Have made my decision to buy. Am very firm on what I am looking for--A4 Quattro, manual, with sunroof, leather, sports package, all weather, trip computer, Bose in White with Ambiente Ecru/blue. Am in "negotiating" with the dealer, but since it must be ordered there is less incentive for him to negotiate. (Yes, I checked with several other dealers, up to 200 miles away. All are saying the same thing. If I am firm on what I want on the car, I must order it, expect delivery in 90 days or so.) We are about $200 apart on the price, which may seem like nothing, but I feel like they are doing less of the giving in the "give and take". In the end, I would like the car. Is there anything that YOU wished you had on your A4 that you had to purchase after you bought it, that I might ask them to "throw in for free or at a reduced price" to help soften the deal? I thought winter floor mats came with the car (checked the archives! :-) ) so that is not an option. Any advice (short of rolling over?) Thanks

I can't believe the number of A4 owners who settle for something less (or more) than what they wanted just to get one NOW. I recently ordered an A4 with exactly the options, color and interior I wanted. True, the dealer is less motivated to negotiate. However, I went through Autobytel and the local dealer immediately offered $1500 over invoice (stock or order). They only came down to $1400 over invoice in the end. They may have come down more for a model in stock but I didn't want to compromise. I still consider this an O.K. deal -- not great but not bad either (one dealer I spoke with wouldn't offer anything below MSRP!). From what I've heard and researched, it would probably be difficult to negotiate anything much less than $1200 over invoice but a lot of this, of course, has to do with the market conditions in your area.<p>I hope this helps! Good luck!<p>P.S. Personally, I can't wait 'til auto dealers take the Saturn approach to sales. It strike me as odd how we buy cars in this country. If you happen to live in the wrong market, you can feel like a real chump when it comes to negotiating a price.

I spoke with a dealer today about ordering a car.<br>The salesman said I could buy a car in stock for<br>between $1200 and $1500 over invoice. But<br>his manager would require an additional $ 500 +<br>to order a car, because his incentive is to sell the<br>cars he has. This is a major dealer in the Wash,<br>D.C. area. Naturally, I said I would not order a car under those conditions, which is what I had in mind, and left the dealership. The salesman suggested that he could probably find the car exactly as I wanted it and suggested I come back when I'm ready for delivery(several months from now).

SSS<p>I just purchased a similar car, from stock, in the SF Bay Area for 1,300 over invoice, but I had them "throw in" two additional keys. These aren't cheap nor easy to get. They retail for about $70 each.<p>Also, notice you are getting the sports pkg. How is the weather where you are? Every have chain controls, or expect to be in the snow? If yes, read on. The tires on the sports pkg are NOT M & S. That means, even with quattro, you will need chains.<p>I had my dealer exchange the stock tires for Pirelli 7000 Supersports. You might try this approach. Although, Ronal has a what looks like a good deal to upgrade to 17" wheels and get the same tires.<p>If you have the Bose system then you might try for a couple of extra CD cassets or a free loaner when you get service.<p>I know it is difficult, since you really want the car. But that is the dealer's edge. Try and use auto by tel and other on line services. Give them your exact specs, and that you have a deal at $1,400 over invoice but want a better one including .........<p>It may not work, but it is a lot of fun trying.<p>Good luck. It is really a great car<p>gramps 99 2.8 qms<p>p.s. If in SF Bay Area call David Leibenson at Rector in Burlingame

i'm picking up my first audi this week...an A4 with the following:<p>- 5-speed manual (rare at this time of year)<br>- quattro<br>- sport package<br>- bose<br>- convience<br>- cold weather<br>- 1.8T<p>i called every dealer within 50 miles. few had 1.8T sticks on the lot, let alone sport packages. i had another dealer going to sell me a car they located for $800 over invoice, but it already had 250 miles on it. times are rough, but people still wanna deal. keep in mind this is on a hard-to-get car, not one dealers are overstocked with.<p>i didn't even buy it! i'm leasing it! can you say $374 a month with no money down?<p>my friend just got a 99 A4 with similar equipment but got the very cool sport seats (another rare option at the moment) for only $800 over invoice. he even got them to switch out the 7-spokes for the very cool 5-spokes on the 2.8 car.<p>good luck. your mileage may vary. then again, you may not be used to dealing in the NYC metro area...people out here play hard ball!<p>ben