[Thorpeland]

Hello all. First post here. After a ton of research, im headed to the dealership tomorrow morning to test drive and possibly buy a TH. Based on what im looking for, looks like i'll have to custom order from Italy. No biggie.

So, any advice? Im really still unsure about how low a dealership can go on this models price. I went through TruCar and they sent me one of those $1094 off certificates. But after reading others experiences, seems the dealer can beat that if pushed. Anyone have experience with that?

Thanks in advance!

 

[astrobdean]

You'll have much less leverage on a special order. Her incentive to make the sale is much less since her credit for the sale isn't given until invoice, AND you've let them know that they aren't up against any competing models or dealer stock. I got just over 2k off MSRP on a Trailhawk on the lot. Negotiate over the phone and fill out their credit app online or over the phone even if you will ultimately use your own financing. Not being in their dealership gives you power if they know you're a qualified buyer.

 

[Thorpeland]

True, about leverage on special orders. But, inventory at every dealership in the area is very limited. Although, i haven't told this dealership exactly what im looking for. Only said id like to come look at what he has and test drive. Good idea about the credit app online. I think my bank can do better, but that will bait the hook a little better. haha I am going in with the intention to walk if i dont get the deal i want. But, I do want to at least test drive the TH. I need to get that out of the way before i spend much more time/energy researching. So even if i don't buy tomorrow, it's not a wasted trip. Thanks for the heads up on what you got off MSRP. It would be nice to get around 2k off MSRP.
I'll report back with what happens.

 

[Soxgirl]

I did the online app but also had my own financing in place which they could not touch. Beware, once you test drive you'll have to buy it! Its too much fun! Enjoy and good luck! I LOVE my TH.

 

[Oldav8tor]

I was talking to a salesman at a local dealership and he told me that they to get $500 over their cost on a vehicle like the Renegade. Depending on how their sales are going in a particular month, they may get factory to dealer incentives that could allow them cut it even more and still be OK. The dealer also gets "holdback", where the dealership gets 3% of sticker price (less destination charges) which is paid to them at a later date. That is why you sometimes hear them advertising vehicles at or below invoice, they'll still make some money but not much. Dealers also pay "floor plan" to have cars sitting on their lots so that is an incentive to get them sold. They don't pay that when you custom order a vehicle but I doubt that is much use in negotiations. My advice, figure out what their invoice is going to be for the vehicle you want and then decide how much over that you're willing to pay. Remember, they have to make a living too so be fair.
While you're at it, if you even just know someone who works or retired from Chrysler you can get the Friends and family discount which is worth up to 1% discount below invoice. Every little bit helps
Good luck with your purchase..... I'll be doing the same thing in a few weeks.
Tim

 

[Rebel]

I'll just quote my post from another thread, it's very applicable here:

At Cars.com, they have an option to build a Renegade like you want it, then send the build to four local dealerships. Extremely easy and takes about ten minutes. In a couple hours I had a price quote for $2500 less than MSRP on a Trailhawk with MySky, for a custom build that no one within 400 miles had on their lot.

Just make sure you don't pick sister dealerships that are owned by the same person, they won't be competing against each other.

 

[Thorpeland]

This is all great info guys. Big thanks! I didn't find a deal i was happy with this morning, so i walked. After getting home, i searched dealerships a little farther out than i would normally. Found a small town dealership with an internet special of $2500 off MSRP on a Trailhawk for $24,640. They're telling me since they've offered a large discount online, the price is not negotiable. Anyone have any experience on that? It seems like a nice price. I got them on the phone and told him the options I want. He said he'd get back to me with the final price and believed he could throw in the options at cost. Hhhmm... doesn't sound too shabby.

 

[mudcatca]

See if you have any way to get into Chrysler's Affiliate Rewards Program. Even with a special order, you'll pay 1% under the factory invoice, plus it takes all of the hassle out of the deal with haggling.

Edit: link -> https://www.chrysleraffiliates.com/images/downloads/AF_Invoice_PopUp.pdf

 

[Thorpeland]

See if you have any way to get into Chrysler's Affiliate Rewards Program. Even with a special order, you'll pay 1% under the factory invoice, plus it takes all of the hassle out of the deal with haggling.

Edit: link -> https://www.chrysleraffiliates.com/images/downloads/AF_Invoice_PopUp.pdf

Good to know! I'll research this. See if there's a way to get myself in on that. Thanks

 

[mudcatca]

Good to know! I'll research this. See if there's a way to get myself in on that. Thanks

If you don't qualify any other way (employer/group membership/spouse's employer/etc), you can always pop $100 to join this group & thereby get into the program --> http://treadlightly.org/join/individual/chrysler-affiliates-reward-program/

 

[raz-0]

The costco buying program will do basically $500 below invoice. If one dealer can make money doing that, so can another.

I hit up costco and truecar to see what I could get as offers, partially hoping that the local dealer with three of what I wanted on the lot would be one of the dealers my info was sent to.

Costco sent me to some place 40 miles away and with a less than stellar reputation whose first question was would I take black, white, or gray (specifically colors I did not want). Truecar sent me one place I never dealt with, one that was the sister dealership to the place I took my subie for service, and some place in manhattan that wouldn't talk price over the phone, nor did they actually submit a price for something in inventory via truecar. I wasn't about to spend multiple days at $20+ a round trip to discuss prices with them in person for configurations they admitted they didn't have.

In the end, I had invoice - $500 from the costco dealer, MSRP -$1260 for a configuration I didn't like for a place that jeep.com said had exactly what I wanted, but they didn't offer that up (their page was a bit vague about equipment on what they did send prices on, and it looked like invoice - $460ish) , and MSRP - $650 (not even invoice) from the place with a decent rep.

I did the math on the travel costs for juggling vehicles (didn't do a trade in), and figured being close to home and my bank was worth about $100. So my target was invoice -$400.

I got invoice - $370 and they drove me around to juggle cars, and everyone went home happy. At that point they went from dealing to trying to find a way to claw back some of the deal via other methods, so invoice - $400 might have been doable, but I was near their limit.

 

[Foobar]

I went with the Costco $500 below invoice and received another $1000 for having a lease with a competing brand (I didn't have to trade it in or anything, just prove that I had a lease). This car replaces the lease anyway, so it all works out in the end.

$1500 below invoice on our Renegade comes out to $2,570 below MSRP with all the options we got.

Negotiating on this car will come out the same whether the vehicle is on the lot or needs to be ordered - there's not really a huge amount of inventory sitting on dealer lots right now. That'll change as we get closer to the end of the model year.