Apparently 2011 A5s are hard to find in stock

[gd10]

I am blown away by how many people have been calling my dealer looking for new A5s. At least 5 people a day from all over the USA.We had 3 arrive on october 1st and they were all gone by the 3rd.. I understand production numbers are low but im surprised by how fast they sell once they are in stock. We just got 1 in today(a5,ibis/black) premium plus , 19 inch wheels) and we already had 3 people try to buy it but they couldn't get financed and/or owed to much on ther trade in.

Such an amazing car, i wish we could have 20 in stock to satisfy the demand. I can't imagine how fast the pre owned ones will sell once leases start being returned.

[belinko]

What can you say. Every asshat wants one, it's got LED's.

Audi's are the "new" BMW's in my neighbor hood.

[B6JoeS4]

Is audi purposely keeping the production numbers low or are they just not able to keep up with the demand?

[AofC_RR]

Is audi purposely keeping the production numbers low or are they just not able to keep up with the demand?

Both. They did not allocate enough resources for demand and they have no desire to over produce. Most dealers are sitting on a "30 day supply" which means they have enough units for 30 days. MOST dealers normally run a 90-120 day supply if that gives you some idea how tight inventory is.

[Omeletpants]

I feel bad for the Audi salesmen. How do these guys make enough commissions to survive

[ExhaustNote]

What about the S5's? How's the allocation on those these days?

[AofC_RR]

I feel bad for the Audi salesmen. How do these guys make enough commissions to survive

Plan ahead and discount less. I've been preselling cars for the past few months since I saw this coming. I have 7 sold orders coming in before the end of the year. Then I'm trying to sell anything inbound for people who don't have an immediate need. Definitely lost more sales than I care to think about due to scarcity and not being able to get anything close to what people wanted. Dealer swapping is an eye for eye right now, if you don't have something as desirable to trade, no dice. Some people get the whole supply and demand thing, others go down the street and buy something that will depreciate like a stone since other manufacturers have more inventory than dealers can sell. The local benz and bmw dealers are down in sales and inventory is spilling out in the streets. It's fun to see people try to trade out of 08 and 09 other makes and see the huge hits they're taking for example. 2010 E550 Benz $65k MSRP, RETAILED used for $46k with 13k on the clock. $20k + in depreciation in one year. We've been selling 1 year old TDI Q7s for a few grand back of invoice. It's a crazy time to be with Audi.

[Omeletpants]

Ok, but how are the salespeople making any money?

[gd10]

Ok, but how are the salespeople making any money?

Well audi does make other cars besides the A5..... A4's are our biggest seller, followed by Q5 and Q7's. Plus CPO cars that we get in on trades and lease turn ins. Once 2008 A5s start coming off lease in a few months they are going to be a big money maker.

[gd10]

What about the S5's? How's the allocation on those these days?

Another quick seller in my area. We have 1 in stock(black/red,prestige,sport diff,carbon fiber) and it was the owners demo. Has 1600 miles on it. Our last S5 was here for about 4 weeks before a guy traded his M5 for it.

Our next S5's will be arriving in December, we have 4 coming and most likely they will be pre sold before they get here.

[FastMoneyPlaya]

2010 E550 Benz $65k MSRP, RETAILED used for $46k with 13k on the clock. $20k + in depreciation in one year. We've been selling 1 year old TDI Q7s for a few grand back of invoice. It's a crazy time to be with Audi.

You can get a big discount on a new Mercedes. For example, a brand new 2010 E550 sells for about $7K under sticker these days. So if you are smart about the way you buy, you shouldn't take such a hit on depreciation.

Also, when I bought my S5 in March, there were about four of them on the lot to choose from. I got the exact color and options I was looking for and drove out of the dealer the next day - only got $1500 off sticker, though.

Another point - when I bought my S5 the lease terms seemed awefull (which is why I wound up buying rather than leasing). The dealer was using a 44% residual value on a 3yr lease. If what you are saying about the demand for pre-owned S5's is correct, why would the residual be so low??? I felt like they were trying to rip me off with the lease, so that's why I didn't do it.

[FaceSmA5h]

You can get a big discount on a new Mercedes. For example, a brand new 2010 E550 sells for about $7K under sticker these days. So if you are smart about the way you buy, you shouldn't take such a hit on depreciation.

Also, when I bought my S5 in March, there were about four of them on the lot to choose from. I got the exact color and options I was looking for and drove out of the dealer the next day - only got $1500 off sticker, though.

Another point - when I bought my S5 the lease terms seemed awefull (which is why I wound up buying rather than leasing). The dealer was using a 44% residual value on a 3yr lease. If what you are saying about the demand for pre-owned S5's is correct, why would the residual be so low??? I felt like they were trying to rip me off with the lease, so that's why I didn't do it.

I can argue the 44% is not what AUDI expect the car to be worth. This is how they differentiate themselves from BMW. A BMW 3 series right now (lets use a 335i for example) will have a residual value of 60%. The higher the residual value (percentage wise) the lower your payment. The lower your payment also means you put in much less into the total car's net worth. With a 44% residual value (higher payments) at the end of the lease term, people would have covered most of the cost of the car already (You always start with the negotiating price first, dont let the dealers start you off at MSRP when leasing or buying).

At the end of the lease...people with higher residual value will most likely return their cars. They'll ask themselves WTF, i still owe $28K on this 335 vs owing 18K on an Audi A5 Premium Plus w/ Sports Package.

Based on my research of leases this is how I'm viewing the terms. Of course the money factor plays a role into the interest, but that's not something most people can haggle on (especially if you don't have a Tier 1 credit score).

Please correct me if I'm wrong (but this is more or less how I see it). BTW, Most of the lease forums on edmunds for the A5 Premium Plus...the Residual Value is between 50-55%. I've never seen anything less or more than that. I'm sure geographical area plays a role into buying a car as well (especially hard to find if you're not in a major metropolitan area).