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Tried (and failed) negotiating on a Rubicon today...thoughts?

NewJLU2019

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I have just made my 2021 Rubicon Jeep Build and my price is set on sheet.

Does anyone have thoughts?

The little lady gets my Sahara.
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Punjabi New Yorker

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I have just made my 2021 Rubicon Jeep Build and my price is set on sheet.

Does anyone have thoughts?

The little lady gets my Sahara.
Good build. Planning on doing any rock crawling with it?
 

Notorious

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Please don't start. I really think the dealers deserve to make a little money right? People think they can get % below invoice. Supply and demand. Hot vehicle means more $$$$. Just a fact.
Facts:
  1. Dealerships make their profits in the finance office (warranties, dealer add ons, etc.), the parts dept and thru their service department.
  2. There are a handful of dealers scattered throughout the USA that will sell Wranglers at %’s below invoice. Some more than others.
  3. TreadLightly, a $100/year membership, guarantees 1% below invoice on any FCA vehicle.
  4. On the whole both supply and demand for JL Wranglers are healthy: there are both buyers and sellers for both new and used. There are also left over new models from previous model years to be had as new. Or used.
  5. The Wrangler’s (or any other vehicle’s) popularity doesn’t justify an artificial, over inflated price hike. Most prospective owners are not looking to pay cost or msrp but rather want to land somewhere in the middle at a price that’s both honest and fair.
 

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My 2020 Rubi sticker was $60,930.00. I found it on their website listed with the dealer's discount (-$5,414.00) for a price of $55,516.00 and then the Jeep offers (-1,500.00) for a total sale price of $54,016.00. This at the time was one of two loaded Rubicon's in the Ocean Blue color on the East Coast that I could see online. My local dealer tried to get it from them in a trade but they wouldn't budge so I ended up calling this dealer. I never got to speak with a salesman, the sales manager had answered the phone. So, after chatting with him and confirming the price and the fact that I'd get another $500.00 of for military I put $1,000.00 on a credit card over the phone with him as a down payment to hold it for me (the Jeep was still inbound from the factory). I had to call the sales manager back several times over the next couple of days to get him to send me a receipt with the VIN on it so I'd have proof that I had that Jeep on hold for me (I didn't trust just his word). I even had my gf call a couple days later to ask about it and sure enough a sales person had told her it wasn't on site yet but it was still available. I called the sales manager minutes later and gave him shit and made sure he put a sold tag against that Jeep. Several days later it came in, we took the ride up to do the paperwork. And sure enough they tried to tell me the price had gone up, by about $2,500.00! I luckily was prepared, I had a screenshot of their price online the day I had put a down payment on it along with my receipt! After several minutes of them going back and forth they agreed to give it to me for that price. Then I had to go back and forth with them about the military discount, again I had all the required paperwork and I got that also. So, in the end after all the price of the Jeep was $53,516.00. I won't even go into how bad the handoff was and all the other BS from them. I NEVER got any kind of schooling on the Jeep or the WAVE program. When they finally got my plate (out of state), I gave them days notice as to the time/day I'd be there to pick it up yet when I showed up it still wasn't really ready (dirty, tabs left on window, inside not fully prepped). I just took it and left. I'd NEVER deal with this dealer for any type of service and would only buy from them strictly because they had exactly what I wanted for the price I'd want to pay. Needless to say they did not do well on my Jeep survey after the sale. That's just my experience, my Jeep has a June build date and I picked it up July 16 (I didn't order it just happened to find it by searching online).
 

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Backstory to this is I've currently got a 2021 yellow Sahara on order. It's built, and in transit to the dealer. The dealer has been horrible w/ customer service, and I've not been able to actually negotiate a sales price on it. I'm getting annoyed w/ them, and happened to be out of town today, and ran across a 2020 Rubi that's yellow as well from another dealer. Thought I'd stop in, test drive, see what was up.

It's listed as MSRP of 54,495. The website say's they're offering a discount of 1,635 off that. Went on the test drive, and it was good. Didn't have all the features I wanted. I was willing to live with that if they'd give me a good offer, and I'd add/change what I could afterwards. Being a 2020 figured I could get a good deal. I see people on the forums getting anywhere from 1%-8% below invoice.

During the drive he tries to explain all the bs stuff they added as the dealer. Some tracking feature...some type of glass coating that increases strength 80% (he said something about withstanding a bullet...sound like a lot of bs to me)

I have a trade in, they looked at that, and said they'd do $15,000. I was fine with that, as that's what Carvana said they'd let me sell it to them for.

