Wait to buy, or buy before inventory is picked through?

[cosine]

it tough to call on when the deals will roll thru during the covid 19. i just looked on my dealer's website (where i got my jl ) and not seeing any real good deals. the deals they are offering would be the "normal" deals. as for the dealership showrooms, most of them around here are close. sales are open with curbside trans actions. service departments are open.

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[kcn2vb]

After they extended shut down until May 4th I think it's time to buy and not wait. That tells me that selection will continue to dwindle. I had made appt locally and did the test drives, so I felt a lot more comfortable buying from anywhere. SO I reached out to a dealer that was supposedly closed to see if I could get on a contact me list when they open. Turns out the GM there is still selling by appt, so I told him to mark as sold and I'd get him all stuff needed. He's even going to give credit to the guy I originally talked to. With this shutdown. I felt I needed to make sure the right guy got the commission if the dealer didn't open back up. GM was very happy to oblige and give credit to the correct sales guy. Now to figure out how to safely pickup a vehicle that is about 6.5 hours away, and when.

FYI, Seems a lot of people on here looking for unicorns, so that's another reason I decided to move forward.

 

[RubiSc0tt]

They probably just don't like dealing over the Internet. Some dealers are like that. They'd prefer you to come in and see the vehicle, and they might negotiate from there.

They do, and this is frustrating IMO. A lot of dealers still want you on site so they can put the "full pressure" on to get you in a car today. After my last experience in 2013 buying my used '04 Rubicon- i refused to set foot on a lot until I had an Out the door price I was satisfied with in place and a ball park trade value for my old Jeep. If they're giving you this runaround, Look elsewhere. I had plenty of dealers with used JKUR's and JLUR's
that would work it out via email, and were willing to set up an appointment. I was respectful but firm, and they knew I was serious and would be arriving to test drive with cash in hand for a deposit. Ultimately, I ended up going local and ordering from a guy my brother plays baseball with and leased his Cherokee from. He did right by me and was fantastic the whole way through. Very transparent, accommodating, and easy to work with- all critical as my schedule is kind of crazy (working 12's, overnights, and being primary child care when I was off shift).

I searched and researched for about 6-8 months before pulling the trigger, and my responses from sales people varied from me being convinced I was talking to a chat bot, or call center in another country, being told in so many words to go F myself, and people who were willing to do everything online and only needed me to come in and sign to pick up/ trade.

It was pretty eye opening and in the end, I'm happy with the entire process and result. I love my Jeep, my sales guy was cool and helpful, willing to get the deal done (even wrote off the leather interior that was ordered in my Jeep by mistake). Ordering was pretty awesome because it had 10 miles on the clock when I picked up, and it had my name on the sticker.

FYI, Seems a lot of people on here looking for unicorns, so that's another reason I decided to move forward.

This is the problem I ran into in 2013 when looking for a used Rubicon. I wanted an LJ because I could swap the parts from my 98' TJ and had more room. I wanted a bright, obscene color. I wanted a hard top. I wanted a manual transmission. I wanted a Rubicon package because it would put me in a better spot for off roading- I would only need to lift, as I already had all the armor and winch from my old Jeep, and this came with stronger axles and lockers, and better gearing. It was impossible to find. The people who get the bright colored Manual trans LJ Rubi's keep them. Long term. Lots of Autos, common colors, and non-Rubicons with soft tops. I ended up with a Navy Blue short Wheel base TJ Rubi with low miles, manual trans, and a hard top. That's why I ordered this time- If i was going to pay top dollar for a new Jeep, I wanted exactly what I wanted. That said, if you can find something you want on a lot, there is no harm in buying as long as you get the deal you want. If you can wait, the deals will be out there.

Everyone is worried about inventory but the fact of the matter is, the factory will reopen at some point, and will start cranking out JL's again. These are current model Jeeps, not some super rare numbers matching classic car. If you really can't find something you want, and you're not in dire need of a vehicle, waiting to order could serve to your advantage.

