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Comments
Himig
I sell VWs in St. Louis! Im not quite sure I am inclined to believe what I see on these boards sometimes.. However, We basically hold to or very close to MSRP on our Passats. I just got back from Training on the new 4motions over in Westport and that seemed to be the consensus from the salespeople from Suntrup and St Charles as well..
IF you'd like.. you can always feel free to e-mail me if you'd like to discuss market conditions..
Bill
I originally wanted the automatic, but after test driving the 5-speed, I quickly changed my tune. Plus, then I could afford the leather package. I was lucky enough to find one without the Monsoon package, since I'll be installing "real" audio equipment down the road.
Anyway, here's what it was:
Invoice 19,293
Leather 1,126
Luxury 1,325
sub 21,744
adv/prep 167
desitination 525
profit 400
sub 22,836
then ttl brought it up to $24.3
I think it helped going there right at the end of a model year, plus the end of the month, not to mention the end of a quarter. Of course I got the shpiel (sp?) about driving him out of business, and the greatest thing was, he ended up practically begging me for an additional $63 to make the deal. I asked him if he needed $5 for lunch!!!
I'm picking it up today.
BTW, about the 2001 models, there was a post on one of the Passat boards that showed a picture of the 2001. Not much difference from 2000. I think that between the base price going up 1-2%, and not being able to get such a great deal, it would have cost almost $1k more to get the 2001.
Anyway, sorry for the long post, but I'm just a real happy camper right now!
Thanks to everyone for all their insight, both on the Passat boards, and especially the Accord boards, where I found that Honda isn't really what it used to be, as far as quality and reliabilty.
Joel
Congrats on the new purchase!!!
If you haven't been there yet, you should check out the VWvortex forums. Its a great resource for many things about the B5, including that audio upgrade you are already contemplating.
George
The dealer is telling me that I can't order one
now. Instead, he's run up a list of all the cars
available in the state, and told me I have to
pick from this list. Only two cars are available
(I only want the basic model, no extras, but
with auto transmission, and everything around has
the luxury package), and neither color really
floats my boat. Is what the dealer telling me true?
Can't say if what the dealer is telling you is true, but you certainly aren't the first to report the same story. Dealer allocations will certainly vary by where you live and the demand for the wagon in your area will also influence the supply.
Some of the things that you can try:
1) Contact some other area dealers and see what kind of response you get.
2) Go to the VW Dealer Search to look for all of the dealers around a given radius, lets say 500 mile. Many of these dealers have online inventory data (though usually not very up to date). You could certainly then send out inquiries to dealerships outside of your state.
BTW, what region/state are you in ?? what colors are you looking for?
Good Luck ,
George
Thanks for asking!
Joel
Update - I just had my new stereo put in, and the jerk ended up scraping the right rear quarter panel. A couple of scratches and the paint has come off - now I have to spend a couple of hundrd to fix it. I'm hoping the installer will foot the bill...
Jason
VWs will be able to be ordered, but not until towards the end of July from what I hear.
The 2001s are already in production.
Also, to clarify an earlier post I made. Passats can be bought at a discount in St Louis.. but it's very dependnt on the specific car. I.E. Not on a 4motion.
Also, I've seen a couple posts relating to the lack of Base cars... Base (Non Luxury Package) Passats can be very hard for us to move. And while people want them, for every base car we can sell, we can sell 5 or 6 Luxury Package cars.. and as tight as our allocation to sale ratio is on them... We will only order them as a general rule.
Bill
On 7/3 I received a call from a salesperson that they have been taking orders for the 2001 and that they should becoming in by late July.
Ian was the only salesperson to have provided me info. on the 2001 about a month ago. He informed me that he could state it into the purchase order that I would not be held to the contract if the increase of the 2001 Passat exceeds 2% (He was about to say 3% but, knew not too from my expression not too).
Should I make certain that the contract agreement expressed by the Ian/salesperson be worded a certain way?
