I can give you half an answer... I have a friend who basically grew up in car sales. 3rd gen car salesman, yaddda, yadda... Now does F&I (what does THAT stand for, BTW) for the dealer her works for.

Dealerships sometimes have "contests" with their sales staff. Most/day, most/week, in-the-next-hour/next-customer, stuff like that. Limits are only bound by ones imagination. It helps to keep the sales staff motivated during slumps (ALL sales suffer slumps, regardless of what's being sold... nature of the business, so to speak).

Or, this guys not THAT good a salesman, isn't making his "numbers," and is pulling every trick he's ever been told on how to "close."

AADS'll prolly have more, but, I'd bet I'm not too far off.

 

I'm looking to buy a 2010 Audi S4 later this year, and was hoping for some feedback on the buying process. So I'm in the central valley in California and there aren't many S4's available in the area but I have found quite a few dealerships in southern cal and bay area. Is it possible to locate a car and negotiate a price online, by email, or by phone? Is this usually acceptable or frowned upon? Also, if anyone has any info on how much Audi dealerships are usually willing to negotiate price in general? Any thoughts or ideas would be greatly appreciated. Sorry if this isn't the right thread for this, but thought I'd start out here.

Thanks

 

Every dealership is different. My dealer we have a extra $500 dollar bonus for getting salesman of the month. Also of course we are going to do everything to get you to leave with the car on your first visit. No matter how many times I've heard we will be back the bottom line is BUYERS are LIARS. Admit it we've all lied to a salesman before, I know I have. There is no guarantee we will ever see you again, so of course we try and do everything possible on the first trip you make to the store. Some people might make 4-5 trips to the dealer before finally making signing there life away. It's always a good idea to walk before buying the car, unless the deal is super sweet and might not exist when you come back. Also never believe the line this deal is good for today only. If you come back the next day and they don't give you the same deal they have HUGE *****. Bottom line is there is no such thing as a be-back (customer who has been to the dealer once before they have the highest closing percentage) As many times as the customer says we will be back tomorrow or next week and so on. Hopefully that answers the question!

 

true. F&I stands for Financing and Insurance, they have the hard job. You can sell a car if someone likes it, it's actually rather easy if you know how to work with people. getting someone to buy some bullshit paint protection package and warranties is a whole other ball game. They have already committed to a huge purchase and the last thing they want when they think its almost over is get hassled for more money. I did Finance for a little bit basically until i blew up a whole deal because i pushed a warranty to hard. the guy was buying a used 7 series and quite frankly didn't know what he was getting into, told him about how used german cars can be very expensive to fix when things go wrong, I pushed way to long and hard, all of sudden he says you know what your right I can't afford this car in general or the warranty, and says "thanks for all of your guys time I'll continue shopping until I find something thats more in my budget". I almost pissed myself, after I said wait hold on and tried to take back almost everything I said about them being exspensive, wait hold on but if you take care of it like you did your trade in it will last forever (we still sold him a car but he went with a 5 series instead thinking it was less car and cheaper to maintain). They call the finance office "the box" box them in and beat em up for more money. I had to hear it from everybody in the dealership for at least a week before I decided I rather sell cars than rates and warranties (I was only the backup guy anyways). Story of the day

 

Every dealer negotiates, as much as we wish we didn't we do. Thats a great way to do it, they are more likely to give up a price over the phone when you say you are from a little ways a way and will only make the trip if we can agree upon price over the phone or email first. phone is better, much more personal than email. I sold a 3000gt to a guy in California (my dealer is in Illinois) without him even driving the car or seeing it in person, we talked price over the phone next day he wired money then next day it was on the shipping crate. totally acceptable good luck.

 

Thanks for taking the time to answer all our questions, especially at work! (ALT+TAB is my best friend sometimes)

I've been saving for a used S5 pretty much since...forever. Since Delaware isn't exactly Audi country, I'm kinda stuck using online sites (cars.com, autotrader, etc) to search for inventory, and I'm kind of resigned to the fact that I'll have to eventually purchase my car from hundreds or maybe thousands of miles away. I bought my current (and first) car locally and took care of everything at the dealership, including financing, so it seems like my next purchase will be completely different in almost every way.

Obviously it depends on the specific dealership, but generally in the industry, how negotiable is the "internet price" or a price listed on cars.com, etc?

Also, can you elaborate more on the common buying processes for out-of-state/long distance buyers? What I'm not crazy about is flying somewhere to look at a car...it's a pretty big gamble. But in my mind, I have no choice. I can't plunk $40-50K down on something I haven't been able to see, hear, and feel in person. Do you recommend a buyer agree to a price over the phone, fly to the dealership, and if the car itself does not pass muster, then just walking from the deal? To me as a buyer, agreeing to a price, then wanting to lower it if I notice something amiss about the car in person (curb rash that didn't show up in pictures, or torn/overly worn seats, etc) seems a bit disingenuous on my part and would probably only serve to blow up the deal. That's really my only issue with agreeing to a price beforehand. What would you suggest as the next best approach?

I plan on securing my own financing through a local FCU or something. What would I need to bring on the day of the purchase if I've already got my financing through another institution? I financed my current car through the dealer and didn't get a good rate. With today's rates as low as they are, I'd balk at anything over 4% for 72 mos (credit score > 750 and < $2000 in debt). Can't imagine dealers would go 0-2% for 72 mos on a car like a used S5...

If you have any other tips for online/distance buyers, I'd love to hear them. Even horror stories, so I can avoid any pitfalls. Thanks again very much for taking the time to respond!

-Andrew

 

Is it worth the price or can i get a better deal here Cars for Sale: 2007 Audi A4 2.0T Cabriolet in Willow Grove, PA 19090: Convertible Details - 322968916 - AutoTrader.com

 

When buying out of state, make sure you are at a price that is comfortable with you before you buy a plane ticket etc... Have them disclose all damage and if anything shows up that wasnt disclosed before arriving it will need to be justified then if you still want the car. Buying cars from long distances is pretty difficult for various reasons. You haven't drove it or seen it with your own eyes besides possibly digitally altered photos online. Have them send you a digital video through email if they can. check reviews of a dealer and if they treat you like you aren't serious and aren't really willing to go with that car if everything meets your needs then they obviously don't deserve your business. Tell them you have your own financing secured and are ready to make a purchase if the car is right and also the price.

Every dealer is different when it comes to negotiating. also comes down to the salesman, if you get the guy who is greedy and doesn't take your offer back to the sales manager then you have an issue to deal with. When i call on cars in other states I ask for a manager and they will get a salesman involved if they need to.

As far as getting your own financing talk with the dealership and ask what they will need from you, usually a credit union will need a bill of sale from the dealer with the VIN and price so they can draw up documents then they issue you a check for the car that you bring to the dealership. Or you can go there then have them put you on a temporary contract or see if their financing can be better than your credit union.

YES absolutely agree upon pricing before getting there because you don't want it to get jacked up once you show up, but then if they lie about the condition and its not as said then walk or ask for more money off, the car is not yours until you sign the bill of sale, odometer statement, contract, and all tax forms. nothing is done until your done signing and you have your copies of paperwork

hopefully these helped, If you have some more specific questions feel free.

0-2% as well are new car rates. that's super low if you get that on a used car for 72mnths.

 

sorry the link says the car is no longer listed. Did you think it was a good deal then that is all that matters.

 

Don't be fearful to do something at a dealership, we have seen anything and everything. Don't request for 6k plus discounts or they will punch you out or tell you that you are on the completely wrong car and didn't do enough analysis.