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Why do dealers refuse to discuss pricing on-line?

LeaN69

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This is why I've always bought luxury vehicles, they're much easier to deal with because of their customer base.
Mainstream brand dealer get a lot of "Stiffs" (people with bad credit) so their sales tactic and mentality is different right from the start.
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Yo Sam

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I have been requesting 'out-the-door' pricing from a couple dozen Jeep dealers via their websites.
I carefully listed the options I want, that I have a Treat Lightly control number, that I do not need financing,
that I have already received offers at 5% below invoice, etc. I also make clear that I need to communicate
via email rather than on the phone. Yet quite a few dealers have called me regardless and insist that they
cannot give me a price quote without orally discussing the order.
If they won't volunteer a price that I can print out...can I expect that they will try to jack up the price later?
I shop online quite a bit myself. I am always amazed that I can buy a brand spankin new something and some weeks later it shows up at my door. In a few cases all the paperwork was done over coffee (no Yukon Jack) and my trade-in was taken away.
However I have run into the "you need to come to our dealership" which translates to "we want to use all our sales tactics". LOL
Just walk away....
 

rafaelsmith

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If they are not willing to talk price via email...I just cross them off the list. Besides, since I live in Florida...I am getting a nasty feeling that when
the times comes to order my JL, I will be going out of state. :(

With the information available to use these days....email negotiation should be rather quick and simple..

me: I want to order a Blah Blah with options A,B and X. I am only willing to pay $$$ (come up with price using invoice information avail on web). Please answer YES OR NO.
 

Mojito!19

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I have been requesting 'out-the-door' pricing from a couple dozen Jeep dealers via their websites.
I carefully listed the options I want, that I have a Treat Lightly control number, that I do not need financing,
that I have already received offers at 5% below invoice, etc. I also make clear that I need to communicate
via email rather than on the phone. Yet quite a few dealers have called me regardless and insist that they
cannot give me a price quote without orally discussing the order.
If they won't volunteer a price that I can print out...can I expect that they will try to jack up the price later?
I've had the same experience when pricing a build both with a '17 Sport S I factory ordered and now with a '19 JLU Sahara I ordered 3 weeks ago. Both times I contacted about a half dozen local dealers (within 40 miles of me). Both times, only the high volume dealers even responded. There was a $3000 gap between my best deal and the worst price I received. Some of the others would provide the final lowest price once you showed them an offer from their competitor. I just kept telling them lowest dealership wins and it totally worked. The dealer I bought from even gave me some nice discounts on Jeep Performance Parts I ordered that they are installing when the Jeep arrives from the factory.
 

RubiSc0tt

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Long post incoming, So I'll sum it up at the top: If a dealer won't discuss out the door pricing via email only, I won't deal with them- plain and simple. If you don't respect my time and my requests, you won't get my business.

I've done all of my dealing exclusively online, both used and new. Used is a complete and total horror show- out of 20 or so I contacted via Autotrader, 3 dealers emailed me back and dealt seriously and respectfully with me. The rest were complete and total jerks (That's the PG rated assessment). I even had one tell me they were "willing to work with me" and ask what I had in mind for pricing- when I said "Well, $xx000.00 is good condition according to NADA guides and KBB for a 6 year old JKUR with 50k mi, let's start there" they basically told me to F- off and didn't return any subsequent emails. Keep in mind, that the list price for that vehicle was almost $6k over what NADA/KBB lists for good condition of that year and mileage because "It has extras! Lift! Big tires! Cool bumpers! SHINY!". That's nice, and they're probably just as much of a disaster as your pricing.

