Affirmative on both...2002s will cost a few hundred bucks more, and the cassette tape is dead, may it rest in peace. AM/FM/CD Standard Equipment beginning with May build dates on sedans & wagons. April 10th last build date for 2001.5 wagons.
If I were to order a 2002, approximately how long would I have to wait to get the vehicle? One dealer claims he is the "only" dealer getting the exact car I want in the central region. (I find that hard to believe) So if he can't give me the deal I want, I may have to order from the dealer who gives me the best price.
Do you know if the AM/FM/CD availabe in the 2002 can be retrofitted to the 2001.5? My GLX is stock, and it is my understanding that if I were to buy the in-dash CD, it would not replace the existing head unit, but rather fit into the cubby hole and I would still have the tape deck. Any ideas how much the AM/FM/CD will cost if purchased through the parts department?
No, I am sorry, but I have not even seen the new HU...much less any pricing on it...this news is really only days old. Jamie reported it on the Vortex last week, and I just learned about this running change last month at a VW meeting.
The inf. that you have on the currently available In-Dash CD is correct, and because you are a Passat Owner you can have it configured over or under the existing head unit...can't do that with Jetta or Golf.
Will let you know as I hear more...Hope you are enjoying your new Passat!!!!
I have to tell you, the height of irony is being called a know-it-all by someone who is proclaiming to know the answers without any of the facts.
Perhaps I have been in discussions with VW dealers in the DC area. Perhaps if I intend to order a 2002 model, I will in fact go to a DC dealership. But now let's assume that the model car I want is not available in my state or any of the five surrounding states. Perhaps at that point I begin to look outside the region for the car I want, to see if I can get it sooner. Why look in Bernardsville, NJ? Perhaps I have occasion to be there for some other reason that would make it feasible to travel up that far (and thus negating travel expenses since they are a sunk cost anyway)!
If I was only looking to shop out prices, there are no fewer than 25 VW dealers within an hour of my home and I have spoken with many of them, some who were willing to deal and some who were not (how do you think I got a low bid?), but all were civil and professional. I can certainly respect the fact that B'ville VW does not want to cut a deal on these cars, seeing as they are of a fairly limited nature. That's their perogative. It is my perogative to walk away.
And notice that my first offer was indeed just that, a first offer. No counteroffer (or even rejection of my offer) was ever made. This is called negotiation. Instead, I was treated to a CAP MESSAGE response suggesting that I do not know what I'm talking about. Of course I just had invoice pricing. Who cannot get invoice pricing now? But when every major consumer service (including Edmunds) agrees with those figures, you start to get suspicious. On top of which, other dealers had already corroborated that the data was, in fact, in the right ballpark. No, I do not expect the dealer to sell me a car for no profit, why would they? As you pointed out, I have no idea what they actually paid, so I'm going to go in low and work my way up. My concern is to pay as little as I have to, not worry about the dealer's profit margin, that is his concern. My problem is not with the salesman's decision to sit on the car, but rather with the immediately combative stance he took. I too have selling experience, in cars as a matter of fact. I know that you can negotiate in a professional and civil manner without getting personal or combative. Sometimes it is unavoidable, but it is the salesman's job to control the tone of the sale, or else turn the customer over to someone who can. The only consequence for the buyer is to go elsewhere. The consequence for the seller is a missed opportunity to capitalize on a precious lead. You NEVER prequalify a prospect.
I had every intention of purchasing the car if a mutually acceptable deal could have been reached. Who would fabricate such an exchange just to post something on the web to stroke their own ego? Where does someone come up with that? If you must debate something, it can be the decision to post the exchange on the web. I felt that the exchange was unprofessional and unnecessarily inflamatory and felt that other buyers in a similar position had a right to learn from my experience, just as I have learned from others. We reap what we sow. I'm sorry if this leads to any hardship for this salesman, but it takes two to tango. One of the consumer's best weapons is the public forum (internet, demonstration, Better Business Bureau, etc). In a capitalist society, the threat of reproach to a legitimate reputation keeps many businesses in line. If sellers take care of their customers then they have nothing to fear.
Great so what you are saying is Sacramento has higher than norm ad fees? Just my luck!
Can you post a list of dealers who don't have ad fees? That way I can E-mail them to death in the name of saving $100 even though I really have no intention of making the drive. If I'm lucky I'll get one to go postal and then post the exchange on the net!
Good to hear from you...Hey! You have all of the high-roller pols up there... Service from those two dealers that we were talking about are neck & neck in the CSI catagory, and on the high side as well; so you should be okay in that regard.
As to those dealers without Ad fees, all are from Santa Cruz & south, and SLO has a $5.00, including yours truly!
There's an intelligent response for you. I expected something more from you cliffy.
A salesman of any kind is lucky to sell even 10% of the contacts he makes. That means that all but 1 out of every 10 people who express interest in his wares is "wasting his time" by your definition. I only asked this man to do his job, nothing more. If my bid was low, it was his job to overcome the objection and sell the product, not offend the customer. He's a professional salesman, not an order taker.
If I were to go out and rebid the contract for office supplies at my job, I would put out a request for proposals and collect bids from multiple vendors. Lowest bidder who can provide the service gets the sale. Why should buying a car be any different?
