'04 Jetta GLS - Good price or not?

Hello all,

I'm in the market for a 2004 Jetta GLS 1.8T right now, and I've been doing considerable homework online to ensure I'm getting the best price. However, even though there are so many research websites nowdays that will give you MSRP vs. Invoice pricing... you still can't take these numbers as 100% fact, because you still have manufacturer to dealer incentives that you can use as a haggling tool. Only problem is, it's almost impossible to find out just what these manufacturer to dealer incentives are in most cases.

So one of the better research tools I've used is CarsDirect.com They don't come right out and tell you what the manufacturer to dealer incentives are, but they give a "Target Price" that the customer should aim for that's almost always well below Invoice price. So I would have to guess that they ARE factoring in current incentives on top of invoice pricing.

So when I put together this GLS 1.8T with all the options I want, the Target Price comes out to $20,948 Here's a screencap of the CarsDirect page with all the options added in:

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Now when I look up this same car on Edmunds.com, I get a higher "TMV" price -- but Edmunds does tell you an actual number on the Manufacturer to Dealer incentive -- which they're reporting is $1500 until 06/01/04

So long story short... as I expected, the local dealers tell you that the internet research is wrong and they won't come down to match these prices. They're somewhat close, but still around $700 more than the CarsDirect target pricing.

And the reason for this is because the dealer is telling me the actual VW to dealer rebate is $750, not $1500 But of course I can't verify this... so they kind of stick you on this one. I think they're flat out lying to me on this one -- so if anyone knows of a good website that gives this information out, by all means let me know.

Their bottom line price for this car with the same options comes out to $21,653 And in this price workup, they're tacked on some very odd-looking charges. Check these out:

Clean fee - $130 Locate Fee - $100 Floor Plan - $142 Port Fee - $25 Ad Fees - $100

All total, these little misc. fees add up to $497

Now I could be ignorant on this one, but I've never once seen any dealer flat out charge the customer a "Clean fee" for a new vehicle. It's just always been my understanding that new cars are delivered to customer clean... and the customer isn't charged for it!

And these other fees such as "Floor plan" and "Ad Fees" -- for those knowledgable pricing gurus out there, does it look like this dealer is trying to squeeze an extra $500 out of me here? Because it certainly looks that way to me.

Any help on this would be greatly appreciated... since I'll most likely be making this purchase within the week. And I have absolutely no problem traveling a little bit to another dealer get this deal right :)

Many thanks in advance!

KG

Reply to
Kevin Gibbons
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The thing to do is shop several dealers for the same car. Remember the dealer needs to make a profit to pay all it's bills. Profits for cars are very low as compared to other products we purchase. Just try to run down to your local Best Buy and offer them $1000 on a big screen TV which sells for $1500.... there're going to look at you kinda funny and say it's sells for $1500, take it or leave it!

"Kevin Gibbons kgibbons.com>" Hello all,

Reply to
Woodchuck

I was also going to shop around if there are a few dealers withing a few hundred miles of you. When I bought my car I think the only junk fee they had was related to tag and title registration. There is no way you will know what special deals the dealer has with the supplier. He may or may not be a high volume dealer which affects his pricing and rebates. The only thing you should care about is the drive out price with all fees included. If you want you can charge him a shower and shave fee, a internet search fee, a transportation fee to get to dealer, an oxygen consumption fee and then your fees wash out.

Remember that >The thing to do is shop several dealers for the same car. Remember the

Jim B.

Reply to
jimbehning

"Kevin Gibbons kgibbons.com>" Hello all,

Its not a bad price at all. But if you think you can do better by all means travel to another dealer. Based on your post and some of the charges I tak eit they don't have the exact car you want on the lot already? If so, the locate fee is pretty standard, and you will see an ad fee on practically every car nowadays. What you also have to remember is if the car you want is selling reasonably, its much harder to get a really cheap price. You have to balance all the factors. YOu didnt mention what the Edmunds number was? If you are lower than the Edmunds number, but higher than teh cars-direct, also I notice that you can't get the car through cars-direct, so they could show you as low a price as they wanted.

Reply to
Biz

VW currently has no rebates going on....just incentive APR Financing. The MSRP on this car is correct from CarsDirect.com, however, the invoice price on the car is $21,606 (as obtained from kbb.com), which includes destination charge. In Calif, sales tax, and a $45 Doc Fee would be added to the price. Your state may have different charges that are statutorially added to the cost. Personally, given what I see on your quote form and price....if you are ready to buy......go thru carsdirect.com to buy this car and don't waste time getting frustrated at the dealers not wanting to work with you on your price. VW dealers are not as aggressive about pricing concessions as a Honda or Toyota dealer might be. Be prepared that actually finding the color and interior combination you want may not be that easy to find, as production on the 04's is ending about now and with the fuel price spike, smaller car sales are up across the board. Good luck on your quest.

