Originally Posted by udrvaudi

I'm hoping to buy a car soon.

I've been waiting for the A4 6MT's to come out for a while so I can test drive them. I stopped by Pfaff Audi one day to take a look at an A4 in person and I was WOW'D!!!

In all honesty I had a long list of cars that fit the criteria: 4-door (2-door if it seats 4 comfortably), AWD, 40k or under, 0 down, Low or 0% financing and not a Volvo.

After reading up on a few cars I wrote off Subaru's WRX STI when it became exclusively a hatchback and ugly, I have no interest in Acura's SH-AWD TL's, the Infiniti G37 is out of my budget by 7k and I don't want a domestic AWD, so my shortlist ended up:
2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X GSR w/ no options
Audi A4 6MT w/ Sport Package and Bi-Xenons


My whole situation plays out like this:
Mitsubishi is bleeding money right now, I have a 'deal' in principal for an Evo X for Cost (yes cost) + $1 plus 0% financing for 48 months on the car I want. The Evo X is exciting looking and I like the performance aspect of it (I've always been into Rally Cars). However, I don't like what I hear about the bad paint (which can be cured by a 3M clear bra at a cost of $249+ tax at Audioheaven in Richmond Hill) and the notchy transmission (which can be cured by $29 shifter base bushings from AMS). In short, it seems like a great car, but I'm not sure about it's long-term quality, wear etc. I'd be pissed off if I have to replace it in 3-5 years because it's a poor build. That makes me uneasy, but the price blows me away because I can afford the monthly financing payments without issue and I really DO need a car, I don't own one now, my previous car bit the dust last May and I've been sharing a car with my mother since then.

The Audi on the other hand I like because I see it as a good investment. It's a family car, and I'm recently engaged, so I see the car and think (wow I can drive this 5+ years and still be ok), fantastic interior, no real complaints that I've read...but it isn't a sport sedan, it's not overly fast (211 hp). It's not a sexy buy, but it's a smart buy. However, what I don't have any taste for is not getting a great or even good deal on one, especially when the other manufacturer is bending over backwords to lend me money at 0% interest to take a car of their hands for a great price. The way I see it it's a recession and dealers should be competing for business. I can't swallow 4.9% financing for 60 months. The cost of borrowing is unacceptable and the monthly payments are, without a better finance rate, prohibitive. I say this because come 2010 I need to close on a new home, and I'd rather not be saddled with a $1900 mortgage payment PLUS $900+ in car payments. So literally I CAN'T afford it.

I would really like to find a way to get myself into an Audi for wholesale + 3-5% with low low financing. However given Alex's comments I don't think that's going to happen, which is a shame...because head to head with the Mitsubish for the same price I'd buy the Audi in a second, but it appears I'm being pushed the Mitsubishi (the funner but less reliable car) simply out of lack of Audi-based financing and the inability for Audi dealers to flex or bend on pricing and Audi not getting reasonable finance rates in line. 4.9% is almost double prime.

Now you're probably thinking "Oh just save up for a few months and place a larger deposit" or "Well it makes sense to buy the better car and MAKE it work". I can't do that, it's not that simple. I'm saving for a honeymoon and owe another $10,000 to the builder for the final deposit in about 180 days from now. Saving is not an option.

Anyways, I guess the moral of my story and my reason for posting is that I find it kind of funny that you have one car (the Evo) that's MSRP is $41,938+taxes etc and another car (the Audi) that's 39,700+taxes etc, and it's the more expensive car that is more affordable because of the discrepancy in financing and it's not just by a slim margin, the cost of borrowing puts the A4 at an almost $6k disadvantage!

No offense to any Audi Salesmen out there, but I hope Audi has a really bad February and March, because I really do need some incentives and financing changes in order to purchase the right car, instead of buying the cheaper car, literally and figuratively.

Cheers fellas.

Originally Posted by supersticks

Alex, as far as you know, does receiving a pension cheque from a company in the partnership program qualify for the 7% discount? (retired employee).

Originally Posted by Handyman

It was mention here that sales were up... but according to Audi:

Audi's market shares continue to grow in January
INGOLSTADT, Germany , Feb 6, 2009 - Audi sold around 56,200 cars in January. As expected, sales fell short of the record figures for the same month last year due to the worldwide economic crisis (down 28.6 percent; 2008: 78,679). In comparison to its competitors, however, the Audi brand could strengthen its position. In the midst of sharply declining markets, Audi further expanded its market share in Germany as well as Western Europe and the USA in the midst of a sharply declining market.

I guess there is still hope of rebates in upcoming months.