Unsure of where to start negotiating with my dealer

[kmmn]

If I follow this correctly, you gave them $1,000 to get them to negotiate a deal at a later date. Where does it say that it's non-refundable? If it's on a contract, what else does it say? 1) Get Vroom, Carvana and CarMax prices (I know you did that). That's more than any dealership will give you, so subtract $1-2000 and that's your maximum trade-in value. 2) get your payoff number. 3) The net is your (negative) equity. 4) Get the Koons or Criswel price. 5) add the negative equity to step 5 and that's what you can by driving a JL for.

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[kmmn]

I would get the money back now... Don't wait... The closer you get to delivery, the less likely they'll do anything, because they've decided that they have you. Talk to the consumer protection people, a news station or even Jeep cares, (yeah, I know that last one is a stretch, but this is shady)

 

[Deleted member 67726]

I've been buying jeeps since I was 16, so 18 yrs now and I've traded in and traded up on about 6 or 7 now, hopefully that bad habit stops! Lol

I've been all over to koons, to southeastern pa, to Albany New York...why is it that I've never found a loyal go to dealer? The best dealer changes every single time I buy a jeep and I have been frequent in doing so over the past 4 years here!

I would have thought I would have a go to dealer by now, but I'm seriously starting to think that anyone who implies that has never shopped around or looked elsewhere? I bought 3 cars from koons and they might be the worst and least loyal place ever! Decent pricing, but worst on haggling with or any loyalty to a returning customer! Jeff d Ambrosio of Downingtown pa, same thing! I've purchased at least 4 cars there and the same disrespect!

I am genuinely curious though! Any tips or advice to getting the best price every time and somehow staying with the same dealer? My theory is people who think they have a go to dealer, shop the deal some times, but not always...and that's how the ripping off begins, your trust in an untrustworthy one in thousands of dealership lol...they might give you the best price on 2 or 3 cars but eventually at some point they reach higher, and steal more money from you due to your blind trust in them or the high demand in the market lol

I just find the whole process to be hilarious and I had this conversation with some crap dealer near me in Boyertown, pa...he asked me why does the customer come in playing games?

I said it's the self fulfilling prophecy...when the customer comes into a dealer not trusting anyone, which is most customers, I would hope lol...then the dance begins...or maybe I'm weird, I'm supposed to just trust a stranger I met 5mins ago at a new dealership? With 50k or more of my money? Yes please here is another 1k to just talk to me! Lol

Lol don't buy a new car, until jeep converts to a dealership itself...u go onto jeep.com and build your jeep, pay with a car loan that can be added to your shopping cart and then it will be dropped off and delivered to your house in 2 months! Can more people keep championing this idea? Or does everyone in this forum work at a jeep dealership? Jeep does supposedly watch forum chatter haha I've stopped caring what dealer reads these threads, I hope they know exactly who it is saying these things out there lol

I could go on for hours about this painstaking topic for me, worst part of owning a jeep is the buying experience, in my opinion!

 

[Ridgway Jeeper]

I would have NEVER put down a non refundable deposit on a vehicle I had not seen. My dealer took $500 to make the order, refundable if we decided to back out. No problem for ANY dealer at this point due to low inventory, the unit WILL sell. The dealer was a little low on our trade value but quoted 8 weeks for delivery. I cleaned up the trade and marketed it myself. Turns out a block away the Subaru dealer wanted our car, same ownership as the Jeep dealer who had just offered $3000 less, $24k vs $27k. I sold them the car. I did sign a paper casually agreeing on a price for the Jeep. Once it arrived I negotiated that down a little before signing. This dealer is a bully, using "old school" dealer tactics to make you think you are stuck so they can stick it too you without the lube. Either they clean up the deal or you INSIST on the deposit being returned and walk to the next more reasonable dealer. You clearly have better options than where you are at.