 

[MLS_AZ]

A lot of good suggestions/recommendations so far. Here's mine: if you see the Jeep you want, get it. I have tried the waiting game and, damn, if they didn't sell it.
Price and savings is a great thing if you can get it. But if the one you really want is gone, what do you do then? Get one that isn't what you want?
Once you get it and are cruising down the road, happy with what you have, is a few hundred bucks going to matter? Find one, good time to buy, and get it. I did and am REALLY happy I did....no regrets!!

 

[VNT]

So folks who have pulled the trigger recently what kind of deal, cost wise below invoice are you getting. I see the Freind and family on non-rubicaons is about 500$ below invoice. then you have about another 1000 kicker on top of that. So from factory about 3% total below Invoice plus what ever you can extract from the dealer.

Just curious, they have the FF +1000 on Saharas, FF +500 on lower trims, and +1000 on rubicons in my area and the 0 for 84 non-sense, I say up the cash on the hood and screw the financing crap.

 

[viper88]

So folks who have pulled the trigger recently what kind of deal, cost wise below invoice are you getting. I see the Freind and family on non-rubicaons is about 500$ below invoice. then you have about another 1000 kicker on top of that. So from factory about 3% total below Invoice plus what ever you can extract from the dealer.

Just curious, they have the FF +1000 on Saharas, FF +500 on lower trims, and +1000 on rubicons in my area and the 0 for 84 non-sense, I say up the cash on the hood and screw the financing crap.

I'm with you, I would like to see more trunk-money and a choice. A actual cash incentive and /or financing option for people who what to pay cash.

Last week there was 0% x 36/ months here in the IL market. I believe it still going on through April 14, 2020. Are you sure there is 0% x 84 months in your area? That's a rocking deal if it is and includes the Rubicon. I'd consider that 0% x 84/ months deal and buy equities with my cash since markets are low now. I think equities will earn more then depreciation in 84-months.

 

[Dkretden]

As to financing incentives, to me, I would only buy a Jeep today (or any vehicle, actually) if I had the cash to pay for it (while still having a large “emergency fund” to see me through otherwise). Financing At 0% and paying off early with cash you already have (outside of that emergency fund) is fine too, IMO. The key is that you actually have the liquidity to pay cash if needed.

why?

I really think that we are headed for an economic depression here. It may be very short or it may be very long. IDK and the fact is, nobody does. Those folks without the liquidity to pay cash now may find themselves out of a job as the economic impact of COVID ripples through the economy. In that scenario, it is certainly better to keep driving your old car (which you hopefully own outright, free of debt).

this morning it was announced that another 6.6m people filed for unemployment last WEEK. That brings the 3 week total to ..... I’ve lost count.... 15m people? Or is it “only” 10m?

the layoffs are starting to cut deep. Silicon Valley is facing a liquidity problem and layoffs have already started. Other white collar “office worker” jobs will soon follow. This isn’t only about waiters and maids and others in the hospitality industry. It is rippling across the economy.... the more this ripples, the harder it will be to restart the economy. States/cities may be unable to pay their muni bond debt as tax revenues have cratered. The muni bond market is a $4 trillion market. What happens when cities and even states need to either default or lay-off mass numbers of employees?


Now, that’s gloom and doom for a Thursday morning but it is the way that I am thinking about this now.

 

[kcn2vb]

I'll give a bit of my situation. I bought a brand new Dodge Dakota in 2003, I had to replace it when someone t-boned me in 2005. I've been driving that truck ever since then. Saving my money so I could have that "stash of cash" to make this purchase. My deadline has always been May of 2020 as that's when my daughter turns 16 and she is taking my truck. So, like MLS_AZ said, if you find something you can be happy with then jump on it. This is where I happened to get a bit lucky. The one I am moving forward on has all my required options, and is a color I like although not my first choice, has a few nice to haves and it just happened to be a 2019 model so it has an extra $2000 rebate from the factory. Now based on other threads in this forum I was expecting the model I wanted to be about $2000 less than I am paying. However, the MSRP on the one I'm getting is about $3400 higher than the MSRP on the one that I built on the Jeep site. It's hard for me to say that is not a good deal. Based on similar 2020 models I could buy that were my 3rd or 4th choice of color I'm getting about a $2200 lower purchase price than they would offer me. I was willing to pay that extra $2k but the color made me continue to look elsewhere and I'm going to pick it up in another week.

