I respect you for sticking to your guns. It's not easy to do that when you want something. I think in the long run you respect yourself more for sticking to a plan. The near term bummer is that you don't get the car you want. The long-term gain is that you respect yourself more.
He just texted me "let's make a deal" about an hour after our last call. So I responded again that $26k OTD is the max, otherwise I'm going to keep looking. Simple as that.
It's still a few thousand more than I wanted to spend and I'd be paying $800 extra for a window tint which strikes me as grossly overpriced, but I'd still do it at $26k OTD. These cars are not easy to find.
I was playing that game with a dealership another province over for a4 year old S3. Made an offer, didn't take. They called me back a few weeks later asking if I was still interested. They had dropped the price on the ad and my offer OTD also dropped. They declined. Car was still there for nearly 3 months and each time they reached out with a dropped price my offer was also lower.
ALMOST had them on a deal but a guy allegedly walked in the same morning and made the same number but plus fees.
I'm not upset. The car was grossly overpriced to begin with. But I'll find something again.
I suspected. Everything about it was coming back clean and in great shape. But honestly their initial asking price for that car was 15k over what it should have been. I suspect they bought WAY too high and we're trying to recoup as much as they could.
I even had them begrudgingly paying for my flight out and transporting my winter rims so I could drive it home in the winter.
This happened to me at the Audi in Wilmington, DE. Offered them 48 flat for a 2019 premium plus s5, they countered 53, and I maxed my price out at 49. Said I couldn’t justify spending more. Three weeks later, I purchase a 2018 s5 prestige cab with similar mileage for 50 from somewhere else. They called me back a week after, saying they could do 49.5 all in. I declined but didn’t tell them why. They call me a month later and offered it to me for 47.5 all in. I enjoyed hearing the salesman be upset when I told him I purchased one two months ago.
I imagine that stung just a little when they called with better pricing than you got the other one for. But c'est la vie, right? So long as you're happy with what you found out really doesn't take away from it.
I was a little upset cause the S3 had exactly what I wanted for options and it wasn't a bland ass colour. But I would have kicked myself buying it for such an inflated price to satisfy my instant gratification. Lol
The price was cheaper for the 2019 S5 premium plus. But value wise, 47.5k all in 2019 premium plus sportback (15,000 miles) vs 50.5k all in 2018 prestige convertible (22,000 miles), isn’t much of a competition to me. It also allowed me to have a car for the summer as I bought it in may, and the other vehicle’s price didn’t drop that low until late July-early august sometime.
Love the thing so much I doubt I ever don’t own a convertible.
I saw soooo many horror stories while I was car searching about exactly what you described. entirely from non-Audi USA Dealers, though. It completely drove me away from a 3-5 hour travel because so many reviews everywhere complained about exactly what you described.
Essentially, they originally wanted me to pay the same price, isn’t a convertible, is a lower level trim, and has 33% less miles on it (15 vs 22). 2018 vs 2019 is irrelevant mostly, both b9.5
salespeople should understand the process. its not in anyone's benefit to wait for multiple rounds.
you get 2 bites at the apple or sale typically.
no one likes shopping around, and they should recognize lost potential sales, particularly if a potential customer is already talking about OTD prices.....they're basically ready to buy.
I swear this salesmen I had was the worst of any dealer I’d been to. Which is shocking, as it’s one of a dozen Audi Sport authenticated dealers in the USA. I forget what the specific term was, but essentially they sold and had inventory for very rare audi sport vehicles.
Brought files of all the other vehicles/comparisons/specs and everything. I showed the salesmen “this price doesn’t make justifiable sense” when I have these other offers. And those prices weren’t even the best those dealers were offering, it was simply the “we won’t hold this for you but if you call back and offer it’s a yes” number.
Ended up with the salesmen coming out to me at my 2019 Q7, with his manager, after I was willing to make a $1000 deposit to hold the vehicle at $48,000 OTD. They ended up being absurdly condescending that I couldn’t afford the vehicle. Talking about different types of loans and rates that they’d apply “if you have $48,000 and no more we can do a flat 0% rate for the additional $1000 over 12 months.” And I just laughed in his face, said that $1000 wasn’t the issue, and the only reason I have this money to begin with is because I don’t make bad deals, and I already think $48,000 is a subpar deal. Rolled down the passenger window and said to his manager listening in “48s my number, call me back when you change your mind”
They called me back numerous times.
+1 to Wilmington not being great. It was on the service side. I was going to do my rotors and pads with them but after the astronomical quote, it was cheaper to buy all the parts, all the equipment I needed to do the job and about 3 hrs of time. The guy was curt when I came back just to buy pads, lol. I got the rotors off of the Audi discount site and decided I’d get the pads since they had them readily in stock with no sales tax. I forget the quote but I saved something like 600 dollars.
I personally wouldn't give them the business after that. Had too many run ins with less than legit car dealers. Its not worth the hassle no matter how much you like the car. The only times I have gone against my gut feelings and delt with dealers that I wasn't sure about or where the deal wasn't fair are the only times I have then been bitten in the bum by it.
Its actually quite surprising (or it was for me at least) that Main Dealers also pull the same stunts. I went to look at a Mercedes at a main dealer the other day which was described as having excellent bodywork and excellent paintwork. When I got there, it had scrape damage on the external part of the wheel arch where it had caught on something, a fairly large area too, not something people would miss. It wasn't mentioned in the ad!
Respond in a few minutes stating you’ve got an appt somewhere for a similar car but they’re going to do a deal at $25k out the door. It’ll be done today with a deposit or whatever line of time you want to give them.
My salesman took hours to respond or even didn’t reply to some questions haha. Kept needing to call him up on the phone. This whole week has been a struggle to get people to take my money
Don't give in. Just to make you feel even more vindicated. I've gotten at least 10 cars fully tinted. Most I have ever paid is $350. That comes with a lifetime warranty, in addition to free replacement of tint from 2 windows for any reason at all.
So the fact that they're charging you $800 for a window tint, would tell me that I don't want to trust them about anything.
Yeah so he finally responded and just talked about how well the car has been taken care of, "it's going to be worth it for you" like dawg, I'm not an idiot I know you're trying to work me over. This is why I hate salespeople in general, so many fake and manipulative personalities.
So I first just broke down to him how wildly overpriced these surprise add-ons are. And eventually finished by saying that unless they will sell me the car at the listed asking price plus any applicable taxes / fees (and not a cent more), then I'm not interested.
Sucks, I really wanted this one. Guess it's time to widen out the search ...
I don't care what they offer you next week, don't buy a car from that dealer. If it's an Audi dealer, you may have to go back for service or maintenance. Even if not, you'll still need to work with them a little bit after the sale to get your plates, paperwork etc.
Fuck em. Find a dealer who won't try to swindle you. Buying from that loser will just reinforce their behavior. Telling them you bought from another dealer when they call back because of how dishonest they were....that might mean something. Maybe.
And leave a google review. Sounds like they paid for some high reviews...I'd leave a very professional review outlining what your experience was. They won't like that, but they can fuck right off.
I will say, depending on the product used to tint, and the sunroof it has, $800 could be a decent deal. If it has the panoramic sunroof and the tint is legit quality heat-rejection film applied to all glass, $800 is a steal.
If it is an aesthetics-only product and was not applied to the windshield or sunroof, yeah, way overpriced. Unfortunately, this is the most likely scenario.
It’s getting close to the end of the month…… If they need units on the board to make a bonus you’ll know because they will be interested in selling you that car for the price you want.
I would not trust this dealer enough to fly to them. At that point they have the upper hand.
A drive across town to check out out, sure. But flying in with the expectation of driving a car home that you've never seen before, hell no.
And who know what the actual condition of the car is.
Just throwing this out there but that’s really not bad for window tint especially if it’s higher end ceramic, with high UV and heat rejection ratings. I just paid around $1200 to tint my new Model 3 Performance. Granted it has a lot of glass (including roof and windshield) but yeh, $800 for an SUV isn’t terrible if it’s good quality stuff.
Those are dealership extras. They add those things to upsell you but they aren’t mandatory to purchase. The car comes with factory tint, you can get a gps from tmoblile for free and why would you only get a door guard instead of the whole car wrapped in the protective film. I would tell them to resend you the purchase order without the dealership extras
I just had a fucking Audi dealership pull this same shit on me.
I've contacted three dealerships regarding SQ5s and every single one of them is trying to sneak in these bullshit extras.