Went to talk price, he came back with some bullshit $500 off the MSRP. I asked him about the website price. He said that was if you "qualified" for certain offers. So he pulls out a sheet....college grad, military, etc, etc. Goes through it and I got the college grad, an another that was $500-1500. Asked him what determines that. He didn't know...went back to talk to the sales manager again.

Came back, said he shouldn't have pulled out that sheet, as that was only when special incentives were offered, and there were none right now, but they'd do the -$1635 from the website. Ticked me off a bit, but wasn't surprised. Car dealerships are so shady.

Anyway, he immediately starts trying to ask me about monthly payment. I tell him that's not a concern, the concern is the number at the top...the price of the Wrangler. I ask if that's all he could do, and he said yes. So, told him we'd think about it over lunch, and if we decided to do it, needed to call the other dealer to tell them we wouldn't be getting the ordered Jeep, just to make sure there were no repercussions. (They didn't even take a deposit, so pretty sure there wouldn't be)

Go to lunch, and I pull up the April 2020 order guide and figure out the invoice price. It's $51,406. I feel at the very most, that's what I should pay. Again, given the deals I've seen here, something below that doesn't seem unreasonable.

Called him back, and explained I had the order guide, found the fleet price, gave it to him, and told him I wanted it 3% below that ($47,807). Figured that's a good starting point. He went in again about their "upgrades" they added, and told him those had no value to me and was a risk they took when they put them on. He had me text the numbers, then he sent a bunch of texts that made me think he was confused about what I was asking, so we went back.

Explained again to him. He went to the manager (stayed back there for a good 5 mins), came back and just said "he's not willing to do that" No counter offer, nothing. Then he said that if we find someone that will do that, let him know so he can let his manager know he needs to be more aggressive on pricing. I explained I've seen all kinds of people online getting great deals like that.

So, thoughts? What'd I miss? Was my ask too aggressive? Keep in mind I'd like to get a similar price off invoice on what I actually ordered, so any tips would be helpful. And again, the other dealer seems like a pile of steaming crap too.

Summary:

$54,495 MSRP
$52,860 was what dealer wanted.
$51,406 was invoice price from April order guide.
$47,807 was what I was willing to pay. Not even a counter offer here.
I have purchased several new vehicles in my lifetime and have always been able to negotiate the selling price. However, I recently ordered a 2021 JLR 2D 6 speed manual and I have to say, Jeep dealerships do not budge on the price. Quote "Jeep NEVER offers discounts/incentives on Rubicons.....Never on the RUBI.".

Fortunately, through my employer I was able to get 1% under dealer invoice. My build consist of: Firecracker Red, Body Color Hard Top and Fenders, Mopar Satin Black Grille, Tow Package, Steel Bumper Group, 8.4 Premium Audio, LED Lighting, Safety Group + Advanced Safety Group, Remote Proxy Keyless Entry, Mopar All Weather Floor Mats, Mopar Hardtop Headliner, Mopar Door Stills.
Order Date: 7/8/20
Ship Date: 8/22/20
Delivery Date: Pending

MSPR: $53,130
Dealer Invoice: $50,058
1% < Invoice: $49,632
Final Price with TTL: $53,094
 

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Dkretden

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I have purchased several new vehicles in my lifetime and have always been able to negotiate the selling price. However, I recently ordered a 2021 JLR 2D 6 speed manual and I have to say, Jeep dealerships do not budge on the price. Quote "Jeep NEVER offers discounts/incentives on Rubicons.....Never on the RUBI.".

Fortunately, through my employer I was able to get 1% under dealer invoice. My build consist of: Firecracker Red, Body Color Hard Top and Fenders, Mopar Satin Black Grille, Tow Package, Steel Bumper Group, 8.4 Premium Audio, LED Lighting, Safety Group + Advanced Safety Group, Remote Proxy Keyless Entry, Mopar All Weather Floor Mats, Mopar Hardtop Headliner, Mopar Door Stills.
Order Date: 7/8/20
Ship Date: 8/22/20
Delivery Date: Pending

MSPR: $53,130
Dealer Invoice: $50,058
1% < Invoice: $49,632
Final Price with TTL: $53,094
actually, they routine do negotiate on Rubicons and every other Jeep. Perhaps the dealers in your immediate area don’t as a matter of practice or perhaps looking at current supply/demand the dealers in your area have “independently“ decided not to negotiate on price (to decide collectively not to Negotiate on price is a felony).

in Nov of 2019, I negotiated about 5-6% off invoice (roughly 10% off MSRP) in Houston, for a 2020 Rubicon.
 

