Disappointing Dealer Experience (JLR)

[Hagie]

Eh, "prone" is iffy. Lots are reporting no issues. Right now my time line looks more like a 2019, which most of the issues that are in this year will likely be ironed out.

The "big debt" for me is a full price JL. Hence the down payment to lower monthly payments.

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[Jeepney18]

1. I have not walked into a dealer to this talk price in an 8 years. I’ve purchased from many different brands and dealerships and I simply do all negotiation via email. I tell them what I want, get initial offers and when someone replies with a better price I literally forward that
email to the other dealerships until I get to the lowest price. Do your homework and know about deals/incentives and what others are paying and be upfront about it.

2. I NEVER mention a trade until we’ve negotiated price on the new car. Then you need to come prepared with Blackbook, Bluebook, etc. They will try all sorts of games and tell you they don’t use this one or that one but it gives you a place to start. I treat new car and trade-in as two different transactions.

3. After making them work against other dealerships and coming to a price and then getting low balled on the trade I simply say this is what I need the trade to be to make it work.

4. I always go into a negotiation with outside financing already approved. This way they can’t play financing games. Sometimes I take their financing - can’t beat something like Honda’s 0.9% for 60 months - but if my bank approves me for a better deal then they can’t leverage their financing against you by talking about monthly payment, etc.

5. I understand dealerships need to make money too. My goal is a good deal on both the new car and trade but I’m not trying to pillage.

6. I spend on average about 20 mins in a dealership signing papers and that’s already too much time for me.

My observation is most dealerships have “internet salesman” that make better initial offers than sales people on the floor. There are also dealerships who prefer online contact because basically it allows salesman to work on volume sales where a salesman can be negotiating 5 deals at the same time online vs one deal in-person.

More than anything this approach will let you know who is willing to play ball and prevent you from wasting time by going to a dealership that clearly isn’t going to.

I'm in a situation where i'm almost done negotiating the price of the vehicle. They asked if I had a trade in. I said no. I want the price to go down a little more and I think I can do that.

What can I do for my next step? Do I ask how much the monthly is? I was thinking that this is the part where I tell them I'll trade in my car and if they can get my monthly payment to $xxx.xx then we have a deal. Is that the right strategy? Or do I try to find out how much they'll take for my car first and if it's not enough, just tell them we have a deal if you can get my monthly payments to $xxx.xx.

 

[Wanderingwheelz]

Today my wife and I went to a local Jeep dealership and checked out the new 2 door JL Rubicon (white / hard top) and took a test drive. If you haven't driven one yet, it drives like a dream. However, I was very disappointed with the notional numbers that were given to me for a purchase price. These were notional, because I wanted it in granite crystal and a soft top - which they promised they could locate one for me and have it in 5 days or so.

The MSRP was 46165, and I was alotted 1,000 in savings + a 500 rebate. Adjusted sales price was 44665. I told the salesman that I was looking for the 5% invoice that others were receiving on this forum. He did not seem to know or care about this, and insisted that I may not qualify for all of the deals other dealerships have and that this was a very good deal.

Further, he ran a "soft credit" report on me to determine some ballpark monthly payment numbers, which he also insisted would go down since I have excellent credit. This came out to about 758/mo in payments. Not that I care about the monthly payment, but it was way more than what I was expecting.

They also valued my trade in at 4,000 (albeit without looking at the car in person) based on the mileage and vin number. According to KBB, it is worth 7000 as a trade-in.

My questions are, is this what I should expect from a dealer and their notional pricing? Can I still get the 5% below invoice pricing at another dealer for a vehicle on their lot? Needless to say, we walked out of that dealer very quickly without purchasing....

Car selling is QUICKLY becoming like everything else in the internet age. 10% of the dealers are going to eventually sell 90% of the cars. As much as it sucks to leave your local market, you really do have to contact one of the high volume dealers in your region. None of my local dealers were willing to match the high volume dealer that I bought my JL from- or even really come close. Why? Because they CAN’T.

Just like the corner store that’s barely hanging on can’t come close to matching the price at Home Depot or on Amazon.com.

This is what the internet is doing to EVERYTHING.

 

[old8tora]

Car selling is QUICKLY becoming like everything else in the internet age. 10% of the dealers are going to eventually sell 90% of the cars. As much as it sucks to leave your local market, you really do have to contact one of the high volume dealers in your region. None of my local dealers were willing to match the high volume dealer that I bought my JL from- or even really come close. Why? Because they CAN’T.

Just like the corner store that’s barely hanging on can’t come close to matching the price at Home Depot or on Amazon.com.

This is what the internet is doing to EVERYTHING.

This is true if you are buying from a dealer's inventory , always go to the high volume dealer . However , if you are ordering , it doesn't matter who you get the lowest price from , since your Jeep is coming direct from the factory .

 

[old8tora]

I'm in a situation where i'm almost done negotiating the price of the vehicle. They asked if I had a trade in. I said no. I want the price to go down a little more and I think I can do that.

What can I do for my next step? Do I ask how much the monthly is? I was thinking that this is the part where I tell them I'll trade in my car and if they can get my monthly payment to $xxx.xx then we have a deal. Is that the right strategy? Or do I try to find out how much they'll take for my car first and if it's not enough, just tell them we have a deal if you can get my monthly payments to $xxx.xx.

First ask yourself what you can afford ? Then worry about the payments . If you buy a high priced vehicle which you cannot afford , you will be in over your head from the get go .

 

[old8tora]

Eh, "prone" is iffy. Lots are reporting no issues. Right now my time line looks more like a 2019, which most of the issues that are in this year will likely be ironed out.

The "big debt" for me is a full price JL. Hence the down payment to lower monthly payments.