There are only two ways to compete in a free market, profitability and efficiency. Therefore, you can compete on price, you compete on service/quality or, rarely, you can compete on both. Same car, same service, I guess it's competing on price. He offered neither. You call his actions sticking to his guns and applaud him. I call it rude and unprofessional and posted his comments in this forum for others to see. What's the difference? Either way he failed to do his job.
It's the American way. I'm sorry if you don't like it, but that's the way it is.
Take it for what you will. I have nothing further to say on the subject as it is clear that you are simply bent on creating ill will and not on contributing anything useful. This thread is unlikely to bear any more fruit for those who came here to learn about Passats.
Thanks for the inputs and best wishes to all with your VWs.
Thanks for the short course on "The American Way" You touched on some key subjects that they forgot to mention to me in Grad School. I am in your debt.
All I can say about is that even though I like the site I am glad there is not currently an "Edmunds.com" for my industry.
Just do what I did. Throw a changer in it. I can load the entire Zeppelin Box set at once! =D And the Stones and a Dance CD.. and...etc...
That being said.. the car was bought for a family member in college. Guess who just got on Academic Probation after last semester? And Guess which big bad Car-Dealer cousin found out?
Someone is going to trade me their Passat for a Bus Pass on Sunday. Debating whether to sell it (I dont technically need it) or to keep it. I do love driving it...
Smart idea, IMO, to make a CD Player standard. I can't remember the last time I saw a car with a tape deck in it that I was appraising that actually had a tape in it... and when people buy cars with CD Players in em, you always see em grabbing CDs at delivery...
Thanks Brentwoodvolvo, however, I don't really like the changers. I don't find them very convenient, especially when they are in the trunk. Actually, depending on the price of the 2002 head unit and whether it can be retrofitted, I may just buy an mp3 player instead.
Hey, VWguild, do you guys have any wagons out there? It seems that on the East Coast, all of the wagons are in Bernardsville. We've got nothing! By the way, I put in some orders for Wagons last week, and the rep kicked em back "DENIED"! I think they should have a combo stereo unit. All the VW owners have been basically forced to keep buying cassettes over the years, so they will be abandoned if its all CDs! I saw the info on VWVortex. There must be unreported plans to kcik up the V6 horsepower on the Passat. Any word on that in your meeting?
I have 1.8T Wagons...2.8s are few and far between, and I have to pull a few strings to get any.
And, yes...AM/FM/CD only as far as I know...I think Sony is doing them, but are a bit behind schedule. If memory serves only their high end *Mobile* Systems are unamplified, and of course the Monsoon System has to configured in; so who knows? I am just glad that is someone other than me trying to put it altogether.
The only customers of mine that still use tapes are for Books on Tape, and those will probably be going away soon as well.
Have heard nothing about doing anything with the existing 2.8L...There are presently so many options for them to choose from, that I am sure if anything is done; it will be part of a broader plan and market positioning after the W8 is introduced.
The message posted by jamgraf brought back memories from last summer.... I was in the market for a new Passat, did all the footwork through the Internet and scheduled a Test Drive, on the promise that my Internet contact would give me the best deal on a new Passat. After the test drive and all the schmoozing we sat to discuss a price. The MSRP at the time was $28,656.00 and the dealer asked me to make an offer... (What's new right? Having done my homework, I made a bid which was $200 over the invoice price, at which time the manager at Jim Ellis VW in GA., at once made a counter offer of $28,600.00 and sported a huge smile as though I was some sort of idiot who should be grateful to be there at all... He was very upset by my trying to lowball his precious Passat and almost took it personally. I laughed and left without a word. What can one say! If they think a $56 rebate on a car is something worth mentioning, then they should keep all units in their precious stock. I then went to the Honda dealer next door and spoke to the fleet manager, who punched a few numbers in their computer and offered me the exact same VW Passat I had just driven, for $ 25,500.00! I felt like buying the car and driving up to the VW dealer just to give that sorry excuse of a manager a piece of my mind. After giving it a lot of thought I bought a Honda Accord EXL, with a much better engine, lots more room and comfort for a little over $20.5K, (Not to mention the insurance is $400 lower on the Accord here in Ga.) So in fact I think the visit to VW did teach me something. Now I know where NOT to got when shopping for a car...
Not all experiences have to be bad ones. I just finished ordering a 2001.5 Passat GLX 5 speed with in-dash CD. I dealt with 2 dealers and both were very positive experiences.
I test drove the Passat at my local dealer. My salesman was very courteous, no pressure, no hurry and answered all my question like he had actually studied the product he was selling and some on the phone after that. I let him know that I was just beginning my search. All he said was, "I hope to be able to earn you business". After test driving competing vehicles.. Acura, Maxima and Volvo I decided on the Passat. I did my numbers homework and check out market conditions and pricing on the internet.
I then called the next closest dealer and was very direct in that I had decided on the Passat, I was price shopping, and would be giving my local dealer a shot at my business, and explained how I preferred to do business. The salesman, said no problem and gave a quote that I would consider quite fair. It took all of 10 minutes. Told him I would be back in 3 days to let him know the outcome.