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Please don't start. I really think the dealers deserve to make a little money right? People think they can get % below invoice. Supply and demand. Hot vehicle means more $$$$. Just a fact.
I think that there are a lot of incentives for dealership and not just the profit from the selling price. And respectfully, the price of the car is not fluid that falls into the mechanism for supply and demand. If there are high supply they might clear off the car at a lower rate by offering some incentive BUT it will not go down to a point that is dictate by that current demands (remember the car manufacturer does have some idea on how many cars to produce based regression of production data that they collected over the years. Also because of that, with the set MSRP prices for the vehicles - no one is going to be paying say "double" for the price of the vehicle. So yes - supply and demand does not cause a HUGE price change.

And I do think that people can always get a percentage below the invoice price. In a market where there are a lot of brands substitution - when the price gets too high or there are no stock of that particular car, I am sure that someone would just switch to another brand.

dealers make all kinds of money via all kinds of levers and routinely give 10% off MSRP/5% off invoice. Both numbers are made up, fictitious, and Do not represent what a dealer pays. They are marketing fabrications. I have zero problem finding a dealer that will start below invoice And negotiating from there. If they don’t want to, I find another dealer.
Totally agreed. Also they get a lot of incentive if they hit certain numbers for certain quarters or year, it is just that with the advent of Internet, people are empowered with information (based on other people experiences - such as this awesome forum) that allowed them to negotiate efficiently.

I am picking up my Rubicon next week but I know that I got good price for my new ride because of the wealth of information in this forum and there are many friendly caring people that will always give advice on getting a good ride and a good price!
 

KenPewPew

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I have just made my 2021 Rubicon Jeep Build and my price is set on sheet.

Does anyone have thoughts?

The little lady gets my Sahara.
I think you really got a good price! I am including my build sheet where I ordered my Rubicon on July 1st (It is already at the dealership but I can only pick it up next week due to my other commitment)

Jeep Wrangler JL Tried (and failed) negotiating on a Rubicon today...thoughts? 070220-analysis1


I reached out to a few recommended dealership here and got some quotations. I decided to stick to a dealership that is close to my location - with the advantage that I could easily reach out to them if I have any problem. Also after factoring in the trade in (I recommend that if you are going to trade in a vehicle while getting another - it is best to find one that will give you a good price because you can save quite a substantial amount over the sales tax) - I think I got the best price. I am attaching the chart below - factoring in additional cost such as time, cost of gas and accommodation in getting a car from out of state dealership.

Jeep Wrangler JL Tried (and failed) negotiating on a Rubicon today...thoughts? 070220-analysis
 

Oncorhynchus

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I was able to get a very good deal on my Sahara using the following approach

1) Started by “window shopping” online for about 2 months before I ever made any electronic communications with dealers in order to educate myself about the reality of typical price ranges and inventory turnover in my area.

2) For those dealerships within driving distance I visited them to get a feel for their inventory and how customer centric is the attitude of their sales people, service desk cashier, the first person who says hello to you, how they seem to be treating other customers, etc. I don’t mind paying more for a dealership that treats its customers very well. But that is a personal choice and irrelevant to getting a low price but it is critical in establishing what I feel is a fair price. However from a financial perspective you don’t want to be spending lots of time with a dealership you feel will be difficult to negotiate a fair price. Time is money after all. Only you can decide what is a fair price; ignore what others say about it. It is your money. If we truly listened to the soundest financial advice most of us wouldn’t be buying Wranglers anyway.

3) Decided what were my “must have” and “nice to have” features. I took a few test drives and got to see the colors up close as well as the various options. The turbo 4 vs the V6 is not something you can evaluate from your living room. Sting Gray sounded like a gimmicky “you’ll regret it in five years” kind of color that I wasn’t even considering until I saw it with my own eyes and the wife’s eyes ;)

4) Read the online Jeep forums about the types of aftermarket mods I was considering and whether to trade off the factory option or trim level vs aftermarket mod.

5) Start entering my contact info on the dealership websites to indicate my interest in certain specific vehicles.

6) Got pre-approved for a car loan to cover the amount I needed plus a little more in case I wanted to buy some late add-ons from the dealer, whether Mopar or perhaps some 3rd party stuff in case the dealer sold it.

7) Return to the dealers on the days between Christmas and New Years but this time ready to sign and letting them know I was ready to buy today. But open minded knowing there were several vehicles in my area that I would be happy to own.

