Tips when ordering new vehicle

Dealers wanna sell from inventory to minimize carrying costs and to not lose a customer to another dealer.
If you are in the market for a big seller, you probably cannot order and if you can you will probably pay more.

Use the Internet and find the car you want.
On our recent purchase of a Lexus, I knew what i wanted and was not gonna pay that kinda money and settle for something else.
Our dealership did not order the vehicle, they found one slated for a different dealership and traded for it.
The vehicle was delivered from Canada (mfg plant) to my dealership and 2 other cars were delivered to the other dealership.
I waited 5 months for the RX. I'm sure I could have made a much better deal on a car from the dealer's stock.
Good luck.
 
I’ve had a Mustang EB. It’s just as “efficient” as the 5.0 gt

you mean the EB is inefficient or the 5.0 is just as efficient as the EB?

21/32 and I believe GT is 15/24 EPA. EB Owners see 24 average without a lead foot. I have a lead foot so probably won’t see it most of the time, but it would be nice if I could see mid 20 MPG by taking it easy.

I saw 20 mpg on my Tacoma since the weather has been warming up and I kept off the gas pedal. It’s extremely slow this way, which is why I would see purpose in the EB because it’s about 2.5x the power
 
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.

Also check dealers in surrounding states.

My local Ford dealer here in Southeast PA has 5 2020 and 3 2021 EB Mustangs on the lot. White, gray, black, and red. Some very well equipped, some with just a few options.
 
you mean the EB is inefficient or the 5.0 is just as efficient as the EB?

21/32 and I believe GT is 15/24 EPA. EB Owners see 24 average without a lead foot. I have a lead foot so probably won’t see it most of the time, but it would be nice if I could see mid 20 MPG by taking it easy.

I saw 20 mpg on my Tacoma since the weather has been warming up and I kept off the gas pedal. It’s extremely slow this way, which is why I would see purpose in the EB because it’s about 2.5x the power
21/32 lol, never saw it higher than 16. Got it to to the dealer and they put it on a stand with just the wheels spinning, after 30 mins “driving” it showed 21 so they were like “we don’t see a problem”. And don’t forget to try that ****tу transmission too, it takes a few seconds to go from Reverse into Drive. So if you’d ever try to leave parking on a crowded street, give this “sports car” some time and expect angry drivers behind you. I’ve sold it after 6 months of owning, couldn’t deal with it no more
 
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In Canada the 2021 Kia K5 comes in four trim levels. Each trim has a preset number of options and you cannot add to that trim level. If you want additional options you have to move up to a higher trim level. I can see all manufacturers going this route.
 
In Canada the 2021 Kia K5 comes in four trim levels. Each trim has a preset number of options and you cannot add to that trim level. If you want additional options you have to move up to a higher trim level. I can see all manufacturers going this route.
It was always like that for the most non-European brands
 
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.
Vehicles don't sit on lots long-it less it's a unicorn and a totally undesirable model. You are lucky to find a half-ton pickup that sits for 45 days. And those are usually the "King Ranch"/High country",etc. that have an MSRP of $70,000.00- OR MORE.
 
A friend of mine I know wanted some odd combination of options on a Ram 3500, I can't remember what he wanted, but he wasn't considering a BTO order from Ram, but the sales gal that helped him at a dealer was deterimed to find somewhere that had what he wanted, but couldn't find anywhere in the US or Canada that had his options, so the lady suggested BTO. So they setup an order, the price was right and he got the truck about 3 months later.
 
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

Our Toyota dealer was smart enough to dealer trade with a TN dealership for our Rav4. oilBabe didn't care for leather seating, so she didn't want to step up to an Limited trim. She wanted a FWD XLE with the technology package so she got pushbutton start. You could build that on the Toyota website, but couldn't get that in our region.


He located exactly what she wanted in TN and accomplished a dealer trade and everyone won. It's been a great car. Coming up on 90k miles shortly since October 2016.
 
Mustang, Mini Cooper, Miata in the original post. Some very different cars there. Do not get a Mustang unless it has the v8. The 5.0 is world class; the rest of the car not so much. It’s a great value/hp and I love mine but it’s still a Ford and it rattles and it’s loud and all that.

The Mini and Miata are far more refined and a “drivers car”. Have you driven any of these?
 
Maybe you need to look for a right dealer and be willing to go out of your area.

I had a similar experience when buying our Forester, but I wanted a specific configuration/additions, and a better price. I spent few months in research and every local dealer told me that my order won't be in for 3 months minimum, so should pick up whatever is in stock. A Forester board member suggested to me a dealer in Manchester, NH. I did not see the dealership or the salesman. Everything was done via email and phone. I sent in my requirement, the guy got back to me with the best price I ever saw. Once the vehicle was delivered to the dealership, they drove it to Danbury, CT, and I signed paperwork in the Walmart parking lot.
 