Now I can take that extra $2k I saved for a good dent in tires/wheels and a lift kit!

 

[viper88]

As to financing incentives, to me, I would only buy a Jeep today (or any vehicle, actually) if I had the cash to pay for it (while still having a large “emergency fund” to see me through otherwise). Financing At 0% and paying off early with cash you already have (outside of that emergency fund) is fine too, IMO. The key is that you actually have the liquidity to pay cash if needed.

why?

I really think that we are headed for an economic depression here. It may be very short or it may be very long. IDK and the fact is, nobody does. Those folks without the liquidity to pay cash now may find themselves out of a job as the economic impact of COVID ripples through the economy. In that scenario, it is certainly better to keep driving your old car (which you hopefully own outright, free of debt).

this morning it was announced that another 6.6m people filed for unemployment last WEEK. That brings the 3 week total to ..... I’ve lost count.... 15m people? Or is it “only” 10m?

the layoffs are starting to cut deep. Silicon Valley is facing a liquidity problem and layoffs have already started. Other white collar “office worker” jobs will soon follow. This isn’t only about waiters and maids and others in the hospitality industry. It is rippling across the economy.... the more this ripples, the harder it will be to restart the economy. States/cities may be unable to pay their muni bond debt as tax revenues have cratered. The muni bond market is a $4 trillion market. What happens when cities and even states need to either default or lay-off mass numbers of employees?


Now, that’s gloom and doom for a Thursday morning but it is the way that I am thinking about this now.

I also herd about the growing unemployment on the news this morning. I think they said 1 in 10 people are unemployed now?

Obviously it's very personal choice but I agree about having liquidity to pay cash if needed. 0% loans are cream to me. I can't go to a bank and borrow for 0%. I look at a 0% automobile loan as free money. It's a opportunity for me to use someone else's money to invest.

Personally I would never pay off a 0% loan early. That's giving away free money. I'd take advantage of the free money and invest it.

People mentioned putting down a large down payment on a 0% loan. I do not see the rational in doing that. Personally I would finance every thing down to the screws that hold the license plate frame on if I could. There is always the very small possibility of having a total loss while being upside down, having negative equity, but that risk is low. You can always buy GAP insurance for a few hundred bucks if you don't feel comfortable self insuring before positive equity. Most GAP policies are prorated also so you can check everyone in a while and see when there is positive equity and cancel to get some money back on the GAP.

At the end of the day there is no right or wrong. Just a personal view on personal finance. We all do what we are comfortable with. It's going to be a very rough year. I am hoping to make some lemonade out of some lemons. Hopefully.

 

[Dkretden]

I'll give a bit of my situation. I bought a brand new Dodge Dakota in 2003, I had to replace it when someone t-boned me in 2005. I've been driving that truck ever since then. Saving my money so I could have that "stash of cash" to make this purchase. My deadline has always been May of 2020 as that's when my daughter turns 16 and she is taking my truck. So, like MLS_AZ said, if you find something you can be happy with then jump on it. This is where I happened to get a bit lucky. The one I am moving forward on has all my required options, and is a color I like although not my first choice, has a few nice to haves and it just happened to be a 2019 model so it has an extra $2000 rebate from the factory. Now based on other threads in this forum I was expecting the model I wanted to be about $2000 less than I am paying. However, the MSRP on the one I'm getting is about $3400 higher than the MSRP on the one that I built on the Jeep site. It's hard for me to say that is not a good deal. Based on similar 2020 models I could buy that were my 3rd or 4th choice of color I'm getting about a $2200 lower purchase price than they would offer me. I was willing to pay that extra $2k but the color made me continue to look elsewhere and I'm going to pick it up in another week.

