Costco Auto Program?

[neeesack]

On the basis of principle, yes ordering from Criswell is definitely the better buy. If you have the time, drive it back. If not, pocket that $1,600 and spend some of that savings back to have the Jeep shipped to you. Either way, you’re still saving money.

Thanks for the info and advice Kevin! I'll take that into consideration.

If it helps you any, I did make that consideration, and I bought from Courtesy/Coastline! $1600 definitely wasn't enough to deal with a road trip for me lol.

Ooh, thanks for the info. I just briefly checked out shipping costs and it's around $1200.... Road trip would be maybe $300 or so just on gas plus a hotel or two. Either scenario from MD to CA would also be around $100 flight one way. I'll have to scratch my head on this some more, haha.

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[BullMoose1776]

If it helps you any, I did make that consideration, and I bought from Courtesy/Coastline! $1600 definitely wasn't enough to deal with a road trip for me lol.

This is a GREAT point. Be certain you consider the complete cost of purchase, including travel and time.

 

[Amaruq]

Thanks for the info and advice Kevin! I'll take that into consideration.


Ooh, thanks for the info. I just briefly checked out shipping costs and it's around $1200.... Road trip would be maybe $300 or so just on gas plus a hotel or two. Either scenario from MD to CA would also be around $100 flight one way. I'll have to scratch my head on this some more, haha.

Did you really find a $100 flight? Or are you talking non-Delta?
Edit: also consider that you won’t have an exact date for delivery if you order, so you’ll probably purchase a flight without two weeks notice and this will increase your airfare.

and if you can take the time off work, a road trip purchase is absolutely worth it. Go through Utah and Colorado and then head down the PCH back home.

Sign me up.

 

[displayname]

No problem! And true, most dealers here won’t budge on pricing without much headache.

After similar experiences with several dealers, I gave up and looked out of state. I ended up ordering from Criswell Jeep in MD. Their pricing was no nonsense and I had them spec out two proposals, one for a Rubi and one for a JLU Sport.

MSRP was $61k for the Rubi and $51k for the JLU Sport. Criswell offered to sell the Rubi for $52k and the Sport for $44K. They showed me all of the pricing, including msrp, invoice, friends and family, doc fees and everything else without me having to ask.

After seeing all of the numbers it became real to me and I modified some of the options on the Sport that I ended up ordering because I needed to find a reasonable price that met my needs and fit my budget.

While I wanted the Rubi and it was such a great price, I couldn’t justify paying for the features of the Rubi that make it what it is, knowing that I know I would never use.

When I got to the financing office, they surprised me even more and gave me more money towards my purchase without me even having to ask or knowing about. At the end of the day, buying from them was one of the BEST shopping experiences and one of the purchases that I’ve ever had of a vehicle.

Let me know if you have any more questions.

Sounds like you got a pretty solid deal. How was the road trip back? I'd consider doing something like this if the savings are there, but I think finding the time to actually do it would be the bigger challenge for me. It would all depend on the total savings including the flight and road trip cost. I'm not sure what my number would be honestly, but worth keeping in mind if it comes down to it.

Jeep looks great by the way!

 

[Strommen95]

Honestly saying that anything less than 7% invoice is a bad deal is horrible advice. For starters there is a lot of value buying local and paying more if your local dealer has decent service. You can't put a price tag on a dealer that honors warranty claims without hassle.

More importantly out of the hundreds of dealerships in the country you can count on two hands how many dealers regularly do 7% under. The reality is 99% of Jeep dealerships don't have enough volume to be profitable doing that. Yes, you can get a better deal for sure even better than 7% under invoice with Treadlightly. But just because there's better out there doesn't mean anything less is a bad deal. The deals on this forum especially for 7% under invoice make up a very small percentage of deals made. 3-5% under invoice is a realistic good deal you can make with a local dealer that isn't Crisswell, Koons, Boise, etc. You can do better traveling, but again these dealerships are the 1%, not the 99%.

 

[Jeep4Win]

Honestly saying that anything less than 7% invoice is a bad deal is horrible advice. For starters there is a lot of value buying local and paying more if your local dealer has decent service. You can't put a price tag on a dealer that honors warranty claims without hassle.

More importantly out of the hundreds of dealerships in the country you can count on two hands how many dealers regularly do 7% under. The reality is 99% of Jeep dealerships don't have enough volume to be profitable doing that. Yes, you can get a better deal for sure even better than 7% under invoice with Treadlightly. But just because there's better out there doesn't mean anything less is a bad deal. The deals on this forum especially for 7% under invoice make up a very small percentage of deals made. 3-5% under invoice is a realistic good deal you can make with a local dealer that isn't Crisswell, Koons, Boise, etc. You can do better traveling, but again these dealerships are the 1%, not the 99%.