A couple of days later I called my local salesman. Told him I was ready to buy and that I had shopped around. I did NOT present my quote from the first dealer. I explained that I wanted a price that included all fees, just add tax and tags. First price was a little high second price was a real winner. It took about 15 minutes. If you have a calc this was the final deal..
Invoice (including the infamous 117 and destination) + $280 in-dash CD +$349 + 3%tax + $61 tags = out the door price.
I did call the other dealer back and gave him the results. Was a little surprise that his competition beat his price but was very polite and said please come back if the deal for some reason went south. There was no attempt on my part or his to play one against then other. Maybe I could have drawn out the process and saved another 50 or 100 but it would not have been worth my time and I am not sure to what end. In this end, I wish I could have given my business to both dealers but I was buying only one car. I pick it up next week.
Your experience with the VW dealer is very much in line with what I have been thru. Not so ironically, I am struggling to justify the Passat against the Accord as well. The Accord has it beat hands down in terms of value, reliability, resale, etc. The insurance differences that you mentioned are right on the money too. But once I test drove the Passat, I said to myself..."I gotta have this car!" Though, without the classier new looks I would have probably made the same the decision you did.
Personally, I think the Passat is worth every penny.
First, the Accord can't touch its' resale value. A $24K Passat will only cost perhaps $1K more t o own over 3 years than the Accord if you compare resale values.
And, I love how the Passat drives It's a reallly fun car to drive and, to me, the Accord is boring to drive.
My experience with purchasing Passat was excellent. First of all, I started negotiations at the beginning of week and finished them at Friday, when I picked up the car. I finished almost everything over the phone. First I called all dealers asking them to send me an offer. Then when I got 4, I went to dealership and was offered invoice price + dealer fee+tax and Tag.
I was already approved for credit, so they were very surprised (maybe they thought that I am not serious buyer) when I immediately told them that I am buying it.
I got: 2001.5 GLS, manual, with no options for 20457$+200$ dealer fee. Final price with Tax and tag is exactly 22 000$. I added Panasonic CD changer which I bought over internet for 194$ + interface for it. No need to buy expensive Monsoon. I think that Passat is one of the best cars in its class and I am very happy with it.
Since I put such high miles on my car(30,000/yr), believe me when I say the Accord will be worth more than $1,000 more than the equivalent Passat on resale. Honda's with 120k miles are much more desireable in the resale market than 120k VW's. It also will be about $300/year more to insure. Add that to the fact that they are about 4k to 5k more expensive for apples to apples features and the Passat will be about $10,000 more to own over the four years assuming that they both cost the same to maintain(another area that the honda has the passat "statistically" whipped. But you are right when you say the accord is boring. I like the Passat enough that I'll probably spend the extra cash. Its only money!
Ahhh... that changes things a bit. I was assuming about 40K or so On a 98... over 3 years (The average trade-in I see is roughly 3 years old).
A clean 98 Passat GLS 4c is worth, right now, about $14K-15K for the right car wholesale here in FL while an Accord LX is worth about $11-12K or so. IIRC The Passat was about $22K or so and the Accord about $19K or so... So that's how I was basing it. Heck, the Passat may be cheaper when you look at it this way. One of my favorite sayings is how a $57K Mercedes E430 costs about as much to own over 3 years as a $35K Cadillac Catera!
Yup... High Miles kill VWs worse than they kill Hondas (Although a 97 right now with 120K on it isnt worth much at any rate Im afraid) But... I dont think you'll get as badly beaten up as you may think.
A 90K mile 98 Accord LX ought to be worth about $7,500 or so while a Similar Mile 98 Passat ought to be worth about $9K or so. While the gap closes with the miles Hurting the VW more, it still really isn't that bad really. The Passat would have cost you roughly $13K in depreciation and the Honda $11,500.
These are based on recent auction results. I saw a Silver 98 GLS Passat that did $10,500 in there with 93K on it! But I also saw a 172K mile 98 Accord do $7250 so ya never know! Those were oddballs...
So, actually, it isn't as bad as you might think!
The resale value on the Passat is one thing I really do like about it. ALG even gave it an award for best family sedan for resale value.
I hope you are right regarding those resale values. The only thing stopping me is that I have not found the right color/equipment combo. I keep hearing "we'll dealer trade for it" or "lets see what we have in the port of San Diego". Heck, thats no fun! I cover half of California with my job so one of these days I will wander onto a lot at lunch and there it will sit...hopefully with a semi-reasonable sales manager.
Glad to hear about the Passat resale values.. I just bought 1 after owning nothing but Hondas since '87, 2 Accords for myself and my wife 2 Civics. Hondas are rock solid. You just don't worry about them. Change the oil, stick to the maintenance schedule and drive trouble free. I have also found them easy to resell. I usually have several buyers waiting to buy my used Hondas. (I do take care of my cars.) This time around I wanted a 6 cyl with a 5 speed. Nothing within the Honda family fit that category. In addition while overall they do most things well they just don't have that something extra. (Except: Try the 2002 Acura TLS.. Nice car, it can move, and has some character).
