I've been driving myself (and everyone else) crazy these past few weeks over my inability to decide between the A8 and Panamera. Took a Pan S for an hour test-drive this morning---Drove the car home to pick-up my wife, and absolutely loved the car for the 1st half-hour, then fell out of love in the last half-hour due to harsher ride characteristics than I'd be willing to live with long-term. We immediately test drove the A8 with the steering and suspension set in Dynamic mode, and I realized (finally) it was going to be the A8. Placed the order for:

A8L - Havanna Black w/Velvet Beige interior
Premium Package
Night Vision Assistant
Driver Assist Package
Cold Weather Package
Dual Paned Glass
Audi Drive Select Plus Package
LED Headlights

My dealer is front-loading their A8 allocations for Jan, Feb and March production cars, so I'm shooting for a March build date and an April delivery when my current A8 lease ends.

My wife's choice was the Panamera, but she knew I'd ultimately stick with the A8---bless her, she knows me far better then I know myself. Looks like the train ride to Crazytown is finally over ;^))

Congratulations! I would still keep your ticket to the Crazy Town Express, that is part of the fun of choosing between these great cars.

I also am getting the beige interior. I ordered the brown at first, then when the Demo came in to my dealer, it was a little too chocolate for me so I switched to velvet beige.

Congratulations! I would still keep your ticket to the Crazy Town Express, that is part of the fun of choosing between these great cars.

I also am getting the beige interior. I ordered the brown at first, then when the Demo came in to my dealer, it was a little too chocolate for me so I switched to velvet beige.

My wife felt the same about the Nougat interior. I think it's actually much better than the D3's Amaretto, but that's just me. The Panamera we drove today had a great color combo---Carbon Grey exterior which has a brownish metal fleck and the Luxor Beige interior---which my wife really liked. So we came close to that combo with the Havanna Black (a darker version of Porsche's grey with the same brownish metalic tint), and Velvet Beige interior, which is very close to Porsche's Luxor Beige.

If the Panamera had the A8's gentler ride character, I think the Porsche would have won out---that 400hp V8 is really something; like piloting a jet. I could have even gotten used to the rear end...Damn, I'm starting to board the Crazytown Express again!!!! :^))

How willing was the dealer to coming off of MSRP?

How willing was the dealer to coming off of MSRP?

To answer your question, I have a long history with my dealer---I lease all my cars from them, and this will be my 8th consecutive car from this store over the last 18 years. They know what I'm looking for in terms of the ratio of selling vs. invoice price, and they've always presented me with a deal that we both consider fair right off the bat; this time was no exception. Out of about 30 annual A8 allocations they'll get, my car will be their 12th sold order so far---I'd expect that they're taking care of their regular customers, but off the street inquiries are another story.

To answer your question, I have a long history with my dealer---I lease all my cars from them, and this will be my 8th consecutive car from this store over the last 18 years. They know what I'm looking for in terms of the ratio of selling vs. invoice price, and they've always presented me with a deal that we both consider fair right off the bat; this time was no exception. Out of about 30 annual A8 allocations they'll get, my car will be their 12th sold order so far---I'd expect that they're taking care of their regular customers, but off the street inquiries are another story.
Good for you and it seems that you really know what you are doing.

My buddy has 8 current leases with our dealer (gives all him employees Audis). Anyway, he taught me a little lease trick that I used to get a great deal. Has to do with tax credits the dealer receives when they sell a car at auction in Illinois. With his help the dealer applied an existing $30,000 credit to me which yielded a $2400 discount on top of what they were willing to do.

The new A8 Looks like a fabulous car. It's amazing the loyalty of many Audi customers. I have a couple of golfing buddies that just upgrade like clockwork without looking at any other brand. After having the A5 I can see why. Unique styling, quality interiors and world-class handling

Good for you and it seems that you really know what you are doing.

The new A8 Looks like a fabulous car. It's amazing the loyalty of many Audi customers. I have a couple of golfing buddies that just upgrade like clockwork without looking at any other brand. After having the A5 I can see why. Unique styling, quality interiors and world-class handling

Nah, I'm not that good of a negotiator---I probably could work them harder on price, but that's not my style. My belief is that they should make a reasonable profit, since I really like doing business there (both sales and service) and I want them to remain financially vaible. I'm not the type that likes to squeeze every penney I can out of a deal to feel like I won something.

As for the A8's quality and interior, it's very good (except for the cheap plastic sunglass holder they've placed near the rear view mirror which was broken on my test car). However, the rear center armrest has way too much plastic on it (evidently to cover up the space used for temperature/seat controls you get with the rear seat comfort package), and in the end, the Panamera's interior actually felt more comfortable and inviting IMO.