 

[Olga]

Lol don't buy a new car, until jeep converts to a dealership itself...u go onto jeep.com and build your jeep, pay with a car loan that can be added to your shopping cart and then it will be dropped off and delivered to your house in 2 months! Can more people keep championing this idea? Or does everyone in this forum work at a jeep dealership? Jeep does supposedly watch forum chatter haha I've stopped caring what dealer reads these threads, I hope they know exactly who it is saying these things out there lol

"Over the years, the dealers became more powerful and formed strong lobbying groups to ensure States made it illegal for consumers to purchase vehicles without dealer involvement. And it doesn't look like this will change anytime soon. If anything, the franchise laws have gotten even stricter, thanks to the political clout that dealers have in most States."

https://www.realcartips.com/newcars/068-why-cant-buy-car-from-factory.shtml

 

[rcadden]

"Over the years, the dealers became more powerful and formed strong lobbying groups to ensure States made it illegal for consumers to purchase vehicles without dealer involvement. And it doesn't look like this will change anytime soon. If anything, the franchise laws have gotten even stricter, thanks to the political clout that dealers have in most States."

https://www.realcartips.com/newcars/068-why-cant-buy-car-from-factory.shtml

Tesla is in this situation in Texas right now (despite having recently opened a massive facility in Austin) https://www.theverge.com/2021/5/30/...law-ship-out-of-state-direct-sale-legislation

 

[wolfievtec]

I just ordered a Unlimited Rubicon in PA on 6-16. I was able to negotiate a 8.75% discount off of the build price. I went to 3 local dealers. The first dealer said they could give me no discounts. The second offered me a 8.75% discount off the build price but wouldn't give me a good trade in value. The third dealer offered the same 8.75% discount and gave me $2K more for my trade so I took that deal. The dealer only made me put down $100 to order. I would say shop around for the best deals if you have a few local dealers... so far I am extremely happy with this dealer but we will see how it goes once the Jeep comes in.

 

[RamMan]

5-8% below invoice is best case scenario, and only with specific high volume dealers (Koons, Tri-City, Gupton, etc). Prices like that would be conjunction with an FCA affiliate control number and higher rate dealer financing (that can be refinanced after 3-6 months). If your work is not an affiliate, then you can join treadlightly.org for $100 and wait 30days. Tread lightly will get you 1% under invoice to start, but this is a tough market to haggle. Watch the dealer add-ons, finance rate, doc fees, etc.

I would also recommend getting a quote from Carvana and Vroom to sell your current vehicle. They are both paying well over market for used vehicles.

CarMax is good for buying one owner cars, also.

 

[RamMan]

I was going to do treat lightly but figured out i'm an FCA affiliate based on work. Only problem is the dealer told me we can honor FCA affiliate discount, but then we can't give you what we promised for a trade in as they "have to use the actual cash value for your vehicle which is 21,500. We can' t do the discount and over allow on the trade" We can do it one way or the other". Needless to say i'm thinking of just cutting ties and leaving them alone completely.

If your trade-in is a one owner; take it to CarMax for appraisal. However, they will buy anything; & auction it to local dealers.

 

[Gwagwv]

I was going to do treat lightly but figured out i'm an FCA affiliate based on work. Only problem is the dealer told me we can honor FCA affiliate discount, but then we can't give you what we promised for a trade in as they "have to use the actual cash value for your vehicle which is 21,500. We can' t do the discount and over allow on the trade" We can do it one way or the other". Needless to say i'm thinking of just cutting ties and leaving them alone completely.

Sounds like the old 4 square game dealers like to play. Give to you here and take with the other hand.

 

[chris87114]

The advice you’ve already gotten is good advice. Make sure you let it all sink in

You seem to have your mind made up on getting a new jeep and I can understand the excitement but slooowww down.

At this point, my advice would be to view the $1000 deposit as a learning experience in negotiating a deal and don’t let that hook allow the dealership to reel you in. Once part of the transaction has happened (ordering the jeep), you’ve lost leverage on negotiating. On top of that, you’re in an unprecedented car market where inventories are ultra low so dealers know they can sell it to someone else. The dealership has a BATNA (Best alternative to a negotiated agreement) to sell the jeep to another customer. You didn’t really have one once you began the transaction without all the details in writing, and other offers from alternative dealers to use as real leverage or true alternatives to purchase from.