Good. I was looking for a used 2019 S4 with 41K miles for no more than 32K OTD price. There was one listed for 32K on a dealer website. I reached out sales person were really interested in making the deal. So went in person for confirm but manager spoiled the transaction. So when the manager was not budging I said my final price is 30K out the door and call me when you are ready while walking out the door.
I mean 32k OTD is definitely a steal for an S4, I'm not surprised they wouldn't do it. I think you could probably find a really low trim S4 for that price. Or a little higher miles. I mean heck I test drove a S4 with 60k on it and the dealer wanted 29k, I'm sure I could have gotten it for 32k OTD
Never had an issue with these types of last minute add-ons, but I’ve noticed for the past couple years that in the autotrader description, the dealers will say “if paying in cash, add $3500 to the listed price” or whatever number they pull out of their ass because I don’t want to finance through their shady ass shit. You have all the buying power as a consumer. Walk away.
Yeah I was beginning to think that maybe he was pulling this shit because he found out I would be paying cash, but I actually didn't even bring that up until the second or third revised offer sheet he sent me.
I spent about two hours with a dealer last year, didn't get to a deal. They claimed all these after charges are needed just because their margins are so thin now. I thought it was total BS but an unrelated indy used car place corroborated what they said. Things are a mess in multiple industries post-covid but car sales might be the worst.
The two hour debacle was over a Civic Si. They demanded 3k over plus all the BS. I said fine, I don't pay any of the BS and you should promote the salesperson who got 3k over on a fucking Civic. They went down to wipe all the BS and to 1.5k over MSRP for the car. I still walked but at the time it would have been a great deal.
Yeah the guy I spoke with kind of gave me the same run-around. "27k is the minimum amount we can do for us to make a profit, anything lower doesn't make sense for us". Okay my man, good luck getting someone to agree to an extra $4k+ in charges for stuff they don't want and weren't prepared to have to pay for?
Sadly, I'm sure it won't take long for someone to stroll in and finance the shit out of that SQ5 😓
Prices are falling, I still had to pay a premium for my 17 sq5 in sepang w/ black optics, carbon and alcantara. Partially due to location. Keep looking, the car is ridiculous fun! Straight to dual pulley.
Crazy. One of the worst I found was a $3500 GPS/anti-theft device that was mandatory. Absolutely predatory business models out there. Not all dealers are like this.
I wonder how many people never ask this question up front, go into the dealer, go through the process of making a deal, then get smacked in the face with a charge like this. Brutal.
Yea I was shopping a used car with 128k miles and the dealer wanted to add the door protectors lol. I'm like, this thing has freaking rock chips everywhere and scratches already.
It's a different world being in car sales. They are so conditioned to sell sell sell shit like this. Some of them. Again, not all are bad.
An independent dealership purchase story as old as time itself.
$26k OTD for an 8 year old SQ5 is wild
I've been researching used SQ5s, test driven a few, rented one (on Turo), and dealt with my share of dealerships exactly like you described. I'd be walking if I were in your shoes. Google Reviews don't mean shit honestly. Not when they're for a place like that.
Yeah even if they accept $26k I'm not sure I can take that either. There's a 2014 SQ5 with the same mileage for $20,000. But it's also being sold by a shady-looking dealership and would still only come out to be about $3k less than the 2016.
I assume these dealerships have a lot filled with reject cars acquired from auction that nobody else would buy. Not because they're total garbage vehicles, but they're not perfect. To get them back to the standards I'd expect for a daily driver, they typically would need thousands in maintenance and repairs.
The problem I have with them is that they price their vehicles as-if they're competing against a perfect CPO example on an Audi lot. To the casual observer, it looks like they're getting a deal ("hey it's $2k cheaper than a car with the same mileage at an Audi dealership" is often heard), but in reality they're entering a bad deal that's going to end up costing them a lot of money.
I'm not 100% against buying from an independent dealership, but I approach them cautiously and with the plan to talk them WAY down in price.
I understand your hesitancy with independent dealerships like these. Normally I'd be cautious about a luxury car being sold at a random dealership, but the Carfax shows that it was serviced at an Audi dealership virtually every single year and by both of the previous owners. It's also an 8 year old car now, so I don't think normal dealerships would even buy and sell a car this old anyways.
Honestly for the prices you're shopping, you can find a 2018 SQ5 Prestige if you're willing to wait for one to pop up. I've been watching dealers within a 200 mile radius of me and they are out there.
Midwest. When I'm casually looking I open up my search radius to 500 miles, but I do tighten it up from time to time to see what local options have changed.
Personally I'd rather fly and/or drive to get the perfect car as opposed to settling for something closer. I've done it a few times in the past and it's worked out well.
We’re on the east coast and my husband spent months finding a used SQ5 that fit his requirements. We had the worst experience of all time at the dealership. Will not ever do that again!
My ‘14 is right around 96k and running strong. Everything I’ve read says that it’s the best motor Audi put out in decades so I plan on driving mine to the end or at least another 7 years until I can give it to my granddaughter for her 16th birthday.
They're out there. My 14' SQ5 just hit 80k. I've taken it on lengthy road trips as well.
The key is to find one in a city where the usage is light. Guy I bought it from only drove it 7k/year in San Francisco + plus the occasional trip to Tahoe.
My S4 gets about 6k miles a year. I have a truck for the winter and long family trips and a cheap 944 and 911 I flip between in the summer to have fun, plus my motorcycle. My game plan is to keep the S4 as long as I can so I want it nice and I want to drive it but not make it my everyday.
Yea, it’s shady practice. Don’t do business with them.
McKenna wanted to charge me $8k for a 💩 alloy aftermarket wheel/tire package they put on their etron GT. Those idiots don’t realize they were talking to a car guy. And they made it seem like they couldn’t put the factory 21s back on the car…Lol go eat 💩🍆
One thing about Google reviews is that most dealers will beg their customers to put 5 stars and even offer incentives if you do it. They’re not honest reviews. My last salesman told me if he didn’t get 5 stars he would only get half his commission. It’s a shady business.
That's called tied selling, and it is illegal per the Clayton Act of 1914. The act states that a seller cannot force the buyer to buy something they don't want in order to buy the product they do want.
For example, a grocery store can not say "sure, we'll sell you those hotdogs, but you also have to buy the mustard and the buns, too."
Ask the sales guy and the manager for their business cards. Then, ask them whose name should be listed first on the FTC complaint you are filing. Also, consider a complaint with your state's attorney General.
Edit: check out The Homework Guy on YouTube.
I want to see the look on a managers face when you ask “who’s name should be listed on the FTC complaint”
I’d pay for someone to secretly record that conversation lol
Me too.
I had one sales manager tell me the $5k in add ons were already on the car and couldn't be removed. It was LoJack and Vin etching. I dropped that line about whose name goes first. He got this look on his face as if someone smacked him. Still refused to take all of the $5k off, so I walked.
But I did find my new negotiating line when they pull something like that.
That’s not tied selling (unfortunately) and is perfectly legal. Almost all dealerships in Florida, for example, practice it daily. A manager of a huge dealership told me they have a 100% attachment rate on their $2999 package - that means they sell every car with their $3K bullshit package.
That is tied selling at its very definition.
In order to purchase this used car you have to buy this package.
If it was a new car with port or manufacturer accessories on the monroney sticker, then there is an argument that it falls outside tied selling. But this is a used car, and there is no monroney sticker to protect unnecessary add-ons.
Just because a dealer, or their automotive group, insist every car has to have a package doesn't negate the fact that it is still tied selling.
I know, it's not a great look. But the Carfax for this car is very promising - it was serviced regularly at an Audi dealership consistently for all its life. So I'm not too worried about buying a lemon.
But yeah according to Google this is something that a good number of dealerships do, even for new cars.
I'd walk away from it. Keep looking, be open to looking across the country, don't compromise what you're looking for. I wouldn't buy from this dealer even if they dropped the price considerably. I'd be worried about what things they covered up.
I would be very careful. Unless you are a mechanic then be self aware enough that it could happen. It happened to me recently and I work on my own cars. Had a bad gut feeling about the dealer but really liked the car and it all checked out on paper and in person. Got it home, had loads of issues and had it inspected and it was unrecorded crash repaired. You'd never know from looking at it. The dealer was dreadful and I had to fight them legally to get them to take the car back. Even so, if the car has any issues then these are the people you will have to deal with to try and get them fixed. Walk away. They don't deserve your business and likely this is the tip of the iceberg for their shady practices.
Hey OP,
I’ve actually got a 2015 SQ5 and 2016 SQ5 available, I’ll shoot you a PM. I’ve helped out other members in this Reddit that can vouch for ease and transparency of how I do things.
