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Getting a response from Jeep dealers

nerp

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Hello all,

Four days ago, I sent a comprehensive order email using the web-based "contact" page for 6 dealerships within 50 miles of me asking for them to supply a quote on the Wrangler JL build I'm looking to order. I've not received a single response from any of them. Not even a "thank you we received your email."

I tried calling 2 of the 6 dealers and got transferred around and disconnected by their phone systems, stuck on hold for 20 minutes, and - though he was unable to help me with sales - I think I might have gotten a date with the service manager at one dealer.

I had enough and just physically went into one of the dealers and asked who handled the "contacts" on the web page and unsurprisingly - no one knew. More than one salesperson wanted to sit down with me and order my Jeep "right now," but no one was willing for me to take the quote and compare to other dealers. (Here's how that conversation went .... Me: "I'll sit down with you and tell you what I want. Once you give me your best price, I'll take that away and compare it with other dealers. In the end, I'll take the best deal." Them: "Happy to help, but if you're not interested in buying frankly it's a waste of my time." or "We can order something but have you see the amazing deals we have on the lot?")

I think that the dealers don't really monitor those web contacts unless they are in sales jeopardy. I think they purposely try to get people physically into the dealership so that they can motivate them to sign a sales contract "today." People who are up front about their process (like me) are considered to be "not serious" ... or, somehow "not ready to buy."

I'm thoroughly disappointed.
Anyone know how to get a quote from a dealership??

Terry
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OldGuyNewJeep

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Affiliate pricing (1% under invoice) eliminates all the frustration. If your employer doesn’t have it, you can get it by signing up for “Tread Lightly.”

Is it 5% below like some have negotiated? No, but my time is money. I happily ordered at 1% below without even trying to negotiate lower. The hardest part, for me, was choosing which dealer should get my business.
 
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nerp

nerp

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Affiliate pricing (1% under invoice) eliminates all the frustration. If your employer doesn’t have it, you can get it by signing up for “Tread Lightly.”....
This doesn't eliminate the problem. I am both a member of Tread Lightly AND my employer has the affiliate program. I have a control ID ready and indicated this in my "contact" email.

I have now tried another tactic: I built the jeep through the jeep.com interface and used the "get quote" ability at the end. I was unable to choose dealer(s) this way, and have not gotten the slightest acknowledgement in my email.

I'd still like to negotiate 4% off of invoice but it's hard to negotiate anything if no one will tell me what the starting point is.
 

Jimac

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This doesn't eliminate the problem. I am both a member of Tread Lightly AND my employer has the affiliate program. I have a control ID ready and indicated this in my "contact" email.

I have now tried another tactic: I built the jeep through the jeep.com interface and used the "get quote" ability at the end. I was unable to choose dealer(s) this way, and have not gotten the slightest acknowledgement in my email.

I'd still like to negotiate 4% off of invoice but it's hard to negotiate anything if no one will tell me what the starting point is.
Welcome to the FCA Jeep world. Sure long for Willys & AMC days and basic jeep.
 

dond49

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This doesn't eliminate the problem. I am both a member of Tread Lightly AND my employer has the affiliate program. I have a control ID ready and indicated this in my "contact" email.

I have now tried another tactic: I built the jeep through the jeep.com interface and used the "get quote" ability at the end. I was unable to choose dealer(s) this way, and have not gotten the slightest acknowledgement in my email.

I'd still like to negotiate 4% off of invoice but it's hard to negotiate anything if no one will tell me what the starting point is.
There is a link on the forum somewhere that gives the MSRP and invoice prices for all models, that's your starting point. I had dealers in Tucson that were willing to give me a price but not willing to deal under invoice. I eventually ordered my Jeep from Dennis Dillon in Idaho, no haggle price, about 7.5% under invoice. Ordered almost everything on an unlimited Rubicon.

You could also try Costco.com and their auto program, it shows MSRP and Invoice prices as well.
 

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Nerp-

I feel your pain as far as lack of contact, enthusiasm etc. In working with salespeople, I often tell them to put themselves in the customer's shoes. It goes a long way in teaching them how to best work with someone.

In a lot of cases, I think we as buyers need to do the same. It's important to remember that it has be a mutually beneficial relationship.

As of now, no salesperson has stepped up to "claim" you. Perhaps they see it as not enough reward for the perceived high maintenance transaction. Yes, it's their job, but they are hoping someone else jumps on that grenade. What's in it for them to sit down with you for possibly hours and hammer out a deal for you to take to 3 other dealerships when they can head right over to the family of four and hand out suckers in front of a Caravan?

Where dealers get it wrong (in my opinion) is leaving the online stuff to a novice salesperson and treating it like a newspaper ad designed to bring people in the door. People want to deal online to avoid the "car sales"iness. Instead, they have to navigate a tangled web of bad communication and misinformation just to end up on the showroom floor eventually anyway. Why not put an experienced person on that desk and let them offer a square deal that both sides can live with?
 
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nerp

nerp

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....You could also try Costco.com and their auto program, it shows MSRP and Invoice prices as well.
Thanks - I hadn't thought to check with Costco. I will do that. I am very aware of the dealer pricing spreadsheet here (shout out to everyone maintaining that!) ... it was what I used to determine the options I wanted to purchase. Just because *I* know what dealer invoice is, doesn't mean that anyone has contacted me to order my Jeep for me and has said "this is the price you'd pay." That's the starting point for me and no one has bothered to email me back at all.
 
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nerp

nerp

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Nerp-

I feel your pain as far as lack of contact, enthusiasm etc. In working with salespeople, I often tell them to put themselves in the customer's shoes. It goes a long way in teaching them how to best work with someone.

