So I went out yesterday looking for a supplement to the CRD and naturally I visted my local VW dealership.

They had one available, but I couldn't see it or drive it. He broadly hinted that if I wanted it I needed to decide within an hour.

Sticker plus $700 for the 'Michigan Appearance Package' + $1000 just for the fun of it.

I told him, "OK we're done here." and turned away. Then he tried to tell me that there's a $1300 tax credit. Wrong thing to say to me at that time.

So I turned around and told him that the $1300 tax credit was intended for the 'customer' and provided for by our 'benevolent government,' and I'd be damned if I was going to turn over all that money plus $400 to a profiteer. In case he didn't notice, car sales have imploded the past few months and he should be grateful that I walked in the door.

Then to calm down I drove across the street to the Jeep dealership and asked about a Grand Cherokee CRD. They politely informed me that they had one, but the sales manager had been driving it and wouldn't be back until Wednesday. (personal pet peeve) When they found out I had a KJ CRD they got real friendly, until I told them I'm keeping that, it's the minivan that's due for a swap. You could see the disappointment in his face...

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2005 CRD Limited Flame Red w/ Renegade rock rails & light bar, AirLift 1000. 225/75R16 MT/R's on cheap black steel wheels, dual MOPAR subwoofers, Ipod kit & seat covers, Samco hoses - totaled and gone. 2008 WK Laredo 3.0L diesel - AirLift 1000, wife won't let me mess with it much. 2013 JK Sahara on order.

I've read that most all jetta tdi production for the rest of the year is sold already. Wait 6 months and they will be willing to deal or find another dealer. These "special" packages are a big turn off for me also. It's price goudging by any other wording and VW is trying to discourage it but apparently not doing so well. In the current car market there are two bright spots not counting hybrids. One is HONDA and the second is the TDI. When I was shopping for my CRD one gave me a generous $500 off sticker but another was willing to cut $5000 to get me in a new car. When I was shopping for my 99.5 jetta tdi new my perfered dealer had none and would not deal and another had 3 and would deal and they was like 6 miles between the dealerships.

Joe

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Atlantic Blue 06 CRD Limited (his)
Joined by a 2000 XJ Classic (hers)

One dealer told me the new diesels cannot be bought in NY State. If that is true then I will have to buy used like I did with the CDR. Of course that wasn't a VW dealer.

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Jim

2005 Liberty Sport Stone White
SAMCO Hoses
Provent
HHO System
In-line thermo
'95 Moto Guzzi California 1100

I learn more from my struggles than that which comes easy......

It's similar to the Honda Cvcc Civic and the Toyota Scion matchbox thingy - intended to be Nippon Volkswagens, in a few short weeks they attained Porsche-like status and pricing - the 50mpg VW TDI is unattainable at this time in any market, and prolly never again will be attainable for any reasonable price, unles the other Diesel vendors can come up with a 50mpg passenger vehicle while complying with EPA - the DI gasoline systems are beginning to approach that Holy Grail of fuel economy, which should then cause the TDI prices to plummet, as most people don't like the stink and hassle and expense that is inherent in Diesel ownership - the turboDiesel market will never go away, and those hooked on the allure of that siren song will never go away, but those suckered in by the promise of greater fuel economy will lemming back to the gasoline-fueled vehicles, leaving more Diesel fuel for me.................................

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'05 CRD Limited
Pricol EGT, Boost
GDE Hot '11; EDGE Trail switched
SEGR; Provent; Magnaflow;
Suncoast T\C, Transgo Tow'n'Go switch;
Cummins LP module, Fleetguard filter, Filterminder
2.5" Daystar f, OME r; Ranchos; K80767's, Al's lifted uppers
Rubicons, 2.55 Goodyears
Four in a row really makes it go

You can't "price goudge" luxury items like a new car. You can goudge pricing on commodities like food or fuel. In business it's "charge what the market will bear". People start businesses to make money and they will try to make as much as possible. If I were the dealer and I had one hot item that I can maximize profit on, I am going to slap an "adjusted market value" sticker on it and let'r fly. I am trying to make up my sagging sales on the crap no one else wants.
And if the manufacturer tries to stop me (especially one born of national socialism) I would slap them with a restraint of trade suit quick.

