I found a 1st Edition white / grey just sitting on the lot, about an hour away from me. There are 11 dealers a closer distance to me, but over the past two weeks I've been regularly searching most of Northern California for available inventory, and those that got 'em want too much.
So I was shocked when I cold-called Sunday afternoon and was told they'd sell it for the sticker price, despite other dealerships unashamedly quoting $3k to $5 markups.
I texted a couple of closer-by sales reps I'd been in communication with to see if they wanted to price match and save me the trip; none did.
The one "shenanigan" is that this dealership does the window etching and some type of clear decal paint protection to every single car in inventory, the tune of $600. This had me at a loss because I felt like I wasn't in a position to negotiate, and this is pure profit. So I tucked my tail.
But I lucked out, sort of. At signing, the finance guy made it known he had to sell 12 more annual prepaid maintenance visits for the dealership to meet a VOA monthly quota, so he offered me 8 years at cost, for $495. This in lieu of the clear protective tape (deduct $350), no markup on their end. It's not worth much to me, but it'll be good for a few brake fluid services and some cabin air filters. I don't feel as ripped off by this as opposed to paying for strips of vinyl tape.
The puzzling thing was the qualification for the $1500 California Clean Air Reward. This dealership isn't listed as a participant. My sales guy texted me that they were. But when I arrived, at first they tried to link the $1500 credit to their outrageous financing. I thought the deal was going to go south, but they eventually came back to me and gave $1500 plus the VWFS promotional 1.85% rate. I have a feeling the $1500 came as a dealer discount because there was no paperwork for the state credit anywhere in my signing stack, and just checking now, they're still not on the website.
Also, oddly, the dealer's website description listed a black interior. When I pulled some photos off the web Sunday night to show to my wife how that looked with the white steering wheel, she said basically "oh helz no!" I called at closing to verify and was told the interior was grey. Phew.
Anyhow, after 3 hours I was driving away with my wife's new ride, a little bit of a mixed bag but a mostly positive experience, and I definitely feel fortunate to have stumbled into this deal.
So I was shocked when I cold-called Sunday afternoon and was told they'd sell it for the sticker price, despite other dealerships unashamedly quoting $3k to $5 markups.
I texted a couple of closer-by sales reps I'd been in communication with to see if they wanted to price match and save me the trip; none did.
The one "shenanigan" is that this dealership does the window etching and some type of clear decal paint protection to every single car in inventory, the tune of $600. This had me at a loss because I felt like I wasn't in a position to negotiate, and this is pure profit. So I tucked my tail.
But I lucked out, sort of. At signing, the finance guy made it known he had to sell 12 more annual prepaid maintenance visits for the dealership to meet a VOA monthly quota, so he offered me 8 years at cost, for $495. This in lieu of the clear protective tape (deduct $350), no markup on their end. It's not worth much to me, but it'll be good for a few brake fluid services and some cabin air filters. I don't feel as ripped off by this as opposed to paying for strips of vinyl tape.
The puzzling thing was the qualification for the $1500 California Clean Air Reward. This dealership isn't listed as a participant. My sales guy texted me that they were. But when I arrived, at first they tried to link the $1500 credit to their outrageous financing. I thought the deal was going to go south, but they eventually came back to me and gave $1500 plus the VWFS promotional 1.85% rate. I have a feeling the $1500 came as a dealer discount because there was no paperwork for the state credit anywhere in my signing stack, and just checking now, they're still not on the website.
Also, oddly, the dealer's website description listed a black interior. When I pulled some photos off the web Sunday night to show to my wife how that looked with the white steering wheel, she said basically "oh helz no!" I called at closing to verify and was told the interior was grey. Phew.
Anyhow, after 3 hours I was driving away with my wife's new ride, a little bit of a mixed bag but a mostly positive experience, and I definitely feel fortunate to have stumbled into this deal.
