Audi R8 - The hardest car to buy in N. America?

[gokartmozart]

I was discussing the R8 with an acquaintance who has had a few Audis in the past and recently inquired to this former CA about an R8 in the showroom (customer's :(). Seems all the allocations are and will be spoken for 2 years, at least. He said this is the most difficult car to get even if you are will to pay WAY over MSRP and that the CA stated that they are returning deposits due to the likelihood of p*ssing off customers (who only were in the queue because they are loyal repeat customers).

I am amazing Audi would limit the car so much. Couldn't they have known they needed to produce at least twice the amount of vehicles the first year at least? Besides losing sales (these deposits returned will turn to a Maserati or 2009's next "hot" car), Audi could have priced it $20k more and still sold more if available.

Anyone else told such a long time to pick one up?

[Kzang]

I'm told Ferrari cars are THE hardest to get.

[Burrogs]

I'm told Ferrari cars are THE hardest to get.

I've been told this as well. Apparently the dealerships have some sort of unspoken agreement to not sell first time buyers new models, to make it prohibitively expensive, or to make you wait for an unreasonable amount of time (akin to a full model run). Want an F430, well we'll put you on the list for the second year run of the F450. You basically have to buy a preowned car before they will put you on the waiting list for a new model. Even then, the waits are upwards of 8 months. I think most of this is due to the preferential treatment of existing customers. I'm sure a lot of them put in their order for the latest and greatest as they're taking delivery of their current model. Kind of like getting a good tee time :mad: It's har to get in, but once you're in, you're set.

All I can say is that I've never seen a new Ferrari on the showroom in Dallas.

I remember reading an article about this in some mag about 6 months ago. Something like Ferrari was losing potential customers to Aston and other manufacturers due to the poor dealership treatment and "boy's club" mentality. If I had the money, I'd rather have a Gallardo anyway.

[gokartmozart]

YEah, that was my general understanding before my new friend told me the story about the showroom R8* and the Audi guy's tale of returning long-standing deposits.

*The skinny on this R8 was that the customer had the usual deposit down, the car arrived in showroom, the owner (of the dealership, a large company who owns alot of Houston European dealerships) wanted the dealership to add $25k onto the total, the GM and SM didn't want to p*ss off the customer, so in an internal struggle the car sat there waiting for who was going to win. Shortly thereafter, the car went on eBay, but it was the potential owner (not the dealership) who was trying to sell the car for $25k over retail (without a title obviously)! My friend only knows the car is no longer in the showroom.

[Andrew*Debbie]

$20K+ over MSRP is too greedy.


If I had $120,000 to waste on a car, I'd get something else.

[Excitmnt94]

the R8 is an amazing machine...
when the supply is that low and demand that high...
the price is market driven and usually stupidly expensive...
because there are people with fat wallets that just want the exclusivity and awe-factor knowing they have what everyone else wants...

yet some cannot afford it or they cannot rationalize spending that much over MSRP.
yeah well...such is life...

[sdbrandon]

I was discussing the R8 with an acquaintance who has had a few Audis in the past and recently inquired to this former CA about an R8 in the showroom (customer's :(). Seems all the allocations are and will be spoken for 2 years, at least. He said this is the most difficult car to get even if you are will to pay WAY over MSRP and that the CA stated that they are returning deposits due to the likelihood of p*ssing off customers (who only were in the queue because they are loyal repeat customers).

I am amazing Audi would limit the car so much. Couldn't they have known they needed to produce at least twice the amount of vehicles the first year at least? Besides losing sales (these deposits returned will turn to a Maserati or 2009's next "hot" car), Audi could have priced it $20k more and still sold more if available.

Anyone else told such a long time to pick one up?

The issue is few dealers are authorized to service them. Audi built something they can't really support. When they do break down, plan on being without the car for a while.

[GeneArch]

I've been on the "list" for several months. "best guess" is delivery next summer.

I'm thinking that I may walk across the parking lot and see about ordering a C4S in the spring. That new PDK looks pretty sweet. (but it is a $4K+ option)

[Andrew*Debbie]

Just came across this on eBay. Faster than an R8, half the price and you can have it now. Won't be as comfortable and I hate the color. Yes it is road legal.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/The-Worlds-Fastest-Caterham-Seven-7-K2RUM-K2-RUM_W0QQitemZ150282437646QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item1 50282437646&_trkparms=39%3A1|66%3A2|65%3A7|240%3A1318&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

[mtbscott]

I've got a Ferrari anecdote too. There's a guy in our local Cayman group who also owns a F430. He said he originally had to buy a "pre-owned" car at a markup from the local dealer a few years ago. You agree to sell it back to the dealer after a set amount of time and/or mileage, and then you can work your way up to buying new ones at MSRP. Same deal, you sell it back later and get another one, he was on his fourth one now. If you decide to get greedy and sell the one you bought to someone "outside the club" for a profit, the dealer cuts you off. Audi tried a variation of this at first, telling early buyers that they had to agree to sell it back to Audi for the first year...but it didn't work too well. I suspect supply of R8's will catch up with demand at some point, but it may be a couple of years still.

