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Order 4xe now or get one from Dealer?

LJ_3M121318

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Hello everyone, I'm going to be joining the Jeep fam with the 4xe. Have a Titan that's lived it's life and have been researching a Rubicon for while, and the 4xe has made me jump over to this side.

Question- I see many people are going to the Jeep site, building out the 4xe and taking that to various dealerships for the best price. My question is that really the best way to go about this? I'm always concerned ordering anything direct from factory as there are always delays and such. Also, waiting allows me to learn about all the extra discounts (Tread lightly, CA clean fuel reward, etc). Plus if I order right now they would have to build it to my specifications so maybe it takes 3 months to get it, rather than one already at the dealer shortly. So I've been thinking maybe wait until they arrive at Dealers (within 30 days from now?) and then have the Dealer just add on the things I want (Skytouch, painted fenders, etc.). Obviously it wouldn't be installed by the folks at the Ohio plant right off the assembly, but I figure the Dealers know how to do it and if they mess up I would go back to them to fix.

So considering all the scenarios, is it better to build online and negotiate with a dealer now, or just wait until one that is close enough to your style arrives at a dealer and add in options at Dealer?
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DavidArmen

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What do you mean by “add in options at the dealer” ?

If you mean asking the dealer to, for example, upgrade your 5 inch uconnect to the 8.4 inch Uconnect, or adding the proximity entry option or adding the Cold Weather Group, etc, then you’re in for a bad surprise because as far as I know jeep dealers are not able to add factory options after the jeep is with them.

Mopar and JPP (Jeep Performance Parts) accessories are a different matter, ask them to add in any Mopar or JPP accessory you want (winch, 2” lift, snorkel, off-road lights) and they will do it, although they will charge you a ton.

But the dealer can not add factory options to the jeep once the jeep is sitting at the dealer.
 

Sboden

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Even if they can add those on, the amount you pay in labor would be atrocious. You get a much better deal having the factory do it. I've always decided on whether I'm willing to accept or not accept what the dealership ordered for their lot. I've sometimes accepted and drove away with things I didn't necessarily want or not have a couple of things I would have liked. I've also ordered because I wasn't willing to pay more for stuff I didn't want or really wanted an item and couldn't find a dealership with it on the lot. I ordered this time because I didn't like what the dealership had coming in. They only had one Rubicon with the others being all Sahara's. The Rubicon didn't have several of the items I wanted and had a couple I didn't really want.
 

Ron93YJ

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Everyone has their own way of looking at it, but for me, once I was able to get a local dealership to agree on 5% below invoice pricing it just made sense for me to order exactly what I wanted. I’m not paying for anything extra and I’m getting exactly what I want. I’m willing to wait a few extra weeks if that’s what it takes to get exactly what I wanted.
 

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You're lucky you have the option of waiting. My previous car died so I didn't have time to wait for an order to be built. Normally I would say search around and try to find the vehicle you want on a lot for a reasonable price first, and if you can't find what you want order. However, as you are set on a 4XE, I would just order one as I don't think those are on lots yet anyway.
 

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jahysea

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There are zero 4xe on lots. 4xe's that are being ordered now appear to be manufactured pretty quickly, like a week or two at this point. None have shipped anywhere as yet, see the thread on 4xe Order Status. Once they actually start shipping I doubt ordering one takes you an extra 3 months based on some of the later posts on that thread. More like an extra few weeks. And you might do better economically as some dealers view those orders as "extra" sales and run on less margin than they do with a vehicle on the lot. They generally deal deeply on vehicles that have spent a lot of time on lots.
 

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LJ: two passengers on an airplane sit next to one another. One paid $88 for the flight booking in advance, and the other $320 for the right to decide yesterday, on the spur of the moment, to fly.

The second paid for convenience, and it is this convenience whose value you need to weigh as to the value you assign to it.

Go to the Ordering , Pricing, Production, and Tracking Forum

Find what dealers if any are offering discounts for you making a factory order with them and how long deliveries of your desired model are taking. Determine if such dealers are close enough to you to make the savings worth your time.

Do you still have the Titan and are you not in a rush in the sense that you need a vehicle to get around in?

With factory orders you're only paying for the options you want. Dealer stock may be short some of the things you want, and long in some of the accessories you'd never get, but nonetheless must pay for.

Most dealers couldn't care where you bought your vehicle. Service in fact is, as you may know, a large profit center for dealers.

High volume dealers make sales incentives with FCA for moving product. They share some of those sales incentives with the customer in lower prices.
 
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LJ_3M121318

LJ_3M121318

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David/Sboden, yes I was referring to ordering at the dealer so lets say they have a 4xe with most of what I want but not Skytouch.

For example, assume all else being equal, the build on Jeep.com with Skytouch is $64K.
Dealer has the exact same that I want but not Skytouch, so MSRP at Dealer is $60K.

So if everything is the same, shouldn't the difference at the Dealer be $4k for the Skytouch?
Or are you saying the factory has cheaper labor rates so they install for $4k but dealer would charge me $6k+? If that's the case, then I'll just order online but I thought based on the pricing from Jeep.com that the dealers would have to be aligned with factory pricing.

