You walk into your dealer to pick up that new 2009 A4 2.0T that you ordered seemingly in 1999 and you find it it north of $46,000, not one cent discounted and no deals of any kind in evidence.

You sit there stewing in your own juices wondering what you will do -- you can afford the thing -- but damn, paying MSRP just isn't done, it isn't done.

You look out across the vast show room expanse and there is a 2008 A6 Sline 3.2, with premium, sport and in silver with an amaretto leather interior -- it has the cool 5 spoke wheels and it looks pretty nice.

"Jim, what's the deal on that one?"

"Well, Bob, that car, with a $55K+ sticker is discounted and subvented -- it will be $100 per month less than the new A4 at about $47K."

We're dealing on the A6's and not on the A4's -- that's the deal.

Hmm, the A6 is still more current, technology wise than a new Cadillac CTS AWD -- and, it is seriously discounted.

But, for crissakes, you wanted the A4 -- but the A6, despite lacking ADS, and despite being nose heavy and utilizing the 50 50 quattro system, is a bargain by comparison.

Folks, my aging 2005 A6 with virtually every option offered at the time, is a very nice vehicle. The 2008 will be moreso, I'd imagine.

I will find it difficult to pay MORE for a 2.0T A4 quattro prestige edition than an all optioned A6.

If you haven't noticed, the C6 isn't flying off the shelves these days. Pity.

Unless you are having 2009 A4 sticker shock.

Just a thought.

Would it make you feel better if Audi priced the B8 at $60K but gave a $10K discount?

Past the A4 and getting more car for your money with an A6!!!
However, "despite being nose heavy" Every Audi is nose heavy......How do you think the Bavarians(BMW) stay in business.
Second, "utilizing the 50/50 quattro system" Whats wrong with that? Thats the best system, the 40/60 does what? Give the rear wheel drive "feeling"? again the Bavarians come in to play...Im deeply sadden that audi is going away from the 50/50 split. Thats what put them on the map......remember history! The 40/60 is kinda like a 4-matic or BMW's X vehicles, NOTHING SPECIAL ABOUT THESE SYSTEMS...NOTHING!!

Have fun!

Do you know what happens after you purchase a vehicle and leave the lot?<In your case>
First they throw a party in the back room on your dime, then salesperson buys lunch for all the salesman for a week on your dime, and on the weekend go down to the local Pub on your dime!!!

That could be YOU taking the wife/gf on $vacation$...etc :)

although the price is great. Don't forget that a facelift is just around the corner...

I'm a big fan of the C6 and would seriously consider purchasing one with the deep discounts but it's still more money than I'm planning on spending since I'm looking at Premium Plus 2.0T B8 A4 for $40K. If I had been considering the 3.2 PP, I'd jump on that A6 instead.

I see low mileage 2005 A6's listed for below $30K and they include a nice warranty.

you can't expect discounts, as the rest of the boys are lines up willing to pay for THEIR chance to be the first.

I agree that there just isn't any reason to "desire" a particular car so much that one would willing pay either list or (gasp!) an "added value" charge.

Most of us can afford a few K's one way or the other but I'm not inclined to willingly bend over and take it up the main thruster any more than absolutely necessary.

An Avant that meets my expectations comes in at around 41k sans shipping. This is below an awd bimmer wagon with the straight six.

But... the Avant forces me to take the AT whereas the BMW can be had with a manual.

I intend to drive an A4 demo and see if I can tolerate the tip. And if I can, and the dealer will knock a kilo off the price, I might (well, probably) will do it.

I would consider a super deal on an A6 wagon but they are just to damn big for my skinny butt.

A car is a depreciating asset. Audi's lose their value pretty quickly. You can find 3 yr old Audi's off-lease for close to half their MSRP. If you got a $10K discount off an artificially inflated MSRP, the depreciation won't be so bad when you sell (most people sell their cars at some point). I'd rather have someone else (dealer) take the hit. Wouldn't you?

We have been discounting them over $10,000. They are a great value.

Save one for me in Ocotber/November. Hope you are near Southern California

apparently I have a lease that Audi wants to buy me out of BADLY. They are dangling this A6 in my face. With an extra 2500 cash in addition to the discount off the car which could be almost 8-10k.

So for a loaded C6 A6 3.2 with quattro, premium, nav, etc etc, at 54-57k, they'd give it to me at about 44k with a sweet lease deal. about 570-590 or so a month.

Oyster Gray with ameretto.

Crap!

I think at this point, considering the supply chain issues and my general heebie-jeebies about buying an Audi in its intro year (the Avant hasn't been out that long) I'm going to sit back and wait a bit for some discounts to pop up, a TDI offering to materialize, or as-yet-undetermined-option-C. I still want the Avant, I will most likely end up with one, but I'm not going to pay a premium to get it and I'm interested in what Audi is going to do engine wise. Also at minimum I'm waiting for the next-gen 3D nav system. For $2500 I want the latest and greatest from the Q5.

My A4 easily has another year left in it and waiting for a 2010 won't cost me anything since she's long since been paid off. And at this point I've got better things to do with fifty-grand, like paying off my mortgage :-)

- Don't you think the TDI offers will command a price premium when they are finally available? (I thought I read MB sells diesels at a loss to push the technology.)

-What's to say the next-gen Nav won't be $3k or more? (The licensing from Nvidia is sure to drive up the price alone.)

Sometimes I feel it's like buying computers/electronics if I keep waiting for what's next I will never get anything.

We'll know about the next gen Nav system soon enough once the Q5s are priced out. I imagine the margin on nav systems is somewhere around obscene% as is, and there is a definite "feel" for what nav should cost so I don't think the price will escalate all that much. Audi is already charging $400 more than BMW for their navigation system. I don't think they want to walk too much further out that plank. The flipside there is that the damned thing is already an egregious $2500, might as well get all the bells and whistled for another $500 if that's in fact the case.

That same, "If you're going to go, go big" argument applies to the TDI technology as well. If you're going to spend this much on a car part of me says "Don't Settle - Get it all." For me the form factor is still going to be the ultimate decider - if there's no TDI offered in the Avant then I'll happily get the 2.0T, but if there's a chance for the TDI I'm content to wait - at least until I find out for sure if that makes any sense.

It's near the end of it's life cycle and it's MSRP has chased away a significant segement of prospective buyers that might step up, over time, from the A4.

Now with the B8 A4 coming on line, AoA expects the larger B8 to eat into the already relatively slow A6 sales.

I'm not sure that many prospective A6 buyers are standing pat waiting for the face-lift next year and the eventual "C7" 3.0T replacement.

You'd be kicking yourself later if you bought one now and they came out with the diesel and 3D nav in 2010. It's such a major purchase that you might as well wait a little more and pay a little more to get exactly what you want.

They have $2500 owner Loyalty no top of the $500 lease loyalty on top of the $5150 Value credit...Its a great time to lease an A6..

A 3 y/o A6 and V6 A4 go for about the same money.

So, basically Audi overpriced the A6 and now they're hoping to sway potential buyers into their slightly less expensive entry level A4? I just don't see that happening. Now I'm in no way speaking about myself (I bought my A6 used for $25K), but I doubt the typical mid-level luxury car buyer will go backwards into the smaller sibling of their true car of choice. They're more likely to head over to MB and BMW for a E Class or a 5 series. Seems like a risky move, although if A6 sales are as bad as you say, it's worth a shot I guess.

I'm shopping Dodge Cummins D2500s right now at $11K off sticker... could use a new family car if the price is right.

Someone at AoA must like Van Halen. :)