It's a free market economy folks, if one guy doesn't have the price you like, go somewhere where they do.

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2006 CRD http://www.UtahPowderCoatings.com/ http://www.gorecon.com/ I'm kind of a big deal.
RL rear bumper, ARB front bumper, Mile Marker winch, Power Tank, Skids by Mopar & Skid Row, RL Super Skink Sliders, 235/85R16 MTR, Air Flow Snorkel, DTT, 4.10 gears, Frankenlift II, Katskin leather, JL Audio stereo, Rosen video.

'Charge what the market will bear'

Nissan — down 36.8%
Ford — down 34.5%
Chrysler — down 32.8%
Toyota — down 32.3%
Kia — down 27.8%
BMW — down 25.8%
Hyundai — down 25.4%
Honda — down 24%
Mercedes — down 16.4%
General Motors — down 15.6%
Volkswagen — down 3%

Yeah, VW is doing great in comparison. Hope that arrogance thing works for them.

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2005 CRD Limited Flame Red w/ Renegade rock rails & light bar, AirLift 1000. 225/75R16 MT/R's on cheap black steel wheels, dual MOPAR subwoofers, Ipod kit & seat covers, Samco hoses - totaled and gone. 2008 WK Laredo 3.0L diesel - AirLift 1000, wife won't let me mess with it much. 2013 JK Sahara on order.

Not all dealers are that bad. I bought a 09 Jetta TDI a few weeks ago. They called me to say that they had a test drive model and I put a deposit on it that day. Ours came just as ordered and there were no charges beyond the sticker. They didn't want to look at my comander for trade tho.

Jim Ellis VW in marietta, ga. Nice bunch of guys. Ask for Jeremy.

Travis

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2006 Liberty Sport CRD new injection pump, new fuel head, waiting for #4 injector at the dealer...2 weeks and counting
1984 CJ8
1980 CJ7 runnin' on propane
1973 J4000

Look around Fred's TDi forum for discussion of competitive dealers. When we bought our Tdi a few years ago, VW of Langhorne was at least $3K lower than
the local cartel. After a $99 sardine flight from the West coast to PA, the dealer picked me up at the Philly airport. The paperwork was done in about an hour. I had a nice vacation driving back with the new Tdi. Those were the days of much cheaper fuel, though.

X 2!!! Most people tend to forget that Free market is what this whole country is all about. Everybody wants capitalism with all it's perks, but no one wants to put up with the greed inherent in the idea. VW now has the best mouse trap, so of course they are not going to give it away.

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Manure green 2005 CRD sport4x4, GDE Hot tune, Cat Gut, OE skids, Draw tight hitch, Duramax lift pump, 160K on multiple varieties of fuel, XM radio, Escort live with Redline, fog light mod, GPS, Icom IC7000 all band radio call sign KC9QPF, Grabber AT2s on Soft 8s, FIA grill blanket.

The additonal cost to hot cars are known in the trade as ADM (additional dealer markup), but it really should mean AssHo*** Demanding More

Be careful there, Travis. I had some questionable work done there on my wife's Audi. They may have changed the staff around a bit in the past few years. I will say that I've never had an issue with JimEllis Chamblee. I may have just been dealing with bozo the clown advisor that day. Let me know if you're looking for some really good vw/audi work that won't cost you an arm and a leg .There are a couple places I've found shopping around work on the A4.

Dan

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2005 Silver CRD Limited
245/75R16 GoodYear Duratracs
Fumoto drain | ProVent CCV Filter
Stanadyne FM100 filter | Cummins fuel pump
GDE Eco | SEGR | BoulderBars | FrankenLift | Frankenskids

This was true of the older diesels, but not the 2009 TDI's. They are supposed to be 50 state emissions compliant. Though I did once have a dealer who was trying to sell me a gasser Jetta proclaim that diesel Jettas were illegal in Oregon so I should buy his gasser instead.

VW dealers are doing exactly what Toyota dealers are doing with the Prius. If you wanna blame someone, blame the other car companies who refused to invest in the technology. If I invent a better widget, and my competition refuses to invest in making better widgets, darn straigt I'm going to charge what the market will bear for mine.

But hey, we can get $7000 cash back on a new Hummer H2!

