First Time Potentially Ordering - Need Help with Logistics?

[jeeperkatie]

Hi All!

Ever since the Bikini JLU has been out, I've been dreaming of owning this Jeep. But I need a little help in the logistics of purchasing one; I've done so much reading and learning from everyone here, so I'm hoping this will help.

My current issue is that a Bikini JLU in my area, isn't quite so readily available. I think I've seen 3 or 4 total for sale since they've been released. So I'm coming to terms with the fact that in order to get the best deal possible, for the Jeep I want - I'm going to have to order it. But here lies my issue - I already own a JKU that I'm still making payments on, and financially I cannot afford 2 Jeeps until my JKU sells.

So I'm trying to figure out how to pull all of this off. Do I first start reaching out to dealers to get an idea of who I'm going to work with (I'm in Oregon, so I know likely it'll be either Kent, or someone in Seattle) and then list my JKU while I wait for my JLU to be delivered? How long on average does delivery take? Do I start looking for something on the lot, and hope a Bikini shows up, and try to sell my JKU before the Bikini sells and hopefully hammer out the details to my liking?

My biggest fears are having no Jeep or two Jeeps, for an extended period of time. If I don't have a vehicle for a week or two, it wouldn't be a major deal - but not having a vehicle for a month plus, would be problematic.

Thanks in advance!

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[TXRubicon]

Well, you don't actually pay for anything except maybe a deposit if your dealer requires it when you order the car. You don't take delivery until you and the new vehicle is ready. You can trade in at that time, or sell prior to the car arriving.

 

[agarber5687]

Hi All!

Ever since the Bikini JLU has been out, I've been dreaming of owning this Jeep. But I need a little help in the logistics of purchasing one; I've done so much reading and learning from everyone here, so I'm hoping this will help.

My current issue is that a Bikini JLU in my area, isn't quite so readily available. I think I've seen 3 or 4 total for sale since they've been released. So I'm coming to terms with the fact that in order to get the best deal possible, for the Jeep I want - I'm going to have to order it. But here lies my issue - I already own a JKU that I'm still making payments on, and financially I cannot afford 2 Jeeps until my JKU sells.

So I'm trying to figure out how to pull all of this off. Do I first start reaching out to dealers to get an idea of who I'm going to work with (I'm in Oregon, so I know likely it'll be either Kent, or someone in Seattle) and then list my JKU while I wait for my JLU to be delivered? How long on average does delivery take? Do I start looking for something on the lot, and hope a Bikini shows up, and try to sell my JKU before the Bikini sells and hopefully hammer out the details to my liking?

My biggest fears are having no Jeep or two Jeeps, for an extended period of time. If I don't have a vehicle for a week or two, it wouldn't be a major deal - but not having a vehicle for a month plus, would be problematic.

Thanks in advance!

Are you opposed to trading in your current Jeep at the time of purchase with the dealership?

You give up the higher private party value but can still negotiate to ensure the trade-in value offsets the current loan amount.

 

[jeeperkatie]

Are you opposed to trading in your current Jeep at the time of purchase with the dealership?

You give up the higher private party value but can still negotiate to ensure the trade-in value offsets the current loan amount.

Financially it would work better to reinvest the money from my JKU into parts/buying the JLU. I don’t want all of the money from my JKU put into a trade in price on the JLU - I’m hoping to turn right around and start the build.

 

[jeeperkatie]

Well, you don't actually pay for anything except maybe a deposit if your dealer requires it when you order the car. You don't take delivery until you and the new vehicle is ready. You can trade in at that time, or sell prior to the car arriving.

More of my concern is if I don’t sell my JKU in time for delivery for the JLU, then I’ll still end up with two car payments lol

 

[TXRubicon]

Ask your dealer how long they are willing to hold your ordered car once it comes in. My dealer said they'd do it up to a month with no problem. I didn't end up ordering but it was nice to have flexibility if I did.