Also, if you can’t walk away from a $1000, you really can’t afford a new Jeep Wrangler regardless of your ability to make the monthly payment. These might look like cheap off-road vehicles but they’re priced like luxury cars/suvs now. The $1k is only 2-3% of the whole cost. I know I hate wasting money too but it’s truly a small part of this endeavor. If it feels like a lot of money, then take that as a sign that the vehicle you’re after might not be the right one quite yet.

When looking at a purchase, calculate the total cost of ownership (OTD purchase price, trade in value/equity, financing rates/costs, sales taxes, insurance premium changes, gas mileage changes, etc) and figure out how much you are paying to drive the car you want each year (it might shock you if you figured that it was costing $X/year). Leasing is almost never the lowest total cost and you are trading a current model year in this transaction (the time when you suffer the most depreciation typically) with negative equity so there’s two financial challenges that you’re up against right there.

I’m not trying to come off as negative, I just hate seeing people live paycheck to paycheck and always assuming they have to have a car payment. You can’t build wealth like that and it keeps you stuck financially. Glad to see your credit and income sound like they are getting to a good spot but just be patient and good things will come….

 

[WrekEE]

One more thing, before joining tread lightly, see if your company is already a affiliate
https://www.fcausaffiliates.com/

I found out that my company is already participating in the FCA affiliates program.

 

[Birdbird26]

Hey all, sorry i've been dark on this post for quite a while. I had a death in the family and my jeep stuff just obviously wasn't as important. I want to thank you all for your sound advice. As of today, my jeep build is still in D status. I have had several talks with the dealer about their attitude towards working with me, and how i could basically order a new wrangler from any other dealer on the recommended dealers list and end up coming out several thousand dollars ahead of the game, and that if they want to keep my business they need to have a little respect and it'll start going both ways. That being said, My dealer did sit down and talk with me and show me a few more respectable figures, tracking around 3% below invoice. At this rate with my build just under the month mark, i dont want to cancel and go elsewhere as it'll just create more havoc ordering and playing the waiting game all over again. At this point, i'm happy with where the numbers are progressing and they've been in contact with me almost daily even if it's just telling me my wrangler is still stuck in D status. Luckily my dealer is about an hour from Buffalo, which is a hub for this part of NY where the wranglers come into the FCA Hub and after it touches the ground there. it'll only be about a day later and i'll be driving it home. I want to thank all of you for your sound advice and both positive and negative criticism. I"m glad for every one of you contributing and making me realize a few things I guess i just couldn't come to on my own. Thanks guys.

 

[rcadden]

3% below invoice is pretty good for a local deal, IMO.

Depending on your build, each 1% is only going to be ~$300-500 anyways, if that helps. Sure, you could squeeze another ~4-5% if you ordered elsewhere, but when you factor in the headache of doing so, possibility of losing your deposit, delay in starting a new build, etc, it's probably not worth it, for another ~$1-2K in savings at this point.

I think you came out just about as good as you could - props for taking the time to discuss with the dealership and give them a chance to make things right.

 

[Birdbird26]

3% below invoice is pretty good for a local deal, IMO.

Depending on your build, each 1% is only going to be ~$300-500 anyways, if that helps. Sure, you could squeeze another ~4-5% if you ordered elsewhere, but when you factor in the headache of doing so, possibility of losing your deposit, delay in starting a new build, etc, it's probably not worth it, for another ~$1-2K in savings at this point.

I think you came out just about as good as you could - props for taking the time to discuss with the dealership and give them a chance to make things right.

I think i came out about as good as i could given the animosity from myself and the dealership, but that seems to have been resolved now. I could easily still get 7, hell maybe even 9% below invoice, but at this point it's not worth starting the process all over again. I make good money so the extra i'd lose out on here and there, i'll just sock extra money onto the payment each month and hack it off earlier than expected and all will be good. I will say i was on my way back from South Carolina last week and passed a sign for Criswell Motors where everyone goes and gets great deals....made me a little angry haha.

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