That 60HP difference can mean being able to pass someone in a tight spot or being stuck behind them for miles since you don't have enough oomph to pass quickly enough. Been in that situation enough times that I'd gladly pay the extra money for 60HP (unsure of the other differences, just judging by HP alone).

 

They might not have as much wiggle room to take the same $$ off a 40 because the 45 is a higher margin car.

I get what you're saying, but if you're willing to ship, and/or pay a car buying service, could probably just as easily find a 45 in the color the wife wants. You're also late in the 2024 MY, and a little early for 25s, so not being in a rush is beneficial.

We had a 45 Q5 loaner when our A6 took a crap, and IDK, the extra horsepower sure was nice, but I'm a power junkie

 

She's coming from a CX5 with 185 hp naturally aspirated, same weight, and the Q5's turbo means the grunt is down low. :shrug: felt way more responsive to me. LOL what do I know, I drive a 3cyl turbo for work

The car buying service includes haggling, and for $500 on a $52K car, becomes noise. Hell, if I can avoid paying for the $3k 20" wheel package and the dealer-installed $1200 window tint which every dealer seems to install, I'm coming out ahead.

Charlotte Dealer came out of hibernation and is 'working on it diligently' ha.

Not sure if either/any of them are affected by the dealership software hack from yesterday... if so, I doubt anything will happen until we're back from our trip in late July.

 

Freaking hate add on packages, and so many dealers do it, that if you're looking for a specific car, especially used, you're half stuck with it. When we got our MDX Type S we were stuck with a $900 "Protection Package" that was the normal BS paint protection, interior "treatment", the good ole nitrogen in the tires and clear bra door cups. If you're going to tack that crap on, at least make it worthwhile and ceramic coat the car, or do a clear bikini bra. Even negotiating it down to "cost" still made me feel ripped off.

FWIW, having bought from Charlotte Independence Audi, and shopped there for our second Audi, they are going to tint the windows on 99% of the cars as a "service to their customers".

 

Every single car we've looked at, the dealers have discovered that tint = markup. Whole car tint is still ~$200 or so from an independent tinter that warranties (I've used him since 2008) so that's a tad more than 100% markup. I bet much more, they're probably paying their tint guy $20/hour.

If it was local and I could be a hardass about it, I'd demand they remove the tint and not charge me for that. I MUCH prefer bronze over smoke that wrinkles and turns purple in 2 years (my RX8 looked like an F16 cockpit, LOL) To rub it in I'd have my tint guy install it while the car is still on the dealer lot LOL, but then I'm a professional a-hole for a living.

The thing I saw on all cars in Charlotte/south was the 'hot weather package' which included stupid-looking seats with a muffin fan. We've got remote start and a/c... a fan ain't doing nothing when it's 150 inside the car.

The dealer we've been talking to just lists as Audi Charlotte, but they are on East Independence in Matthews. Same folks? TBH, they were responsive and realistic until they ghosted us.

 

OOH. Car buyer found us the car, $6k under list, only issue is it's in MD. Working logistics.

 

I fancy myself a professional a-hole too! I told the Sales Manager to deflate the tires and fill with air, I wasn't paying extra for nitrogen, and to remove the clear bra

Ultimately, you reach a point where there time invested isn't worth walking over $500, and you just want to get out of there. And my wife wanted the car.

Yes, Audi Charlotte on East Independence is where we bought our A4 and almost bought an A6. Another Audi dealer a bit north is Northlake.

 

Yep, we were going to talk to them next.

My company HQ is in Charlotte, and family is in Yanceyville, so we drive through all the time. Thought it would be worth a shot given that the local dealers (not just Audi, I'm supremely unimpressed with Charleston car *anything*) were unhelpful.

Of course, the car buyer found her car, so the dealer rep emails me 'we're working on it' after 2 weeks silence. Otherwise, those folks were solid.

 

Car buying service came through. Even after his fee, extended warranty (it's german, duh), and shipping we're $2k under what Charlotte offered. Should have it at the house tomorrow!

I'm excited for her. Almost as giddy as when I got on the amtrak to get my G.

 

Needs a bath from the trip down here from MD, but... wife is happy

 

Happy wife happy life

Check out the OBDEleven if it's not on your radar. It's super handy to clear codes; change settings -- seat heater intensity, rear window wiper delay speed etc; disable features -- auto stop/start, looking at you; or enable options the car might not have -- like auto high beams.

 

I have a good OBD2 reader (not a snap on, but shop quality). Not sure about feature controls though - I'll check that out.

 

That blue, it's like electric blue.

So that's a brand new car, Mike? You two are going to really enjoy that. In just a few days, it will be "we drove a Mazda what?"

 

16 miles. While the car is for her, typically on long drives I drive most of the time, so it's partially for me too LOL. I just have to keep my modification-happy paws off it. At least while she's paying attention.

We'll keep the Mazda until early August (have a camping trip with my kiddo) and then we'll sell it. I did recently get the headlights restored and the interior detailed - almost a new car LOL.

This was good timing. We leave for a trip Friday and will be out of touch until mid July...

 

Totally relate. The Forester is 100% her car, but when we drive around in it together, I'm usually driving.

Congrats. Very happy for you.