Porsche Audi Volkswagen of Flemington

A Volkswagen fan with a disappointing experience. No haggle pricing. If you're willing to pay full MSRP and receive absolute minimum for your trade, Flemington Volkswagen is the place to buy. I neve No haggle pricing. If you're willing to pay full MSRP and receive absolute minimum for your trade, Flemington Volkswagen is the place to buy. I never write reviews; however, I felt compelled to share my experience. Here it goes. My son & I arrived at the dealership just after 6pm on a perfect, weather wise, weekday evening. We had to park at the neighboring Ford dealership because the lot was overrun with inventory. No big deal. I realized later that there are, in fact, customer parking spots at the exit side of the lot. As we were walking over to the showroom, we noticed the car we came to see was conveniently parked right in front just outside the entrance. It was unusual to see that there were no people browsing or buying anything at all. It was like a ghost town there. Only a few employees that I assume were the sales staff. No customers at all. We would soon find out why. Moments after, we walk thru the main entrance, we were greeted by a seemingly inexperienced sales associate from their makeshift desk set alongside the showroom wall. The sales associate politely asked; "Can I help you?" I said yes and proceeded to explain that we did not make an appointment but figured that we would just come out to take a look at a car that is listed on their website inventory page. I pointed out the showroom window and said I believe that's it. The car is what I consider the "Poor-Man’s Porsche" the Volkswagen Golf R ("R" is for racing I believe). By the way, I forgot to mention, this is a Volkswagen/Porsche/Audi all under one roof stealership...I mean dealership. My son & I had test driven an automatic transmission version of the same car a few days previous at another dealer but wanted to try a manual transmission (which the other dealer did not have) version out before ultimately deciding on which to go with. At first, they were not willing to allow a test drive on the car. Which was strange because the other dealer did not have a problem with a test drive. I can respect the policy of keeping the odometer as close to zero as possible. After all, I wouldn't want just anyone racking up miles or beating on my potential new vehicle especially during the initial critical engine break-in period. I explained to the sales associate that it would be difficult to actually commit to the purchase of a car without test driving it first. The interaction felt uncomfortable as if I was asking to break the rules. The new age of car buying. Nobody test drives. Sign then drive. Now I understand. The sales associate really couldn't make any decisions so the sales manager walks outside. The manager asks me a few questions to gain a sense of my level of commitment before allowing such an unprecedented test drive. At least, that's what I figured. I explained that if the car is what I expect it to be (amazing) after the test drive and we can come together on the price of the car including my trade I'd be willing to buy. I think to myself, that's what the “deal” in dealership is...right? When two parties come to an agreement or compromise. Apparently, Flemington VW is the opposite of a dealership. More like a demandership. The manager said there will be no "deal" on the car because most places typically mark these models up another 5 or 6 grand from the MSRP based on market conditions and their place does not. I again think to myself sarcastically; man it's really a "deal" just to pay MSRP. The manager ended that portion of the talk stating that they do offer good numbers for trade-ins. Moments later, we went on a very short test drive and they appraised my trade vehicle during that time. Like many others do, I did research on my trade vehicle beforehand. I knew the bottom number and the top number. So in my mind was; bottom number- no deal, middle number- maybe, top number- deal. Seems simple. I pay full MSRP and they pay at least middle of the road or better for my trade-in. My trade-in vehicle is in excellent condition, one owner, no accidents and very low mileage. We’re back inside. The sales associate returns with the appraisal document and calls us over to the desk. Hands us the appraisal and shows us they will coincidently (imagine that) give the "bottom" number for my trade. I said I wasn’t willing to pay full MSRP for the new car as well as accept bottom pricing for my trade. Again thinking to myself, this is not a dealership, it’s a demandership. Since the sales associate cannot make decisions, the manager comes over once again. Seemingly irritated, the manager said that it is the "fair" price and that’s all they would do. We shook hands as a go-screw-yourself gesture and we were finally booted out of the ghost town stealership. The funny thing is, I was more than willing to negotiate and come to some kind of agreement. I would have even come back the next day. It was getting close to closing and I’m sure they wanted to leave for the day. I guess that’s not possible at this place. After this experience, I will not recommend or ever buy anything at all from The Flemington Family of Demanderships. One last thing. Here’s the formula for your Flemington “deal”; Go to Kelly Blue Book or NADA and find out the trade-in range for your vehicle. Use the absolute bottom number. Take the MSRP of the new vehicle and subtract that bottom number you just received from KBB or NADA. Take that number and add tax, tags and whatever bogus demandership fees they tack on. There you have it. This will save you loads of time with the sales associate going back & forth to the sales manager. More