Just Ordered My S3 Saloon With 10% Off List Price!

[Nawaid]

Hi all

Just ordered myself an Audi S3 Saloon S-tronic. With a bunch of extras the total was £38240 and i have got it for £34443! Not bad considering there is a 7 month waiting list!!! Roll on March 1st!
I highly highly recommend www.carfile.net upload the spec you want and Johnathan will call you.


My question is: How big of a discount have you received from a main dealer?

 

[jonnyfeng]

i got 11 percent i think i was told, straight through the dealer

 

[Liquidfusion-S3]

How far away is the Audi dealer from where you need to pick up the car?
Which main Audi dealer did carfile put you through to?
I'm also in the same position as you, thinking of ordering an S3 (part exchange) but don't want to travel all the way up to Scotland to pick up the car if it's there.

 

[jonnyfeng]

It's my local dealer. I actually applied via car wow.co.uk and received offers from several dealers across the uk. Then I took the best offer to my local dealer and asked them to match or beat it. They matched it and that's how I ordered with them

 

[Liquidfusion-S3]

Sorry I mean Nawaid through Carfile, I know they put you through to a specific dealer after getting your details.
However I will try carwow and see how much the discount is.

 

[jonnyfeng]

Why don't you try calling your local dealer and asking what they can do for you? Explain that other dealerships are offering 11 percent and request that they match the offer to give them your business as apposed to another branch. Luckily for me there is 5 Audi dealerships within 20 miles so I can ping between them and get the best deal i can

 

[veeeight]

With a bunch of extras the total was £38240 and i have got it for £34443!

Is £38240 the OTR price, which is including delivery, VAT, registration fee, Vehicle Excise Duty?

 

[Pulp84]

7.5% discount I achieved from my local dealer and £1k extra on trade in. Think someone on here recently managed 13%

10% I would expect as a minimum through a broker for going through the hassle of buying from a dealer that isn't local. When I was looking for my S3 earlier in the year, every broker I spoke to was putting me in touch with a dealer minimum 200 miles away. Yawn. Can't be bothered with that for £700 extra saving.

 

[A3_Rider]

Initially 8% now sits around 9.1%, I didn't expect to get more than the broker discount from a dealer; I am just happy to deal in person and its close to me.

 

[Bristle Hound]

My local Audi dealer, which I have had 3 new A4's from in the past, absolutely flatly refused to match my best internet price

Result? Local Dealer lost a sale & I saved over just £1000 on their best offer going thro' carwow

Yes, I have to travel 150 miles to collect it. I am bothered? Not for £1000 I'm not!

 

[Psyman79]

I got 8% off from Aberdeen Audi on an S3 Saloon S-Tronic. Didn't think that was too bad from probably one of the busiest dealerships in the UK

Best offer i got was 9.5% from Coventry Audi through carwow but wanted to stay local.

 

[The Challinor]

7.5% discount I achieved from my local dealer and £1k extra on trade in. Think someone on here recently managed 13%

10% I would expect as a minimum through a broker for going through the hassle of buying from a dealer that isn't local. When I was looking for my S3 earlier in the year, every broker I spoke to was putting me in touch with a dealer minimum 200 miles away. Yawn. Can't be bothered with that for £700 extra saving.

Same opinion as you, to be fair a really did push local dealer and played against drive the deal. Got within £400 of it, was really worth paying more to buy local. With all the test drives, spec changes, them getting in cars for me to try options, well worth it.

Unless I suddenly become less indecisive I'd always buy local.

 

[Nawaid]

Is £38240 the OTR price, which is including delivery, VAT, registration fee, Vehicle Excise Duty?

Yes that's with all my extras

 

[Nawaid]

Sorry I mean Nawaid through Carfile, I know they put you through to a specific dealer after getting your details.
However I will try carwow and see how much the discount is.