My VW buying experience was very positive. Honda dealers want to sell you all sorts of extras, e.g. environmental protection packages, pin stripping, mud gards.. etc... One salesman actually told me that buying the Honda without the EVP was like take home a Pizza without the pizza box. I broke out into hysterical laughter. I thought he was being funny but he was dead serious and insulted at my reaction. I apolgized but still told him that was one of the funiest lines of my car buying experiences.
I've been kicking tires for a while and I think I have found what I'm looking for. You guessed it, a 2001 Passat. I found a dealer with access to a 2001GLS 1.8t with tip, silver on black leather and extended warranty for 23.9k out the door. After reading this forum for a while, I think I can live with that deal. I do, however have a few concerns. 1. How difficult/expensive for a dealer/aftermarket cd-changer? Should I push for a VW changer on the arm or maybe offer to split the cost of a aftermarket set-up? The audio problems seem to be a common thread here. Any help would be great.
I have always heard from this forum that the residuals on the Passats were between 62-68 %. My local dealer insists that 57% is the best out there and that it is nationwide. Has anyone bought recently that can confirm this?
New 2001.5 Residuals Vary depending on Model from 68%-70% for a 12 Month Lease...39 Months it is 56%-57% 42 Months it goes from 53%-54%, and 50%-51% on 48 months...
Were you referring to a specific Passat with you Dealer?
I was quoted almost $1500 over invoice for a 2001.5 GLS with Leather Package and Luxury Package. Does anyone know anything about the prices in Houston, or, I am even willing to go to Austin or Dallas or San Antonio to save a few $$$! I thought I was getting a reasonable deal since it was only a few dollars above Edmunds's TMV...after reading all of these posts, I am not so sure! Please help!
Where in Houston are you considering buying your Passat? I have an appointment with Archer VW on S. West Freeway Wed. to discuss prices of the GLX. Are you interested in buying or leasing?
Archer on SW Freeway is exactly who I am dealing with. I was interested in either balloon note financing or Leasing..but regardless, you still have to negotiate a price on the car. Have you been anywhere else? I was looking at Audi A4's at Don McGill Audi on I-10. It was a total nightmare, actually, it was your worst nightmare of a typical "Cheesy Used Car Salesman" on a TV comedy. If anyone is shopping there...be sure and do the math on the work sheet that they give you, in fact, check and make sure that EVERY number that they give you adds up. It may look like it adds up, but sometimes it does not! The last words that my husband and I heard out of the "Finance Manager's" mouth were..."You are lucky that I am giving you 10 minutes of my time on a Saturday!"....we were trying to buy a $30,000 car from them! I wouldn't take that kind of customer service from someone that I was buying a bagel from, let alone a car!
Justing reviewing the Townhall - I just saw that you got a GLX with the in-dash CD and auto for $28,300. That's the best deal I've heard so far. I've gotten quotes from Alexandria VW and Stohlman and haven't tried Fairfax VW. I guess I need to contact them. Any advice on how to proceed? Did you have your financing all worked out when you called? Who did you speak with? Was it Jason? I saw a subsequent message from him. What color did you end up getting and what was the interior color? I have yet to see the gray leather interior. Just curious.
I don't know what the prices are like in the rest of the country, but I was looking at a 1.8T GLS with luxury package. Through email I got a quote of $23,100 from Alexandria VW and Fairfax VW said they could beat that by a couple hundred. That tells me that the GLS is going to about $100 above invoice around here. As the saleman put it "It's very competitive out here, and we're trying to win". Since it was 89 degrees yesterday during my testdrive, I did notice the A/C saps a little low-end power. Not worth the $ or gas for a V6. I still think the New Passat is gorgeous and drives wonderfully. Anyone wanna buy a 1996 Pathfinder LE with LOW miles??? (i want the passat!!)
Hi everyone. I'm about to order a new 2001.5 GLX. This is my first car purchase so I'm unsure how much of a deposit I should put down. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Thanks for the info on the 2001.5 lease. The lease I was quoted was for 39M and a GLX. So, I guess the %57 they gave was about right. I really thought it was around %62.
Hi Tim_Hooligan, I saw your post. So are you definite on the GLS 4cyl with luxury? I'm trying to make the decision between GLS 4cyl with all options vs GLX. Like you, the gas mileage and $3K price difference are making me think about it. Although I worked it out and financing is approx $62 dollars a month difference (I'm figuring financing of $28,300 for GLX vs $25,000 for GLS at about 7.25% interest). So I'm straddling the fence on it. Are you going to stick with Fairfax VW? Are they quoting you the best deal so far?
Can someone PLEASE lemme know whats the price(Invoice / MSRP / etc) of a 2001.5 (Dont we love that *new* look !) Passat with Luxury Package ... 4 cylinder Automatic ... the one with Moonroof and alloy wheels. Anyone having bought that beauty in California, PLEASE please post your dealer-neogotiation expereince and the cheque you wrote for them.
Help a fellow Passat admirer in his negotiations with them #%$ Dealers please !!