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2006 Liberty CRD Limited
Mopar engine, transmission, transfer case skids
245/70/16 Michelin Latitude X-Ice (winter)
235/75/16 Firestone Destination ATs (summer)
Thule roof rack, cargo box
V6 airbox mod
Flowmaster 50 2.5 inch muffler
Edge EZ module (set for fuel economy)
SEGR
TDIWagonGuy CCV filter
B99 (summer), B20 (winter)

Dealer price increases are common for very popular/high demand vehciles,always has been this way and most likely will always be this way.

I remember when the Ford GT first came out the dealers had them for almost $50,000 over MSRP,same is going for the new Challengers.

Check around, Both politicians and salespeople lie.

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2006 Pearl Green CRD
Magnaflow 2 1/2" Cat Back
KJ Extra Leg Room Brackets, Carter Lift Pump, V6 Airbox, ORM
Fuel cooler, Oil Separator, Progard 7
Gauges EGT Boost Trans Temp Oil Pres, Michelin LXT AT2 245 70 R16
7,000# Draw Tight hitch, PML EX Deep Trans Pan
Centrifuge, SunCoast, Transgo, RAM TCM, InMotion Stage 2
Wife's 99 TDI VW Beetle

In response to the first post.

It's a wonderful thing actually. It's called free market. Supply and demand.

If VW had 100,000 TDIs sitting on lots across the US, you'd see some deep discounts, but right now, they are in high demand and low supply, so what the heck is wrong with marking the price up.

WC Fields said it best. There's a sucker born every minute.

Keep in mind that these dealers have families to provide for, overhead to pay for, and salaries to pay. Some people don't mind paying extra to have what they want when they want it. Others will search for a deal.

Doesn't make the dealer a crook. Now, if they were selling you a gasser Jetta with a TDI badge stuck on it, THEN they'd be a crook. But they told you ahead of time what the price was, and it was your choice to pay it or leave. They were reasonably confident that another customer would pay their price, and I'm sure they did.

Keep looking. You'll find your deal.

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Chad Hargis
Nashville, TN
2008 Grand Cherokee CRD
2005 Liberty CRD *SOLD*

Isn't Honda coming out with a Diesel accord sometime soon? I wanted to buy a TDI three years ago, but after haggling with the un-sales person, I decided I would not give the local VW dealer my cash or patronage.

If you pay sticker price on a vehicle so are getting screwed!!!

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2005 sport crd-SOLD No regrets

My real beef with VW dealers isn't pricing, its incompetent techs with no idea how to work on their diesel products.

They don't get our 06 TDI for anything beyond warranty repairs and transmission service. Even here in Portland, where TDI's are hugely popular, the local VW dealer service departments have horrible reputations. Same story as our CRD's... 90% of the vehicles they sell are gassers, so their 22 year old techs get trained to work on gassers. Routine maintenance on mine gets done by me, anything I cant do goes to a small local shop that specializes in German diesels. Too many horror stories of clueless techs putting in the wrong oil, misdiagnosing problems, etc...

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2006 Liberty CRD Limited
Mopar engine, transmission, transfer case skids
245/70/16 Michelin Latitude X-Ice (winter)
235/75/16 Firestone Destination ATs (summer)
Thule roof rack, cargo box
V6 airbox mod
Flowmaster 50 2.5 inch muffler
Edge EZ module (set for fuel economy)
SEGR
TDIWagonGuy CCV filter
B99 (summer), B20 (winter)

I just read in Automotive weekly that VW might increase next years allotment of tdi's to the US. Then later in the year they are going to introduce the new rabbit in TDI dress. They may possibly bring the more effecient "Jetta Blue Motion" here also.
The current allotment of sold out TDI's for the US was 1,300
As mentioned earlier, they are all 50 state cars and that includes the great country of california and the seven or so "me too" states

There was also an article on clunker buy back programs in some countries along with California and Texas. It seems in Califirnia that 25% of the cars, mostly over 13 years old, create 75% of the polution It's kind of clear to me they should be putting their efforts into getting rid of the 25% that's causing the problem

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Atlantic Blue 06 CRD Limited (his)
Joined by a 2000 XJ Classic (hers)

German Auto Repair on SW Pacific Highway?