by Dean Ballenger
While some things stay the same, those in today’s automobile market are finding new changes.
Here is why, in the past, the Dealership never wanted you to leave their location – they were afraid you would go and buy the exact new vehicle somewhere else. Since you can get the same equipment on any two vehicles made by the same manufacturer, and if identically equipped, they will also be identically priced.
The days of car dealerships giving significant discounts to purchase out of their current inventory are gone. Wonder why? In the past, Dealerships had a monthly amount of vehicles allotted to them which meant a truckload of replacement vehicles was constantly en route to the Dealership, and they needed room to park the new inventory.
These days, vehicle inventory is in short supply, making every new vehicle a hot commodity. The vehicles they currently have in stock are one of the only opportunities to make a profit now.
That is why I recommend you order your next vehicle. You can order it exactly as you want it, and plus you’ll get a discount. This is what my wife and I just did on her new SUV and my new truck. I know many people will tell you the best deals are on an used car, and in the past they would be right nine times out of ten. But in today’s used car market (as you’ve read in my previous posts), it’s so hot that buying an used one is almost identical to the price of buying a new one.
Here’s what happened when we went to purchase her new SUV.
We were told “no” when we tried to buy her car out of inventory and get a discount. There would be no discount, we were told, because someone would come in and buy it and pay the list price – and that happened while we were there. We went for a test drive, came back, and they asked us if we were going to buy the car that day for the total price. If not, someone else wants to look at it. The other couple did their test drive, returned, and bought it for the list price with no discount. This was a vehicle everyone had been test-driving because it was the only one in stock, and now it had about eight hundred miles on it. It had also been part of a hail storm and would need to be brought back to the Dealership to be repaired. On the other hand, my wife and I ordered her new SUV with no miles driven by other people doing a test drive, with no hail damage, got a nice discount, and only waited eight weeks.
The same response happened when I went to replace my pickup truck. Ordering vs. buying out of stock had much more significant benefits. Ford even had an additional $1000 rebate for clients willing to order vs. buying out of stock. If I had chosen to purchase a vehicle out of inventory, I would have had to pay the total price. I even called around to check with multiple dealers. The current market for a new pickup truck was and is “no discount” but because I was willing to order it I saved myself $8,000.
So unless your car is broken down or you’re at your lease end and don’t have time to order one, I highly recommend you do the same thing we did because you can literally save yourself thousands of dollars.
So to negotiate correctly, it starts with being willing to wait on an order. The Dealership has no idea when the vehicle will come in but if you’re willing to wait then they’re willing to give you a discount. Why? Because Dealerships also realize that the chip shortage could be over by the time your vehicle comes in, and they could have an abundance of cars or trucks coming their way at any moment. With that uncertainty, they’ll be trying to eliminate a large inventory.
I know everything you read says there’s no good outlook for the chip industry, and the Dealership could be waiting forever. While that could be true, it’s that current unknown that gives you the leverage needed to get the discount.
By the way, I did have to wait four and a half months to get my pickup truck, and my wife waited around eight weeks to get her new vehicle. But between the two vehicles, we saved over $10,000 as a result of ordering and patiently waiting.
Feel free to call Dean with any questions @ 317-867-5433