[Test_Engineer]

I'm told Ferrari cars are THE hardest to get.

My order still isn't filled. :mad: :angel:

[pilotman]

The issue is few dealers are authorized to service them. Audi built something they can't really support. When they do break down, plan on being without the car for a while.

Do you have a source for this information? I just happened to be getting an oil change at my local Audi/VW/Porsche dealer and they had two R8s in the showroom with "sold" tags on them.

I was asking him how much oil changes and other maintenance were, and he indicated that all Audi dealers charged the same rate and were qualified to service the R8...was he wrong? :dunno:

that would suck if not all authorized Audi dealers are "authorized" to service the vehicle.

[mtbscott]

Audi dealers had to "buy in" to the R8 program, not unlike some other marques/models (VW Phaeton was like this.) Involved was from what I've heard about a $100K investment in special tools/equiptment and training for their service techs and salespeople. It's not that big of a deal, if your local dealer can sell R8's then they can also service them. I'm guessing that pretty much any major market is going to have dealers carrying them, only a small market Audi dealer who likely wouldn't sell many anyhow would have passed on the chance.

[Watchdog]

I don't have any idea how many Audi dealers can service the R8, but I do have a friend who's a mechanic at an Audi dealer (he works on my Audi at his own home garage for a fraction of dealership prices) and when he went for training to learn how to service the R8 he was the only mechanic from his dealership that went. So his dealership can service them, but if he's on vacation, you might have a bit of a wait ;)

[teh_jev]

My order still isn't filled. :mad: :angel:
Hell, I'm still trying to get them to let me onto the lot let alone place an order. I want to go Aston Martin anyway.

[BimmerDave]

I was discussing the R8 with an acquaintance who has had a few Audis in the past and recently inquired to this former CA about an R8 in the showroom (customer's :(). Seems all the allocations are and will be spoken for 2 years, at least. He said this is the most difficult car to get even if you are will to pay WAY over MSRP and that the CA stated that they are returning deposits due to the likelihood of p*ssing off customers (who only were in the queue because they are loyal repeat customers).

I am amazing Audi would limit the car so much. Couldn't they have known they needed to produce at least twice the amount of vehicles the first year at least? Besides losing sales (these deposits returned will turn to a Maserati or 2009's next "hot" car), Audi could have priced it $20k more and still sold more if available.

Anyone else told such a long time to pick one up?

Audi is trying to go the "exclusivity" route. A friend of mine bought his for 30k over. It is still possible to get it from the dealership as long as you have the right connections and are willing to pay over. If I were interested in the R8, I'd be totally fine with the limited production. Limited production = better resale value.

On a side note, there are definitely quite a few other vehicles that are tougher to get.

[motion]

the list is long. If you attempt to get on it now, you are probably not going to see the car until the first half of 2010. However, if you are willing to pay $20k over, there are quite a few on autotrader. My relationship with my dealers have kept everything at list. Some dealers may get an extra car without it being specced to your liking, but those are the new ones that are selling for $30k over. The R8 is an awesome machine, but my gripe with it is that it is lacking torque / power. As soon as the V10 comes out the V8 will go back to the dealer.

[AB]

the list is long. If you attempt to get on it now, you are probably not going to see the car until the first half of 2010. However, if you are willing to pay $20k over, there are quite a few on autotrader. My relationship with my dealers have kept everything at list. Some dealers may get an extra car without it being specced to your liking, but those are the new ones that are selling for $30k over. The R8 is an awesome machine, but my gripe with it is that it is lacking torque / power. As soon as the V10 comes out the V8 will go back to the dealer.

What a nice stable of cars in your sig! :yikes:

[motion]

I don't have any idea how many Audi dealers can service the R8, but I do have a friend who's a mechanic at an Audi dealer (he works on my Audi at his own home garage for a fraction of dealership prices) and when he went for training to learn how to service the R8 he was the only mechanic from his dealership that went. So his dealership can service them, but if he's on vacation, you might have a bit of a wait ;)

Many stand alone dealers can get the car as long as they can service them. From what I understand, there is an initial investment that goes to being able to service the car, which is whhy some dealers do not want to sell the car outside of their local area.