While looking for my JLU, I wanted something very specific (details in signature). I wasn't willing to budge on those specs, it had to have at least a hard top, and while I wanted Punk'n Orange, I had a few back up color options ready to go (the bright ones). I contacted a couple dealers on the east coast with a Punk'n Orange JLUR/ Manual trans. 2 wouldn't discuss pricing, 1 told me that pricing was the lowest they could go (it was low MSRP with low dealer fees and such, but still MSRP), and 2 that came up big: Koons in Northern VA, and my local preferred dealer. Now, full disclosure: I was about to put in an order with Koons and travel there because they were straight and to the point- no BS. When I initially asked for a quote from my local dealer(s), they all gave me the runaround. However, my brother ended up leasing a vehicle off a dealer rep at my local dealer- He helped out a few people my brother knew and He told me I should talk to him, give him a shot at matching pricing. I emailed him, told him what I wanted and straight up said "Most reputable dealers are doing 5% off invoice on ordered Rubicons, can you match that?" and within 3 business days, he had a quote in my inbox that was close enough to where I wanted to be as well as a rough estimate for trade value (NADA/ KBB) on my current Jeep. He asked if I could stop by and discuss more in person, so I did. When all was said and done, I was roughly 6-7% off invoice, and out the door where I wanted. My JLUR should be getting here soon. All and all, I'm happy with my local dealer and would recommend him; but if you're dealing with a lot of BS and can travel out of state- Go to Koons, or a dealer like them who will deal online and won't jerk you around, especially if you're traveling. Remember- you're the consumer: as long as you're reasonable and respectful, you should be able to get exactly what you want.
 

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Mjmi69

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I have been requesting 'out-the-door' pricing from a couple dozen Jeep dealers via their websites.
I carefully listed the options I want, that I have a Treat Lightly control number, that I do not need financing,
that I have already received offers at 5% below invoice, etc. I also make clear that I need to communicate
via email rather than on the phone. Yet quite a few dealers have called me regardless and insist that they
cannot give me a price quote without orally discussing the order.
If they won't volunteer a price that I can print out...can I expect that they will try to jack up the price later?
Some will, some will not, do not give them your number.
 

Mjmi69

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Long post incoming, So I'll sum it up at the top: If a dealer won't discuss out the door pricing via email only, I won't deal with them- plain and simple. If you don't respect my time and my requests, you won't get my business.

I've done all of my dealing exclusively online, both used and new. Used is a complete and total horror show- out of 20 or so I contacted via Autotrader, 3 dealers emailed me back and dealt seriously and respectfully with me. The rest were complete and total jerks (That's the PG rated assessment). I even had one tell me they were "willing to work with me" and ask what I had in mind for pricing- when I said "Well, $xx000.00 is good condition according to NADA guides and KBB for a 6 year old JKUR with 50k mi, let's start there" they basically told me to F- off and didn't return any subsequent emails. Keep in mind, that the list price for that vehicle was almost $6k over what NADA/KBB lists for good condition of that year and mileage because "It has extras! Lift! Big tires! Cool bumpers! SHINY!". That's nice, and they're probably just as much of a disaster as your pricing.

While looking for my JLU, I wanted something very specific (details in signature). I wasn't willing to budge on those specs, it had to have at least a hard top, and while I wanted Punk'n Orange, I had a few back up color options ready to go (the bright ones). I contacted a couple dealers on the east coast with a Punk'n Orange JLUR/ Manual trans. 2 wouldn't discuss pricing, 1 told me that pricing was the lowest they could go (it was low MSRP with low dealer fees and such, but still MSRP), and 2 that came up big: Koons in Northern VA, and my local preferred dealer. Now, full disclosure: I was about to put in an order with Koons and travel there because they were straight and to the point- no BS. When I initially asked for a quote from my local dealer(s), they all gave me the runaround. However, my brother ended up leasing a vehicle off a dealer rep at my local dealer- He helped out a few people my brother knew and He told me I should talk to him, give him a shot at matching pricing. I emailed him, told him what I wanted and straight up said "Most reputable dealers are doing 5% off invoice on ordered Rubicons, can you match that?" and within 3 business days, he had a quote in my inbox that was close enough to where I wanted to be as well as a rough estimate for trade value (NADA/ KBB) on my current Jeep. He asked if I could stop by and discuss more in person, so I did. When all was said and done, I was roughly 6-7% off invoice, and out the door where I wanted. My JLUR should be getting here soon. All and all, I'm happy with my local dealer and would recommend him; but if you're dealing with a lot of BS and can travel out of state- Go to Koons, or a dealer like them who will deal online and won't jerk you around, especially if you're traveling. Remember- you're the consumer: as long as you're reasonable and respectful, you should be able to get exactly what you want.
Who was the dealer?
 

