Tips when ordering new vehicle

Joined
Aug 12, 2015
Messages
785
Location
Central NY
I’ve seen a few members on here have ordered new cars before. I’ve never ordered new. I want my next purchase(not really decided on make/model yet) to be something efficient, has to be automatic, quicker than my Tacoma, and preferably small. Mustang EB, Mini Cooper, or Miata. Something of that sort. Any other suggestions are welcomed.

Anyways, some of these cars are fairly hard to find locally. Did the dealers try to pull any tricks on you when you ordered new? Like trying to upcharge the sale or direct you to their incoming inventory instead of ordering exactly what you want?

The Tacoma was my last purchase and the local yota dealer didn’t seem too fond to order/look for one. Tried to sell me onto a similar, but higher spec truck that was being transported in. Ended up settling for a used truck because there were absolutely none within a few hours of me.

I know it’s fairly common to order high end luxury cars such as MB, Porsche etc. but what about normal brands? Mazda? Ford? Do you have to know someone who can do you a favor or can you just walk in and order one?
 
Our CR-V went pretty smoothly actually at a local fairly major dealer. They didn't have the color we wanted on-site so they had to bring one in from another dealer, which added like 120mi to the vehicle due to the drive but eh. It did have some slight scuffs on it before we signed the paperwork so I was like, yeah, na na na m8. Salesman hadn't seen it and was like, "oh shoot, yeah, we'll get body to buff that out...can you come back tomorrow and sign papers? We don't want you signing until you're good with it."
 
You'll almost always get a better deal buying what's on the lot. Peruse forums for your brand. Sometimes you can get hold of the pricing sheets.
Don't beat yourself up over an option. If you want it, get it otherwise you'll be PO'd that you didn't spend the extra couple hundred bucks. For me it was upgrading the brakes and a limited slip differential. Pennywise as they say.
 
You'll almost always get a better deal buying what's on the lot. Peruse forums for your brand. Sometimes you can get hold of the pricing sheets.
Don't beat yourself up over an option. If you want it, get it otherwise you'll be PO'd that you didn't spend the extra couple hundred bucks. For me it was upgrading the brakes and a limited slip differential. Pennywise as they say.

thats why I prefer to buy what’s in stock. I’d be fine paying up to msrp but nothing more if I ordered. Only issue is some of these cars I’m looking at are not stocked locally, plus seems like whoever’s in charge for inventory at these dealerships love checking every single option down.

Out of 5 local Ford dealers only 1 has an EcoBoost automatic in stock. Not my first pick in color(white) but there’s a deal on it being a 2020 left over.
 
The days of ordering exactly what you want seem to be long gone especially for foreign nameplates. I remember pricing out a Camaro years ago. The salesperson brought out an ordering sheet that must have had 50 different options on it if not more. They send that off to the factory and a month or two later your car comes in. Now, the factories make what they make and the dealers search inventory at their network and try to find the vehicle that matches closest to what you want. The dealers say they don't even know what's coming in on the truck until the vehicles arrive.
 
I've ordered two. First time was my Saturn, but it was past the time I could order one custom built, so I was limited to what was available or in the pipeline. First dealer exhausted their search to their lot only and tried to get me to wait until I could order the next model year. Went to another dealer, they found it in another state, but didn't have any trouble getting it ferried to their location. Oddly enough, the salesman was nervous he'd lost a sale because it was equipped with foglights, which I hadn't specified, so I said the minor price increase for the foglights would be A-OK.

Second time around was for a Honda CR-V, but they could be ordered. I wanted a 2WD LX base model, but since most of them were 4WD EX, it was an odd one. I think they must have located one, because I recall it was only a couple weeks to get it. Only thing I probably should have done differently is I should have insisted they let me test drive an LX instead of the fancy EX with the leather. The basic seats were OK, but the salesman was keen on showing off the fancy heated leather seats that I wasn't getting.

My former FIL had a hard time ordering a truck with a stick shift, because almost nobody ordered them with a stick. Apparently, he had to argue with the dealer and put some money down because the dealer didn't want him to bail and have them stuck with it.
 
added like 120mi to the vehicle due to the drive

im sure it would be fine but that would keep me up at night. Only reason I want a new car is to know it was never driven outside of QC and delivery prep. I don’t trust people other than myself with proper break in procedure on a new engine. Hard to find someone selling you a car who actually cares about how the car is treated, so long it looks alright during delivery.
 