After researching the amount of the 2000 Passats and comparing it to the 1999 it was a 1.5% increase. I wonder if I should present this as a valid point as to the % remaining the same this year, if not lower since there are no changes?
Is there any information on what a reasonable % increase should be for a 2001 Passat?
If not, if the car was never titled to the other person, tell them to get lost, and keep your car. Until a title is transferred, any agreements are only an ethical concern, not a legal one.
Jason
check out this link for the photo and information.
http://www.scottvw.com/news/news.html#may05
FWIW, I did buy my new 2000 Passat from O'Steen VW in Jacksonville, FL (Phil Thomas, Sales Manager). They gave me outstanding service, a great deal, and CUSTOMIZED MY CAR FOR ME, including leather seats--I picked the color from samples. Tell Phil David in San Juan sent you!
Are there any dealers or persons who may now if I should be more wary about going to a dealer tomorrow?? Concerned buyer would like to know!!
BTW, who gave you that quote -- Rod East? Ancira? I would suggest checking with Ancira and ask for John Weil -- had work on a deal with him earlier this year for a GLX 4Motion Wagon. Was ready to go out to S.A. as he gave me an excellent deal -- but a regional dealer ended up finding the car I wanted for a comparable price. However, John was certainly very professional and there was no hard pressure tactics or hidden costs.
Good Luck in your search -- with the '01 models coming out soon, you should certainly be able to get a deal on '00 models, especially if the car is on the dealer's lot!
George
I bought a V6 GLS with luxury + leather for
invoice + 3% (or ~ $750) from Carlsen in Palo Alto. Very cool people, gave me a quote over the phone, showed me the invoice (which checked out with Edmunds and elsewhere on the web). They were quick, pleasant, didn't insult my intelligence-a painless experience. Ron Price was higher by about $350. Boardwalk in Redwood City was unwilling to give me a phone quote and the person I spoke with gave me as much runaround as I was willing to deal with-which was about 30 seconds (click). Bottom line, in the Bay Area give Carlsen a shot at your business-they did right by me..
Does anyone have any leads on dealers in CA or Internet sites who are cutting better breaks on this car?
George
Is the included 2 yr/24,000 mile warranty sufficient at least for now.
Is the price of the extended warranty negotiable?
Is it smart to wait to purchase an extended warranty to see if you will own the car beyond the two years? Thanks
I was at a vw dealer last weekend,
they asked me 3% over invoice. And they showed me
their invoice. Their invoice is slightly higher
than the invoice published in the internet.
They add about $167 for port fee and floor plan fee.
Also, they have $59 documentation fee and $25 registration prep. fee which will be added on the P&S agreement.
Are these additional fees legitimate? Or Should I consider this as an additional dealer's profit?
What I want is to give the dealer about $300 (max $500) pure profit. Is this reasonable??
The port, documentaion, and registration prep fees are indeed legit. The floor plan fee is an itemization of something that is part of every car, hence it looks and sounds strange.
As for your term "pure profit", you need to decide when that value is determined. Is that profit over your invoice figure (gross revenue), is it profit after expenses and commission to the sales rep (true net profit), or somewhere in between? The Passat wagon is one of the top vehicles VW sells, and they certainly will not settle for the same revenue on a Passat GLX wagon deal as they would get for a stripped Golf. For a vehicle with an invoice of $27,500+, $300 is a very small offer. At 3%, they're asking for about $850 - try offering $700 and you'll probably get a deal done.
kcram
Co-Host - Smart Shopper & FWI Conferences
edmunds.com Town Hall
The above 8/31 posts raise an interesting
question.
In late July I bought a 2000 Passat GLS wagon;
1.8T, AT, lux pkg, Monsoon upgrade, and dealer
installed rubber mats, 6 CD changer and dog net
cargo partition. The negotiated price works out to
$232 over "dealer invoice". I could have ordered an
'01 for $600 or $700 over "invoice" but needed the
car more or less immediately.