Yeah it's a specific audi dealer but they have the country covered

 

[2low4u]

Cheshire Oaks Audi gave me £1000 off list and gave me one of their own demo car build slots, ordered it yesterday and delivery expected end of October. I did do the whole car wow/DTD shopping around thing, but I quite liked the idea of walking into my local dealer and building up a relationship, I think in a few years time when I come to change they will be more inclined to give me a discount to keep my repeat business.

 

[SpLuFF]

I got 11% of an Audi A3 with DTD saved myself 3k on list... my local dealer could only do 1.7k off list price so I went with DTD.. I don't trust dealerships and don't mind having to travel 200 miles to collect will be a nice trip out and drive home in the new car

 

[monkeyhanger]

The dealer is not your mate unless you know him outside the business of selling cars to you. I have a very good "relationship" with one salesman at my local VW garage I use, but if I could get a significantly better deal elsewhere then i'd be off. I've been promised an exceptional deal next time because the PDI left the transport pucks in my front shocks (which I discovered a fortnight later, when the top suspension mounts had taken a battering and I had a look around under the gaiters), but probably no better than I would normally negotiate. The customer satisfaction rating for VAG dealerships mean a huge deal to them in terms of additional discount from VW/Audi UK etc.

For £200 I wouldn't chase down the other end of the country, but for £500 or more I certainly would. Worth keeping in mind the "cost to change" if you have something to part-ex as an exceptional discount on the new car usually follows bottom book on the part-ex. If I can get 11% off my S3 I plan to get next year and £500 more than GFV on my Golf GTD I will be very pleased.

 

[veeeight]

These percentage figures that are being talked about.....

The discount is only applicable to the base car price, and options.

The following are shouldn't be included in the discount but people frequently lump them in when comparing discounts:
Delivery, VAT, Registration fee, Vehicle Excise Duty.

 

[j0nny2013]

The thing is it's like anything, you buy in bulk and you get better discount. The likes of Coventry obviously have a lot more allocations to sell cars compared to some dealers who have only half that. They are more likely to want to take chance with the small allocations and sell to someone who isn't pushing for large discount. You can hit lucky with local dealers if they have allocations left at the end of the quarter. I find December the best time.

 

[SpLuFF]

These percentage figures that are being talked about.....
The following are shouldn't be included in the discount but people frequently lump them in when comparing discounts:
Delivery, VAT, Registration fee, Vehicle Excise Duty.

What do you mean by this?

The price I was quoted by DTD includes VAT, delivery charges to an address in England, number plates, Road Fund Licence and Vehicle Registration Charge (if applicable

Are you saying I will actually pay more than the price quoted on top?

 

[veeeight]

VAT isn't discountable, and some things (e.g.: VED) are not subject to VAT.

So discounts are only applied to the Base Car Price, and Options, pre-VAT and other charges as listed above.

It would be incorrect to take your final figure (including delivery, VAT, VED, Registration etc.) then apply your discount in ££, and derive a % discount from that.

Are you saying I will actually pay more than the price quoted on top?

No, the price quoted by DTD will be the final price, I was just sounding a caution against people saying "I've got 10% off the list price" - because some elements of the list price aren't discountable, so the % quoted isn't correct.

And it makes comparing x% discount with y% discount difficult, because some people will have done the calculation correctly, others not.

Just saying "I got £xxxx off the £nnnn OTR price" would be the best way to do discount comparisons.

 

[Foxtrot_Oscar]

I went to first local dealer who asked if I could afford an Audi. Second local dealer was a million times better and after test drives, including a long 24hr test which included a trip to Scotland and roads I know well, I sat down with him to talk figures.

I told and showed him what CarWOW were offering, told him I was prepared to travel those distances to get the discount but also reminded him that I was sitting in front of him and ready to sign for it now if the figures were right.

After some backwards and forwards with his sales manager, we agreed on a figure that wasn't that far from the top CarWOW discount, but the added benefit was my order would be a spec change on an existing build slot, so less of a wait. I signed and paid my deposit there and then.

