Jae said:
I think from a legal position, you are liable for the VAT at the point of sale, not the point of agreement. The reason for this is that the contract of sale only occurs when the goods are exchanged for money. The invoice date determines how much VAT is applied. If Audi do NOT apply the VAT at 20% when it comes into force, they are breaking the law.
Its up to you, as a consumer, to ask your dealer to give you a reduction on the price without VAT. Problem is that the car will be sold if you cancel it, due to its popularity, so the consumer doesnt have too much of a voice in this.
I can answer this one as I have experienced this both ways, both with Vat decreases and increases. Obviously I cannot comment on the terms and conditions attached to your chosen centres orderform, so worth looking to see if they have missed anything, but I can tell you what should be on the orderform.
The VAT is paid on point of delivery, not order and so you would be liable to the VAT increase. That being said, as long as the car is in the country (consigned status), the dealer can register the car and providing full payment is made (or finance docs completed, etc you will pay the reduced rate and so this can buy you an extra few valuable days.
I can assure you that with pressure that Audi AG is placing on Audi UK for customer satisfaction, they will not 'push' cars back. However, the Brussels factory has a capacity of 130,000 cars a year and the UK is only allowed 18,000 meaning that Audi are already concerned that there will be a shortage. They are looking at ways to increase production capabilities, but this takes time. The high demand of cars has left the dealers with a 'no-discount' attitude and because of the small profit margins on this particular model (small prestige profit margins at volume car prices) most dealers would not be able to justify taking on such a hit as paying the VAT increase on behalf of the customer.
If you have only just placed your A1 order, I would strongly advise you to check with your dealer what allocation they will be ordering the car from. This will give you a much better understanding of when your car can be expected. Many dealers will be running out of allocation and this would delay your order. There is a possibility that Audi UK will put some money behind the VAT increase to cushion the customers experience, but this is not guaranteed.
I hope this answers your question, if there is anything else I can do just let me know.
Thanks