I am happy with the car thus far (except for a
jammed sunroof, repaired under the warranty), and
believe that I paid a fair price considering that
they had to transfer the car from another dealer
about 120 miles away. On the other hand, I can't
really believe that "dealer invoice" is anything
other than a marketing ploy, a fictitious number.
If we take the alleged dealer cost (invoice minus
HB and incentives) for any car, as provided by
Edmunds and others, how can a dealer possibly make
any profit by selling cars anywhere near that
price?
In my case, $232 is less than 1% over "invoice".
My checking account earns more than that.
How can dealers possibly pay salaries,
commissions, interest on inventory, rent/mortgage,
utilities, insurance and other overhead, and stay
in business?
It's simple - they can't, ergo "dealer invoice"
cannot possibly be what they actually pay for a
car.
A friend who was in the car business many years
ago says that the actual cost to produce a car
typically is one third of "sticker price", and that
dealers actually pay the manufacturer or importer
(net after all accounting trickery) about two
thirds of "sticker". This leaves a third for the
dealer's expenses and profit.
This scenario strikes me as much more believable,
however comforting it might be for me to think that
I bought a car for $232 more than the dealer paid
for it.
Anyone have any knowledge or comments that might
shed light on this?
Now, a day later, I feel like an idiot! I would imagine that a quality manufacturer like VW produces vehicles with environmentally safe paint, etc. I suspect that this in just another way that dealers can recoup profit from unwary customers who are motivated to "protect their investment" (an oft repeated reference during my little speil). Anyway, has anyone out there ever heard of this "protection", and does anyone recommend it? I have a call in to my salesman to hopefully cancel it.
Also, any comments on my negotiated price? All feedback welcome. I'm new to the price haggling business, and I found Edmunds' information incredibly helpful.
As a rule, there is no 1/3 markup in a car. Not in any new car anyways.
Dealers make actual profit off of used cars, parts and service. Even if you count holdback (Which is not really profit) If a dealer sells a new car at 1-3% Over invoice, then they are generally making a gross profit and a net loss.
There are very few makes where dealers actually "net" money from new car sales. Generally, the highline imports.
Bill
Also, I originally started looking for the 2001 glx but one is nowhere to be found in Seattle that is black with beige interior...
Please help...
While you're researching this price, beware of 'lowballs', prices that seem extraordinarily low. These prices have 2 goals. 1, to take you out of the market, and 2, to get the dealer the car! Believe me, if the dealer that lowballs someone gets a better offer, you might never see that car at all! However, your commitment has allowed them to order it, bypassing their factory allocation limits.
It sounds like your dealer made an honest offer, they just want to make some money.
Jason
I was assigned to a salesperson..test drove it..and left $1,000 dep on it and took home a credit app. The next morning I faxed in the credit app and about 3 hrs later came to the dealership with a cashier's check. I was in and out in 45 minutes!! They gave me $900 over the sticker and gave me $50 off at the accessories shop (bought the in dash single CD) and they sold that to me at a heavy discount. I got the 2001 GLX 4-Motion....paid 30,075...hope this helps...they don't have a lot of margin in their pricing like other car makers..but check out www.costco.com (you might need to be a member of costco (the warehouse store chain) but I don't remember needing to produce my member number or my Costco card at anytime either on-line or at the dealership. Mark
Mark
Car_Man
Smart Shoppers / FWI Co-Host
Steve
What do you all think, is it a fair price or can I do better?
(actually wanted 5ps wagon, but could not find any at this price)
Thanks
Car_Man
Smart Shoppers / FWI Co-Host
Do you think the ones now in the showroom will depreciate like made once the new one is out?
I dont think that you will really lose a lot in depreciation because of a restyle.
The Passat is in huge demand, and it has by far the best residual values in its' class.
I liken it to some other in-demand models. The facelifted 2001 Lexus GSs are out and the 98,99 and '00s are still every bit as strong resale-wise as they were before.
Same with a lot of other Higher-end or in-demand cars.
Bill