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Volkswagen Rabbit Prices Paid and Buying Experiences
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Comments
iam considering purchasing a rabbit from this dealership and i wanted to know how
the buying experience was from this dealership.also,
given the fact that there are many horror stories about vw custumer service as well as the service debt i was wondering also how the custumer service and service debt is at this dealership.any feedback here would be greatley appreciated.thank you.........
The Sandman
Thanks!
The Sandman
The quick and dirty
2007 Rabbit
4 door
Sunroof
ESP
16” Alloys
Manual
Rubber mats
MSRP: $19,655
Sale Price: $18,953 (+TTL and all that)
Dealer in a major metropolitan area
Interest rate 7.25 with a credit score of 677 (offered 9.6-something from e-loan, and 9% through another lender)
I can’t give an easy OTD price since I still have to pay the tax on it, and I bought an extended warranty which further complicates matters.
The longer story
Still with me? Great
Let’s start with two meaty subjects: Trade-in and Extended Warranty
Trade-in – A 1999 Saturn SW2 99k miles. Was originally offered $1350 at a dealer in small mid-western town (where I live). The dealer in The Big City looked at it and (probably since I had told them what I had already been offered, came back and offered $1450. When I later told them that I planned to sell it to a private party they told me they wanted to check to see if their “buyer already had a buyer lined up for it”. Yes they did – so hearing that I planned to sell it for $2350 offered me $2200. Now I couldn’t have bluffed that deal had I tried – but it is worth keeping in mind. Turns out that they had thought my 99 was a 2000 so that changed everything once that got cleared up and I went with the private party but the lesson remains the same – try not to get low-balled on the trade-in.
The Extended Warranty – no doubt the thing that I am least proud of. I’m preparing for people telling me how I got screwed on it – but here’s the story: I bought a VW factory warranty (Platinum – 100k/5 year $0 deductible) for $1840. When they initially hit me with it, I thought about it and looked at my payment with ($376) and without ($349), and said ‘No.’ She asked me why and I explained that, although I didn’t want to go with a third-party I would risk it given that they could give me the same warranty PLUS emissions coverage (EGR valve, etc) for $1518 (Warrantydirect.com). Her response: “Well, if you take this coverage I’ll be able to negotiate the loan terms with the bank and get you a lower rate. Instead of 7.62 we’ll do 7.25. Total savings: $240 over the length of the loan (60 mos). So I’m getting a $1840 warranty for $1600 (sort of – of course that .3-whatever percent off of my interest rate is worth more because I am now borrowing more). Also weighing in on my decision – I did a quick read of the warranty exclusions and could not find anything explicitly excluding coverage on emissions stuff (the closest I found was that they do not cover “Contaminated items” whatever-the-hell that means – probably emissions stuff). But I’ve got the peace of mind that VW is somehow, sort of behind this warranty and I felt that an extended warranty was a necessary evil since I’m doing about 20k miles a year.
Want more? It definitely helped that I knew something about options on warranties. She told me that no one ever asked if you could cancel the warranty within 30 days (you can) and furthermore no one had ever asked about emissions coverage (high-cost stuff that most warranties don’t touch). I had priced out other options and knew what they said that they covered and what they didn’t. I know that I could have easily walked out of there and called another dealer and started a bidding war (I had one on speed dial with this intention) – in my understanding you do not need to buy the warranty from the dealer that is selling you the car. Downside of this is that you cannot then roll it into your loan, and in my case I’d be getting a higher rate (though I’m sure if I tried that could have been negotiated – but I wasn’t sure by how much so I didn’t even try).
Anyone still reading? If so here’s a quick rundown of the deals that I found posted here in the forums, all in one tidy spot for your convenience...first I’ll post the exact deal that they got, then the deal relative to mine (basing the additions and subtractions of features on MSRP). See above for the deal that I got.
Deal 1 - Virginia
(the only deal that I found better than mine)
16” Alloys
ESP
Manual
MSRP: $18,470
Sale Price: $17,764
+Sunroof ($1,000)
+Mats ($185)
Relative sale price: $18,949 ($4 less than mine)
Deal 2 - Location unknown
16” Alloys
ESP
Satellite
Sunroof
MSRP: $19,845
Sale price: $20,343
-Satellite ($375)
Relative sale price: $20,343 ($1,390 more than mine)
Deal 3 – Cincinnati
16” Alloys
ESP
Satellite
Sunroof
MSRP: $19,845
Sale price: $20,156
-Satellite ($375)
Relative sale price: $19,781 ($828 more than mine)
Looking at these numbers (that I figured out awhile ago) I see that on some I missed compensating for the rubber mats, but we’re just talking $185 on those so I’ll let you do the math if you want.