gfo

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Most of the dealers in this area don't want to get into specifics via email as they want you "in-house" so they can turn on the old school pressure tactics. The dealer I ended up purchasing from was shocked because I emailed requesting an out the door price and once I had it I showed up and purchased the vehicle with nothing more than an email exchange. He said nearly 100% of email only contacts never go anywhere.
Sounds like a lot of varying reasons but I suspect many are because of this. It's easier to smooth talk you into buying that day if you're in the dealership. But also, the paper trail makes a ton of sense. If they send you an email with a price it makes it SO much easier as a buyer to take that somewhere else to prove you have a better offer they have to beat. I tried this at one nearby dealer and told the salesperson I wanted the best price, so he said "Okay I'll take $100 off and that's the best offer you have, so we're set?" He was completely serious until I was about to walk out, then somehow the price got lower :) Still didn't go with them.

I had some situations that may not have fallen into this. For one thing, I spoke to one dealer on the phone and they wanted to see the exact invoice I had showing my figures (I used the spreadsheet on this forum and I think the pricing changed slightly). Once I made it down there (about a 30-45min drive from me they thought they could hit my price but their sales manager was apparently on his second day and didn't have access to do builds. From that point they said they could do all negotiating over the phone because of the drive but I never heard from them again so I think they were feeding me a line, though they didn't try to sell me anything else while I was there so it may have just been an unfortunate situation.

The next day another dealer that's about 5min from me emailed with an offer on a lot Jeep and I showed them my invoice and told them the price I wanted to pay and they immediately accepted - I bought for ~6.5% under invoice.
 

RubiSc0tt

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Who was the dealer?
I assume you're asking who I am buying from? I'm holding off on name dropping in public until i have my JLUR in hand. Once everything is signed and I can say everything went smoothly, I'll report back.

If you're asking for the name of the dealer with the overpriced, lifted, 6 yr old, 50k mi JKUR I was looking at that basically told me to F- off? I won't say directly, just that they are a prominent local used-only dealer.
 

lagunajim

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Dealers also don't want to participate in what is called a "race to the bottom", where customers put all the dealers in a circle-jerk and beat one against the other until they arrive at the lowest price.

On some levels I understand them not wanting that bs but on the other hand one of them is gonna sell a Jeep. It is true that we customers are driving down the profit margins below anything previously seen in their industry - and they're not happy about it.

Mostly they deserve whatever grief we can give them. It's one of the few industries I know of where the goal is to screw every customer of the maximum amount of money possible. The only reason cars aren't sold at fixed, published prices is that the amount of screw they can apply to each customer varies by that customer's skill at not being screwed.
 

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I received the same response as the OP when I attempted to get an out the door price less tax. Many sounded like a creepy guy trying to lure a child into a van with candy. It was really bad. Some just keep trying, but if they read my initial they would know what to exptect..
 

RubiRob

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They try hard not to do it via email. Just be persistent and tell them you'll only deal via email and thats that.

I would always give a wrong number and then explain to them that I only want to deal via email. I even got "good faith" trade in estimates with just photos and info via email. If they say they can't, just tell them their competitors did (mine actually did, but ymmv).
 

Carlton

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This happens for a couple reasons:

A. They plan on changing the price/won't honor the price listed on their site.

B. They don't want their price to be shopped to other dealerships resulting in no sale for them.

I experienced this on Saturday. A semi local dealership (30 minutes away) had a great price listed online for an All New 2019 RAM 1500. I requested the OTD price and was told it was against policy.

Based on that statement I assumed the price was BS. I called and asked to speak to a manager. The manager stated that was in fact their policy. However, he asked me a few questions over the phone and quoted me out at an even better price. I went in Monday morning. The truck was inside and prepped for me. I ended up receiving the 30% off of MSRP which was quoted over the phone previously with no hiccups.
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