Telaine... I can't speak for the difference between the GLS and the GLX because I haven't tried a GLX, but it's all personal. If you need more upscale and $60/month more doesn't matter, go for it. Personally, the GLS with Luxury Package (alloys and moonroof for vwpassat20015) is a great deal. I can get a great car for under 23k. Then again, if you want the V6 and leather, GLX would be the way to go. GLS 1.8T with Luxury Package: MSRP 25k, Invoice 22,800 : Jason (fairfax vw) is ready to sell you one for invoice, right? As far as where to shop, just call around or email them. Tell them what you're looking for and that you would like a quote that INCLUDES freight. A couple dealers quoted without freight and that's quite a difference. My advice would be to get that quote, and see who can match/beat it depending on who has your car in stock. Stohlman VW is evil, and Fairfax VW likes to play games. Then again, don't they all? If I wanted service, I would go to Acura and spend the cash on a TL Type S or the new RS-X. If you have any more questions, just email at : Seventim3@aol.com
As someone else said earlier, the differences between the fully loaded 1.8 GLS and the GLX all come down to personal preferance and how much emphasis you place on those GLX features that you can't buy as options on the GLS. For me, I wanted a near-luxury car and the GLX was the only way to get that. I love the rain-sensing wipers, the memory seating (great for multiple drivers), the climatronic, the electric folding mirrors (great for ATM drive thru) and the electric seats. I am indifferent about the auto dimming rear view, and the tilting passenger-side rear view when in reverse.
All of these features make me feel like I am in the Acura/Infinity etc. luxury class, and I feel it was money well spent. However, if you are just wanting to get the recognizable 'look' of the Passat, and like some features but not others, the GLS may be the way to go. Another thing, the V6 is much smoother and quieter than the 1.8T, particulary during acceleration and at speed. Many people who want to modify their car or can't afford the GLX but like the body styling of the passat go for the GLS. Highly personal preferance.
I did not say you played games, per se, Jason. You have been very straight-forward when I asked for a quote. In general, when I state to a sales manager that I will be back after I sell my car and they continue to ask what they can do to help, it is rather irritating. Most the time I really appreciate good customer service and someone who is willing to work with me. Then again, perhaps Sal is just trying to make a sale (which is understandable)!!! My point...if a customer says " I love this car, and when I sell my current car, I will be back to buy one from you." leave it at that. Sal did redeem himself by following up today but not harassing me. P.S. Jason, you know a good price to sell a 1996 Pathfinder LE with 37,500 miles? Blue book lists it at 18,500 in good condition (which it is). Not to mention the warranty on it...just curious!!! Didn't get any hits from the washingtonpost
P.P.S. Just say the new 2002 Altima online today. Trying to copy the passat body. Still nowhere as nice as a passat though!
If you are seriously giving Passats away for a buck over, maybe its time to turn in your demo and get yourself some Rainbow Vacuum brosures. Ever heard of building value???????
Pricing (invoice & msrp) has been beaten to death on this forum. Try reading the previous posts i.e. scroll up and look for the pricing and related links.
You guys have more experience than I do and we are going to look tomorrow so... Any info, where to go, what price to shoot for, for each model without options, etc. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks
Comments
cassette tape is dead, may it rest in peace. AM/FM/CD Standard Equipment
beginning with May build dates on sedans & wagons. April 10th last build date
for 2001.5 wagons.
Thanks for any insight!
Do you know if the AM/FM/CD availabe in the 2002 can be retrofitted to the 2001.5? My GLX is stock, and it is my understanding that if I were to buy the in-dash CD, it would not replace the existing head unit, but rather fit into the cubby hole and I would still have the tape deck. Any ideas how much the AM/FM/CD will cost if purchased through the parts department?
on it...this news is really only days old. Jamie reported it on the Vortex last week,
and I just learned about this running change last month at a VW meeting.
The inf. that you have on the currently available In-Dash CD is correct,
and because you are a Passat Owner you can have it configured over or under
the existing head unit...can't do that with Jetta or Golf.
Will let you know as I hear more...Hope you are enjoying your new Passat!!!!
again later...
Perhaps I have been in discussions with VW dealers in the DC area. Perhaps if I intend to order a 2002 model, I will in fact go to a DC dealership. But now let's assume that the model car I want is not available in my state or any of the five surrounding states. Perhaps at that point I begin to look outside the region for the car I want, to see if I can get it sooner. Why look in Bernardsville, NJ? Perhaps I have occasion to be there for some other reason that would make it feasible to travel up that far (and thus negating travel expenses since they are a sunk cost anyway)!
If I was only looking to shop out prices, there are no fewer than 25 VW dealers within an hour of my home and I have spoken with many of them, some who were willing to deal and some who were not (how do you think I got a low bid?), but all were civil and professional. I can certainly respect the fact that B'ville VW does not want to cut a deal on these cars, seeing as they are of a fairly limited nature. That's their perogative. It is my perogative to walk away.