You are an optimist thinking about "big debt" , which is self-defeating . If I was you , and I really wanted a new Jeep , I'd consider one of the remaining JKs .

 

[Wanderingwheelz]

This is true if you are buying from a dealer's inventory , always go to the high volume dealer . However , if you are ordering , it doesn't matter who you get the lowest price from , since your Jeep is coming direct from the factory .

That would only hold true if you were legally able to order factory direct- cutting out dealership profit (the “middle man”). But as long as laws dictate that we buy from a dealership, the high volume dealers are are the ones that are going to consistently win on brokered Jeeps too. Either way, a special order or a car bought out of inventory, high sales volume allows for deals at smaller profits.

 

[Jlb27537]

Buying a car with a trade is a 3 step process. What do you expect for your trade. What to you want to pay for the new car. Subtract the 2. The difference is what you need to pay.

Lets say the new car is 40k, trade is 15k. Difference is 25k. Now list price is really 47k and they are marking it down to 40k. But they write it up at 47k, give you on paper 22k for your trade, still 25k difference.

You need to know what you want to spend.

Next money. N E V E R, E V E R buy a payment amount. The dealer buys the money from the bank and resells it to you. Lets say they buy the money for 3% and offers you finacing at 5%. They just made 2% by finacing you.

Know your numbers BEFORE you go to the dealer. Know you want to spend no more than 25K. Contact your bank or credit union before you go to a dealership. Know what 25k costs per month on 36, 42, 48, 60 months. Presently my credit union is at 2.25% for me to borrow what ever I want on a new vehicle.

Presently on a loaded JL figure 10-12% off sticker, a base Sport no options, maybe 3-5% off sticker. All this buying back of invoice is playing with numbers. OK, you get 10% off a 40k car. That is 4k. Now they add $699 doc fee, inventory tax, make ready fee and on and on. Does not matter. What is my OUT THE DOOR PRICE.

Good luck.

 

[Wanderingwheelz]

I'm in a situation where i'm almost done negotiating the price of the vehicle. They asked if I had a trade in. I said no. I want the price to go down a little more and I think I can do that.

What can I do for my next step? Do I ask how much the monthly is? I was thinking that this is the part where I tell them I'll trade in my car and if they can get my monthly payment to $xxx.xx then we have a deal. Is that the right strategy? Or do I try to find out how much they'll take for my car first and if it's not enough, just tell them we have a deal if you can get my monthly payments to $xxx.xx.

If you have a trade I feel like it’s always best to know who the biggest producing salesman is and use him/her. When you’re the end of negotiations the big hitters can tell management to give you more for your trade, when you say “Okay, but I want $_____ more for my trade”. That way their commission isn’t affected like getting a bigger discount on the new car would.

Dealerships don’t want to piss off their top producer(s) but losing deals over $_____. They have to keep the people happy who work 12 hour days and sell 80% of the cars each month.

 

[old8tora]

Lets say the new car is 40k, trade is 15k. Difference is 25k. Now list price is really 47k and they are marking it down to 40k. But they write it up at 47k, give you on paper 22k for your trade, still 25k difference.

Nobody's gonna do that twist and turn .

 

[old8tora]

If you have a trade I feel like it’s always best to know who the biggest producing salesman is and use him/her. When you’re the end of negotiations the big hitters can tell management to give you more for your trade, when you say “Okay, but I want $_____ more for my trade”. That way their commission isn’t affected like getting a bigger discount on the new car would.

You're not gonna "shop deals" between salesmen at the same dealership . Between dealers yes , but not between salesmen at the same dealership . Anyway each dealer has a system to pricing a trade , including conferring with the service dept ; you're not gonna change what they decide .

 

[Hagie]

You are an optimist thinking about "big debt" , which is self-defeating . If I was you , and I really wanted a new Jeep , I'd consider one of the remaining JKs .

Well when I buy it, outside of my home, it will likely be my only debt. I have already bought and paid off several cars, as we refinanced a few months ago to alleviate cash flow.

Both my wife and I are not thrilled about the JKs. Plus we are not in a purchasing phase until likely from the end of the year until summer 2019. My wife rode in a coworkers JK and commented that it didnt not feel as nice as the JL.

I am posting on a JL forum because I want a JL, so I am trying to gather as much ammo as I can for knowledge. If I wanted a JK I wouldn't be here.

 

[old8tora]

Well when I buy it, outside of my home, it will likely be my only debt. I have already bought and paid off several cars, as we refinanced a few months ago to alleviate cash flow.

Both my wife and I are not thrilled about the JKs. Plus we are not in a purchasing phase until likely from the end of the year until summer 2019. My wife rode in a coworkers JK and commented that it didnt not feel as nice as the JL.

I am posting on a JL forum because I want a JL, so I am trying to gather as much ammo as I can for knowledge. If I wanted a JK I wouldn't be here.

Fine , more power to you . Just wanted to let you know that debt is your enemy .

 

[Tommy T]

First off, shop and only deal with internet sales. Compare with different dealers. Time of month, end of month is better
than 1st of month. How big is the dealer compared to small town, no competition.
If you just walk into a dealer, chances are they see you coming and you lost your barging leverage, especially
on weekends, busiest time of the week.
Try and sell your car yourself, dealers screw you on trades and make lots of money on the trade.
They trick to make you to feel better by knocking more off the sticker. Remember these folks know every trick in the book.
Interest rates are another way dealers make up on profit. Try some place like CarMax to sell your car first.
Competing with dealers is a fierce business now days. This is why the profit margins are up with the women,
they are easier to make money on with the above mentioned tactics.

 

[Tommy T]

Fine , more power to you . Just wanted to let you know that debt is your enemy .

So is the IMF, Federal Reserve, Inflation and the Banksters.

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