RobC

It's true that the dealerships make less today on the sale of one car, but my understanding is that they get paid very well directly by corporate once they reach a particular quota. I don't know about Audi, but I've heard of other dealerships losing money on a sale at the end of the month to make the quota since the big payout more than makes up for the losses from the sale.

Brooklyn

From what I'm seeing they aren't hurting too badly. A friend just purchased an A5. Getting them down from msrp was a major hassle and they turned around and made quite a bit of that back via the various fees they charged (a $700 processing fee) being one of the more egregious!

DD1546

$700 is ridiculous for a "processing fee" which I presume is paperwork. Its less than half that amount across the river in NJ. My experience is that 3 -4% off MRSP is easily attainable, more if the dealer needs cash flow.