In a lot of cases, I think we as buyers need to do the same. It's important to remember that it has be a mutually beneficial relationship.

As of now, no salesperson has stepped up to "claim" you. Perhaps they see it as not enough reward for the perceived high maintenance transaction. Yes, it's their job, but they are hoping someone else jumps on that grenade. What's in it for them to sit down with you for possibly hours and hammer out a deal for you to take to 3 other dealerships when they can head right over to the family of four and hand out suckers in front of a Caravan?

Where dealers get it wrong (in my opinion) is leaving the online stuff to a novice salesperson and treating it like a newspaper ad designed to bring people in the door. People want to deal online to avoid the "car sales"iness. Instead, they have to navigate a tangled web of bad communication and misinformation just to end up on the showroom floor eventually anyway. Why not put an experienced person on that desk and let them offer a square deal that both sides can live with?
SPOT ON man ... SPOT ON. This is exactly it. I am putting myself in the salesperson's shoes... In my contacts, I gave them all they needed to work up the quote. EVERYTHING - even the order codes. The transaction couldn't be more simple. in the email I said "This is exactly what I want, if you can order it for me, let me know what your best, out the door cost will be." I don't think I could haven made it clearer that they can make money for pushing a few buttons, asking their service people to peel shipping plastic off a new vehicle, and making me sign some papers.

Still. No responses from them. Any of them. Amazing.
 

khisanth13

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I feel you- I had the same issue with several dealers in my area as well. I knew exactly what I wanted, what I was willing to pay (1% below invoice w/TreadLightly) and wanted to see what each was willing to do for me but none of them ever came through, although I did have minimal contact with one that after one email exchange just blew me off. I eventually went in person to a bigger dealer 1.5 hours away, and even then I had to threaten to walk away when the first round of Mojito! ordering opened up, and they wouldn't respond to my texts and emails of "OMG ORDERING IS OPEN, GREENGREENGREEN!" After two days I told them if I wasn't a priority because I wasn't in their faces, I would get in their faces and then take my business elsewhere. They had my VON within five minutes.

I seriously don't understand that either- I'm HANDING you practically the easiest sale EVER, and you don't want to do the five minutes of work involved?! I guess it's not worth it if I know what I'm doing and they can't fleece me...
 

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I was able to get a quote for exactly what I wanted (fully loaded JLU Rubicon) from Dennis Dillon in Idaho. 7.5% below invoice when financed and 5.5% below invoice for an all cash purchase. There are only a handful of dealers in the West who are aggressive in trying to win your business.
 

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Hello all,

Four days ago, I sent a comprehensive order email using the web-based "contact" page for 6 dealerships within 50 miles of me asking for them to supply a quote on the Wrangler JL build I'm looking to order. I've not received a single response from any of them. Not even a "thank you we received your email."

I tried calling 2 of the 6 dealers and got transferred around and disconnected by their phone systems, stuck on hold for 20 minutes, and - though he was unable to help me with sales - I think I might have gotten a date with the service manager at one dealer.

I had enough and just physically went into one of the dealers and asked who handled the "contacts" on the web page and unsurprisingly - no one knew. More than one salesperson wanted to sit down with me and order my Jeep "right now," but no one was willing for me to take the quote and compare to other dealers. (Here's how that conversation went .... Me: "I'll sit down with you and tell you what I want. Once you give me your best price, I'll take that away and compare it with other dealers. In the end, I'll take the best deal." Them: "Happy to help, but if you're not interested in buying frankly it's a waste of my time." or "We can order something but have you see the amazing deals we have on the lot?")

I think that the dealers don't really monitor those web contacts unless they are in sales jeopardy. I think they purposely try to get people physically into the dealership so that they can motivate them to sign a sales contract "today." People who are up front about their process (like me) are considered to be "not serious" ... or, somehow "not ready to buy."

I'm thoroughly disappointed.
Anyone know how to get a quote from a dealership??

Terry
I’m shocked how lazy some people are. It all depends on the dealership and who owns it. Some have a heavy internet department that are judged on response time and are a huge part of the dealership sales. Some don’t care. In this day, everything is internet related. Question, did you go on their site and request information or did you just email the dealership. You should get a response if you request info from the site directly
 

Brad41

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Before buying mine, I just researched on this forum which dealerships were already doing 6% under invoice, and chose between those. Was an eight hour drive, but totally worth it to skip this frustration you’re describing. Side note- I tried to give my local dealership a chance, but they didn’t even call me back. I know your pain.
 

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I see way too many problems here and it doesn't make any sense to me.

-Do research on here there are plenty guys and gals here who are in Cali and went out of state for the deal they felt comfortable with.
-All of those dealers and sales contacts ALL can be found on this forum with transparent pricing, a good amount of them are forum sponsors.
-at the end of day regarding the dealer you contacted, it is their business and they are free to practice it as they see fit. It clearly worked if they got you to come in.
-you mentioned that you need someones quote to establish a baseline once again you can find a dealer on here who will gladly do that for you.

In the end if you think your time is more valuable then saving a few grand then buy local from those pricks you mentioned.
 

dave.j.fisher

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Thanks - I hadn't thought to check with Costco. I will do that. I am very aware of the dealer pricing spreadsheet here (shout out to everyone maintaining that!) ... it was what I used to determine the options I wanted to purchase. Just because *I* know what dealer invoice is, doesn't mean that anyone has contacted me to order my Jeep for me and has said "this is the price you'd pay." That's the starting point for me and no one has bothered to email me back at all.
I have had success with Costco auto with my last 2 purchases...also, I was able to utilize supplier pricing in conjunction with the Costco rate ($500 off?)....
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