Buying a new Rubicon

Yeah, that's exactly what I just finished doing! Since I don't buy new jeeps all the time, I emailed a couple of dealers with what I wanted, and said if they can't get that, then I'll order it. The best thing was I went to fivestar.com which is Chrysler's search for five star dealers. I then emailed a total of 5 dealers.....EVERYONE had a different price. It's not very competitive out there. One scumbag, ah dealer, wrote back "Good news, I have your Rubicon, it's on the way, I'll need a deposit and you can pick it up." Hmmm...I didn't know I had ordered one from him, I just asked for a quote. Another guy, after I told him exactly what I wanted, gave me a price and had several options, like cruise, extra speakers added in that I did not ask for. I got a lot of good information from doing a search on buying a new car. Lots of good information out there! The bottom line: some of the dealers are like Ken Lay, Martha Stewart, and Saadam all rolled up into one slippery eel! You MUST remain objective in your dealings with the salesman. It's nothing more than a business transaction, and DO NOT think for a moment they are your friend! I'm sure there's honest salesman out there, but that phrase is quickly becoming an oxymoron! Oh, and go to jeep's site and check out the rebates. There's several of them. Good luck!

As a Brit, I never understood US car dealers. You go in and ask for a price for a car, and they won't give it to you straight away. Then they get upset when you walk out. Most bizarre. That's my experience to date at any rate...

Dave

You might benefit from checking out Carmax.com. I did... so did my wife. n.

I agree, Dave. As a Yank, and a dealership employee, I am still frustrated by the notion that everyone that inquires on a particular car will get quoted a different price. There has been a movement in recent years to "no haggle pricing", but I don't see it gaining much momentum. There must be some part of our Yankee spirit that enjoys being pushed into a cubicle and forced to suffer through several hours of negotiation to arrive at a deal on a car. I know that I don't like it, and therefore don't buy new cars.

Jerry

I sell for a Dodge/Chrysler/Jeep/Ford store. First of all, disregard the ignorant, misleading and insulting comments made by people who do not know or understand the car business.

You have two choices: buy from existing inventory or order a unit. If you're buying from inventory, don't be overly fussy about color and options. Realize that a lower price for a jeep with fewer options is not necessarily a "better deal". I can't tell you how many times somebody has bought a 'stripped' vehicle with $1,500 fewer options for *$500 less* and then bragged about the "better deal" down the road. Stupid! If you're ordering a unit, visit a dealer, select the options, have them build it on paper and negotiate a price.

Don't email or visit dealers demanding "bottom dollar". You'll get the absolute best deal by negotiating a price. Don't show total love for the jeep when negotiating and be prepared to walk away if the dealer is not willing to sell at a fair price.

If buying from inventory, you will get the best deal at the end of the month. Aged inventory or an '03 leftover will be discounted more heavily.

All dealers pay the same (invoice) price less holdback for vehicles. A small town dealer will be competitive. The huge dealer in the big city has no price advantage, only more inventory to choose from. I strongly suggest you support the local dealer in your community. These are the businesses that donate to your local Kiwanis club, 4H programs, etc.... Buy from the local dealer and you'll be a preferred customer in their service department.

If you have a trade, be realistic regarding it's actual cash value (usually wholesale book minus any necessary reconditioning costs). If your trade is undesirable, e.g. a battered dark green Hyundai with 175,000 miles, don't expect much. If you have negative equity in your trade (owe more than it's worth), don't expect the dealer to absorb it. Payoff and actual cash value have absolutely no relationship to each other. The dealer is not responsible for your negative equity - you are. Whether a dealer shows full list price on his jeep and an overallowance on your trade, or an 'invoice deal' on the jeep with ACV (actual cash value) for your trade, doesn't matter. The difference amount between the two vehicles is the only figure that really matters.

If financing, rates can and should be negotiated as well. Be smart about buying. Put down at least 30% and finance for the shortest term possible. If you put little or nothing down and finance for a long term, you'll be in a negative equity position for years. If that's the case, you'd better buy gap insurance or have a hefty stash of money in the bank. Why? Just ask the fellow here in Powell who totalled his $8,000 (ACV) high miles Dakota last night. He owes the bank $18,000.

The "best deal" will be the Jeep you want at a fair price, with service and support following the sale.

Best regards, Dave Rose Powell, Wyoming

necessarily

Just curious. How do they deliver to another dealership? I would think that dealership would want to sell you one and not give the business to jeep warehouse.

I will agree they by far have the better price, even below invoice,(How they do that)? I probably would of bought from them but I had a trade

----- Original Message ----- From: "Mad Dawg" Newsgroups: rec.autos.makers.jeep+willys Sent: Friday, February 06, 2004 6:28 PM Subject: Re: Buying a new Rubicon

If the "jeep warehouse" has the vehicle delivered to another (local) dealership, then the local dealer charges a "courtesy delivery" fee to jeep warehouse who in turn passes the cost on to the customer. That fee covers PDI (pre delivery inspection), cleaning for delivery and spiffing a salesman to do the actual delivery. That will probably cost anywhere from $300-$500. The local dealer says "better $300-$500 than nothing". Courtesy deliveries are fairly routine in fleet purchase scenarios.

I know nothing about jeep warehouse, but I can guess their modus operandi: They low ball price a vehicle, knowing they won't be spending money in their facility for PDI, cleaning the vehicle, etc.... Charge the sucker....err customer (who erroneously thinks he got the deal of a lifetime) the extra money for a courtesy delivery at the local dealer. If the customer is really stupid, he'll take two days off work, pay $500 to fly to Indiana to take delivery at jeep warehouse, pay for motel rooms & gas and then brag to his buddies back home about the "great deal" 800 miles away.

Buying below invoice is not unheard of. I've sold vehicles below invoice (before rebate). The dealer is still making money because of holdback. Pricing in the car business is based on supply and demand and your skill in negotiating. Sending out mass emails demanding 'bottom dollar' prices is not clever buying, skillful negotiating is.

I'm guessing that jeep warehouse is a great place to buy - if you live in or near Muncie, Indiana. If you don't live there, then why bother? If you live in Oklahoma will jeep warehouse be doing the warranty work, loaning you a car at no charge, driving you back to work while your jeep is being serviced? No way! Nor will the local dealer in Oklahoma bend over backwards to provide excellent service to the jerk who bought out of town/out of state. Support your local dealer and local economy. Your job may one day depend on it. Think about it.

Dave in Wyoming

The MSRP on a 5spd manual rubicon with dual top option, CD, floor mats and no other options is $27,345 dollars, Jeep Warehouse claims the wholesale (including those options) price is $25,283 including a $400 charge that isn't included in the MSRP price. They deduct the $2000 manufacturers rebate and incentives from that $25,283, and quoted me: $23,032 Or $4313 dollars off sticker.

In addition their options appear to be around 10% discounted from MSRP or around a hundred off of anything approaching a thousand dollars. Almost $200 saved on the dual top option alone ($1560 MSRP vs $1373).

Now on a totally loaded rubicon (Auto, AC, every factory option) the MSRP comes to $30,535 their price is $25,831 or $4694 off MSRP.

Actually because emailing can't hurt a damn thing, and you're in effect playing dealers against one another; it is clever shopping. Not only that but you stand a decent chance of finding a dealer who has that one vehicle that for any number of reasons, he can't get rid of and (assuming it's the vehicle you want) is willing to discount deeply.

If that Oklahoma dealer doesn't provide adequate warranty service he'll be fixing more problems or the same problems repeatedly at skimpy manufacturer reimbursement rates. Pretty impossible to force the manufacturer to pay a 100% dealer parts markup for their own damn parts ;)