And notice that my first offer was indeed just that, a first offer. No counteroffer (or even rejection of my offer) was ever made. This is called negotiation. Instead, I was treated to a CAP MESSAGE response suggesting that I do not know what I'm talking about. Of course I just had invoice pricing. Who cannot get invoice pricing now? But when every major consumer service (including Edmunds) agrees with those figures, you start to get suspicious. On top of which, other dealers had already corroborated that the data was, in fact, in the right ballpark. No, I do not expect the dealer to sell me a car for no profit, why would they? As you pointed out, I have no idea what they actually paid, so I'm going to go in low and work my way up. My concern is to pay as little as I have to, not worry about the dealer's profit margin, that is his concern. My problem is not with the salesman's decision to sit on the car, but rather with the immediately combative stance he took. I too have selling experience, in cars as a matter of fact. I know that you can negotiate in a professional and civil manner without getting personal or combative. Sometimes it is unavoidable, but it is the salesman's job to control the tone of the sale, or else turn the customer over to someone who can. The only consequence for the buyer is to go elsewhere. The consequence for the seller is a missed opportunity to capitalize on a precious lead. You NEVER prequalify a prospect.
I had every intention of purchasing the car if a mutually acceptable deal could have been reached. Who would fabricate such an exchange just to post something on the web to stroke their own ego? Where does someone come up with that? If you must debate something, it can be the decision to post the exchange on the web. I felt that the exchange was unprofessional and unnecessarily inflamatory and felt that other buyers in a similar position had a right to learn from my experience, just as I have learned from others. We reap what we sow. I'm sorry if this leads to any hardship for this salesman, but it takes two to tango. One of the consumer's best weapons is the public forum (internet, demonstration, Better Business Bureau, etc). In a capitalist society, the threat of reproach to a legitimate reputation keeps many businesses in line. If sellers take care of their customers then they have nothing to fear.
Can you post a list of dealers who don't have ad fees? That way I can E-mail them to death in the name of saving $100 even though I really have no intention of making the drive. If I'm lucky I'll get one to go postal and then post the exchange on the net!
up there...
Service from those two dealers that we were talking about are neck
& neck in the CSI catagory, and on the high side as well; so you should
be okay in that regard.
As to those dealers without Ad fees, all are from Santa Cruz & south,
and SLO has a $5.00, including yours truly!
A salesman of any kind is lucky to sell even 10% of the contacts he makes. That means that all but 1 out of every 10 people who express interest in his wares is "wasting his time" by your definition. I only asked this man to do his job, nothing more. If my bid was low, it was his job to overcome the objection and sell the product, not offend the customer. He's a professional salesman, not an order taker.
If I were to go out and rebid the contract for office supplies at my job, I would put out a request for proposals and collect bids from multiple vendors. Lowest bidder who can provide the service gets the sale. Why should buying a car be any different?
There are only two ways to compete in a free market, profitability and efficiency. Therefore, you can compete on price, you compete on service/quality or, rarely, you can compete on both. Same car, same service, I guess it's competing on price. He offered neither. You call his actions sticking to his guns and applaud him. I call it rude and unprofessional and posted his comments in this forum for others to see. What's the difference? Either way he failed to do his job.
It's the American way. I'm sorry if you don't like it, but that's the way it is.
Take it for what you will. I have nothing further to say on the subject as it is clear that you are simply bent on creating ill will and not on contributing anything useful. This thread is unlikely to bear any more fruit for those who came here to learn about Passats.
Thanks for the inputs and best wishes to all with your VWs.
You touched on some key subjects that they forgot to mention to me in Grad School. I am in your debt.
All I can say about is that even though I like the site I am glad there is not currently an "Edmunds.com" for my industry.
me know what your impressions are...
Just do what I did. Throw a changer in it. I can load the entire Zeppelin Box set at once! =D And the Stones and a Dance CD.. and...etc...
That being said.. the car was bought for a family member in college. Guess who just got on Academic Probation after last semester? And Guess which big bad Car-Dealer cousin found out?
Someone is going to trade me their Passat for a Bus Pass on Sunday. Debating whether to sell it (I dont technically need it) or to keep it. I do love driving it...
Smart idea, IMO, to make a CD Player standard. I can't remember the last time I saw a car with a tape deck in it that I was appraising that actually had a tape in it... and when people buy cars with CD Players in em, you always see em grabbing CDs at delivery...
Bill
$1200 for the 10GB unit...
Sony, or whoever, is doing the new HU for 2002 is running a little
behind schedule due to some configuration problems.
By the way, I put in some orders for Wagons last week, and the rep kicked em back "DENIED"!
I think they should have a combo stereo unit. All the VW owners have been basically forced to keep buying cassettes over the years, so they will be abandoned if its all CDs!
I saw the info on VWVortex. There must be unreported plans to kcik up the V6 horsepower on the Passat. Any word on that in your meeting?
Jason
pull a few strings to get any.
And, yes...AM/FM/CD only as far as I know...I think Sony is
doing them, but are a bit behind schedule. If memory serves only
their high end *Mobile* Systems are unamplified, and of course the
Monsoon System has to configured in; so who knows? I am just glad
that is someone other than me trying to put it altogether.
The only customers of mine that still use tapes are for Books on Tape,
and those will probably be going away soon as well.
Have heard nothing about doing anything with the existing 2.8L...There are
presently so many options for them to choose from, that I am sure if
anything is done; it will be part of a broader plan and market positioning after
the W8 is introduced.