That means I could order my Jeep online for $64K and a Dealer may have the exact same build sitting at their lot but because they installed the options, the same exact vehicle would then be $74K at the dealer???
 
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LJ_3M121318

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jah/Gee, very great points. Definitely makes sense now that I think about it.

Yes still have Titan and running smooth, so I have the time to find a right deal. So then my next immediate steps are to get my build and start shopping around, it seems.
 

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LJ: should you opt for a factory power top you will get it at a discount from its price to purchase it after the sale.

The reason why is that each Wrangler is base outfitted with a basic soft top. If you opt for something more, be it hard or dual tops (which comes with the premium soft top) or power top, FCA credits you with the fact that you have given back to them the soft top, so to speak.

So unless you have someone to sell the top to that came with your rig, I would advise you to have the dealer install anything, given the prices they charge, let alone a power top.

Doing so is a four hand job. That's tons of labor on top of the base price.

LJ: I mean you no disrespect but from your questions it appears you have many unknowns. Premature buying can lead to so many regrets. If you have time, educate yourself here, ask for advise. Spend the to researching, just not to to point of analysis paralysis where you make no decision.

Painted fenders..LJ: please, get them from the factory if that's what you want, unless you are not willing to get a Rubi or Sahara (or one of the limited edition models with them) and really want them.
 

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David/Sboden, yes I was referring to ordering at the dealer so lets say they have a 4xe with most of what I want but not Skytouch.

For example, assume all else being equal, the build on Jeep.com with Skytouch is $64K.
Dealer has the exact same that I want but not Skytouch, so MSRP at Dealer is $60K.

So if everything is the same, shouldn't the difference at the Dealer be $4k for the Skytouch?
Or are you saying the factory has cheaper labor rates so they install for $4k but dealer would charge me $6k+? If that's the case, then I'll just order online but I thought based on the pricing from Jeep.com that the dealers would have to be aligned with factory pricing.

That means I could order my Jeep online for $64K and a Dealer may have the exact same build sitting at their lot but because they installed the options, the same exact vehicle would then be $74K at the dealer???
literally my first time buying a new vehicle, but around me it appears you pay a premium for a vehicle close to what you may want... even if you talk them down you may only be paying MSRP. if you place an invoice and shop around you can likely find a deal at 8%-10% lower than MSRP and get exactly what you want. additionally when you order a package from the factory you aren't charged labor like you are at the dealer because the vehicle hasn't been built yet so there is nothing to take apart. additionally dealers typically order the vehicles for the lot the way they want them and don't modify them in house.
 

Gee-pah

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jah/Gee, very great points. Definitely makes sense now that I think about it.

Yes still have Titan and running smooth, so I have the time to find a right deal. So then my next immediate steps are to get my build and start shopping around, it seems.
I respectfully disagree. LJ: please, start with the features you think you wqnt, ask questions here, and if you are not in a rush, please factory order.

I would never, ever, ever, ever buy a Wrangler without a factory order unless I was in a rush---not even if the dealer could get me precisely the features I wanted.

LJ: some perspective. It's been a while since I bought and was back East at the time. I bought from Koons. I don't know if they still do factory order discounts. 500 miles round trip: totally worth it.

Please, for your sake, do not be impetuous.
 

AmarilloJLU

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It depends on your risk tolerance. By ordering you get exactly what you want and using the resources on this site you WILL be able to find a great deal if you are willing to ask around and know what price you can realistically get. Your other option is hoping one shows up on the lot near you which could happen, but it most likely will not be all of the features/color you want. The other issue with a 4Xe on the lot is that with this being a new model they might no be willing to negotiate on the price at first as they will sell pretty well to your average consumer around MSRP, especially with the $7500 federal tax credit. Many people in the forum have had their local dealerships tell them they will do MSRP and nothing less and that is with ordering. If you do your research and ask around with solid info on hand you will find those dealers that will give you the 10-12% off MSRP, (and that is over email or on the phone which puts you in more of a power position over sitting in their dealership offices). Yes, you will have to wait for a factory order, but if the 4Xe's had not had to wait for the window stickers due to the EPA MPG fiasco a lot of us would already be driving them around. I would expect a 6-8 week turn around for factory orders after this first batch goes out next week. Search the Forum, get educated and then figure out what you feel comfortable doing.
 

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literally my first time buying a new vehicle, but around me it appears you pay a premium for a vehicle close to what you may want... even if you talk them down you may only be paying MSRP. if you place an invoice and shop around you can likely find a deal at 8%-10% lower than MSRP and get exactly what you want. additionally when you order a package from the factory you aren't charged labor like you are at the dealer because the vehicle hasn't been built yet so there is nothing to take apart. additionally dealers typically order the vehicles for the lot the way they want them and don't modify them in house.
Brian: I admit to not knowing the current terms on Wranglers. I bought in 2018. But--if you are willing to wait for a factory order you not only fail to pay a premium for a vehicle close to exactly how you want it, it comes at a discount. :)
 
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LJ_3M121318

LJ_3M121318

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Excellent insight guys, I really appreciate it.

Will definitely be building one online and will be shopping around. And if I have to wait 6-8 weeks for my perfect 4xe, I will do so. There's so much great information on this site and hidden gems on discounts I never knew existed (e.g. Tread Lightly).
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