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I know most people pick their new truck or car out of dealer stock. But I was curious if anyone has some recent experience with ordering what you want and having them make it per your specifications. It seems impossible to find a truck set up the way I want with few bells and whistles added, which I neither need nor want. Anyone had any experience ordering a vehicle from the plant through the dealer? Did you get any kind of a fair price?
Ask the dealer but it will be ordered with other vehicles they want because single deliveries are not done now days. You'll also have to [put a down payment down before ordered.
Did this with my last two Audis. Picked what I wanted, and the order went in the order bank. Order was accepted, then sent to manufacturing once allocation was given. Total time from order to delivery was about three months. I was not asked to put a deposit down on either order, but that's atypical for orders. How much will vary by dealer and is not set by the manufacturer. Expect a $500 - $1000 deposit. Make sure this is a refundable deposit so long as you aren't ordering something completely insane.
Prices can be negotiated up front, but honestly there is no obligation from the dealer to honor the prices when the car comes in as there is no official or binding price contract signed upon ordering. Financing and incentive offerings can change from the time you order to the time of delivery. Otherwise, negotiate as you would any other vehicle in stock once the vehicle comes in. There should be no premium between an ordered car vs. inventory. If they tell you there is, run. A good dealer will work with you up front to the best of their ability and honor the deal at delivery. There are plenty of stories on various car forums of this not happening though, and the buyer having to walk away.
Now, these describe my experience with a German car brand which is big on pushing the build-to-order cars. I know Jeep has a similar system, but I can't speak to other brands. I would expect the process to be similar, but with different dealer requirements and timelines.
Depending on the vehicle, its pretty hard to get a special order. I've had three cars that didn't come from the lot. I wanted certain specific items to be in the vehicle, so when they found a vehicle that matched what I wanted but had extra items I didn't they backed it off the price plus whatever dollars we haggled on to take off. Keep in mind that they will only do this on the higher version of the car where there is more margin compared to the basic version where there is very little.
FWIW: Finding a specific truck while the prices of gas is low or during the winter months in any year is not going to happen and you won't get much off.
I have done the order route, but in general find dealers less excited to place a factory order as they are to sell something out of stock (or locating a vehicle at another dealer and "trading" for it... which basically takes a car out of their stock too).
With less excitement to order the vehicle, there seems to be an equally lower amount of excitement on their part to give a great deal.
I ordered a Chevy Silverado, a Mini Cooper S, a Mercedes E500 and a BMW M3..... Easy, just had to wait!
01-13-2015, 07:07 PM
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Planning to order a Mini at some point. $1000 down and it takes about 8 weeks to arrive.
There are very few mini dealers so swapping between dealerships is not very common. They'll swap when it's coming off the boat, but after that, no go. Can't blame the dealer for not wanting to drive 150 miles one way to get a car for someone.
I have ordered cars from the factory with no problems. I currently have one on order that was ordered on December 18th, and is due the first week in February. I have never set foot on that dealership lot, it was ordered via email and phone. I built the vehicle through the GM web site and picked out the options I wanted and sent a copy to the dealer.
A deposit wasn't necessary because the vehicle I ordered would be easy to sell if I didn't want it when it arrived. I will go to the bank on the day I pick it up and get a cashiers check to pay for it.
I purchased a vehicle from a different dealer this past October, which I was going to special order but the dealer found the exact vehicle I wanted at another dealership and dealer traded for that vehicle. I built that vehicle on their website and emailed it to the dealer to find or order, again, no deposit required. Had never been to that dealership either, until the day I picked the car up.
As far as getting a fair price, I purchased both through GM employee pricing, a price established by the factory and not negotiable
Building them on the mfg website is a breeze as it listed every option available along with a description of the option and the list price of that option, and on the last page it lists total price including transportation and options. The only price not listed is the sales tax. It gives you a good starting point to negotiate with. You can email that list to several dealers and see who comes up with the best price.
As an example, here is the build your own GM website, Build Your Own GM Vehicle
I'm sure all mfg's have something similar to help you pick out the vehicle and options of your choice.. Just google "Build your own (insert mfg name) vehicle
I only purchase GM vehicles for two reasons, number one, I get employee pricing, number two, I would only consider a GM vehicle...
Good luck...
1st time was great - wen to the fleet manager, spec'd it out, dropped a modest down payment and had time to sell my trade before it every arrived for delivery. Pricing was invoice +. Happy.
2nd time - a disaster.
Used a salesman (young guy) who did not pay attention to what he was doing. Ended up with a truck missing the side curtain airbags I had spec'd out and fortunately kept meticulous notes on. Dealer pitched enough of a discount to compensate, but at what price safety?
If you do this find the fleet sales manager - only. Young guys have no business writing factory order sheets.
Good luck.
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