Even more Why I went to The Big City to buy (and why it was worth my $27 bus ticket)
Let’s just say that I wasn’t getting much offered from the dealer in my small Midwestern town in the way of discounts. He did say “Make sure we talk before you do anything else because we haven’t begun to negotiate ” But I hate negotiating and so was overjoyed when my big city dealer originally quoted me online at $702 under MSRP (and $100 under invoice – they said) for a car that is flying off of the lots (average time on the lot for one of these is 17 days nationally though I suspect less in my neighborhood).
Furthermore I ended up very close to just ordering up a Rabbit and waiting the 3-4 months of it to be built because my small town dealer said that he had done a search of an 8 state radius and could not find any car that met my specs – either in the showroom or on order. Somehow the Big City dealer was able to find my car not only that but it was only 2-4 weeks out. So – not sure why the small town guy couldn’t see this car (maybe they don’t play nice with the dealer that had it) but frankly, if they couldn’t even tell me that the car that I wanted to buy existed, then we were done talking.
Moral of the story – The Big City dealer was pushing more product so could easily, confidently offer me a better deal. They either had better relationships with other dealers than the small town folks or a better search engine, but in the end they were able to offer me options that they small town dude just didn’t have.
Please understand that I am not knocking all, or even my small town dealer but be aware of what you might be up against so that you can talk them down off of their MSRP (or above MSRP). I would have been happy to negotiate with
Miscellaneous things to consider if you’ve read this far
The guitar that you get now with the car is fetching $500+ on eBay Don’t believe me? Search for yourself So you may want to factor that into your deal ESPECIALLY if you are buying around X-Mas.
Also, if the dealer lets you put money down on a credit card (as mine did), and you go with a VW Credit Card (0% for 12 mos), you will also get $50 gift certificate
Anyway, good luck with your own VW deal. Feel free to provide feedback on any part of the deal that I got (especially the extended warranty – if you can talk me out of it in my 30-day cancellation window I’ll send you a Lobstergram).
Oh and I kept the town and city names out of this because I didn’t want people to pin it down to an exact dealer out of respect for those that make their livelihood selling cars, use this to negotiate a good deal – not to track down my specific dealer and demand the same, or better deal. Had they tried to sell me VIN etching, I may have not been so considerate.
And yes, sounds like the tired old story of new model shortage. No doubt Rabbits will be more plentiful later in the year.
That sounds really familar But I think it's a line of BS. Here my story I intially went to a dealer where I got my 04 golf. small dealer but nice guys. I wanted a 2 door manual rabbit with ESP and tire pressure option. ESP was a must the tire presure indicator was a nice option but not a deal breaker. I was told the 8 state radius line of BS. I was very close to doing a deal with them for a car in their inventory until I checked a dealer that was right around the corner from me. First Rabbit I looked at 2 door manual with ESP and 16 in alloy wheels. Needless to say I did the deal for the car I wanted. MSRP was 16,480 I paid 16,400 + tax and got a set of VW Rubber mats thrown in as well. THE TMV price is 16,470 mine is a 2007 model United Gray I feel I got a good deal. Had my financing pre approved through my CU and took delivery of the car the next day after doing the deal.
I would just say if a dealer tell you we looked in an 8 state radius .... Just get up and walk away. Do some more searches on the internet. work the phones and you'll find the car with the options you want.
BTW I love my Rabbit.
I just closed a deal last night on my new 4-door auto... the sticker prices was 18,829 and the "agreed on" price on the lease document was 17,500. Which was actually below their invoice.
The business manager said "you got a great deal, can you help negotiate for me when I get my next car?" LOL She said guys usually get better deals because they don't feel bad for the sales people.
It also helped that I have three dealers in my area and was able to get them to compete with each other.
I currently am looking for a rabbit. The dealer shows a list price, msrp of $16,695, invoice of $16,648 and is offering me $400.00 below invoice so $16,048
Not bad, i guess
If it's a demo, check how much abused the car has taken from guys who drove it.
