Does anyone have experience with this?

My current leased Q8 expires in 3 months and I’m starting to look for my next Audi. Things have sure changed since my last lease, with very little stock on the lots and all the good vehicles getting snapped up before they arrive. This will be my 6th lease, and I’ve noticed this e-deposit option on the Audi website. Apparently, according to the program terms, a customer can put a $1,000 refundable deposit on an inbound vehicle and when it arrives he has 2 days to negotiate and finalize the price with the dealer. If that fails, AFS refunds your deposit. The fine print says you can have up to 5 deposits in 5 vehicles at one time.

I’m thinking about using this to secure one vehicle each at two local dealers, and then maybe I can have a better chance at haggling for a decent price at one or the other.

Talking to them, they are each offering to hold the car if I give them a $5,000 non-refundable deposit. Why do that when this AFS program exists?

How do dealers react in the real world to customers who use these deposits?


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