Yet another dealer trying to price gouge.

[MrGneissGuy]

A couple of comments.

At the same time I was looking to order my Wrangler, my wife was looking for a Kia Telluride (this was last November). It was very difficult to find any on a lot, and dealerships were marking them up an extra $10k. We found a good dealership and sales guy, that did not mark it up, but she really didn't have much choice but to order one, because they couldn't keep any on the lots and about 90% of the next month's expected shipment was already sold. That was all just a factor of how popular those are/were. When I was shopping for my Wrangler, it was not as hard to find any on the lots, but it was hard to find what I wanted on the lots. So I ordered as well. It seems that was just before the dealerships started running low and the chip shortage (or whatever) affecting production. I guess I got lucky on the timing.

As to the question of why everyone is buying now? My opinion, based primarily on our own experience, is that it is somewhat Covid related, but not necessarily stimulus related. We were fortunate that our jobs were not affected by Covid other than we worked from home for a while (she still does, actually). I would not say we benefitted from others spending their stimulus checks. In fact, my company did downsize some, though that was more related to other regulatory changes than Covid (that's another topic all together). What WAS different is that we were not spending as much. We weren't going to movies, we weren't driving an hour to go shopping, we weren't traveling to visit family and friends, we weren't going on vacation, and our middle daughter did not play club volleyball (that saved a ton). One of our other vehicles was paid off, and another was close. The combination of all of those things enabled us to make those purchases with a pretty nice down payment, getting us two new vehicles, with roughly the same monthly payments as before.

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[rcadden]

Correct, they would rather sell you what you will end up buying anyway. and roll it into the loan and covered under warranty, etc. But they are taking a chance they get stuck and have to discount the 'custom' jeep later. I know a few dealers who have "pre" modified JL:'s sitting around.

TBH, I kinda wish I had given Gupton another week with my JLUSA and had him put on the MOPAR lift + 35s right there before I took delivery. At the interest rate I'm getting, the interest would have been negligible.

 

[JEEPIDON]

If you are correct, you must now find that woman and kiss her.

Caution....she's obviously not a "cheap date"!

 

[av8or]

My goal lately has been focus on what I can control. I’m still young but I experienced 9-11-2001, the crash in 2008 and now this “pandemic.”

I’m sure there’s going to be an economic reaction to all of this artificial money pumped into the economy, but there’s not much I can do about it. My goal is to just keep working on my business, working on myself and building my personal relationships.

Whatever comes our way, I am confident we will make it through. Just a word of encouragement my friend.

Great attitude! Wasting energy on things we can’t control is simply that...a waste. “Bad times“ come and go, but I’ve never stopped having a good time. Cheers.

 

[viper88]

It's not just Jeep dealers and Wranglers. I was helping a friend buy a Toyota Sienna minivan. One dealer had one with a $44K msrp and a $10K ADM! I help a lot of people buy new cars. Personally I make mental notes of these dealers and will never ever do business with them in the future. Nor will I ever recommend these dealers to anyone.

 

[Bloody Marty]

Don't buy it then.

 

[viper88]

was thinking the same thing...I'm not one to overpay, but if she was really hot I might have been tempted...

Sometimes it's cheaper to rent or lease.....

 

[bigbaozi]

And anecdotally, I heard of a neighbor who owns her own small business who took two rounds of paycheck protection funds and remodeled her personal house. This likely happened across the country, and underwrote car/boat/vacation/second house purchases of massive proportions. This will not likely happen again.

That program was such a mess, rolled out way too quickly with too little oversight. I'm hoping they'll at least be nailing more people as they have time to audit.

It's kind of weird, because personal debt was falling during the pandemic, but I saw a lot of YOLO buying in my extended friend group. Might die tomorrow, so time to buy that travel trailer and new truck to tow it. Let's sell the house and live in an RV.

My wife and I are over here watching like vultures waiting for the market to crash so we can come snatch stuff up.

 

[Zandcwhite]

Really? I don't recall Prius having a track record of 80 years in business. Completely different vehicle, different target audience and different use.

You do realize that Toyota was founded in 1937…4 year before Jeep? Not that I agree with the argument of Jeep’s being valueless in the future, but Toyota does in fact have a pretty good 80+ year track record in the business.

 

[WilhelmSR]

As a consumer, you have multiple places to buy a Jeep. As a seller, they can ask whatever they want as long as there is no prior agreement with the manufacturer. It's a shit thing but it is what it is.

It's no better than the people that sell their Jeep $10k over actual value because they put $8k in mods on. Negating the fact that built the Jeep on what they wanted and not what others wanted, and not to mention mods are used and thus not worth no way near on what was paid for it.

Shit, look at the Facebook marketplace on what people think their junk is worth. People selling shit for $500 that you can get on eBay for $40.

 

[Sargeoverland]

The fact that people “need” the vehicle that bad is an issue just as great as the dealer raising their prices. I can’t imagine walking into a dealer and saying yeah I’ll be fine losing 5-10k of not even equity just 5-10k

 

[WilhelmSR]

The fact that people “need” the vehicle that bad is an issue just as great as the dealer raising their prices. I can’t imagine walking into a dealer and saying yeah I’ll be fine losing 5-10k of not even equity just 5-10k

 

[rickinAZ]

If they can get it, more power to them. How can we embrace capitalism and not support their right to adjust pricing? If a dealer charging over MSRP is considered gouging, what do you call the purchasers who are paying 10% below MSRP? Basically the same thing. What's good for the goose...

BTW, I paid 11% below MSRP, and would never pay above sticker for a vehicle.

 

[guarnibl]

I agree, but there is likely some program benefit, even if minor. The average household income of a JLU buyer is ~ $122k per year. Stimulus checks went to families with household incomes of up to $146.4k. There is certainly some overlap in that Venn diagram.

For those who did not qualify for stimulus checks, the wealth effect tailwinds of raging stock and housing markets, paired with bigger year end bonuses from better-than-expected 2020 results, certainly underwrote some JLU purchases. I can speak with certainty regarding that.

And anecdotally, I heard of a neighbor who owns her own small business who took two rounds of paycheck protection funds and remodeled her personal house. This likely happened across the country, and underwrote car/boat/vacation/second house purchases of massive proportions. This will not likely happen again.

Finally, its not just the expiration of short-term stimulus and unemployment benefits that may soften the economy, consumer demand, or the availability of credit. The Federal Reserve likely begins "tapering" talk this fall, and they have ~ $4 trillion of excess liquidity they need to withdraw from the US economy. I'm not making a forecast, but I do work with money professionally and I worry that it **could** get ugly in a next few years should a negative wealth effect cool enthusiasm for higher ticket purchases. Time will tell.

Agreed 100%.

 

[chadk77]

This. There are posts in our local Jeep Club's FB group almost daily asking where to get a deal. None of our local dealers are offering discounts, or they're offering 1-2% off sticker. When I tell them I got 15% off sticker by factory ordering from a dealer in Nashville, their minds are BLOWN.

This and This more. When I tell people I got 14.5% off of MSRP for my fully loaded ( minus steel bumpers) factory ordered JLUR they don't believe me....until I start dropping numbers, dealer names and other info on them.

I don't see how people can go buy a car at any price without doing a little research. That is the kind of people that the dealers want though. Those who are uneducated on what other deals are out there and what they could be paying by looking around..... But I'm also the kind of person that will google things for three weeks before buying a TV so there's that . LOL.

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