That is some food for thought. I’ve had my JK for almost 10 years so when I get a JL it will probably be the same. Having a place to go to with no hassle buying and servicing the vehicle would totally be worth paying a little more.

 

[displayname]

Honestly saying that anything less than 7% invoice is a bad deal is horrible advice. For starters there is a lot of value buying local and paying more if your local dealer has decent service. You can't put a price tag on a dealer that honors warranty claims without hassle.

More importantly out of the hundreds of dealerships in the country you can count on two hands how many dealers regularly do 7% under. The reality is 99% of Jeep dealerships don't have enough volume to be profitable doing that. Yes, you can get a better deal for sure even better than 7% under invoice with Treadlightly. But just because there's better out there doesn't mean anything less is a bad deal. The deals on this forum especially for 7% under invoice make up a very small percentage of deals made. 3-5% under invoice is a realistic good deal you can make with a local dealer that isn't Crisswell, Koons, Boise, etc. You can do better traveling, but again these dealerships are the 1%, not the 99%.

The service is a good point. It's all part of the overall formula can't be over looked either. I looked a little closer at the trip from DFW to Crisswell. Figure $150ish for the flight. $150-200 for the gas back, which is cheap right now. A night in a hotel is probably close to $100+ depending on where you stop. You have to get from the airport to the dealership, so that's a few bucks. You figure you'll be eating out at least 5 times during the trip, another $50ish +/-. I think $500+ all in is a fair assumption for the road trip, but could obviously end up being a lot more based on actual stops.

So then it comes down to is the remaining savings worth a whole weekend of time, not to mention messing with airports and hotels across the country with Corona still lingering on? Obviously a different answer for everyone, but I might say that price difference might largely makes it self up with convenience and quality local service... assuming you're working with a good dealership. But if you're looking for the true bottom dollar, there is some money on the table for those willing to make the trip to a 1% dealer, even if it's fairly far.

 

[Notorious]

Sounds like you got a pretty solid deal. How was the road trip back?...
Jeep looks great by the way!

Thank you! Unfortunately my road trip was cancelled because of the whole CoviD19. I had budgeted $650 for the trip and had taken a week off. I ended up finding a shipping company that was willing to ship it for under $800 so I went with them.

...there is a lot of value buying local and paying more if your local dealer has decent service. You can't put a price tag on a dealer that honors warranty claims without hassle. But just because there's better out there doesn't mean anything less is a bad deal.

You’re not wrong at all. All of my previous purchases of other brands have been local. I’m all for supporting the local dealerships. But this was my first *new* Wrangler purchase and I was thinking about mods and saving where I could so that I could spend on those.

Jeeps are all about adventures, freedom and exploring. I’ve never purchased out of state before and even without the road trip my purchase was definitely an adventure and also a fun one.

Also, unfortunately for me, I received some pretty consistent terrible service sales wise in my area. I did tour the local service departments, read reviews and wasn’t really impressed - this is Jeep we’re talking about. Local dealers near me aren’t all that great.

Having a place to go to with no hassle buying and servicing the vehicle would totally be worth paying a little more.

True, but if you have the extended factory warranty then it’s good at any Jeep dealership and besides, are they really going to turn a customer away because they didn’t buy from them? Dealers make their money in the service department and most around here would love the opportunity to make their money from walk-in or appointment based service customers.

The service is a good point....I think $500+ all in is a fair assumption for the road trip...

Yep that’s a fair assessment. Obviously everyone has to make the call for themselves whether or not they can afford the journey and make it an adventure or just go local, pay more and be done with it. Either way, get in a new Wrangler!!! They’re fun and worth it!!!

 

[Ismor]

I ended up finding a shipping company that was willing to ship it for under $800 so I went with them.

Would you recommend the shipping company? If so, what's their contact?

Thanks!

 

[Notorious]

Would you recommend the shipping company? If so, what's their contact?

No, I wouldn’t.

The brokerage was a very good, “individual p2p customer facing company” in an industry where shipping companies mostly deal with businesses that need their cargo transported.

The broker quoted a more than fair price, I agreed to it and then the broker put the offer out to any and all companies who were willing to work for the job.

The company that picked up my vehicle ended up delivering it on time but there was a big disconnect between the broker and the transport company in terms of the point of contact and communication.