More of my concern is if I don’t sell my JKU in time for delivery for the JLU, then I’ll still end up with two car payments lol

 

[minimight]

Not to mention if you trade yours in you get a tax savings as you would only pay tax on the difference of your trade and the JLU as opposed to the entire price of the JLU. Its the case in NY at least. I've traded in my last few Jeeps for the next one since even though the value is a little lower I ended up saving a good amount on the tax and ended up negotiating additional aftermarket pieces separately (lightbar, etc.).

 

[dlzzk]

You can make the order while listing your JKU. Worst case scenario if your JKU didn't sell and your new JLU arrived, you can always do a trade-in or simply sell it to Carmax. I think in general Carmax does better than dealers and worse than individual buyers, but you get cash instantly.

 

[Pingbling23]

Not to mention if you trade yours in you get a tax savings as you would only pay tax on the difference of your trade and the JLU as opposed to the entire price of the JLU. Its the case in NY at least. I've traded in my last few Jeeps for the next one since even though the value is a little lower I ended up saving a good amount on the tax and ended up negotiating additional aftermarket pieces separately (lightbar, etc.).

Tn does this too. I was hoping to get 10k for my trade in (dealer could have easily offered less when I came in from out of state). Tax savings was roughly $700. Privately sold for $11500 so it worked out better. The majority of the time a vehicle with little to no problems will sale for more then you can get in on trade, even with the tax savings.

 

[RubiSc0tt]

Welcome to the forum!

First, Check out threads here and here. They helped me greatly while getting ready to order m y JLUR (First vehicle I've ever ordered as well). In short: Read, learn the terminology (Invoice vs. MSRP, Dealer holdback, allocation, inventory, etc), and the numbers attached to each.

That said, I was in a similar position, albeit with a Jeep worth significantly less (04 Rubi). Here's my advice I always post

RUBISC0TT'S ADVICE ON ORDERING A JL (OR ANY VEHICLE, REALLY)
I've posted this rant elsewhere, but in short: You need to be smart, leverage your advantages, and be respectful but absolutely ruthless. Don't take any shit.

I say this all the time, maybe not as much on here as I do in other Jeep groups, but- a few things to remember:
1). DO YOUR RESEARCH. 100% the most important part of buying any vehicle, especially something like a Wrangler. The people selling these rarely discount them because they're popular and have an enthusiast market- and if they do, or are advertising a discount? Probably not really a discount.

2). YOU HAVE THE ADVANTAGE. You're the consumer. It's your money. You don't need to buy a Jeep from them. You can buy it from someone else. Or not at all. Jeeps are a dime a dozen and now that JL production is in full swing, you can always get exactly what you want. Will you get it for 30k? probably not. Be reasonable, be respectful, but don't take any crap. Good dealers and sales people will work with you and cut you a break. Bad ones will insist you pay sticker because, well, they suck.

3). USE THE INTERNET. Seriously. hit every single dealer within a 200 mile radius using the Autotrader or CarGurus app. Get a good feel for options and pricing. Do your negotiations by email. I was ruthless, and kind of a prick while shopping. I wouldn't set foot on a lot until i had a ballpark trade value for my old Jeep and a rough idea of how close they could come to my number for my Jeep, and if they couldn't hit that, the conversation was over. (More on that below). Sometimes bad dealers feel if they get you on the lot, they can give you the old press to sell routine and you'll cave. BS. Good dealers will work with you to get the deal done and make sure you're both happy.

4). SET YOUR NUMBER. Once again, be reasonable, but know what you're willing to pay and don't be afraid to walk. I've read a lot of horror stories on here where dealers think they have you because you want to buy a Wrangler, especially a fancy new JL, you'll pay whatever they want; again, BS.

That said: Dealers pay taxes and fees in most states on inventory that sits there. There's some other stuff that people way smarter than me could probably explain (Dealer inventory, allocation, etc.. feel free to search for those threads. They made my head spin a little). Many reputable dealers were going with 5-7% below invoice on factory orders when I bought last year. I've heard it's higher now. May want to use that as leverage- "Why would I want this Jeep that's already a year old (and/ or) has been sitting on the lot/ getting test driven by random people or loaned to the loaner fleet when I can get one specifically made for me for cheaper?" kind of thing.