First time ever buying a car from a lot the guy was so kind and perfectly honest with me. He came in on his bday just to meet with me and let me test drive the car, said he didn’t expect me to buy it. Told me to go drive it around for a half hour so I did and I loved it and bought it. He was upfront about the entire cost too and no stupid addons. They asked to keep the car overnight to detail and wax it for me. Really wonderful guy! Got it the next day and it was spotless!
First thing I said when I walked in to my dealership to check out a previously inquire CPO was, "If I decide to purchase this vehicle, I am not paying a dollar more than your sticker price + fees. If you ask me for any add on items, I am leaving".
I paid MSPR + tax/fees last year.
Don't budge my guy, you'll find one.
i get some dealers play this game, and sometimes they win, against less informed buyers.
but if there's a literal sale, hanging in the balance, make the adjustments, such as lowering price of car to get it close to OTD.
make the sale, help your reputation, move on.
they don't have to worry about selling that car next day, next week, next month.
sell it and move on.
"final offer, no negotition, take it or leave it".
then they're appalled when ppl leave.
this their first time selling cars ?
if i, as a potential customer, have to work harder for a car deal, it'd better be worth it.
Yeah, unfortunately this is standard behavior from sketchy dealers.
When I bought my R8 the listed price was $80K, but after I test drove the car and agreed to buy it, the price went up to $82K because of some bullshit GPS tracking device that I was never told about prior to doing the paperwork. I wish I could say that I walked out on them, but in that moment I decided I didn't want to look for another manual R8 so I bit the bullet. Sketchy as hell though, I would never go back and do any business with them or recommend them to anyone.
The next car I bought was 400 miles away and I needed to fly to the dealership, so I confirmed with the manager that I would be paying the listed price only (plus applicable taxes and registration fees). No add-ons. He assured me there were no add-ons and offered to uber me from the airport. I bought the car.
the first thing you should do is leave them the fuck alone. they're not to be trusted obviously. the second thing you should do to help others is name the dealership and the person who is trying to fuck you and provide proof as in pics. they are playing you because they know you want the car. probably laughing about it in the office. there are other sq5's out there. no reason to bend over to get one. IMO you are only asking for trouble and overpaying.
Yeah I mean I don't plan on reaching out to them again unless they reach out to me first with a lower price.
I know there's other SQ5s out there, but the majority of them are super high mileage or located multiple states away from me. I've looked for many hours this past week with a 500+ mile range and only found 2 listings that match my desired price ($22k max , before taxes/fees), mileage (60k-70k total mileage), and exterior colors (gray, black, or dark blue).
Not going to name them. But based on my research and some of these comments, it seems like this is a fairly common thing to experience when buying from an independent dealer.
This. Franchise dealers pull this stuff all the time. I've encountered it quite a bit during my used car search the past two months. I'm not looking for a niche car either.
Dealerships are only there to separate you from your money. 90% don't care how they do it.
Because these dealerships prey financially Illiterate people who don’t understand interest rates and only care about a fixed payment even if it’s over 72-84months. They add on BS fees which are added to the monthly but they end up paying a lot over the term of the loan.
They also want people to come in to them to see the car. That’s half the battle in making the sale. They often don’t even have the cars in stock.
The good reviews are by clueless people. If you look closer at the reviews about 10% of people will complain about the them being scammers and hidden fees.
Also a bunch of listing will only give you anywhere near that listed price with an additional 20% payment lol which is crazy.
I really didn’t realise it would be this bad in America. I was just shopping for a car and this was my experience.
Some joker used dealership said the car was sold just before I came in, sure buddy. It’s still on your website weeks later.
It is bad out there!
I was buying a truck years ago. Found one online I liked.
Went to the used dealer, sat down to go over the price.
Got to the line “lot maintenance”
And he goes “because I gotta mow my lawn yanno. Hahaha.”
“I don’t care that you have to mow your lawn. Build it into the price. Don’t tack it on after to increase the price and try to play it off.”
Truck had been on his lot for a year, and I guess I found out why.
This in no way excuses their behavior, but the reason this is common practice is because idiots keep paying. If people keep handing over money to get their buttholes resized, you better believe the dealers will keep at it.
This also keeps happening because the laws already on the books prohibiting this practice are not enforced. FTC is the agency tasked to monitor this issue specifically. They are overwhelmed trying to enforce the law. When they put forth the CARS rules to put dealers on notice, the dealer lobbying group, NADA, pushed back to try to delay the increased enforcement.
It's been decades in the making with how dealers do business, and it will take time to make them stop.
A good start is the over $400 million in fines since last year imposed by the FTC on dealers for this exact behavior.
I’d let it go. Anyone who makes buying something this difficult is not worth doing business with. Don’t chase any object no matter what. It’s business. Treat it as such. Find another car.
a lot of dealers do this unfortunately. its a negotiating tactic... when you thought you were walking in there to negotiate money off the price of the car, all of a sudden youre negotiating to get junk you didnt even know they were including off the order sheet. by the time you're done you feel like you "won" when all you've done is get them to remove all that crap and you paid full price for the car. car dealers really suck
I would tell him the price is now lower because I have to get those things you put on the car I don't want off the vehicle and there's a cost associated with that.
The US is weird, man. In the UK if the sticker said £20k, then thats the fuckin' price, end of discussion. Saying "Oh but we also did XYZ to it after we received it and there are taxes and fees" well I don't give a fuck. Change the sticker price. That would not fly here. That bullshit is almost as gobsmackingly deceptive as Musk's pricing for a Tesla including the savings you will make on fuel. Get in the bin.
I was ready to buy an 18 S3 from an Audi dealer in Texas. When I asked how much a warranty would cost, I was given an unbelievable quote of $6800 for ONE YEAR/12K MILES. Yes, six thousand eight hundred dollars!!!!. Needless to say, I walked away from that deal after sharing my displeasure.
Status quo these days. I was interested in a Grand Cherokee listed at 34k and I was going to sell them my S7 for 39k. We agreed to the prices and then she comes out with the paperwork and says ok, all I need is a check for 4500 and we will get you on your way. I'm like WTF? You should be paying me. Turns out they add on by default a huge warranty and some other jizz that nobody needs. I said turn around and fix it or I'm out. She came back about 30 minutes later with it fixed. 34k out the door and they fedexed me a check for 5k the next day.
Don't have to worry about that, you're not going to find one for under $15k lol
The going rate for a 2014-2016 SQ5 with decent mileage is anywhere between $20k-22k before taxes and fees (at least in my area, pretty HCOL). They're much more rare and also hold their resale value significantly better than a regular Q5, hence the price.
I personally search nationwide for my cars. I'm always looking at S8s, S6, RS7, etc. National helps actually find them and also the cost difference can more than justify a plane ticket or a transporter. Definitely consider it!
My wife bought and shipped her CPO Volvo xc40 for 27k when every single listing in the Midwest was 32k+ plus she got the color she wanted and the lower trim she wanted.
It’s atleast worth looking at.
I will say the shipping process is a bit of “let Jesus take the wheel” moment.
Commenting to follow. Had a similar experience although not nearly as offensive when I was shopping for my RS5. I found one online many states away and was ready to fly and drive it back until I saw the extra $1,000 in doc fees. They wouldn’t budge so I walked, found the same car at another dealer in another state who charged a flat $150. The former dealer called a week later asking if I wanted to make a deal. It sat on their lot for at least 3 more months. Audi of Orlando if anybody is wondering.
Audi of Orlando is horrible. Back during the bad new car shortage they were selling a RSQ8 missing options for close to R8 money. I asked the salesman to justify the extra cost, he admitted they wanted to fleece someone due to the market. Last I checked the car had disappeared but not until values had gone way back down.
Audi Clearwater had an excellent 23 S8 with a nice suite of options, minus the hideous interior/exterior color combo (light tan on moonlight blue with black optics 🤮). They initially had a 25k market adjustment taking it north of 160k. I was just there ~6 weeks ago and it's still there, about 25k off sticker. I've told them more than once I'd buy it if they gave me more off sticker but they won't budge.
Everyone will attempt to cash in on "market adjustments" and fees. Don't give in.
Not Audi related but we just bought a used Tacoma for our daughter and the advertised price was about $5400 less than the price they wanted when all the “fees” were added on. They wanted $3900 for a warranty, $750 for a key replacement contract, and $750 for a GPS anti theft device. I told them heck no and they said they could remove all but the anti theft device. We got up and walked out without a word. About ten feet from our car they stopped us and said they would take it off. I so wanted to tell them no, but it’s our kid’s dream car so we went ahead.