"Kevin Gibbons kgibbons.com>" Hello all,

Reply to
Larry

Last time we met, Kevin Gibbons All total, these little misc. fees add up to $497

Don't worry about how the price is broken down and what the fees are called; it's irrelevant. If you're not happy with the bottom line price, check out another dealer. If you are, then buy the car.

dv

Reply to
Drew Volpe

An alternative is to get yourself to a business library and look at a journal called Crain's Automotive News. Every edition lists the incentives available to both dealers and the public for all makes and models sold in the U.S. As helpful as the Internet is, it is not yet the source of all things worth knowing. :-)

sd

Reply to
sd

What is the invoice price? From what I've always understood, $400 over invoice is generally a very good price. You might be able to do better under some circumstances (end of year, dealer hungry, etc), but $400 over invoice is pretty decent. If you want to wait a few more months you can probably get a better price on a '04 when the '05s come out, but color choices, etc will be limited.

Bill

78 Rabbit...10/77 - 4/02 82 Convertibles(s)...since 93 95 Golf GL...since 11/99 02 Passat 1.8T Tip GLS...since 4/02
Reply to
William Maslin

Invoice price is $21,606 and his CarsDirect.com price is $20,948.

Reply to
Larry

On Tue, 25 May 2004 05:19:16 -0400, Kevin Gibbons wrote: [ lot of stuff]

|| ||And the reason for this is because the dealer is telling me the actual ||VW to dealer rebate is $750, not $1500 But of course I can't verify ||this... so they kind of stick you on this one. I think they're flat ||out lying to me on this one -- so if anyone knows of a good website ||that gives this information out, by all means let me know. || ||Their bottom line price for this car with the same options comes out ||to $21,653 And in this price workup, they're tacked on some very ||odd-looking charges. Check these out: || ||Clean fee - $130 ||Locate Fee - $100 ||Floor Plan - $142 ||Port Fee - $25 ||Ad Fees - $100 || ||All total, these little misc. fees add up to $497 || ||And these other fees such as "Floor plan" and "Ad Fees" -- for those ||knowledgable pricing gurus out there, does it look like this dealer is ||trying to squeeze an extra $500 out of me here? Because it certainly ||looks that way to me.

Yep, it's called Additional Profit. There's the old story about the line item on all invoices on a certain dealer's transactions over a span of many years. It was "BVA - $20" Few questioned it. BVA stood for "Bob's Vacation Account". Bob was the sales manager.

Best technique I've heard of is to call each of the dealerships within the area you are willing to drive to. Ask for the Fax number of the sales department and the name of the sales manager, or fleet sales manager. Fax each of them a request for quote, stating that you will buy the car specified from the dealership with the best "Out the door" quote. List your own fax number to reply to. take the replies and give each of the high bids a chance to beat the lowest. Then go buy the best quote. Texas Parts Guy

Reply to
Rex B

Just a follow-up on my own thread here...

I called about a half dozen VW dealerships within a reasonable driving distance from my location, and finally got the price I was looking for

-- actually, a slightly better price than I was looking for.

I'm in the Scranton, PA area... and there are only two VW dealerships locally. And not naming any names, these guys NEVER give deals.. so for the three VW's I've owned so far, I haven't purchased one of them from these dealerships. I think it basically comes down to the fact that many people in this area are content taking the salesperson's word, and believe the numbers to be fact... rather than doing the research before they step into the showroom.

So here's a breakdown of the vehicle I ended up purchasing yesterday:

2004 Jetta GLS 1.8T Charcoal Grey Black Velour Interior (I'm actually sick of leather believe it or not) 5-Speed Automatic Trans with Tiptronic Cold Weather Package Sport Package Electronic Stabilization Program (ESP)

This is the exact car I had posted about on my first post a few days ago, except this one now has the addition of ESP as well.

The MSRP on this car came out to $23,820 The invoice on this car came out to $22,195 And CarsDirect's "target" price for the car came out to $21,195

I ended up getting this car out the door for $21,120 -- so slightly better than CarsDirect's target price, and almost $1100 under the listed invoice price.

I have to give Kudos to the dealership I bought from, which is Faulkner VW in Allentown, PA. These guys are a very professional operation, and will certainly work with you on prices. So if anybody's in the PA area I would say to definitely look them up when you're ready to buy.

Thanks again for all the helpful replies to my original message thread. Very much appreciated!

Sincerely,

Kevin G.

Reply to
Kevin Gibbons

You done very good!

"Kevin Gibbons kgibbons.com>" Just a follow-up on my own thread here...

Reply to
Woodchuck

Jim B.

Reply to
jimbehning

Find another dealer. I work at a dealer and those extra fees are crazy. But you must also remember that the dealer must make a profit. Email me at snipped-for-privacy@jackingram.com and I will try to see what a reasonable number is.

Reply to
BS

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