Just remember, Dealer can sell the car brand new regardless of the mileage.
Good luck.
It is the grey one. 2Door, auto, 16" alloy, MSRP $17,105. There was one green also but I kind of fell for the grey. The saleswoman was professional. Filled the paperwork with the numbers exactly as we agreed via the emails. Did not try to push any additional products like warranties etc... I asked her boldly if she will agree to through in the floor mats in the deal. She went to ask the manager and then said she cannot do it because she already gave me the best she can offer. She showed me the paper with the Invoice which was something like $16,880. Sale price is $16,300 - over $500 bellow invoice!!! With the $500 dealer cash they are getting I guess it is worth for them. So my payments are 263/mo with $400 drive off, 36/12K. She said she waived the acquisition and document fee as well. It is amazing. Imagine how much room they have for making a profit. Just a week ago I was getting offers like $299/mo and $500 drive off. It is definitely worth shopping around.
I will write again to share my driving impression.
Great forum BTW. Thanks to Car-man and all of you guys.
2007 Rabbit
Automatic
Sunroof
3/36k miles
Thanks,
Jason
So you have a little price comparison:
2008
reflex silver
4 door
automatic transmission
electronic stability program
ground effects kit w/rear spoiler
no wheel upgrade (I'm going to get aftermarket 18" rims for summertime and use the stock 15's in the winter)
Price: $20,875
I'm looking to lease a 4 dr with auto and sunroof, for 36 months/10K miles per year. Do you have, or can pls tell me where I can get the MF, residual, acquisition fee and security dep. fee for a 2007 or 2008 Rabbit? Thanks in advance.
I am paying $159 am month ( incl. taxes ) for 4 years with a 12k miles per year limit. That is cheap motoring!
I bought at Gunther VW in Coconut Creek ( Broward County, FL ) from a guy called Kelly Clemson who was very responsive. I did it over the net and only actually spoke to him when the deal was done. I didn't get any bull from them when I went in to sign the contract and pick the car up - unlike the Volvo I bought from Maroone last year where they tried to add umpteen things to the lease based on scaring me about gap insurance, costs when returning the vehicle etc.
I know somebody else who bought a Passat from Gunther and got the best deal there ( a real hard nosed lady who always drives a hard bargain ).
The only downside was that they kept me waiting too long but overall I would give them an A- .
The Sandman
However, this is a 2006 and the 2008s are pretty much out, if not out already. There is no point in me making that offer on a 2006 when I could get a 2007 or 08 for the same price. But I'm a sucker for a good deal. I would rather get a great deal on a 2006 than a good deal on an 07 or 08.
So how low should I go. How low do you think the dealer would be willing to go. Any ideas?
after 7.775% tax/ new tag, 16750 OTD
and 0 APR for 3 yrs, paid nothing, and drove it home.
Thanks for the information..
The dealer price was 17210 and OTD price was 18900 (CA 8.25% tax).
Dealer got about one hundred something above than invoice.
I just let them get.
I think I got good deal and I used Costco and got $50 service coupon. Also I downpaid with my Credit Card. (will get some rewards).
The interest rate is a bit high like 5.75% with 60 months.
I am in SF bay area and I went to Stevens Creek VW.
6 speed auto transmission is very nice, however, on the road there are a lot of noise sometimes. I may be sensitive.
If the surface of road is flat and good, I don't hear much.
You can definitely get a decent deal on this car (used multiple dealer quotes to pressure the price down to what I wanted to pay). Wish it had a center armrest though.
2008 4-door auto
White exterior, Grey interior
basic options, no sunroof, 15" wheels, no iPod adaptor
But I got ESP and floor matt
$18800 +++ and $19830 OTD
is this a fair price?
Only option iPod connection.
Had a really nice experience with Demontrond VW here in Houston. Salesman picked up car previous night from other dealer, still had tape on it, right off the truck. Overall very pleased, Edmunds helped me get the right price in the beginning. Love the car!
Justin
I was quoted $15,895 plus TT&L. I told him I need to sleep on it, but it's the price I was hoping for. I just need to call him and let him know that I want the Goal Anthracite wheels and it will be exactly what I want. :shades:
I'm so excited! I won't be able to sleep tonight!