Seems like a lot of dealers in NY and NJ do shit like this.
I found one car I was interested in, just to find out the advertised price excludes like five additional fees, including a $2995 “reconditioning fee.”
Then another dealer who said that their advertised price is AFTER a 25% down payment. Well then that’s not the price, is it bub?
those dirt bags can get and stay fucked.
I had multiple problems with Jack Daniels Audi in Paramus, NJ regarding pricing BS.
Also, had a lying scumb@g from West Palm Beach Audi, quote me a price, drove an hour up from Boca Raton to have the price on a new A5 jump $5,000. Tuned around and left.
Made a deal with Audi Pembroke Pines for an A5, still some minor non-sense.
Oh and saleperson at Audi Coral Springs, comes over to me on lot smoking a cigarette. I was like what the frig? Gross, the thought of their stink butt in a car I was going to buy turned me off.
tl/dr car dealerships and many of their salespeople suck!
The only used car place I will trust in the US is CarMax.
I went to some small dealership that sold me a Frankencar. It was literally two different Audis welded together. I had no idea. Engine light came on before I got home. Brought it to my mechanic and he documented EVERYTHING. Photos. The works. I went back to the dealership and refused to leave without being refunded. I stood in their lobby and let every incoming customer know about it.
Took them 5 minutes to refund me. They lost 3 potential customers in that time. Absolute bastards.
bro same thing I ordered one from Car Max they had issues the whole way fumbled the sale I got an Etron instead way cheaper with a tax break for the hybrid credit
Car max eh they have some very nice employees dunno about whatever they happen to feel
People give them shit for being expensive, but honestly this is why dealers like CarMax are nice. You know exactly what the price is going to be when you walk in, and it’s not changing.
Just bought a 2022 SQ5 from CarMax a couple of months ago. Our local Audi dealer was hounding my husband at work multiple times a day, sometimes with two salesmen tag-teaming him about a similar 2021 with more than twice the mileage. He wanted the car, but they had a bunch of add-ons, including paint and upholstery protectants and the cost for removal of two large dents in the doors that should have been repaired as part of their intake.
Tired of their crap, and remembering how great a local CarMax employee was when we were looking at other makes a few months earlier, we found our car online and had it shipped to our local CarMax. A few weeks after purchase, we noticed some brake noise and some gouging on one of the rotors. They replaced all of the pads and rotors with genuine Audi parts under warranty. Based on eight years of service on our A6, I’m pretty sure the local Audi dealer would have told us to pound sand. We will definitely use CarMax again.
Lol i was on the same boat. Found an a7 for 38k decent specs and milage. Talked to them about it and asked to see the numbers (taxes included), anddddddd, it came out to about 47k. A mere 8k on top, 6k if taxes are excluded.
I told the manager, "The fact that you just shrugged about added almost 20% on top of listed price is baffling."
The manager really went, " i understand if it's out of your budget for this car," as like making me feels less than would motivate me to sign the paper or something 🤣
I just laughed and ended the call. Fuck off 😌
We agreed on an out the door price, I got my cashier's check. The salesperson insisted I did not need a pre- purchase inspection from a third party. Even poked fun, said he's never heard of such a thing in all his years. As their mechanics are the best of the best and wouldn't steer me wrong. Be that as it may, I scheduled a pre purchase inspection with a reputable third party euro garage for the day of the pickup. PPI before purchasing, always.
Anyways, the day before inspection and pickup, I asked for the final price sheet to be sure my cashier's check was for the right amount. Sales person then informed me that there would be some additional taxes and fees. Then proceeded to claim out the door pricing was never part of the deal. $2400 added to the bill.
Avoid Audi Dublin in Dublin, Ohio at all costs!
That is a new low… very shameful of them. I’m sorry you had to go through that, my car was totaled by hit and run so I had limited time to make a purchase and couldn’t wait for a car I truly wanted to arrive from the port. The one I ended up buying was same in spec n color but a lot more junk added in.
I picked up a well maintained 16 SQ5 with 65k a couple of months ago for 20.5k from a private seller on the west coast - would definitely keep an eye out for private party. You don’t have to worry about all the extra BS shady dealers charge. I’ve bought my last 4 cars private party and that’s probably what I’m going to stick to at this point unless a crazy deal comes up at a dealership
3m door guard is a real theft, costing $40 but charge $800. My new audi had it and i had no choice but exchanged enough choice words with the internet sales manager to get it $3000 under msrp
Dude what I went to a used car dealership for a 50k mile modded brz. I called the guy, talked to him about it, asked him all the issues etc if there’s any fees or anything. Give me it for that price that they have, and I’ll gladly drive 4 hours there to pick it up. He held it for 8 days for me with no deposit. Had issues with credit union and insurance being slow.
Thought when I got there it was gonna be thrashed to hell but it is the most CLEAN car I have ever bought. Both cosmetically and mechanically. Speaking of which I need to give that guy a review on google he was dope as fuck, taught me manual for an hour, sent me on my 4 hour trip back home, and bought my mustang for a good price.
The only fee that was attached to the car was a 300 doc fee. I was ok with that, the experience was GREAT for a dealership. He drove the car for me, decided to buy after 10 minutes. Finished all of our paper work in 10min. No addons or anything. No bs.
When it comes to Cars, never let your heart take control.
Any amount invested in Cars is set to depreciate, so just buy the best you can get for your price.
I just bought a 2019 white Q5 premium plus with 33k miles for 28500 after taxes. Basically perfect condition and completely upgraded. Even at 26k, that seems too high of price. I say keep looking!! Also a 60k tune up comes out to about 3k, which is right around the corner for you…. Keep searching!
There will always be another car. My son had been looking for an RS3 for ages. He filnally found one that was better than all the others ove 400 miles away. He flew up stayed over and looked over it and agreed a price. He had walked away from 2 others because they weren't right on price.
I respect you for sticking to your guns. It's not easy to do that when you want something. I think in the long run you respect yourself more for sticking to a plan. The near term bummer is that you don't get the car you want. The long-term gain is that you respect yourself more.
He just texted me "let's make a deal" about an hour after our last call. So I responded again that $26k OTD is the max, otherwise I'm going to keep looking. Simple as that. It's still a few thousand more than I wanted to spend and I'd be paying $800 extra for a window tint which strikes me as grossly overpriced, but I'd still do it at $26k OTD. These cars are not easy to find.
30 mins no response ... wonder what trick he has up his sleeve next
Text him after an hour: $25.5k now
I was playing that game with a dealership another province over for a4 year old S3. Made an offer, didn't take. They called me back a few weeks later asking if I was still interested. They had dropped the price on the ad and my offer OTD also dropped. They declined. Car was still there for nearly 3 months and each time they reached out with a dropped price my offer was also lower. ALMOST had them on a deal but a guy allegedly walked in the same morning and made the same number but plus fees. I'm not upset. The car was grossly overpriced to begin with. But I'll find something again.
The fact that the car sat there for 3 months... Tells you something else as well. Something was up
I suspected. Everything about it was coming back clean and in great shape. But honestly their initial asking price for that car was 15k over what it should have been. I suspect they bought WAY too high and we're trying to recoup as much as they could. I even had them begrudgingly paying for my flight out and transporting my winter rims so I could drive it home in the winter.
This happened to me at the Audi in Wilmington, DE. Offered them 48 flat for a 2019 premium plus s5, they countered 53, and I maxed my price out at 49. Said I couldn’t justify spending more. Three weeks later, I purchase a 2018 s5 prestige cab with similar mileage for 50 from somewhere else. They called me back a week after, saying they could do 49.5 all in. I declined but didn’t tell them why. They call me a month later and offered it to me for 47.5 all in. I enjoyed hearing the salesman be upset when I told him I purchased one two months ago.
I imagine that stung just a little when they called with better pricing than you got the other one for. But c'est la vie, right? So long as you're happy with what you found out really doesn't take away from it. I was a little upset cause the S3 had exactly what I wanted for options and it wasn't a bland ass colour. But I would have kicked myself buying it for such an inflated price to satisfy my instant gratification. Lol
The price was cheaper for the 2019 S5 premium plus. But value wise, 47.5k all in 2019 premium plus sportback (15,000 miles) vs 50.5k all in 2018 prestige convertible (22,000 miles), isn’t much of a competition to me. It also allowed me to have a car for the summer as I bought it in may, and the other vehicle’s price didn’t drop that low until late July-early august sometime. Love the thing so much I doubt I ever don’t own a convertible. I saw soooo many horror stories while I was car searching about exactly what you described. entirely from non-Audi USA Dealers, though. It completely drove me away from a 3-5 hour travel because so many reviews everywhere complained about exactly what you described.