I wanted a new Jaguar F Type R. I did an online search of dealer inventory for the entire USA and found maybe 10-12 actually in stock.
About half had the butt ugly black wheels and blacked out trim which I despise and costs several thousand dollars extra to boot. 3 or 4 were convertibles which I did not want. The rest were color combinations I didn't like.
There were plenty of the 4 cylinder models available. No way would I buy one of those. So I used the "Build My Vehicle" option on the manufacturer's website and went through every possible combination and option and specified the car exactly as I wanted with no compromises.

The lead time for it to be built and shipped is 120 days. I sent my build sheet to 6 different dealers. All of them quoted MSRP and said that if there were any rebates, incentives or special financing rates at the time the vehicle was delivered, they would be applied then.
As much as I hate the expression "it is what it is", that pretty much describes the situation. That model is scarce, and the factory is just ramping up production again after the Covid shutdown.
I have never paid MSRP for a vehicle, let alone one that was over $110K. Price fixing or collusion ? Probably. But the dealer's know that that car isn't a commodity item that I can find dozens of within a 50 mile radius either.
 
21/32 lol, never saw it higher than 16. Got it to to the dealer and they put it on a stand with just the wheels spinning, after 30 mins “driving” it showed 21 so they were like “we don’t see a problem”. And don’t forget to try that ****tу transmission too, it takes a few seconds to go from Reverse into Drive. So if you’d ever try to leave parking on a crowded street, give this “sports car” some time and expect angry drivers behind you. I’ve sold it after 6 months of owning, couldn’t deal with it no more

good to know. Guess the Mustang is off the list. My outback used to do the same thing. 2 second delay from reverse to drive, then probably another second to fully engage otherwise the gas pedal is dead. Absolutely horrible.
 
Mustang, Mini Cooper, Miata in the original post. Some very different cars there. Do not get a Mustang unless it has the v8. The 5.0 is world class; the rest of the car not so much. It’s a great value/hp and I love mine but it’s still a Ford and it rattles and it’s loud and all that.

The Mini and Miata are far more refined and a “drivers car”. Have you driven any of these?

i have driven a 15 Mustang V6, GT, older Mini, and old Miata.

not looking necessarily for a drivers car per say. Just something efficient and not lifeless like a Prius. I’d be happy with anything that is faster than my Tacoma’s 9+ second 0-60, and gets atleast 25 mpg combined. any drivetrain, seating configuration, size will do. It’ll purely be a second car so practically isn’t priority.
 
In Canada the 2021 Kia K5 comes in four trim levels. Each trim has a preset number of options and you cannot add to that trim level. If you want additional options you have to move up to a higher trim level. I can see all manufacturers going this route.

I like how Kia/Hyundai groups their trim/options. It simplifies price range, although the only drawback is you have to pay a lot more for specific features. I get sick of seeing Toyota option packages. You can have a low trim that cost more than a high trim. Sure you can build it the specific way you want it but the chances of a dealer having that specific combo is zero to none. So either way you lose lol.
 
Step one, realize that car dealers are awful and that we should move to a MFG direct sales system. Step 2, be ready for mental anguish in dealing with the following chain of command: #1 random low wage employee who might refer you to #2 sales person who probably knows little and has zero control over anything but might let you deal with #3 the person who sometimes can make pricing decisions, aka the manager. #4 the upper management/ownership is often the only person knowing the true dealer cost and what they can sell it for but you will not get to talk to them. Plan on spending a very long time looking around and waiting even after finding what you want. Because the dealers won't give you the best price until you have told them no for a while. The risk here is if someone else with less knowledge comes in and overpays for what you wanted.

Also, nobody has any clue how long an order will take because it can now be delayed for dozens of reasons. Isn't 2021 wonderful?!
 
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?
Most dealers will try and push their inventory, however they do make a few dollars more on orders, since they are often paying interest on their inventory. An order is not sitting in inventory burning up money, and is usually paid for a few days after it arrives on the dealers lot.

They will try and make money from you financing through them, after sale items via the F&I manager, extended warranties, Doc fees, dealer prep, and the typical ways they are known and hated for. Just learn how to say no, and if you don't like the deal get up and walk out. Leave the smallest deposit you can on a credit card. I also had them write across the buyers order DO NOT DETAIL THE VEHICLE!!!!!!! JUST PDI. Then when I knew the order was due in I called the dealer and reminded them. I had no issues with the last two new vehicles I ordered.
 
we should move to a MFG direct sales system

idk, I think dealers have incentive to actually sell cars. The only manufacture direct I ever dealt with was Tesla, and the reps there did not seem fond or care much for selling a car. Their mentality was if you want it, you will put up with our bs. Long waits, the whole run around etc. maybe it’s just because Tesla are in high demand. But certainly not ideal if that was the only way cars could be brought.

atleast with dealers, if one gives you a hard time I’m sure there’s another willing to accept your business.
 
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