8) Drive home with a great belated Christmas present for myself and saved many thousands of dollars by finding a vehicle that I liked which the dealer was eager to get rid of.

For those of you who want to buy a very specific build configuration if you telegraphed this information to the dealer then you will have already disadvantaged yourself in the negotiations. And you will also have to weigh your own personal definition of what is a fair price for the benefit of getting a specific build.

Definition of fair price is not measured the same way for each vehicle. I was very happy to pay close to invoice price on a 3-series BMW because it was a configuration that I wanted and was told by several dealerships that no such configuration was available in the entire country and that if I wanted it I would have to provide a non-refundable deposit, pay sticker price plus $2,000 to have it shipped over from Germany. 20 years later that car is still running great and a joy to drive.
 
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Dkretden

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I have just made my 2021 Rubicon Jeep Build and my price is set on sheet.

Does anyone have thoughts?

The little lady gets my Sahara.
My yardstick is about 5% under invoice or roughly 10% under MSRP is a good price and fair to all. That’s about what I negotiated (cash sale and fair trade price — much harder to negotiate this than the Jeep.... it was painful....) from a local dealer (in Houston... lived there last fall) for my off-the-lot Rubicon back in Nov 2019.

the price you negotiated might be great or might be awful. The key is that the market right now is very different than last fall and, from what I read in the press, prices are “up” and dealers are less likely to negotiate.

bottom line: you did your research. You shopped for a Jeep. You negotiated a price that you are happy with. So: you did fine. You could have spent the next 12 months doing more shopping and more research and never ordered the Jeep. Lost a year of fun. You didn’t. You purchased. Sounds like you got the right price.
 

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Oncorhynchus

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Make sure it's a fair price and not the best deal you've heard on the internet. There's a lot of factors that go into those "huge deals" like unpopular optioned vehicles, stripped models (even a rubicon and sahara high altitude have options), too much inventory, they need to hit sales numbers, etc... The price should be fair and what you're willing to pay to have that vehicle be yours. They are a business and deserve to make money too.

They don't want to spend that much time to watch you walk away. Be prepared to walk away though.
Many wise words in that post but these deserve special attention.
 

NewJLU2019

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Good build. Planning on doing any rock crawling with it?
Yes, going to do the Mopar 2 inch lift and 35's later. My Sahara is nice but as you know the Rubicon is more off-road-ready and instead of building it just letting the little lady have it. Since she loves the Sky One Power top.

I have an early retirement package offer now so pretty sure taking it now. I want to go to Moab first.
 

NewJLU2019

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I think you really got a good price! I am including my build sheet where I ordered my Rubicon on July 1st (It is already at the dealership but I can only pick it up next week due to my other commitment)

Jeep Wrangler JL Tried (and failed) negotiating on a Rubicon today...thoughts? 070220-analysis


I reached out to a few recommended dealership here and got some quotations. I decided to stick to a dealership that is close to my location - with the advantage that I could easily reach out to them if I have any problem. Also after factoring in the trade in (I recommend that if you are going to trade in a vehicle while getting another - it is best to find one that will give you a good price because you can save quite a substantial amount over the sales tax) - I think I got the best price. I am attaching the chart below - factoring in additional cost such as time, cost of gas and accommodation in getting a car from out of state dealership.

Jeep Wrangler JL Tried (and failed) negotiating on a Rubicon today...thoughts? 070220-analysis
I just worry about the Black Tops and Black fenders and UV fading here in Texas so just going with the Body color fenders and Top. Adds more price but so be it.
My Sahara has leather-trimmed seats and I like them but I decided to go with cloth seats this time. The little lady gets the Sahara since she loves the Sky One top.
 

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For those of you who want to buy a very specific build configuration if you telegraphed this information to the dealer then you will have already disadvantaged yourself in the negotiations.
Normally I would agree with you but the forum friendly dealer and his salesman had a conditional, yet flat 8% under invoice pricing for placing an order.

Specifically, 5% was for being a forum member here, 2% for financing thru the dealership and 1% came from tread lightly.

I didn’t see the need to negotiate any further as they took all the hassle, fighting and guess work out of it. For this reason, I strongly encourage anyone seriously wanting to purchase or order new, reach out to a forum friendly dealer thru this site via a PM.
 
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Please don't start. I really think the dealers deserve to make a little money right? People think they can get % below invoice. Supply and demand. Hot vehicle means more $$$$. Just a fact.
You do know dealers buy below invoice?
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