 

[monkeyhanger]

I think OTR price discount is the only defined discount that counts universally - it is what comes out of your bank account. I also think that options added (as a £ figure) are highly relevant. It has always seemed to me that dealers have far more leeway to discount on a well specced car than the base model, suggesting that the margin in these options is considerably higher as a % than that of the car. I'm sure it'll be harder to get 11% off a £33k S3 than a £37k S3.

 

[SpLuFF]

veeight thanks for clarifying that

 

[veeeight]

I think OTR price discount is the only defined discount that counts universally

And is universally the most confusingly incorrectly used measure !

You can bet that when dealers quote discounts, it won't be on OTR (because they know that is incorrect) - but mere punters do so !

This is what leads to comparison confusion, and doesn't help people comparing discounts.
A dealer might offer a 8.3% discount (calculated correctly)
Then someone else's pipes up and says he's got 10% off (on OTR).

That's comparing apples to oranges.

 

[monkeyhanger]

If everyone measures the same way then there is little room for confusion. If the OTR price is £37k for your spec and you paid £33k for it, that's a 12.1% discount. There aren't that many items within the OTR price that aren't subject to VAT, and they are pretty insignificant on a £33k car, a £55 first registration fee and a year's road tax.at £180 - they make up a mere 0.75% of the basic OTR price of a £31265 S3 Sportback.

99.25% of the car is therefore subject to VAT, so the difference in % from OTR to Audi's RRP before necessary add-ons (such as VAT, delivery charges etc) is negligible. 10% is still 10% (if you're not getting into decimals). If you save 10% off the pre-VAT car, you'll save 10% on the total amount of VAT paid also. In fact, when comparing a 10% discount on the basic car and then putting all the add-ons on with the appropriate amount of VAT, you're £94 (0.3%) better off with 10% off the OTR price rather than 10% off the basic car, Because you've had 10% off the whole price, rather than 10% off the 99.25% that is subject to VAT, and the fact that the £590 delivery pack wasn't discounted at all.

 

[veeeight]

No matter how much you want to measure discount as applied to OTR, it is still the incorrect way to do it.

You need to re-examine your sums, things that are not subject to discount and/or VAT are:
Delivery (£491.67) (not discountable but is subject to VAT)
VED ((£180) (is not subject to VAT)
Registration (£55) (is not subject to VAT)
So 491.67x1.2 + 180 + 55 = 825

£825 as a percentage of a £26,780 (before VAT) is 3.1%. Hardly insignificant, and therefore extremely misleading when comparing apples to oranges.

As I've said before, the only correct method to quote discounts, is on the base car price, and the options. Nothing else. Do not include delivery, Registration, VED or anything else.

And has been discussed many times before, re not applying discount to OTR:
http://www.audi-sport.net/xf/threads/audi-dealer-discounts-on-new-a3-sportsback.208018/#post-2065598
http://www.audi-sport.net/xf/threads/2013-audi-s3.181542/page-91#post-2027899
(Never thought I'd ever be quoting the infamous PilotAudi ! )


This is the way dealers quote discounts, and therefore this should be the basis for comparisons, not on OTR price.

 

[monkeyhanger]

Dealers quote discounts this way so as to confuse the average consumer, or maybe their maths is so poor they can only quote what the computer tells them rather than working out the OTR priced discount - OTR is the only price that matters to the consumer, it is what they shell out.

 

[veeeight]

There is of course the small matter of legality -

if a dealer tried to officially quote discounts on VAT and other non discountable items the FSA would be knocking on the door.