The days of ordering exactly what you want seem to be long gone especially for foreign nameplates. I remember pricing out a Camaro years ago. The salesperson brought out an ordering sheet that must have had 50 different options on it if not more. They send that off to the factory and a month or two later your car comes in.
I remember my father doing that in late 1986 for a Chevy Cavalier. I nudged him to check off the Z24 box, he had no idea what that was, not a car guy. 6 weeks later a bright red 1987 Z24 coupe arrived at the dealer.
 
When i worked for a Lexus dealership a few years back we really did "get what we got" However.... I had an older guy who finally decided on an es300. He wanted the metallic Carmel color, grey interior, full front and rear sunroof and lit door sills. There wasn't a vehicle with that build in the entire USA. I ordered it for him with the managers help. Two months later it was delivered. Keep in mind some packages and colors are regional, which I found odd. Lexus sold the LX570 in a medium blue but none were ever delivered to Colorado. Subaru offered a lime yellow green on the crosstrek, I've seen one in that color when in Arizona.
 
im sure it would be fine but that would keep me up at night. Only reason I want a new car is to know it was never driven outside of QC and delivery prep. I don’t trust people other than myself with proper break in procedure on a new engine. Hard to find someone selling you a car who actually cares about how the car is treated, so long it looks alright during delivery.
Eh.
 
im sure it would be fine but that would keep me up at night. Only reason I want a new car is to know it was never driven outside of QC and delivery prep. I don’t trust people other than myself with proper break in procedure on a new engine. Hard to find someone selling you a car who actually cares about how the car is treated, so long it looks alright during delivery.
"Break in" is a non-issue on most motors.
 
You can go in an order and negotiate a price on the vehicle. Any rebates/manufacturers money will be applied at the time you take delivery so that’s the only thing that may change. You should be able to easily get it for less than MSRP unless you are buying something in hot demand, Ram TRX, Vette, etc.
 
“Ordering” a car isn’t what it used to be. :(

It should also be noted there can be incentives (in a "normal" market) that is for standing inventory and doesn't apply to units ordered from the factory. Of course with COVID, the entire market is tight and incentives are very few.
 
When i worked for a Lexus dealership a few years back we really did "get what we got" However.... I had an older guy who finally decided on an es300. He wanted the metallic Carmel color, grey interior, full front and rear sunroof and lit door sills. There wasn't a vehicle with that build in the entire USA. I ordered it for him with the managers help. Two months later it was delivered. Keep in mind some packages and colors are regional, which I found odd. Lexus sold the LX570 in a medium blue but none were ever delivered to Colorado. Subaru offered a lime yellow green on the crosstrek, I've seen one in that color when in Arizona.

I noticed Toyota USA is bad with that. Go to different regions and you start seeing options and packages that are unheard of.

it’s alittle annoying how you can build cars on manufacture websites how you want them, but then “you can only buy what we get”. It’s annoying. Why showcase all these features and options when all I can get is the mid trim in white, black, or silver lol
 
Why not order your new car and get exactly what you want and get a factory fresh vehicle instead of one that has been sitting on the lot for who knows how long. You get either the factory incentives at the time of order or those offered when the vehicle is delivered. The Chevrolet dealer in my hometown would have a small emblem engraved and put it on the dash that said "this vehicle was custom built for Customers Name" Customers loved it. Special orders take 4-6 weeks to get delivered.
 
Special ordered a vehicle once in the early 90's, and will never do it again. Ordered the vehicle with power seat, cruise control, and aluminum wheel option.

6 weeks later the vehicle arrived. Manual seat, no cruise control, wheel covers. It also had a 16 inch scratch on the hood. The dealer said there were mid-year changes to the trims and those options were no longer allowed to be ordered in that combination like they were at the time the order was placed. They said they would repaint the hood. I told them that it is not what I ordered, I am not buying the car, and I want my deposit back. They played hardball and refused to refund the deposit. Finally had to get the owner of the dealership involved, and after a 2 month battle got my deposit back. Found another suitably equipped vehicle on the lot at a different dealer and bought it.

I have purchased from dealer inventory ever since.
 
I have not bought many new vehicles, but actually prefer to "special order". I was told the dealers order vehicles with the options they think will sell the best. Most times this includes options like navigation, sunroof, and most times higher trim levels with additional options. Some manufacturers don't offer many options unless it is grouped with a particular trim level. When I special ordered the Cruze, a spare tire was a $100 option, otherwise you get a can of fix-a-flat. Wife wanted leather which was only offered in a higher trim level. In the end, the selected options were trim level, upgraded radio, "special" wheels, spare tire, and the RS package.
 
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