Tread Lightly Discount Question

[cjaama]

From everything I've read the Tread Lightly discount is an additional 1% beyond your negotiated purchase price, correct?
What is the nicest way to tell a dealer they're wrong when they tell you it's simply 1% below invoice and not an additional 1%?
The dealer doesn't lose any money, correct?

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[guarnibl]

From everything I've read the Tread Lightly discount is an additional 1% beyond your negotiated purchase price, correct?
What is the nicest way to tell a dealer they're wrong when they tell you it's simply 1% below invoice and not an additional 1%?
The dealer doesn't lose any money, correct?

Yes, it's an additional 1%. I would negotiate the deal w/o Tread Lightly, and then add Tread Lightly after agreed upon price and the full brake out is given. This is how I have seen many folks get to 6.5%. It started out at 5.5%, and then tread lightly was added to bump it to 6.5%.

And it's not about being nice. It's about being straight forward to the point and know it's a number game. E-mail 20 dealers you will find someone to give you the 5.5-6.5% w/ tread lightly. Different dealers play different games and you will waste your time dealing with the wrong ones. Cast a wide net, and look at the recommended dealers listing here.

 

[shutamouth]

From everything I've read the Tread Lightly discount is an additional 1% beyond your negotiated purchase price, correct?
What is the nicest way to tell a dealer they're wrong when they tell you it's simply 1% below invoice and not an additional 1%?
The dealer doesn't lose any money, correct?

I'm not sure this is accurate. I believe Tread Lightly guarantees you 1% below invoice at participating dealers (almost all). Some dealers will let you add this to negotiated price, some won't. If I recall correctly, the dealer then receives 2% of invoice in compensation. So generally, an affiliate code is a win for both parties.

What i DO know is that some dealers WILL add an affiliate code to a previously negotiated price. If possible, I'd work with these dealers. Good Luck.

 

[guarnibl]

I'm not sure this is accurate. I believe Tread Lightly guarantees you 1% below invoice at participating dealers (almost all). Some dealers will let you add this to negotiated price, some won't. If I recall correctly, the dealer then receives 2% of invoice in compensation. So generally, an affiliate code is a win for both parties.

What i DO know is that some dealers WILL add an affiliate code to a previously negotiated price. If possible, I'd work with these dealers. Good Luck.

I believe the incentive has to be paid from somewhere though. I guess no one is exactly sure where the money changes hands. But yes, it is accurate to say there are dealers that will add that affiliate code.

 

[ThirtyOne]

From everything I've read the Tread Lightly discount is an additional 1% beyond your negotiated purchase price, correct?
What is the nicest way to tell a dealer they're wrong when they tell you it's simply 1% below invoice and not an additional 1%?
The dealer doesn't lose any money, correct?

That is not right.

The affiliate price is 1% below invoice.

The conventional wisdom (though I have not seen it officially documented or confirmed by a dealer) is that when the dealer submits the AR code to Jeep, they get 2% of the invoice price paid back to them. They shouldn't lose money because of some factory program, right?

So some dealers will share some of that rebate with you even if they sell below the 1% below invoice price, Because everyone wins. You get a better price and they get money back from Jeep.

That being said:

1 - The dealer does not have to accept the AR code at all if they don't want to
2 - The dealer does not have to give you a price better than 1% below invoice
3 - The dealer does not have to give you 1% below whatever price you negotiated because you have an AR code

 

[ads75]

My dealer asked me if I was a Tread Lightly Member before giving me a quote. And then she asked what company I worked for to see if qualified for further discounts (I didn't). She then gave me an offer based on me being a Tread Lightly Member when the Jeep came in. If you are focusing on the final price, they are going to need to know about the discount at some point. Everyone wants the salespeople to have upfront, easy, honest pricing, but they want to hold their own "discount secret" to pull out at the last second. I wasn't looking at the Tread Lightly discount as some kind of Wild Card to pull out at the end and say "Gotcha!"" to the dealer.

 

[cjaama]

Everyone wants the salespeople to have upfront, easy, honest pricing, but they want to hold their own "discount secret" to pull out at the last second. I wasn't looking at the Tread Lightly discount as some kind of Wild Card to pull out at the end and say "Gotcha!"" to the dealer.

Haha that was me...well not really, but it is a great point
I asked my salesman and he said it was only 1% off. I asked him to double check and he did. I was already at 5% off and didn’t want to press the issue over $500, which really isn’t much spread over a 30 year mortgage.
Placed my order today.

 

[GreyFox]

Congrats! Now the wait begins. So to pass the time, start shopping for your Jeep! Your new baby will be here before you know it!

 

[VolCntry73]

Haha that was me...well not really, but it is a great point
I asked my salesman and he said it was only 1% off. I asked him to double check and he did. I was already at 5% off and didn’t want to press the issue over $500, which really isn’t much spread over a 30 year mortgage.
Placed my order today.

First off, congrats on the new purchase! You're going to love the JL.

However, for those that will read this thread later....I would suggest staying with the dealers in preferred dealer's list thread. I ended up purchasing with Tri-City in Eden, NC, but both Tri-City and Superior were very transparent with their pricing. I ended up getting 6.5% off invoice last June, but both showed pricing with and without the Affiliate (Tread Lightly) discount. I would have gotten 5.5% off without it....but got 6.5% with it. So in my case....it was an additional deduction. It may just depend on the dealer and how THEY want to negotiate. Obviously they want to get free money too. To me, it says a lot about the dealer on how they want to play it. While I don't blame a dealer for maximizing profits (MBA grad coming out in me), as a consumer, I will appreciate and deal with those that I feel are truly trying to give me the best deal.

 

[555Redhorse]

I prenegotiated the deal with the dealer at 5% below dealer invoice. That was the deal before-hand without any knowledge of any associative affiliations. I got the Tread Lightly membership to include an affiliated discount. This discount was 2% from the manufacturer (FCA) if the dealership chooses to accept it (why wouldn't they?). I offered to split the 2% (1% for them and 1% for me). So I ended up getting 6% below dealer invoice and the dealership only paid for 4% below invoice. Its a win-win from the customer/dealer perspective.

 

[jplusk]

You financed your Jeep for 30 years?!?!

 

[973Rufio]

Can this discount be applied to a CPO Jeep at a Jeep Dealership?