Again, just some points I followed when I was shopping. I always offer, and the offer still stands: I made a Google spreadsheet with a ton of information and just about every metric i could think of when I was shopping. I kept plugging info in and doing price comparisons for invoice vs. MSRP, discounts, and travel if i was going elsewhere to buy. If you (or anyone) wants to check it out, feel free to DM me and I can give you access to the sheet.

Remember, You didn't "lose out" on the Jeep you wanted- you made out by not getting ripped off.

I had a quote from a larger dealer farther away, along with a ball park estimate for trade for my Jeep. I ended up going local because my sales rep (smaller dealer) was able to get as close to those numbers as possible. I did the math, and the hassle of me traveling 8+ hours on a week day after working a full 12 hour night shift, plus the logistics of limping my old Rubi down there for the trade weren't worth the hassle. I had my local guy look at my old Jeep, and give me a number based on VIN and condiiton. I tried to sell before hand but again, ultimately it wasn't worth the hassle to me. I ended up stripping my old Rubi of pretty much everything I could, trading it in and selling all of my aftermarket parts (soft top, half doors, duster deck, winch, seat covers, etc) to fund the Build of my JLUR.
Side note: I was amazed that people would buy piecemeal the parts from my Jeep to put on their beat, busted,clapped up piles of rust instead of just dumping it and getting a turnkey build for a decent price, but hey, what do I know? /shrug

 

[Jeepsmashin]

What I would do is find a dealer that's willing to do business, for instance I ordered my JLUR at Jim Marsh in Las Vegas for 5% under invoice no BS too. Before I put my deposit I told them to send me a complete OTD invoice for a JLUR with my added options and I wont pay a dime over that.

Then first I'd tell them about my trade in if I had one and that id place a order for a jeep if I got a fair dealer for my trade in and 5% under invoice on a ordered jeep

 

[jred321]

Find a dealer who is reasonable and talk to them about what your options are. Since you want cash to buy parts on a car that you're making payments on (which makes no sense to me, but sure if that's your thing), they may be willing to give you X for your trade, apply Y to the JL and give you back X-Y as a check. Trading in a car is really 2 transactions - selling the old one and buying the new. There may be some tax implications of not applying the full trade price to the new car but the dealer should be able to point that out to you and to them they're still buying your car for the same price and the only extra overhead is a little simple math and writing a check.

Another alternative is something I did on my last car. I had ordered for European delivery which means I had to take delivery of the car and officially own it in Europe but it was another few months before I actually got it. I figured it would take a while for my JK to sell so I listed it. It didn't take long to sell so I bought a $2,000 Subaru that I drove for a few months while waiting for my new car to come. I sold the Subaru for what I bought it for once my new car came. A high mileage, 10+ year old car isn't going to lose any value in a few months because it's still a high mileage, 10+ year old car.

 

[BrandonB00]

Just keep your JK and get a sweet wrap in whatever color you want. you will avoid all the service landmines and problems that come with the poorly put together JLs. Go to the TSB section of the forums and see how hard it is to get Jeep to fix any of the myriad of problems that the new JL has.

 

[Kyanche]

My new jeep actually arrived at the dealer before I had finished the transaction selling the old jeep lol. The dealer was fine waiting the week it took for the check to clear my account so I could pay them. >> Admittedly it came faster than anyone expected. :D

They were super nice. 10/10 would do again!

 

[viper88]

Get wholesale pricing estimates for your JKU from Carmax, Carvana, other local dealers. Even used car dealers. That should get you a pretty good idea of what you will get trade-in wise. Shop for your new JLU, get the best price. Then run your own credit report to see what the best financing deals you qualify for. I see you are a RN? Check with credit unions because they usually have better rates then banks. Then ask the dealer you want to buy from what the best price they will give you for you trade. Tell them about your other offers from Carmax or Carvana if those numbers are better and see if they will match the trade in prices.

Generally speaking some dealers are much more motivated and creative. You just need to find one that is willing to work with you for the sale.

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