xcntuatd77

So my cousin is considering this car and the best rate he got is dead at 5.00% through credit union doing a "finance/balloon payment" option or a 4.75% conventional financing option both good at upto 60 months.

Both those rates are the best rates offered.

Here are the details:

2009 Audi S5 Automatic

+ B & O Audio
+ Carbon fiber trim

NO NAVIGATION, NO TECHNOLOGY PKG

+ Gaz guzzler premium

=MSRP $55,490 Selling price $55,490
Trade/Down pmt total: $5500

Loan $50,000


Option 1: Financing/ballon pmt (5.00%)
24months: $711/month balloon pmt: $38,036
36months: $679/month balloon pmt: $32,430
48months: $677/month balloon pmt: $25,801
60months: $647/month balloon pmt: $20,772


Option 2: Conventional financing (4.75%)
24months: $2187/month
36months: $1492/month
48months: $1146/month
60months: $938/month

The balloon payment can refinanced as an auto used car loan.
Its sort of works like a lease but you are responsible for that balloon payment - whether you sell the car or pay for it yourself. Comparing the lease residual percentages for this car...the balloon payments are very close or just a bit higher by a $1000 to $1500 than the lease residuals.

So what do you guys think is the best option? Or does anyone know of an even cheaper interest rate through another source?

thanks for your input. He is dead set on the car and has a deposit on a meteor gray with magma red interior, one but wanted some insight on what the best scenario is.

thanks again guys!

mmarshall

Without knowing his credit rating (and, in some cases, that is covered by privacy laws), it's hard to gauge whether cheaper credit would be available to him, though he could try an auto-buying service like UBS or another credit union if the dealership will work with them (not all dealerships do).

One thing I did notice, however:

There appears to be no discount at all here, assuming that this does not cover sales tax and tags (Does TX even have a sales tax on new cars?.....I don't know). In this auto-recession climate, you guys should be able to bargain for at least some discount, even on a hot, relatively hard-to-get, luxury sport-coupe like an S5.

Here is my recent review of the S5, BTW.....just a few weeks ago:

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...5-quattro.html

rdgdawg

NO WAY anyone should be paying full price... sight unseen, my local dealer was offering $5k off... BEAUTIFUL car and MM's review is spot-on, but if your cuz can't get better deal, there are other cars... one of the reasons I moved away from Audi is high interest and BS attitude....

xcntuatd77

his credit is 720 so its good enough to get him the best rates in most places...5% is pretty low considering audi's bank itself is like at 8% on the car and comparing against other credit unions, i havent foiund anything lower than 5%

Dealer said NO discount whatsoever..msrp is selling price...if he wasnt interested in paying that for the car, someone else would. Given that its now over a year since cars introduction in market, it is still fetching full sticker so dealer feels why should he discount it anything.

As far as the tax, tags etc (ttl), dealer can add that to the msrp of the vehicle or factor it in the payment choice desired. I dont know how much impact it would ultimately have on the payment if its rolled on it.

Oh and hes seen the car and driven it...fell in love with it...just a matter of deciding what route to take on payments.

ffpowerLN

iTrader: (1)

Can you say...

Special ordered M3 sedan...

Well, unless your cousin lives in the snow belt.

xcntuatd77

The problem with the msrp is that...it could have been 5k more from factory and demand would still be as high on the car...becasue it is just an absolutely beautiful sensual styled coupe (drooling)..

so even after a year dealers themselves know they will get full/top dollar for every S5 coming off of the docks. A5 is a differnet story - theres at least 3in most dealerships anyway and they will work on the price.

xcntuatd77

He looked and drove the m3 coupe...while he felt the driving dynamics were better versus the S5, the appeal factor set in...fit/finish and design/styling was just a knockout in boxing terms. He reasoned that though the S5 wasnt as dynamically poise as the M3, it still was a competent performer, and coupling that with the superb craftsmanship with the car in and out...it was the clear winner in his decision

Personally i think the M3 coupe looks good and agresive...but the S5 just has a totally different emotional appeal than most other coupes on the road

92 SC400

I'd tell your cousin to let someone else pay MSRP and then go elsewhere if I were you. I think another member on here bought a S5 when they were brand new and even got a discount.