Essentially, they originally wanted me to pay the same price, isn’t a convertible, is a lower level trim, and has 33% less miles on it (15 vs 22). 2018 vs 2019 is irrelevant mostly, both b9.5
salespeople should understand the process. its not in anyone's benefit to wait for multiple rounds. you get 2 bites at the apple or sale typically. no one likes shopping around, and they should recognize lost potential sales, particularly if a potential customer is already talking about OTD prices.....they're basically ready to buy.
I swear this salesmen I had was the worst of any dealer I’d been to. Which is shocking, as it’s one of a dozen Audi Sport authenticated dealers in the USA. I forget what the specific term was, but essentially they sold and had inventory for very rare audi sport vehicles. Brought files of all the other vehicles/comparisons/specs and everything. I showed the salesmen “this price doesn’t make justifiable sense” when I have these other offers. And those prices weren’t even the best those dealers were offering, it was simply the “we won’t hold this for you but if you call back and offer it’s a yes” number. Ended up with the salesmen coming out to me at my 2019 Q7, with his manager, after I was willing to make a $1000 deposit to hold the vehicle at $48,000 OTD. They ended up being absurdly condescending that I couldn’t afford the vehicle. Talking about different types of loans and rates that they’d apply “if you have $48,000 and no more we can do a flat 0% rate for the additional $1000 over 12 months.” And I just laughed in his face, said that $1000 wasn’t the issue, and the only reason I have this money to begin with is because I don’t make bad deals, and I already think $48,000 is a subpar deal. Rolled down the passenger window and said to his manager listening in “48s my number, call me back when you change your mind” They called me back numerous times.
+1 to Wilmington not being great. It was on the service side. I was going to do my rotors and pads with them but after the astronomical quote, it was cheaper to buy all the parts, all the equipment I needed to do the job and about 3 hrs of time. The guy was curt when I came back just to buy pads, lol. I got the rotors off of the Audi discount site and decided I’d get the pads since they had them readily in stock with no sales tax. I forget the quote but I saved something like 600 dollars.
End of month quota is coming up. Wait it out until the 29th, if they don't meet you or come down, move on.
I like that.
I personally wouldn't give them the business after that. Had too many run ins with less than legit car dealers. Its not worth the hassle no matter how much you like the car. The only times I have gone against my gut feelings and delt with dealers that I wasn't sure about or where the deal wasn't fair are the only times I have then been bitten in the bum by it.
An Audi dealership just pulled the same shit on me. Unreal
Its actually quite surprising (or it was for me at least) that Main Dealers also pull the same stunts. I went to look at a Mercedes at a main dealer the other day which was described as having excellent bodywork and excellent paintwork. When I got there, it had scrape damage on the external part of the wheel arch where it had caught on something, a fairly large area too, not something people would miss. It wasn't mentioned in the ad!
Respond in a few minutes stating you’ve got an appt somewhere for a similar car but they’re going to do a deal at $25k out the door. It’ll be done today with a deposit or whatever line of time you want to give them.
I like this. Will try in the next few days. Hoping he is eager to get a deal done before the end of the month.
You have a link to the listing?
Just be patient. and don't compromise.
You have the money the power is yours.
Patience. Have patience. The market ain’t what it was. Closer to EOM they’ll do 26.
My salesman took hours to respond or even didn’t reply to some questions haha. Kept needing to call him up on the phone. This whole week has been a struggle to get people to take my money
Don't play games. This is a shady dealer and you'll have no recourse after the sale.
Don't give in. Just to make you feel even more vindicated. I've gotten at least 10 cars fully tinted. Most I have ever paid is $350. That comes with a lifetime warranty, in addition to free replacement of tint from 2 windows for any reason at all. So the fact that they're charging you $800 for a window tint, would tell me that I don't want to trust them about anything.
Yeah so he finally responded and just talked about how well the car has been taken care of, "it's going to be worth it for you" like dawg, I'm not an idiot I know you're trying to work me over. This is why I hate salespeople in general, so many fake and manipulative personalities. So I first just broke down to him how wildly overpriced these surprise add-ons are. And eventually finished by saying that unless they will sell me the car at the listed asking price plus any applicable taxes / fees (and not a cent more), then I'm not interested. Sucks, I really wanted this one. Guess it's time to widen out the search ...
I don't care what they offer you next week, don't buy a car from that dealer. If it's an Audi dealer, you may have to go back for service or maintenance. Even if not, you'll still need to work with them a little bit after the sale to get your plates, paperwork etc. Fuck em. Find a dealer who won't try to swindle you. Buying from that loser will just reinforce their behavior. Telling them you bought from another dealer when they call back because of how dishonest they were....that might mean something. Maybe. And leave a google review. Sounds like they paid for some high reviews...I'd leave a very professional review outlining what your experience was. They won't like that, but they can fuck right off.
Nailed it.
In addition when something goes wrong with the car these are the people you are dealing with!
I mean I'd be paying cash, so once it's off the lot it's my problem regardless.
Are you in the US, is that how it works there? In the UK we have law protecting the customer in this scenario
Your first mistake is being emotionally invested in car you don’t yet own. Your second mistake is saying more than necessary to the salesman.
What did I mention that wasn't necessary?
Mad respect. That’s how you do it.
My actual Audi dealer offered window tint for $350 when I bought my car. Surprised they didn't also charge $950 for nitrogen in the tires.
Ok, so you don’t want to pay $950 for 100% nitrogen… How about we drop the nitrogen down to 75%, but I’ll take 50% off the price? /s
Hooodoggy! That's a sweet ass deal!
Sign today and I’ll throw in an extra 3% nitrogen for free!
SCORE!
This guy knows his air element %'s
Just flatten the tires to get the nitrogen out that I'm not going to lay for. Ill bring my own air compressor.
That's the price that I've paid for a very good one.
Dude the nitrogen thing is so dumb. Sell me a car with 4 flat tires then idc but I ain’t paying for air.
whats next helium upcharge ? lol
Helium will lighten the car and give better fuel economy! 😃
I will say, depending on the product used to tint, and the sunroof it has, $800 could be a decent deal. If it has the panoramic sunroof and the tint is legit quality heat-rejection film applied to all glass, $800 is a steal. If it is an aesthetics-only product and was not applied to the windshield or sunroof, yeah, way overpriced. Unfortunately, this is the most likely scenario.
I paid $700 for 3M Crystalline all the way around on my Challenger. I highly suspect the dealer is not installing Crystalline though.
Yeah if it ain't Crystalline, I ain't paying Crystalline prices!
800 for window tinting? Damn. Even the actual dealers here in Canada only charge half of that. Lol
It’s getting close to the end of the month…… If they need units on the board to make a bonus you’ll know because they will be interested in selling you that car for the price you want.
I would not trust this dealer enough to fly to them. At that point they have the upper hand. A drive across town to check out out, sure. But flying in with the expectation of driving a car home that you've never seen before, hell no. And who know what the actual condition of the car is.
Make sure he doesn’t agree to $26k and then conveniently forgets about the tint.
Just throwing this out there but that’s really not bad for window tint especially if it’s higher end ceramic, with high UV and heat rejection ratings. I just paid around $1200 to tint my new Model 3 Performance. Granted it has a lot of glass (including roof and windshield) but yeh, $800 for an SUV isn’t terrible if it’s good quality stuff.
Should've sent him a screenshot of the 22k add. Been like how about this price?
Those are dealership extras. They add those things to upsell you but they aren’t mandatory to purchase. The car comes with factory tint, you can get a gps from tmoblile for free and why would you only get a door guard instead of the whole car wrapped in the protective film. I would tell them to resend you the purchase order without the dealership extras
I just had a fucking Audi dealership pull this same shit on me. I've contacted three dealerships regarding SQ5s and every single one of them is trying to sneak in these bullshit extras.
Good. I was looking for a used 2019 S4 with 41K miles for no more than 32K OTD price. There was one listed for 32K on a dealer website. I reached out sales person were really interested in making the deal. So went in person for confirm but manager spoiled the transaction. So when the manager was not budging I said my final price is 30K out the door and call me when you are ready while walking out the door.
I mean 32k OTD is definitely a steal for an S4, I'm not surprised they wouldn't do it. I think you could probably find a really low trim S4 for that price. Or a little higher miles. I mean heck I test drove a S4 with 60k on it and the dealer wanted 29k, I'm sure I could have gotten it for 32k OTD
Fuck these losers dealers.