 

[monkeyhanger]

Comparison maths:-

£31265 OTR price -£180 (VED) -£55 (first reg fee) -£590 (delivery charges inc VAT) = £30440

£30440/1.2 (to remove the VAT) = £25367 RRP of car pre-VAT

£25367 x 0.9 (10% discount) = £22830

£22830 x 1.2 (to add the VAT back) = £27396 10% discounted RRP inc VAT and no other fees

Add fees: £180 (VED) +£55 (first reg fee) + £590 (delivery charges inc VAT) = £28221 OTR inc dealers RRP discount of 10%

£31265 x 0.9 = £28138 OTR price including 10% off the OTR price

You pay £83 more via the dealership RRP discount vs OTR discount, both 10% given, or in % terms, 0.3% of OTR price.

I'd rather have 10% of the whole cost rather than 10% off most of it, but in the grand scheme of things 0.3% is next to nowt, and that significance drops further when you add options that are all subject to VAT.

Someone who got 10% off by your definition of discount paid 0.3% more than someone who got 10% off their OTR price - the difference is pretty insignificant, little more than a full tank of fuel.

 

[veeeight]

^ Delivery is not discountable.
Do the math again

 

[monkeyhanger]

There is of course the small matter of legality -

if a dealer tried to officially quote discounts on VAT and other non discountable items the FSA would be knocking on the door.

If they knock 10% off the OTR price, they still pay the correct amount of VAT for that purchase, so no dealer would officially quote discounts on VAT. Irrelevant comment. When any retail seller does a "save the VAT" promotion, they are giving you a 1/6 or 16.67% discount, and the price you pay still includes 20% VAT.

 

[veeeight]

You are tying yourself in knots.

There is a difference between knocking 10% off the OTR, and knocking 10% off the base price, then adding delivery, then VAT, then the VED and Registration.

It does not amount to the same thing.

Why are you trying to tell everyone to discount OTR, when the Audi Dealer does not do it this way? It makes no sense whatsoever.

 

[monkeyhanger]

^ Delivery is not discountable.
Do the math again

Here in the UK we say "maths".

No need to. If they knock 10% off the top line (OTR), the discount comes off the car, any options, wherever they want to take it - it is just a matter of presentation to the consumer, the consumer doesn't have to see the maths behind the pre tax/extras price.

That is where the 0.3% comes in. At no point above have I discounted the £590 inc VAT delivery charge singly in either the OTR 10% calc or the RRP calc. It came off the RRP calc whole and then got reapplied whole. You are wrong, maybe the first time you have heard it, but it's fact.

If you haggled £100 (Inc VAT) off a bedroom furniture set, they could (if they were bothered) write it up any way they wanted, whether it be giving you a £100 (inc VAT) chest of drawers for free, or knocking £100 (inc VAT) off the wardrobe, or maybe £50 (inc VAT) each off the bed and the wardrobe. Same with the car. You might get £3k discount by way of the dealer not discounting the car at all, but by knocking it off any optional equipment you may spec, all still subject to VAT of course.

 

[veeeight]

Math or Maths are both correct abbreviations of Mathematics, I see no problem here

You are trying to evangelize (!) a discount method, based on OTR, that is

1. Incorrect
2. Not used by the Audi Dealers

Despite trying to dress up promotional opportunities, discounting on VAT on VED is not legal in the UK, and promotions are merely fudging the price - something which you are doing here!

As such, discounting the OTR figure is of no help to anyone here, forum or elsewhere, when they are trying to look at their finance proposal that is generated by the Audi dealers. And even worse when not comparing apples with apples.

 

[monkeyhanger]

You are tying yourself in knots.

There is a difference between knocking 10% off the OTR, and knocking 10% off the base price, then adding delivery, then VAT, then the VED and Registration.

It does not amount to the same thing.

Why are you trying to tell everyone to discount OTR, when the Audi Dealer does not do it this way? It makes no sense whatsoever.

Yes, there is a tiny difference, 0.3% difference, and to the consumer it does not matter how their discount comes about, only that they get it.

If I buy a £31265 car and I say to the dealer I want 10% off OTR, amounting to £3126.50k off, I really don't need to know where in the calculation it is coming from as the average consumer.

