad mouthing hard working people". Its the very fact that they exerted no effort that put me off.

You and I are not disputing the fact that they have the right to sell cars however they please.

As I said in the beginning, please get your facts straight before lobbing insults.

the people that you said wouldn't take your measley offer. I'm a consumer, too. But I'm not hypocritical. I know that I would sell my personal vehicle for as much as I could, and I expect the seller of the car I'm buying to try and get as much as he/she can. If we make a deal, great! If not, I'll move on and I won't try to sour everyone minds into believing that I'm great and you're dirt because you don't think like me. No, I don't know you. But, if you can exercise the freedom to speak against my employer, then I can use the same freedom to show the other side of the coin. That's all. Nothing personal or malicious.

...and I can understand that it's frustrating to see people complain about your employer. I work for a large company in the area and have often heard my employers name used in vain too. Sometimes it's justified and other times its not. Dont take it personally, or you're going to be miserable.

Despite a *very* rough start, the service department at Advantage has been perfect. Tracy is my service person and I couldnt ask for anything more from her. Search the archives and you'll see that I have posted to that effect. That's exactly why I gave Advantage the first crack at my business, despite the great experience I had buying my first car from Momentum.

Regarding my interaction with sales, I also mentioned (by name, I think) the guy who jumped in after the fact and tried to salvage the deal. I also said that he offered a fair number, so you see, this is not about money at all.

Your company is not defined by one or two people, or my interaction with them. My opinions and experience are one single data point that is meaningless by itself. Add my data to that of 20 other people, and you'll be able to tell whether I'm the exception or the norm.

Cheers.

and they'll tell seven, make them unhappy, and they'll tell eleven." In reality, 99% of those who are happy will never say a positive word to anyone. But one negative experience can spread like wildfire. That's human nature, and there's nothing I can do about that. It's just that when the dissatisfied speak and others join in, it leaves the impression that there are no satisfied customers, at all. Remember, you said someone overheard your conversation at Momentum and decided not to visit Advantage at all (gold Cabriolet).
Finally, this is how I make my living. I sell Audi because I'm sold on the car myself. I own 2. I understand that I can get a job elsewhere if I don't like it. But I do like it. Problem is, I've probably sold 3 times as many Audis as I've delivered. Meaning, my presentation and demonstration skills caused the customer to make the decision to own an Audi. But, they chose to use my information to get a better price somewhere else. That's life. But that's why it frustrates me to see those types of comments about people that I know who just like me are trying to make a decent living in the only business I know of where profit is a dirty word. Good luck, and I wouldn't mind meeting you if ever came back for service. My name is Tony.

...are you in sales or service?

My grandfather sold VW's for as long as I can remember and he was one of the main reasons I bought an Audi. He was a hard working guy making an honest living, so I can relate to your comments and work ethic.

While I can appreciate your comments about the frustrating aspects of selling a car, they dont apply to me. I share both positive and negative experiences and I have never played one dealership/salesperson against the other when buying a car.

I disagree that profit is a dirty word in your business. Service generates the lions share of your profit and people gladly pay more to have their cars serviced exclusively at the dealership. Everyone gets the same price. No gnashing of teeth, no uncertainty, no games.

New cars are different due to the "negotiating" aspect. From my perspective, it sets the stage as a battle of wits and/or wills. Why set up an uncomfortable and confrontational envrionment do to business with potential customers?

Thankfully, I'll be picking up my new car tomorrow and wont have to deal with the sales process for many years to come.

...been willing to talk straight about price and availability on both new and used Audis while my car is in service.

I bought my TT at Advantage just after the name change, and the sales guy was a moron. However, the service department has gone above and beyond for me, time and again.