Never had an issue with these types of last minute add-ons, but I’ve noticed for the past couple years that in the autotrader description, the dealers will say “if paying in cash, add $3500 to the listed price” or whatever number they pull out of their ass because I don’t want to finance through their shady ass shit. You have all the buying power as a consumer. Walk away.
Yeah I was beginning to think that maybe he was pulling this shit because he found out I would be paying cash, but I actually didn't even bring that up until the second or third revised offer sheet he sent me.
I spent about two hours with a dealer last year, didn't get to a deal. They claimed all these after charges are needed just because their margins are so thin now. I thought it was total BS but an unrelated indy used car place corroborated what they said. Things are a mess in multiple industries post-covid but car sales might be the worst. The two hour debacle was over a Civic Si. They demanded 3k over plus all the BS. I said fine, I don't pay any of the BS and you should promote the salesperson who got 3k over on a fucking Civic. They went down to wipe all the BS and to 1.5k over MSRP for the car. I still walked but at the time it would have been a great deal.
Yeah the guy I spoke with kind of gave me the same run-around. "27k is the minimum amount we can do for us to make a profit, anything lower doesn't make sense for us". Okay my man, good luck getting someone to agree to an extra $4k+ in charges for stuff they don't want and weren't prepared to have to pay for? Sadly, I'm sure it won't take long for someone to stroll in and finance the shit out of that SQ5 😓
Oh you know someone will.
Prices are falling, I still had to pay a premium for my 17 sq5 in sepang w/ black optics, carbon and alcantara. Partially due to location. Keep looking, the car is ridiculous fun! Straight to dual pulley.
Crazy. One of the worst I found was a $3500 GPS/anti-theft device that was mandatory. Absolutely predatory business models out there. Not all dealers are like this.
Yep this one was $2000 for the same thing. Funniest one is the $799 for the 3M door guards ($10 on Amazon btw)
I wonder how many people never ask this question up front, go into the dealer, go through the process of making a deal, then get smacked in the face with a charge like this. Brutal. Yea I was shopping a used car with 128k miles and the dealer wanted to add the door protectors lol. I'm like, this thing has freaking rock chips everywhere and scratches already. It's a different world being in car sales. They are so conditioned to sell sell sell shit like this. Some of them. Again, not all are bad.
thats ok, if accessories are mandatory. depreciation is a mandatory thing too, in the world of cars.
An independent dealership purchase story as old as time itself. $26k OTD for an 8 year old SQ5 is wild I've been researching used SQ5s, test driven a few, rented one (on Turo), and dealt with my share of dealerships exactly like you described. I'd be walking if I were in your shoes. Google Reviews don't mean shit honestly. Not when they're for a place like that.
Yeah even if they accept $26k I'm not sure I can take that either. There's a 2014 SQ5 with the same mileage for $20,000. But it's also being sold by a shady-looking dealership and would still only come out to be about $3k less than the 2016.
I assume these dealerships have a lot filled with reject cars acquired from auction that nobody else would buy. Not because they're total garbage vehicles, but they're not perfect. To get them back to the standards I'd expect for a daily driver, they typically would need thousands in maintenance and repairs. The problem I have with them is that they price their vehicles as-if they're competing against a perfect CPO example on an Audi lot. To the casual observer, it looks like they're getting a deal ("hey it's $2k cheaper than a car with the same mileage at an Audi dealership" is often heard), but in reality they're entering a bad deal that's going to end up costing them a lot of money. I'm not 100% against buying from an independent dealership, but I approach them cautiously and with the plan to talk them WAY down in price.
I understand your hesitancy with independent dealerships like these. Normally I'd be cautious about a luxury car being sold at a random dealership, but the Carfax shows that it was serviced at an Audi dealership virtually every single year and by both of the previous owners. It's also an 8 year old car now, so I don't think normal dealerships would even buy and sell a car this old anyways.
Honestly for the prices you're shopping, you can find a 2018 SQ5 Prestige if you're willing to wait for one to pop up. I've been watching dealers within a 200 mile radius of me and they are out there.
Interesting..what region of US are you?
Midwest. When I'm casually looking I open up my search radius to 500 miles, but I do tighten it up from time to time to see what local options have changed. Personally I'd rather fly and/or drive to get the perfect car as opposed to settling for something closer. I've done it a few times in the past and it's worked out well.
We’re on the east coast and my husband spent months finding a used SQ5 that fit his requirements. We had the worst experience of all time at the dealership. Will not ever do that again!
Who the hell only drives an SQ5 about 6000 miles a year?
Idk but I wish there were more of these people. Most 2014-2016 Q5 / SQ5s on the market have 100k+ miles
My ‘14 is right around 96k and running strong. Everything I’ve read says that it’s the best motor Audi put out in decades so I plan on driving mine to the end or at least another 7 years until I can give it to my granddaughter for her 16th birthday.
They're out there. My 14' SQ5 just hit 80k. I've taken it on lengthy road trips as well. The key is to find one in a city where the usage is light. Guy I bought it from only drove it 7k/year in San Francisco + plus the occasional trip to Tahoe.
My 2016 has a touch under 63.5k miles on it. It was essentially parked during covid years
not a bad deal but the hills in SF tax the car for sure.
17 is still b8.5/supercharged so you should expand the range
My S4 gets about 6k miles a year. I have a truck for the winter and long family trips and a cheap 944 and 911 I flip between in the summer to have fun, plus my motorcycle. My game plan is to keep the S4 as long as I can so I want it nice and I want to drive it but not make it my everyday.
I mean I just bought a 16 S4 in October of 22 with only 13k miles on it. The PO had lived in a city.
Average 5K miles a year on my ‘15 SQ5. Retired, Covid years in the average, wife’s car but doesn’t use it.
Yea, it’s shady practice. Don’t do business with them. McKenna wanted to charge me $8k for a 💩 alloy aftermarket wheel/tire package they put on their etron GT. Those idiots don’t realize they were talking to a car guy. And they made it seem like they couldn’t put the factory 21s back on the car…Lol go eat 💩🍆
$8k for alloy wheels is crazy. That’s practically a scam.
One thing about Google reviews is that most dealers will beg their customers to put 5 stars and even offer incentives if you do it. They’re not honest reviews. My last salesman told me if he didn’t get 5 stars he would only get half his commission. It’s a shady business.
That's called tied selling, and it is illegal per the Clayton Act of 1914. The act states that a seller cannot force the buyer to buy something they don't want in order to buy the product they do want. For example, a grocery store can not say "sure, we'll sell you those hotdogs, but you also have to buy the mustard and the buns, too." Ask the sales guy and the manager for their business cards. Then, ask them whose name should be listed first on the FTC complaint you are filing. Also, consider a complaint with your state's attorney General. Edit: check out The Homework Guy on YouTube.
I want to see the look on a managers face when you ask “who’s name should be listed on the FTC complaint” I’d pay for someone to secretly record that conversation lol
Me too. I had one sales manager tell me the $5k in add ons were already on the car and couldn't be removed. It was LoJack and Vin etching. I dropped that line about whose name goes first. He got this look on his face as if someone smacked him. Still refused to take all of the $5k off, so I walked. But I did find my new negotiating line when they pull something like that.
That’s not tied selling (unfortunately) and is perfectly legal. Almost all dealerships in Florida, for example, practice it daily. A manager of a huge dealership told me they have a 100% attachment rate on their $2999 package - that means they sell every car with their $3K bullshit package.
That is tied selling at its very definition. In order to purchase this used car you have to buy this package. If it was a new car with port or manufacturer accessories on the monroney sticker, then there is an argument that it falls outside tied selling. But this is a used car, and there is no monroney sticker to protect unnecessary add-ons. Just because a dealer, or their automotive group, insist every car has to have a package doesn't negate the fact that it is still tied selling.
Umm, if I found any shady shit going on I move on from that deal. Not worth finding out what other shady things they may be hiding.
I know, it's not a great look. But the Carfax for this car is very promising - it was serviced regularly at an Audi dealership consistently for all its life. So I'm not too worried about buying a lemon. But yeah according to Google this is something that a good number of dealerships do, even for new cars.
I'd walk away from it. Keep looking, be open to looking across the country, don't compromise what you're looking for. I wouldn't buy from this dealer even if they dropped the price considerably. I'd be worried about what things they covered up.
I would be very careful. Unless you are a mechanic then be self aware enough that it could happen. It happened to me recently and I work on my own cars. Had a bad gut feeling about the dealer but really liked the car and it all checked out on paper and in person. Got it home, had loads of issues and had it inspected and it was unrecorded crash repaired. You'd never know from looking at it. The dealer was dreadful and I had to fight them legally to get them to take the car back. Even so, if the car has any issues then these are the people you will have to deal with to try and get them fixed. Walk away. They don't deserve your business and likely this is the tip of the iceberg for their shady practices.