If you pay RRP on an S3 Saloon at £31265, do you really need to know that the car is £25366.67 before VAT, before £55 first reg fee, before £180 VED and before £590 delivery charges (inclusive of VAT)?

If you get 10% off that £25366.67 before all other charges and taxes are applied at full rate (£22830.00), your OTR price will ultimately be £28221 vs £28138.50 OTR, and to achieve that, the discounted price before all other charges and taxes applied will be £22761.25.

Bottom line is that someone who got 10% off their OTR price got their basic car (pre-charges and taxes) for £65.71(+VAT) cheaper than someone who got 10% off the basic price, 0.3% cheaper. If you ask for 10% off the OTR price, the dealer will do the behind the scenes maths to make it so if they agree to that level of discount.

 

[veeeight]

You are trying to evangelise a discount method, based on OTR, that is

1. Incorrect
2. Not used by the Audi Dealers

Discounting the OTR figure is of no help to anyone here, forum or elsewhere, when they are trying to look at their finance proposal that is generated by the Audi dealers.

Thus a potential customer may get very confused, upon asking for 10% OTR (your example) and seeing it on the finance proposal amounting to "only" 9.7% discount.

Stick to the correct method, and no-one gets confused.

 

[monkeyhanger]

Math or Maths are both correct abbreviations of Mathematics, I see no problem here

You are trying to evangelize (!) a discount method, based on OTR, that is

1. Incorrect
2. Not used by the Audi Dealers

Despite trying to dress up promotional opportunities, discounting on VAT on VED is not legal in the UK, and promotions are merely fudging the price - something which you are doing here!

As such, discounting the OTR figure is of no help to anyone here, forum or elsewhere, when they are trying to look at their finance proposal that is generated by the Audi dealers. And even worse when not comparing apples with apples.

Under none of my examples above have I discounted VED or VAT. I have simply shown that if I want 10% off the OTR price, it will come from the basic car price and the amount off the basic car RRP needed to achieve 10% off OTR price is slightly greater than that needed to just give 10% off the basic RRP - making an x% discount off OTR prices slightly better than the same x% discount applied to the basic RRP only.

Audi dealers (and any other) fudge prices all the time, whether it be declaring that they gave you £1k more on your p/x in lieu of the same amount of discount on your new car (both of which save VAT - VAT saved on the new car - they sold it for £1k less, therefore saving £166.67 VAT payable, and officially they make £1k less on the p/x when they sell it on and pay VAT on their profit, also saving £166.67. Their accountants will be doing all they can to minimise their VAT paid and other tax liabilities with all manner of schemes to which you will not be privy.

The discount method is not incorrect, a discount is a discount. If I want £3126.50 off a £31265 I will ask the Audi dealer to make it so. The maths is not difficult (maybe to an Audi salesman). As for comparing apples and oranges, I have shown that in the grand scheme of things there is 0.3% between a 10% OTR discount and a 10% RRP discount - at worst I am comparing a single apple to 1.03 apples of the same size/weight.

Do you dispute that £3126.50 off the full OTR price (£28138.50 paid) via a 10.3% basic price discount is better (albeit by a mere 0.3%) than a 10% basic price discount that will give you £3044 off the OTR price?

 

[veeeight]

Audi dealers (and any other) fudge prices all the time,

Not on the finance proposal. The structure is clear, and non confusing.

Unlike the fudging you're presenting doing an imaginary discount off the OTR.

 

[monkeyhanger]

I trust most people in the market to own an Audi (assuming they have a half-decent level of education or grasp of finances) to work out what 10% of OTR to be, to knock 10% off RRP and see what they are left with, which should come out at the same value as the Audi breakdown that will list all sorts of numbers and arrive at a single OTR figure. Audi should be more flexible in expressing the costs in a non-accountant way that the average customer will find transparent. They are generating finance examples on a daily basis for very expensive purchases, yet some (many) do not understand the maths behind the bottom line - that is what is wrong with car finances.