I know for a fact, two Audi dealers in my area were willing to discount the S5 when my friend was looking. If he's ok with paying MSRP on a car then go for it. It's a beautiful car though!

As for the financing options... Well, do the math.

Balloon:
$647 x 60 = $38,820 + $20,772 payoff = $59,592
Traditional finance:
$938 x 60 = $56,280

I'm not a mathematician but I'd say that a traditional finance is better... The balloon payout could be even more if he wanted to keep the car and finance the remaining $21k rather than pay it outright.

rdgdawg

+1 on all the above... and if he wants to fly somewhere and pick one up AT DISCOUNT (for example, doing it in Atlanta, Nashville, Milwaukee) and drive back to TX to break it in... sounds like the perfect transaction to me!!!

Mpunk

Like what others have been saying, why is your cousin willing to pay MSRP? I know that the S5, like many Audi models, are in pretty high demand but there will be dealers with unsold S5s that will be willing to discount off of MSRP. I'm betting that your cousin could probably swing for a new S5 at that price w/ the tech pkg (navi, backup camera).

Unless you're buying an ultra-low, made-to-order car, like an F430 or a Bugatti Veyron or a Rolls-Royce Phantom or whatever, don't expect any discounts. (Interestingly, though, our local Lamborghini dealer was willing to discount off of a new Gallardo off of the MSRP when I was looking at an RS4 earlier last year.) Audis, however, are totally fair game. The salesguy was just using a psychological device, but the salesguy is probably right in that someone will pay full sticker for that car. Why should it be your cousin?

Case in point: About a year ago, just when the E90/E92 M3s were being shipped to the US, I called around several west coast BMW dealers to about pricing. Interestingly, the major ones like in LA, Orange County, were kind of like "we don't do discounts," but this one dealer I called, about 50 miles from LA, was like, "Well, we can't discount the new M3s but we can offer you a new M5 $10K below MSRP," which would've priced it equivalently against the M3 (when markup is factored in). So, call around. Even if you have to go several hundred miles away, it will be well worth it.

The other thing that your cousin probably didn't look into is Audi's European Delivery program. As of the website's posting, the program fee to participate starts at €490 (or about US$667 as of today). It includes one night's stay at a 4-star hotel in Ingolstadt, transportation to/from the airport, and 15 days' insurance coverage in Europe. Plus, you get 5% off the Audi S5's MSRP. If it's like the BMW ED program, you can drive off your new Audi S5 straight off of the factory assembly line.

Full details here:
http://www.audiusa.com/audi/us/en2/e..._benefits.html

Mixman

Scanning the Audi boards, I see there are still dealers charging a 5K PREMIUM on S5's on their lots, and unfortunately succers paying it too. Even in this bad economy most Audi dealers are still charging full pop, with the largest discounts being at most $1K off, unless of course you know somebody.

I went to Bell Audi a couple of months ago and they were still charging full pop on A5's and S5's.

UDel

I would tell your cousin not to give in to the dealers BS, especially not in this economy. Right now people are getting great deals buying cars whether they be common or luxury cars. The S5 is nice looking but it is not really that nice(it is a just a good looking 2 door A4/S5 with pretty much the same interior/drivetrain) to be paying full MSRP or even markups in todays economy, it is not like it is a super rare Veyron, Ferrari, or Aston Martin. If people are dumb enough to still pay MSRP or markups for it(maybe that is kind of the reason so many people are in debt in this country and our economy is so bad) then your cousin should just let them and not be another guy who pays too much for his car and gets screwed by the dealership. If he looks around he should be able to find one for a good price, he may just have to wait a little while. Most likely if the dealer knows he is interested but is not going to be paying MSRP they will eventually come to their senses and call him and offer him a better deal to get a sale.