Have a good month!!!
I was in the market for a new Passat, did all the footwork through the Internet and scheduled a Test Drive, on the promise that my Internet contact would give me the best deal on a new Passat.
After the test drive and all the schmoozing we sat to discuss a price. The MSRP at the time was $28,656.00 and the dealer asked me to make an offer... (What's new right? Having done my homework, I made a bid which was $200 over the invoice price, at which time the manager at Jim Ellis VW in GA., at once made a counter offer of $28,600.00 and sported a huge smile as though I was some sort of idiot who should be grateful to be there at all... He was very upset by my trying to lowball his precious Passat and almost took it personally. I laughed and left without a word. What can one say! If they think a $56 rebate on a car is something worth mentioning, then they should keep all units in their precious stock. I then went to the Honda dealer next door and spoke to the fleet manager, who punched a few numbers in their computer and offered me the exact same VW Passat I had just driven, for $ 25,500.00! I felt like buying the car and driving up to the VW dealer just to give that sorry excuse of a manager a piece of my mind. After giving it a lot of thought I bought a Honda Accord EXL, with a much better engine, lots more room and comfort for a little over $20.5K, (Not to mention the insurance is $400 lower on the Accord here in Ga.) So in fact I think the visit to VW did teach me something. Now I know where NOT to got when shopping for a car...
I test drove the Passat at my local dealer. My salesman was very courteous, no pressure, no hurry and answered all my question like he had actually studied the product he was selling and some on the phone after that. I let him know that I was just beginning my search. All he said was, "I hope to be able to earn you business". After test driving competing vehicles.. Acura, Maxima and Volvo I decided on the Passat. I did my numbers homework and check out market conditions and pricing on the internet.
I then called the next closest dealer and was very direct in that I had decided on the Passat, I was price shopping, and would be giving my local dealer a shot at my business, and explained how I preferred to do business. The salesman, said no problem and gave a quote that I would consider quite fair. It took all of 10 minutes. Told him I would be back in 3 days to let him know the outcome.
A couple of days later I called my local salesman. Told him I was ready to buy and that I had shopped around. I did NOT present my quote from the first dealer. I explained that I wanted a price that included all fees, just add tax and tags. First price was a little high second price was a real winner. It took about 15 minutes. If you have a calc this was the final deal..
Invoice (including the infamous 117 and destination) + $280 in-dash CD +$349 + 3%tax + $61 tags = out the door price.
I did call the other dealer back and gave him the results. Was a little surprise that his competition beat his price but was very polite and said please come back if the deal for some reason went south. There was no attempt on my part or his to play one against then other. Maybe I could have drawn out the process and saved another 50 or 100 but it would not have been worth my time and I am not sure to what end. In this end, I wish I could have given my business to both dealers but I was buying only one car. I pick it up next week.
First, the Accord can't touch its' resale value. A $24K Passat will only cost perhaps $1K more t o own over 3 years than the Accord if you compare resale values.
And, I love how the Passat drives
Again, it's all subjective.
Bill
First of all, I started negotiations at the beginning of week and finished them at Friday, when I picked up the car.
I finished almost everything over the phone. First I called all dealers asking them to send me an offer. Then when I got 4, I went to dealership and was offered invoice price + dealer fee+tax and Tag.
I was already approved for credit, so they were very surprised (maybe they thought that I am not serious buyer) when I immediately told them that I am buying it.
I got: 2001.5 GLS, manual, with no options for 20457$+200$ dealer fee. Final price with Tax and tag is exactly 22 000$.
I added Panasonic CD changer which I bought over internet for 194$ + interface for it. No need to buy expensive Monsoon.
I think that Passat is one of the best cars in its class and I am very happy with it.
But you are right when you say the accord is boring. I like the Passat enough that I'll probably spend the extra cash. Its only money!
A clean 98 Passat GLS 4c is worth, right now, about $14K-15K for the right car wholesale here in FL while an Accord LX is worth about $11-12K or so. IIRC The Passat was about $22K or so and the Accord about $19K or so... So that's how I was basing it. Heck, the Passat may be cheaper when you look at it this way. One of my favorite sayings is how a $57K Mercedes E430 costs about as much to own over 3 years as a $35K Cadillac Catera!
Yup... High Miles kill VWs worse than they kill Hondas (Although a 97 right now with 120K on it isnt worth much at any rate Im afraid) But... I dont think you'll get as badly beaten up as you may think.
A 90K mile 98 Accord LX ought to be worth about $7,500 or so while a Similar Mile 98 Passat ought to be worth about $9K or so. While the gap closes with the miles Hurting the VW more, it still really isn't that bad really. The Passat would have cost you roughly $13K in depreciation and the Honda $11,500.
These are based on recent auction results. I saw a Silver 98 GLS Passat that did $10,500 in there with 93K on it! But I also saw a 172K mile 98 Accord do $7250 so ya never know!
So, actually, it isn't as bad as you might think!
The resale value on the Passat is one thing I really do like about it. ALG even gave it an award for best family sedan for resale value.
Hope this helps!
