Quote:
Originally Posted by asnpcwiz
My original X5 was special ordered. Paid $800 over invoice, and only waited a whole 6 weeks for it. I don't think it gets much better than that.
I would special order though if you are going to buy brand new. It's nice to know someone else hasn't test drove it, put additional unnecssary miles, and farted in it  . |
All good replies, esp the farting.
When I worked as an assistant sales manager in a dealership long ago and far away, it was generally true that the special order got a somewhat better price. But this was often mitigated if the customer happened to be interested in a 'dog', ie a vehicle that had been in stock for a while and hadn't sold yet for one reason or another.
I recall a 'chop-shop' special, a coupe that an aftermarket company removed the top from and put the most god-awful cloth top on. It looked great topless (so it stayed in the showroom), but put the top up and it was barf city. Not even Stevie Wonder would buy that car if the top was up. We got fed up of looking at it for months on end, pretty though it was with the top down.
It eventually sold to a little old lady for $5,000 off sticker (bought it off the floor without even driving it or raising the top, clearly was a bucket list item for her), the salesman made a $2,000 bonus, and the manufacturer's finance arm made over 6 months of interest. This on a $25k car. Needless to say, no more cars were ever chopped at this store.
When a dealership special orders, their only cost of business is writing the order, doing the paperwork and paying the salesman. When they keep a car in stock, they usually pay floorplan (interest) as well, even if for only a few days. They usually have to detail the car at least twice. This raises the effective cost of the car to the dealer and therefore to the buyer,
ceteris paribus of course.
(Note: if you order a really odd color or option combination they may require a non-refundable deposit. This depends on the dealer).