New JLU under $30k?

[txj2go]

I'm seeing some new JLUs in the Chicagoland area advertised for around 30k or under.

Ive been watching for several months. I had a budget for a used JKU but I am not seeing their prices come down so I started looking at advertised discount prices for new ones, frequently less than the 2017 models. I've noticed that listings are slowly disappearing from cars.com so I take it that they are selling, even if they are selling very slowly. Searching a 500 mile radius I see some dealers with a lot advertised at low prices, but I started getting curious so I did some research into the dealer ratings. What I found implies that the advertised price is false, they have a variety of tactics to push the price up so probably they would not sell for anywhere close to those prices. If they sold at those prices they wouldn't have as many left in stock as they have.

Back to the question- I did see a few manual trans. models advertised for closer to $28k. If I'm right that the dealer is scamming customers, you still couldn't buy for under $30k but maybe you could get close to it. Other than the single dealer mentioned, nobody else in my 500 mile radius has any stripped JLUs advertised for close to $30k, I'm thinking the real price is at least $33k.

Next week is getting close to end of the month so I'm going to send out some emails and see if anybody seems interested in selling. I've picked out 3 or 4 dealers that have a lower percentage of that type of negative feedback.

Somebody asked "buy now or wait...". There were a lot more at the bottom tier of pricing a month ago and those have gradually disappeared so the urgency to buy one within that price range is gone. There is a good supply in the next up price tier so maybe dealers will start feeling more pressure as time goes on and be willing to deal. If the factory resumes production soon they're going to need a place to put the new production.

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[txj2go]

I wanted to add some statistics from my cars.com searching...
There were 4 dealers with listings of interest and not much evidence of unscrupulous practices.
Dealer 1 is advertising prices at about 82-83% of MSRP
Dealer 2 is advertising one vehicle at 83% of MSRP
Dealer 3 is advertising prices at about 87-88% of MSRP
Dealer 4 has one vehicle at 90% of MSRP
So would Dealer 1 be worth driving 150 miles with a checkbook to check them out?

 

[kapk22]

I have considered paying for having one shipped. Depending on how far away, of course.

 

[txj2go]

I have considered paying for having one shipped. Depending on how far away, of course.

In years past I've had thoughts of buying a car from far away, flying there and spending a couple of days to drive back. I wouldn't mind doing that now either except for the flying part. And I'm thinking these days unless you aren't picky about price you would have poor odds of going to a location to get the car and the deal being the same that you understood. Within 200 miles I'm willing to have my wife drive me there and then drive both vehicles home. That's about my limit right now.

 

[Pig-Pen]

the dealer i purchased from has smoking deals on 2019s but they all have the hybrid system. i guess theyre having trouble getting rid of them. they had some Rubis for smoking prices but i just cant pull the trigger on the hybrid 4 banger.

 

[jconli1]

... So would Dealer 1 be worth driving 150 miles with a checkbook to check them out?

Factor in your travel time to and from, fuel, etc when figuring out your total cost. Also, the old adage of "buy the seller, not the product" often applies... reach out to the possible dealerships, both by email and by phone. Get a read on them... are they interested in selling to you? Do they sound like they know what they're talking about? Are they listening to your situation or just saying whatever they can to get you in the door? The latter could indicate that's not at all a serious price. Carefully read the deal details - lots of time they'll stuff a number of situation-specific discounts or say the price only applies if you use their own financing, etc. Are they willing to do much of the paperwork over the phone so you can have a solid contract before investing the time and making the trip?

I was in a similar position last year... found the exact model/price I was looking for (holdover '18 unlimited sport, V6, auto, lsd, tow for $30k), but that dealer was remarkably difficult to work with at every stage of the deal. I'd had many successful long-distance purchases before, but this was a mess, and was relatively close by. Very happy with the vehicle itself, but it was like a two-week-long root canal working with that dealer and I've never been back. I'd have happily paid a little bit more to get good dealer and a quick, smooth transaction.

 

[txj2go]

Factor in your travel time to and from, fuel, etc when factoring out your actual total cost. Also, the old adage of "buy the seller, not the product" often applies... reach out to the possible dealerships, both by email and by phone. Get a read on them... are they interested in selling to you? Do they sound like they know what they're talking about? Are they listening to your situation or just saying whatever they can to get you in the door? The latter could indicate that's not at all a serious price. Carefully read the deal details - lots of time they'll stuff a number of situation-specific discounts or say the price only applies if you use their own financing, etc. Are they willing to do much of the paperwork over the phone so you can have a solid contract before investing the time and making the trip?

This sounds like a good plan and I had come to some of these conclusions myself. I'll start Monday and see how far I get with it. I'm looking up used JKU and JLU as my fallback position.

 

[kapk22]

I would love to hear what happens with your search. I am surprised there is no way of doing a nationwide search for a specific vehicle, other than the three big websites. (Cars.com, autotrader, CarGurus)

If I remember correctly, when I ordered one of my tundras years back, the local toyota dealership was able to tell me “there are only three of those exact models you want within 300 miles, at these specific dealerships”. And, “there are twenty-five nationwide”.

Obviously, not every dealership advertises on those three sites. But it would be nice to have the capability to search, instead of having to go city by city.

I was also in the same mindset as you, in regards to buying an older Rubi Recon or Hard Rock. What I found was, 17’ models were listed for 34-36k, with 20-40k miles on them (v6).

When I saw ads for 2020 models under $30k, I started considering new instead. Especially after researching the new I4 engine. Like I mentioned, I really enjoy having power windows and a hard top. I do not like the looks of the new model soft top. And, since I have the old yj, I realized the need for a rubi was just not worth spending all the extra.

 

[blnewt]

I would love to hear what happens with your search. I am surprised there is no way of doing a nationwide search for a specific vehicle, other than the three big websites. (Cars.com, autotrader, CarGurus)

If I remember correctly, when I ordered one of my tundras years back, the local toyota dealership was able to tell me “there are only three of those exact models you want within 300 miles, at these specific dealerships”. And, “there are twenty-five nationwide”.

Obviously, not every dealership advertises on those three sites. But it would be nice to have the capability to search, instead of having to go city by city.

I was also in the same mindset as you, in regards to buying an older Rubi Recon or Hard Rock. What I found was, 17’ models were listed for 34-36k, with 20-40k miles on them (v6).

When I saw ads for 2020 models under $30k, I started considering new instead. Especially after researching the new I4 engine. Like I mentioned, I really enjoy having power windows and a hard top. I do not like the looks of the new model soft top. And, since I have the old yj, I realized the need for a rubi was just not worth spending all the extra.

Might check w/ Jim Marsh in Las Vegas, they are a high volume dealer and w/ the huge economic toll taken on the Las Vegas area they may have some dust on their lot. We ordered through them and they were one of the best priced dealers within an area that we didn't mind driving to Antonio Magana is a good guy to deal with and he's in charge of special orders and I think Internet sales as well.

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