OP here, thanks so much for all the helpful replies - I tried Truecar but unfortunately they don't work with any Audi dealership in the DMV, so I'll try the direct email approach that a few of you suggested. Much appreciated!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I had a friend personally visit three dealerships in order to underline that he was serious about purchasing a particular model of car (which all three had on the lot). Thereafter, he invited all three to participate on a conference call for a "fight off" until one dealer (with best price) remained. Friend went to pick the car a few hours later. Takes away the hassle of running from one dealer to another etc.

This is the most ridiculous thing ever.

genius then they can fight among themselves

Anonymous wrote:I had a friend personally visit three dealerships in order to underline that he was serious about purchasing a particular model of car (which all three had on the lot). Thereafter, he invited all three to participate on a conference call for a "fight off" until one dealer (with best price) remained. Friend went to pick the car a few hours later. Takes away the hassle of running from one dealer to another etc.

This is the most ridiculous thing ever.

Its been a few years since I did this- but I contacted dealers via email/website. Listed the model I wanted and the specific options and told them to give me their best price. I got a LOT of calls- with come on in and let's discuss. I simply said - no. I asked for you to give me your best price. I found 2 or 3 dealers that understood my time was limited and actually sent me a quote. I bought one of them The transaction took about 20 minutes. BEST CAR BUYING EXPERIENCE EVER.

We always negotiate enough to get bellow MSRP and true car value by a few thousand on 50-60k cars

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just bought new Jeep using Truecar.com. It was a great experience, like Carmax for new cars. Dealers with lost their predetermined price which can be $5-$8k below MSRP. Don't let the dealer change the story after you get there. Make them honor the true car certificate.

This

I used truecar.com as well, and had a great experience. I went to a dealership first, didn't like the price, then tried truecar, and was able to haggle the dealer down another 1K by having the certificate from truecar.

Google for "Edmunds Price Promise", kinda similar to TrueCar where you can get a printout of price with fees etc. In my case, Edmunds gave me a price of $2k less than TrueCar. It all depends on which websites the dealers submit their prices to.

I had a friend personally visit three dealerships in order to underline that he was serious about purchasing a particular model of car (which all three had on the lot). Thereafter, he invited all three to participate on a conference call for a "fight off" until one dealer (with best price) remained. Friend went to pick the car a few hours later. Takes away the hassle of running from one dealer to another etc.

Anonymous wrote:Just bought new Jeep using Truecar.com. It was a great experience, like Carmax for new cars. Dealers with lost their predetermined price which can be $5-$8k below MSRP. Don't let the dealer change the story after you get there. Make them honor the true car certificate.

This

I used truecar.com as well, and had a great experience. I went to a dealership first, didn't like the price, then tried truecar, and was able to haggle the dealer down another 1K by having the certificate from truecar.

You ccan searchh all AUdi inventory DC-wide online. Is there a lot of Q5s on the lot? IF not, that may make it tougher to negotiate -- some AUdi models are quite hot.

Also for AUdi specifically, try Audi of Bethesda (Euro Motorcars). They just opened and may be very eager to start ramping up sales.

Negotiate online. Find a price using costco auto and ask dealers over email to beat it. Negotiate as low as you can and then go in and buy car.

^^off of

I have a very good experience buying a car from Rockville Audi. I couldn't decide between a BMW and an Audi. Went to BWI to test drive first. When we started talking about the price the salesman started acting as if I flew from Mars. He wouldn't budge, giving me "we don't discount our prices." Fine, I said, I will go across the street. We did and got a tiny more than 2K of true price on a certified preowned, like new car. So far so good, two months later I am very happy with my purchase and their customer service.

Is this Rockville Audi by any chance? I noticed they're advertising their cars with "True Price".....making potential customers believe that its the same as TrueCar which charges dealers $300 for each lead (which means you could have pocketed the $300 had you not used TrueCar).

Generally speaking, if someone gives you a price up front, there is always room for negotiations. I have some experience from non-luxury cars, but I believe lux-car dealerships are less likely to haggle. Many factors are included, one that is easy to miss is how long the car has been on the lot. In the glove compartment, there is often a piece of paper that states when the car was delivered to the dealership. Last car I bought showed that it had been on the lot for more than 7 months....at which point I lowered my asking price by (another) $1k......and after a few rounds of back and forth, dealer agreed with my offer.

Best of luck.

Just bought new Jeep using Truecar.com. It was a great experience, like Carmax for new cars. Dealers with lost their predetermined price which can be $5-$8k below MSRP. Don't let the dealer change the story after you get there. Make them honor the true car certificate.

Planning to buy a new car in the next couple of weeks and wondering the extent to which haggling over price is still expected - if it matters, I'm leaning toward an Audi Q5; one dealer has giving me its "true price" for a few Q5s it has in inventory, which is about $1000 less than MSRP. I'm not seeing much variation in price across dealerships, so not sure what leverage I'd have to get a lower price, but also I don't want to overpay if they're all giving me inflated prices with the expectation I'll want to haggle. Anyway, any thoughts/advice from more experienced car buyers are much appreciated.