Now I can take that extra $2k I saved for a good dent in tires/wheels and a lift kit!

Sounds totally logical to me, Anthony. Drive that new Jeep with pride and style. And, also keep in mind that since you have been “stashing cash” for 15 years for this purchase, your purchase today for the Jeep and the mods, are really going to help the economy. If we all buy something that we can afford - a Jeep from big business or some mods from small business or some services from even smaller businesses, then businesses will be able to keep folks employed and the Depression might be short lived.

have FUN with that new Jeep!

 

[viper88]

It's a balancing act when trying to wait for a "ultimate" deal and getting exactly what you want off a lot. Sometimes the perfect storm happens and a exact match is available. More then likely there will be some kind of compromise or sacrifice. You can get a great deal on something but end up paying for options you don't want. That negates any true savings.

Or in my opinion something worse, having regret later. This has happened to me before when I bought a sports car. I really wanted red and settled on a white one because it was on the lot and discounted a little more. I loved the car but I regretted not waiting for red one every single time I saw a red one. I felt like I did not get the full enjoyment.

What's $1000 more over years of enjoyment? Even if it cost a little more. I would suggest getting the color, model and options you really want. Wranglers are all about fun. It's not fun regretting and missing out on a model, color, option or features you want. There are a few threads on this forum with titles about options and regrets. One very popular thread is about adding the Proximity Door Locks. There are a few threads about not buying one model over another also. It will cost more to add options or trade up later if you are unhappy with a compromised bargain choice.

 

[Sohm Wan]

getting confused on the terminorlogy. on a sticker, where is the invoice and where is the msrp? and invoice is always lower than msrp, correct? thanks.

 

[Dkretden]

getting confused on the terminorlogy. on a sticker, where is the invoice and where is the msrp? and invoice is always lower than msrp, correct? thanks.

Correct. The MSRP is a made up number and so is the invoice number is also made up. Invoice is lower than MSRP (sticker price).

you can find the invoice price stickied to the top of this forum. It’s a spreadsheet. Pick your model and options and add up the invoice amount. Then, negotiate from there. Many folks report getting about 5% off invoice.

hope that helps

 

[viper88]

getting confused on the terminorlogy. on a sticker, where is the invoice and where is the msrp? and invoice is always lower than msrp, correct? thanks.

MSRP is just what is is. Manufactures Suggested Retail Price. It is a suggested price usually not the actual selling price. This is the price you see on the window sticker. No one pays MSRP on any vehicles unless it's a very limited model with unusual demand. It's VERY rare to pay full MSRP. Invoice is supposedly what the dealer pays for the vehicle. A straight forward dealer should provide a printout of their invoice pricing. There are plenty of dealers who are more transparent then others. I would not spend any time with any dealers who hesitate to provide a invoice price print out. That just means they will play games.

Or you can contact one of the dealers on this forum for a no hassle price and buy from them. Or try having a local dealer match them if they are not close to your area.

You should be able to buy a Wrangler for below invoice. They can price them below invoice because there are other incentives offered to dealers from manufactures. In this economy it is a buyers market.

I suggest reading these threads.

https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/threads/2020-jeep-wrangler-jl-order-guide-2-door.32991/

https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/fo...-wrangler-unlimited-order-guide-4-door.32990/

https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/fo...or-2019-1-8-below-invoice-pricing-added.3193/

 

[kcn2vb]

Sounds totally logical to me, Anthony. Drive that new Jeep with pride and style. And, also keep in mind that since you have been “stashing cash” for 15 years for this purchase, your purchase today for the Jeep and the mods, are really going to help the economy. If we all buy something that we can afford - a Jeep from big business or some mods from small business or some services from even smaller businesses, then businesses will be able to keep folks employed and the Depression might be short lived.

have FUN with that new Jeep!

Thanks! Couldn't agree more.

We can't live in fear. If those of us that have been blessed with the means to be able to spend some of our money do so in a responsible way we can do just that, overcome this economic downturn quicker.

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