I don’t know if you can imagine what exactly was going on in my mind when I was tracking my vehicle and reached out to the driver who the broker said was the delivery driver, only to be told that he wasn’t the person that was going to deliver my vehicle, that he had no idea about it and that I was going to need to reach out to their office first thing in the morning.

To be very clear, I spent two days and two nights preparing myself for the uneventful, very real possibility that the vehicle that I just signed the paperwork for, was going to have to be reported as stolen.

Way to completely piss on a happy experience from the dealership. I had a list of people and companies in my line of fire that I was prepared to sue and take to court in the event that the worst case scenario happened.

Fortunately that did not happen and the actual delivery driver reached out to me in the morning and confirmed the delivery time and location.

I say all this to say that if you choose to go this route and have someone ship your vehicle, go with someone who you know, trust and can get in contact with. I took a BIG gamble and put ALOT of faith in people, companies and processes that I really didn’t know and did not earn my trust.

LEARN FROM MY MISTAKE.

Either pick it up yourself or get someone you know VERY WELL (or the dealer knows) and talk to this individual beforehand to determine if he is trustworthy.

Best wishes to you and anyone else who wants to ship their vehicle.

 

[Ismor]

What a story! I'm sorry that you had to go through this.

Interstate trucking is a mess. When we moved across states, our personal effects were consigned from our "movers" to a broker, a trucker, another trucker, and another broker. When we received them, three weeks late, half was missing and half was broken.

A few months later, I spotted a too-good-to-miss car, but it was 800 miles away. Wiser now, I asked the dealer to arrange transportation. I wrote it into the deal documents.

It wasn't cheap, but hearing your story, I'm glad I did that.

 

[Notorious]

What a story! I'm sorry that you had to go through this.

It’s okay. Sometimes experience is the best teacher. No one is immune from it.

Interstate trucking is a mess.

That was one of the companies that I looked into. They had horrible reviews.

A few months later, I spotted a too-good-to-miss car, but it was 800 miles away. Wiser now, I asked the dealer to arrange transportation. I wrote it into the deal documents. It wasn't cheap, but hearing your story, I'm glad I did that.

Good on you! The old adage never fails, people get what they pay for. If there is a next time, I may pony up for the same transport company that Jay Leno uses.

Or maybe I’ll just go pick it up.

 

[Ismor]

It’s okay. Sometimes experience is the best teacher. No one is immune from it.
That was one of the companies that I looked into. They had horrible reviews. Good on you! The old adage never fails, people get what they pay for. If there is a next time, I may pony up for the same transport company that Jay Leno uses.

Or maybe I’ll just go pick it up.

Well, if I find anything reliable, I'll share. It could make out-of-state orders much more attractive.

 

[Wranglernator]

When I bought my Corvette Grand Sport new in 2011, I found the best deal all the way across the country in New Hampshire (I'm in CA). I used the transport company that Jay Leno uses for his cars, Intercity Lines. Now, Intercity is enclosed transport, which is what I wanted because it was winter, and I didn't want my brand new black car, which had been stored indoors in a climate controlled facility, to suffer through 4000 miles of bad weather and god knows what else. I recall the cost was about $2100, which was still a net deal, considering what I paid for the car. Perfect service and I always knew where the car was, and that it was safe inside an enclosed trailer. No random broker-lowest bidder driver rigamarole. But you pay what you get for!

Funny thing is, the final price of the Vette is lower than what I am going to pay for my new Rubi (the MSRP was higher but the final price was lower)! But since I can get 4% under invoice local, I would need ~8% off to pay for that. Corvettes aren't Jeeps, and FCA sells every Jeep they can make, so there aren't typically late model year deep discounts like I got in late 2011 on the Vette that would justify this, unless you are in some locale where you can't get better than 2 or 3%. And of course if it were closer than 4000 miles it would be cheaper.

 

[rickinAZ]

A few stray thoughts from someone who is currently shopping for a 2021 as well:

• Someone asked: The local Costco affiliate offered 3% below invoice.
• It isn't all about the discount. My best discount offer was from a dealer that offered me the worst trade-in value.
• The amount of stress generated is exponentially related to the discount you achieve. That last 1-2% are not worth the mental anguish, imho.
• As pointed out, these dealers are our neighbors, employ our friends, and have been hard hit as well. Certainly more hard hit than the impact on my family. Some are the enemy; most are just trying to survive like all of us.
• There are still some very old school dealers out there: packages containing etching, tint, nitrogen, door edge guards, etc... are BS add-ons. When I was a kid they pushed undercoating and pinstriping. Some things never change.

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