Bill
I keep hearing "we'll dealer trade for it" or "lets see what we have in the port of San Diego". Heck, thats no fun! I cover half of California with my job so one of these days I will wander onto a lot at lunch and there it will sit...hopefully with a semi-reasonable sales manager.
My VW buying experience was very positive. Honda dealers want to sell you all sorts of extras, e.g. environmental protection packages, pin stripping, mud gards.. etc... One salesman actually told me that buying the Honda without the EVP was like take home a Pizza without the pizza box. I broke out into hysterical laughter. I thought he was being funny but he was dead serious and insulted at my reaction. I apolgized but still told him that was one of the funiest lines of my car buying experiences.
Any help would be great.
68%-70% for a 12 Month Lease...39 Months it is 56%-57%
42 Months it goes from 53%-54%, and 50%-51% on 48 months...
Were you referring to a specific Passat with you Dealer?
Where in Houston are you considering buying your Passat?
I have an appointment with Archer VW on S. West Freeway Wed. to discuss prices of the GLX.
Are you interested in buying or leasing?
Archer on SW Freeway is exactly who I am dealing with. I was interested in either balloon note financing or Leasing..but regardless, you still have to negotiate a price on the car. Have you been anywhere else? I was looking at Audi A4's at Don McGill Audi on I-10. It was a total nightmare, actually, it was your worst nightmare of a typical "Cheesy Used Car Salesman" on a TV comedy. If anyone is shopping there...be sure and do the math on the work sheet that they give you, in fact, check and make sure that EVERY number that they give you adds up. It may look like it adds up, but sometimes it does not! The last words that my husband and I heard out of the "Finance Manager's" mouth were..."You are lucky that I am giving you 10 minutes of my time on a Saturday!"....we were trying to buy a $30,000 car from them! I wouldn't take that kind of customer service from someone that I was buying a bagel from, let alone a car!
Thanks
Since it was 89 degrees yesterday during my testdrive, I did notice the A/C saps a little low-end power. Not worth the $ or gas for a V6. I still think the New Passat is gorgeous and drives wonderfully.
Anyone wanna buy a 1996 Pathfinder LE with LOW miles??? (i want the passat!!)
I'm about to order a new 2001.5 GLX. This is my first car purchase so I'm unsure how much of a deposit I should put down. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Thanks again...
Hope you are having a good one.
Can someone PLEASE lemme know whats the price(Invoice / MSRP / etc) of a 2001.5 (Dont we love that *new* look !) Passat with Luxury Package ... 4 cylinder Automatic ... the one with Moonroof and alloy wheels. Anyone having bought that beauty in California, PLEASE please post your dealer-neogotiation expereince and the cheque you wrote for them.
Help a fellow Passat admirer in his negotiations with them #%$ Dealers please !!
{{ 2001.5 4-Cylinder Automatic Transmission + Luxury Package. }}
Thanks a lot in advance. Take it easy.
SK
Jason
I can't speak for the difference between the GLS and the GLX because I haven't tried a GLX, but it's all personal. If you need more upscale and $60/month more doesn't matter, go for it. Personally, the GLS with Luxury Package (alloys and moonroof for vwpassat20015) is a great deal. I can get a great car for under 23k. Then again, if you want the V6 and leather, GLX would be the way to go.
GLS 1.8T with Luxury Package: MSRP 25k, Invoice 22,800 : Jason (fairfax vw) is ready to sell you one for invoice, right?
As far as where to shop, just call around or email them. Tell them what you're looking for and that you would like a quote that INCLUDES freight. A couple dealers quoted without freight and that's quite a difference. My advice would be to get that quote, and see who can match/beat it depending on who has your car in stock. Stohlman VW is evil, and Fairfax VW likes to play games. Then again, don't they all? If I wanted service, I would go to Acura and spend the cash on a TL Type S or the new RS-X.
If you have any more questions, just email at : Seventim3@aol.com
Good luck!
All of these features make me feel like I am in the Acura/Infinity etc. luxury class, and I feel it was money well spent. However, if you are just wanting to get the recognizable 'look' of the Passat, and like some features but not others, the GLS may be the way to go. Another thing, the V6 is much smoother and quieter than the 1.8T, particulary during acceleration and at speed. Many people who want to modify their car or can't afford the GLX but like the body styling of the passat go for the GLS. Highly personal preferance.
Jason
I was just given the following Lease quote on a 2001.5 GLX:
3-1/2% over invoice($28,707)
GLX
w/o CD Player
$485 a month(w/taxes)
Is this a fair price???????????
Jake
My point...if a customer says " I love this car, and when I sell my current car, I will be back to buy one from you." leave it at that. Sal did redeem himself by following up today but not harassing me.
P.S. Jason, you know a good price to sell a 1996 Pathfinder LE with 37,500 miles? Blue book lists it at 18,500 in good condition (which it is). Not to mention the warranty on it...just curious!!! Didn't get any hits from the washingtonpost
P.P.S. Just say the new 2002 Altima online today. Trying to copy the passat body. Still nowhere as nice as a passat though!
Pricing (invoice & msrp) has been beaten to death on this forum. Try reading the previous posts i.e. scroll up and look for the pricing and related links.