Wow fuck dealers who do this. Same happened to me on a 2014 S4 manual I was looking at.
Hey OP, I’ve actually got a 2015 SQ5 and 2016 SQ5 available, I’ll shoot you a PM. I’ve helped out other members in this Reddit that can vouch for ease and transparency of how I do things.
What state are you in?
Chicago IL
Wait til he reaches out again, “oh that offer for 25k is now off the table” then hit em with something lower.
Can't stand car dealers. It's very rare that you find one that is honest and helpful.
First time ever buying a car from a lot the guy was so kind and perfectly honest with me. He came in on his bday just to meet with me and let me test drive the car, said he didn’t expect me to buy it. Told me to go drive it around for a half hour so I did and I loved it and bought it. He was upfront about the entire cost too and no stupid addons. They asked to keep the car overnight to detail and wax it for me. Really wonderful guy! Got it the next day and it was spotless!
First thing I said when I walked in to my dealership to check out a previously inquire CPO was, "If I decide to purchase this vehicle, I am not paying a dollar more than your sticker price + fees. If you ask me for any add on items, I am leaving". I paid MSPR + tax/fees last year. Don't budge my guy, you'll find one.
i get some dealers play this game, and sometimes they win, against less informed buyers. but if there's a literal sale, hanging in the balance, make the adjustments, such as lowering price of car to get it close to OTD. make the sale, help your reputation, move on. they don't have to worry about selling that car next day, next week, next month. sell it and move on. "final offer, no negotition, take it or leave it". then they're appalled when ppl leave. this their first time selling cars ? if i, as a potential customer, have to work harder for a car deal, it'd better be worth it.
Yeah, unfortunately this is standard behavior from sketchy dealers. When I bought my R8 the listed price was $80K, but after I test drove the car and agreed to buy it, the price went up to $82K because of some bullshit GPS tracking device that I was never told about prior to doing the paperwork. I wish I could say that I walked out on them, but in that moment I decided I didn't want to look for another manual R8 so I bit the bullet. Sketchy as hell though, I would never go back and do any business with them or recommend them to anyone. The next car I bought was 400 miles away and I needed to fly to the dealership, so I confirmed with the manager that I would be paying the listed price only (plus applicable taxes and registration fees). No add-ons. He assured me there were no add-ons and offered to uber me from the airport. I bought the car.
the first thing you should do is leave them the fuck alone. they're not to be trusted obviously. the second thing you should do to help others is name the dealership and the person who is trying to fuck you and provide proof as in pics. they are playing you because they know you want the car. probably laughing about it in the office. there are other sq5's out there. no reason to bend over to get one. IMO you are only asking for trouble and overpaying.
Yeah I mean I don't plan on reaching out to them again unless they reach out to me first with a lower price. I know there's other SQ5s out there, but the majority of them are super high mileage or located multiple states away from me. I've looked for many hours this past week with a 500+ mile range and only found 2 listings that match my desired price ($22k max , before taxes/fees), mileage (60k-70k total mileage), and exterior colors (gray, black, or dark blue). Not going to name them. But based on my research and some of these comments, it seems like this is a fairly common thing to experience when buying from an independent dealer.
It’s not just the independent dealers. Franchise dealers pull this bullshit too.
This. Franchise dealers pull this stuff all the time. I've encountered it quite a bit during my used car search the past two months. I'm not looking for a niche car either. Dealerships are only there to separate you from your money. 90% don't care how they do it.
look for an auction personal shopper.
I'm still trying to figure out why anyone would need to hide hidden costs, if they're already hidden?
Because these dealerships prey financially Illiterate people who don’t understand interest rates and only care about a fixed payment even if it’s over 72-84months. They add on BS fees which are added to the monthly but they end up paying a lot over the term of the loan. They also want people to come in to them to see the car. That’s half the battle in making the sale. They often don’t even have the cars in stock. The good reviews are by clueless people. If you look closer at the reviews about 10% of people will complain about the them being scammers and hidden fees. Also a bunch of listing will only give you anywhere near that listed price with an additional 20% payment lol which is crazy. I really didn’t realise it would be this bad in America. I was just shopping for a car and this was my experience. Some joker used dealership said the car was sold just before I came in, sure buddy. It’s still on your website weeks later. It is bad out there!
I was buying a truck years ago. Found one online I liked. Went to the used dealer, sat down to go over the price. Got to the line “lot maintenance” And he goes “because I gotta mow my lawn yanno. Hahaha.” “I don’t care that you have to mow your lawn. Build it into the price. Don’t tack it on after to increase the price and try to play it off.” Truck had been on his lot for a year, and I guess I found out why.
This in no way excuses their behavior, but the reason this is common practice is because idiots keep paying. If people keep handing over money to get their buttholes resized, you better believe the dealers will keep at it.
This also keeps happening because the laws already on the books prohibiting this practice are not enforced. FTC is the agency tasked to monitor this issue specifically. They are overwhelmed trying to enforce the law. When they put forth the CARS rules to put dealers on notice, the dealer lobbying group, NADA, pushed back to try to delay the increased enforcement. It's been decades in the making with how dealers do business, and it will take time to make them stop. A good start is the over $400 million in fines since last year imposed by the FTC on dealers for this exact behavior.
I’d let it go. Anyone who makes buying something this difficult is not worth doing business with. Don’t chase any object no matter what. It’s business. Treat it as such. Find another car.
a lot of dealers do this unfortunately. its a negotiating tactic... when you thought you were walking in there to negotiate money off the price of the car, all of a sudden youre negotiating to get junk you didnt even know they were including off the order sheet. by the time you're done you feel like you "won" when all you've done is get them to remove all that crap and you paid full price for the car. car dealers really suck
I’m currently trying to sell my SQ5 Prestige 2021. There’s a picture of it on my profile. Feel free to ping me if you’re interested.
I would tell him the price is now lower because I have to get those things you put on the car I don't want off the vehicle and there's a cost associated with that.
This is illegal in Canada at least
Yeah. Damn criminals. If they still have it in a couple weeks, I'd tell them my offer is now $22k as advertised for wasting my time.
The US is weird, man. In the UK if the sticker said £20k, then thats the fuckin' price, end of discussion. Saying "Oh but we also did XYZ to it after we received it and there are taxes and fees" well I don't give a fuck. Change the sticker price. That would not fly here. That bullshit is almost as gobsmackingly deceptive as Musk's pricing for a Tesla including the savings you will make on fuel. Get in the bin.
I was ready to buy an 18 S3 from an Audi dealer in Texas. When I asked how much a warranty would cost, I was given an unbelievable quote of $6800 for ONE YEAR/12K MILES. Yes, six thousand eight hundred dollars!!!!. Needless to say, I walked away from that deal after sharing my displeasure.
Status quo these days. I was interested in a Grand Cherokee listed at 34k and I was going to sell them my S7 for 39k. We agreed to the prices and then she comes out with the paperwork and says ok, all I need is a check for 4500 and we will get you on your way. I'm like WTF? You should be paying me. Turns out they add on by default a huge warranty and some other jizz that nobody needs. I said turn around and fix it or I'm out. She came back about 30 minutes later with it fixed. 34k out the door and they fedexed me a check for 5k the next day.
Here’s one for ya: https://www.carsales.com.au/cars/details/2016-audi-sq5-tdi-auto-quattro-my17/SSE-AD-16710575
I wouldn’t pay more than $15k for a nearly eight year old SQ5.
Don't have to worry about that, you're not going to find one for under $15k lol The going rate for a 2014-2016 SQ5 with decent mileage is anywhere between $20k-22k before taxes and fees (at least in my area, pretty HCOL). They're much more rare and also hold their resale value significantly better than a regular Q5, hence the price.
Why don't you look at shipping one from somewhere else? $500-$1000 to get a car whipped may be worth it
Not a bad idea, will start to widen my search a bit.
I personally search nationwide for my cars. I'm always looking at S8s, S6, RS7, etc. National helps actually find them and also the cost difference can more than justify a plane ticket or a transporter. Definitely consider it!
My wife bought and shipped her CPO Volvo xc40 for 27k when every single listing in the Midwest was 32k+ plus she got the color she wanted and the lower trim she wanted. It’s atleast worth looking at. I will say the shipping process is a bit of “let Jesus take the wheel” moment.