My 2011 will be my third A8. Before placing my order I asked the dealer to split the profit margin with me, he agreed. My discount will be essentially the same as his profit over invoice, this seemed fair to both of us. I wasn't interested in beating them down for every buck, nor was he interested in beating me out of every possible buck of profit.

My 2011 will be my third A8. Before placing my order I asked the dealer to split the profit margin with me, he agreed. My discount will be essentially the same as his profit over invoice, this seemed fair to both of us. I wasn't interested in beating them down for every buck, nor was he interested in beating me out of every possible buck of profit.

That was exactly how my deal worked out; the only difference was I didn't ask, they simply presented it up front :^)

Well done! Sounds like a nice configuration.

Honestly, if the ride of the Panamera was bugging you half an hour into a test drive, you don't need to question your decision. It would be a constant annoyance every time you got in the car.

I didn't drive the Panamera, the family would have ejected me from the nest. But in response to their pleas, I did drive the Cayenne S. I know it's a bit heavier than the Panamera, but I was a bit underwhelmed by the V8, hated the transmission (not the PDK that's in the PanS), and the fuel consumption was frightening. It did get better the harder I drove it, which is amazing for an SUV, but was ordinary at ordinary speeds.

I think you've made a good choice!

Well done! Sounds like a nice configuration.

Honestly, if the ride of the Panamera was bugging you half an hour into a test drive, you don't need to question your decision. It would be a constant annoyance every time you got in the car.

I didn't drive the Panamera, the family would have ejected me from the nest. But in response to their pleas, I did drive the Cayenne S. I know it's a bit heavier than the Panamera, but I was a bit underwhelmed by the V8, hated the transmission (not the PDK that's in the PanS), and the fuel consumption was frightening. It did get better the harder I drove it, which is amazing for an SUV, but was ordinary at ordinary speeds.

I think you've made a good choice!

Well, I discovered late yesterday that the dealer made a mistake and gave us a non-air suspension Panamera to test drive. So the ride experience between the A8 and Pan was not realistic/accurate---and this factor was the only reason I decided on the A8. Dealer was very apologetic and cancelled the A8 order for me this morning. I'll drive an air suspension Panamera this coming Saturday, and if that's to my liking, will then have to evaluate if I like the Pan4 (V6)---probably not going to spring for the extra $$$ for the Pan4S V8.

If that doesn't work out, then I may just buy my '08 A8L and call it a day. The more I think about it, the D4 just isn't singing that sweetly to me anymore: some cheap plastic interior elements are turning me off, and I'm thinking that there's too much techno-crap loaded into the car for my taste.

It's bad luck you can't hang on for an A7, as the Pan4S will not be as quick as an A7 3.0 TFSI. And there is quite a lot more room in the A7.

Still, if the impending purchase doesn't instill a bit of passion, it's probably the wrong choice.

Watch out for the prices on those Porsche options!

Yes, I could option a Pan4 at the same MSRP level as the A8L I was going to order---but get a smaller car w/o V8. That would be the price of passion for the Porsche, which makes the A8 look like a great value when emotion is removed from the equation.

Yes, I could option a Pan4 at the same MSRP level as the A8L I was going to order---but get a smaller car w/o V8. That would be the price of passion for the Porsche, which makes the A8 look like a great value when emotion is removed from the equation.

The Panamera4 is a lot of car for the money. When my D3 finally goes to the charity donor place (Estimated date: 2019) If the Panamera4's are still available I may be buying a 2 year old one or a 2 year old D5 A8L.

The Panamera4 is a lot of car for the money. When my D3 finally goes to the charity donor place (Estimated date: 2019) If the Panamera4's are still available I may be buying a 2 year old one or a 2 year old D5 A8L.

You probably wouldn't be off-track with either car, but after spending so much time with the A8's AAS you'd definitely want an Pan with the air suspension option.

My 2011 will be my third A8. Before placing my order I asked the dealer to split the profit margin with me, he agreed. My discount will be essentially the same as his profit over invoice, this seemed fair to both of us. I wasn't interested in beating them down for every buck, nor was he interested in beating me out of every possible buck of profit.

How does one reliably determine what the dealer's profit margin is?

How does one reliably determine what the dealer's profit margin is?

It's very difficult, but you can come close. The invoice figures published in AoA's Order Guide and also shown on auto sites like Edmunds are generally the base invoice---which is what's the general factor upon which buyers can base their deal. Some dealers will show you their physical invoice, if pressed.

There are dealer incentives in the form of quarterly cash based on volume targets that you'll never be able to equate to your deal. Also, I've heard/read that dealers receive a commission on lease contracts.

There are also end of model year dealer incentives that Edmunds usually gets fairly accurately---typically referred to as "trunk money." You can sometimes work those numbers as part of a negotiation, if you know they're in play.

That's what I'm aware of.