Just wondering if I have any leverage on this scenario.
Leased a 2023 Audi Q5e about 3 weeks ago and drove off without $0 down.
Audi called this week saying they made a mistake and that the rebates cannot be used toward any drive off fees and I have to pay $1,300 to complete the deal. One of the things that was brought up during negotiation was to do $0 drive off and so this would be a step backwards.
At this point I have put about 1,000 miles on the car and it seems if I don’t pay the $1,300, they would probably have to take the car back since at this time audi hasn’t really finalized the deal and so in theory I’m driving their car. i do have temp tags that expire Aug 1st.
Obviously they want me to just put the money down and be done with it.
Do i have any additional negotiation leverage here? They did force on me a protection package for $750 but I’m trying to get them to foot the $1,300 down. I could meet them halfway if they just tool off the protection package.
How bad is this situation for the dealership since i assume if I put no money down they would have to take the car back with 1,000 miles and have to sell as used???
The payment would reduce cap cost and in turn reduce monthly payments but I was going to do an immediate buyout anyway so it was a moot point.
Backstory was we had agreed on price before I showed up to the dealership. They then added on protection package that through hours of work only got them to budge a little. They then try to squeeze me on a non standard money factor but I accepted knowing i would buyout anyway. And now with this thing, it’s just been countless hours wasted at a dealership where I feel like my time and money isn’t valued.
And now in July there are better options for me so I could just give them the car back and get a new better deal elsewhere but trying to see if it’s worth the hassle or not
If it was me, I wouldn’t renege on the deal just because they pissed me off during the process. After all, you won’t be out any additional money, but will just have a different lease structure than what you wanted - maybe ask them to throw in some floor mats or something to compensate.
I know you think you can do better this month and if you want to hand over the car with 1k miles all because of a procedural mistake, you can try to go that route. I personally wouldn’t do that as I consider it borderline unethical.
Are you still going back and forth on buying the car v. leasing? It doesn’t make sense to spend time if you haven’t decided. If you want the car, as @GOAT said, tell them to pay the $1300 or pick up the car. If you know you can get a better deal elsewhere, should make your decision even easier.
Ask them to cover the 1300 as a dealer discount, my guess is they prolly prefer you to just pay rather than taking the car back, since it already had 1k miles on + car value depraciate right away out of the lot. If they take the car back, they can only sell it as preowned or at “demo car” at best
If I were they, I wouldn’t want to take the car back
So after understanding their psychology, try negotiating the 1300 down since it was their mistake anyways.
Worst case they are stubborn for the 1300, just walk away and make better deals somewhere else. Id never make business w dealers not value my time and trust
It’s just moving money around. The effective monthly isn’t changing. It also shouldn’t change anything when you buy out the car. Walking from a deal you agreed to simply bc it’s structured slightly different seems a little harsh.
Recap your experience so far to the dealer and explain why you feel your time hasn’t been valued.
No issue having them move the money from the drive offs to the monthly or vise versa. However, you’ll only do this if they remove the protection package product (unless you’re referring to audi care). If they’re not willing to remove the package, they can have the car back.
You agreed to a deal on the cost of the car. You had second thoughts on the product over the last few days. If they’ve also installed / applied said protection package, their cost is so low that it’ll be a nice favor from them and far less painful than taking the car back.
I’ve reached out to the dealer about 3 times now, 1st in person and the next 2 over email. They have not responded to any of my proposals and I’m now a little more than a month out from signing the original contract. I’m also 15 days out from when they 1st reached out saying their is an issue.
I’m thinking I do nothing now and let them come to me - at this point, I’m okay with walking away and finding another vehicle/dealership to buy from. My only concern is if for some reason they can get that deal to go through and I would have 2 cars.
Sidenote why I think they might be taking awhile is because this was a lease in June where standard MF was .00289 and they charged me .00329. In July, it changed to .00312 and so they are getting less back from the deal and they could be waiting until August to see if something changed since I assume they have to date the new agreement as of this date and not what it was in June.
Any other reasonable assumption why they haven’t responded?
How did they force you?
In 37 years and many I have never paid for those interior and exterior protection packages.
If they r already on car I tell them, well I didnt ask for it so I am not paying for it.
Same with dealer added wheel locks, pin stripes and stupid local mark ups.
None of this makes sense, something is missing. What did they say when you went into the dealership? I’d tell them to eat differance or take the car back, from the little detail you’ve given on your deal, I assume it’s awful. Have you confirmed if the deal has funded with Audi?