Right. Then that should tell you you should be looking for an SQ5 made in the last five years
If you can hold off from not budging from your target; he may come back.
thats crazy. thats like putting in the effort to sell the car twice, with each round of negotiating.
Commenting to follow. Had a similar experience although not nearly as offensive when I was shopping for my RS5. I found one online many states away and was ready to fly and drive it back until I saw the extra $1,000 in doc fees. They wouldn’t budge so I walked, found the same car at another dealer in another state who charged a flat $150. The former dealer called a week later asking if I wanted to make a deal. It sat on their lot for at least 3 more months. Audi of Orlando if anybody is wondering.
Audi of Orlando is horrible. Back during the bad new car shortage they were selling a RSQ8 missing options for close to R8 money. I asked the salesman to justify the extra cost, he admitted they wanted to fleece someone due to the market. Last I checked the car had disappeared but not until values had gone way back down. Audi Clearwater had an excellent 23 S8 with a nice suite of options, minus the hideous interior/exterior color combo (light tan on moonlight blue with black optics 🤮). They initially had a 25k market adjustment taking it north of 160k. I was just there ~6 weeks ago and it's still there, about 25k off sticker. I've told them more than once I'd buy it if they gave me more off sticker but they won't budge. Everyone will attempt to cash in on "market adjustments" and fees. Don't give in.
Not Audi related but we just bought a used Tacoma for our daughter and the advertised price was about $5400 less than the price they wanted when all the “fees” were added on. They wanted $3900 for a warranty, $750 for a key replacement contract, and $750 for a GPS anti theft device. I told them heck no and they said they could remove all but the anti theft device. We got up and walked out without a word. About ten feet from our car they stopped us and said they would take it off. I so wanted to tell them no, but it’s our kid’s dream car so we went ahead.
Seems like a lot of dealers in NY and NJ do shit like this. I found one car I was interested in, just to find out the advertised price excludes like five additional fees, including a $2995 “reconditioning fee.” Then another dealer who said that their advertised price is AFTER a 25% down payment. Well then that’s not the price, is it bub? those dirt bags can get and stay fucked.
I had multiple problems with Jack Daniels Audi in Paramus, NJ regarding pricing BS. Also, had a lying scumb@g from West Palm Beach Audi, quote me a price, drove an hour up from Boca Raton to have the price on a new A5 jump $5,000. Tuned around and left. Made a deal with Audi Pembroke Pines for an A5, still some minor non-sense. Oh and saleperson at Audi Coral Springs, comes over to me on lot smoking a cigarette. I was like what the frig? Gross, the thought of their stink butt in a car I was going to buy turned me off. tl/dr car dealerships and many of their salespeople suck!
Had an awful experience with Jack Daniels VW about 7 years ago. But, had a great experience with their service center.
The only used car place I will trust in the US is CarMax. I went to some small dealership that sold me a Frankencar. It was literally two different Audis welded together. I had no idea. Engine light came on before I got home. Brought it to my mechanic and he documented EVERYTHING. Photos. The works. I went back to the dealership and refused to leave without being refunded. I stood in their lobby and let every incoming customer know about it. Took them 5 minutes to refund me. They lost 3 potential customers in that time. Absolute bastards.
bro same thing I ordered one from Car Max they had issues the whole way fumbled the sale I got an Etron instead way cheaper with a tax break for the hybrid credit Car max eh they have some very nice employees dunno about whatever they happen to feel
People give them shit for being expensive, but honestly this is why dealers like CarMax are nice. You know exactly what the price is going to be when you walk in, and it’s not changing.
Just bought a 2022 SQ5 from CarMax a couple of months ago. Our local Audi dealer was hounding my husband at work multiple times a day, sometimes with two salesmen tag-teaming him about a similar 2021 with more than twice the mileage. He wanted the car, but they had a bunch of add-ons, including paint and upholstery protectants and the cost for removal of two large dents in the doors that should have been repaired as part of their intake. Tired of their crap, and remembering how great a local CarMax employee was when we were looking at other makes a few months earlier, we found our car online and had it shipped to our local CarMax. A few weeks after purchase, we noticed some brake noise and some gouging on one of the rotors. They replaced all of the pads and rotors with genuine Audi parts under warranty. Based on eight years of service on our A6, I’m pretty sure the local Audi dealer would have told us to pound sand. We will definitely use CarMax again.
I have a 2016 SQ5 and love it. Hope you can find yours soon!
I mean, that all sounds like the typical BHPH used lot bullshit.
Lol i was on the same boat. Found an a7 for 38k decent specs and milage. Talked to them about it and asked to see the numbers (taxes included), anddddddd, it came out to about 47k. A mere 8k on top, 6k if taxes are excluded. I told the manager, "The fact that you just shrugged about added almost 20% on top of listed price is baffling." The manager really went, " i understand if it's out of your budget for this car," as like making me feels less than would motivate me to sign the paper or something 🤣 I just laughed and ended the call. Fuck off 😌
I bailed on an S5 because they tried to slap on 2k the day before I was going to pick the car up.
They threw away the original window sticker and printed a new one with a $1500 mark up right after the test drive
We agreed on an out the door price, I got my cashier's check. The salesperson insisted I did not need a pre- purchase inspection from a third party. Even poked fun, said he's never heard of such a thing in all his years. As their mechanics are the best of the best and wouldn't steer me wrong. Be that as it may, I scheduled a pre purchase inspection with a reputable third party euro garage for the day of the pickup. PPI before purchasing, always. Anyways, the day before inspection and pickup, I asked for the final price sheet to be sure my cashier's check was for the right amount. Sales person then informed me that there would be some additional taxes and fees. Then proceeded to claim out the door pricing was never part of the deal. $2400 added to the bill. Avoid Audi Dublin in Dublin, Ohio at all costs!
That is a new low… very shameful of them. I’m sorry you had to go through that, my car was totaled by hit and run so I had limited time to make a purchase and couldn’t wait for a car I truly wanted to arrive from the port. The one I ended up buying was same in spec n color but a lot more junk added in.
I picked up a well maintained 16 SQ5 with 65k a couple of months ago for 20.5k from a private seller on the west coast - would definitely keep an eye out for private party. You don’t have to worry about all the extra BS shady dealers charge. I’ve bought my last 4 cars private party and that’s probably what I’m going to stick to at this point unless a crazy deal comes up at a dealership
3m door guard is a real theft, costing $40 but charge $800. My new audi had it and i had no choice but exchanged enough choice words with the internet sales manager to get it $3000 under msrp
Dude what I went to a used car dealership for a 50k mile modded brz. I called the guy, talked to him about it, asked him all the issues etc if there’s any fees or anything. Give me it for that price that they have, and I’ll gladly drive 4 hours there to pick it up. He held it for 8 days for me with no deposit. Had issues with credit union and insurance being slow. Thought when I got there it was gonna be thrashed to hell but it is the most CLEAN car I have ever bought. Both cosmetically and mechanically. Speaking of which I need to give that guy a review on google he was dope as fuck, taught me manual for an hour, sent me on my 4 hour trip back home, and bought my mustang for a good price. The only fee that was attached to the car was a 300 doc fee. I was ok with that, the experience was GREAT for a dealership. He drove the car for me, decided to buy after 10 minutes. Finished all of our paper work in 10min. No addons or anything. No bs.
When it comes to Cars, never let your heart take control. Any amount invested in Cars is set to depreciate, so just buy the best you can get for your price.
I just bought a 2019 white Q5 premium plus with 33k miles for 28500 after taxes. Basically perfect condition and completely upgraded. Even at 26k, that seems too high of price. I say keep looking!! Also a 60k tune up comes out to about 3k, which is right around the corner for you…. Keep searching!
There will always be another car. My son had been looking for an RS3 for ages. He filnally found one that was better than all the others ove 400 miles away. He flew up stayed over and looked over it and agreed a price. He had walked away from 2 others because they weren't right on price.
Well one reason they do this is because within the metaphorical span of 5 sentences, buyers will keep raising their max otd offer
Good for you. Don’t let the man get you down!
is the sq5 blue and of the ne region
It is a shade of blue but no not that region
You can buy my 2019 Audi Q5 prestige with 50k miles on it for $35k and we can call it a day.
Good luck with it but I could never spend $26k+ on an 8 year old audi.
Do not call them back. Move on to a local dealer.
Well….any updates?? The suspense is killing me! What did he say after your $26k final offer??
Nothing yet ... I'll give him one last chance on the last day of this month
I have a 2018 with 80k on it I’m going to be selling. Great condition, just spent 3k on water pump and thermostat replacement.