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Pricing when ordering a new Challenger

4K views 9 replies 9 participants last post by  OlSchool26 
#1 ·
Ok, this may be a silly question, but here it goes, I may be ordering a Challenger from my local dealer, do I pay "Invoice" for the car, or will I order the car at MSRP and try to talk the dealer down when the car arrives at the dealership? If I pay invoice, how much lower than MSRP is invoice? Any ball park figures?
 
#9 ·
#5 ·
agree on the price before placing the order, usually they want a deposit, when you've given the deposit you've agreed on the price and once you've put the deposit down you've agreed to take the car or lose the deposit is my understanding of how it works, someone correct me if i'm wrong.
 
#6 ·
Dealer in Wisconsin with extremely high ratings told me that is illegal to do. If you put a deposit down, they can't legally show the car or hold you to payment of the car.

However, most dealers dont want people putting 1k deposit down while they make a decision, as they won't be able to show the car to anyone.

However, it may have just been a Wisconsin law... can't remember :5:
 
#7 ·
are you ordering and having the car built or are you ordering as in buying a car on the lot?

I have been going through this whole process. I have tried to order, dealer locate and finallly just bought a car on the lot so to speak.

This is what i have learned so far:

Factory Ordering - try not to put down more than $500 (some dealers will do more if you do your own cash and dont finance with them). Get the car at invoice or walk away because the car isnt on their lot at all. The dealer is still being paid holdback on the car. Some arent too keen on doing factory orders because it isnt pushing inventory off their lot so you may not get as warm and fuzzy reception as saying "i want the blue one out front". If you finance, you will pay whenever you car comes in obviously. Interest rates can change and you will not get locked into any rate until the day the car is in and you do financing. The rebates are locked in on the month you do the order, sometimes they will let you take the better rebates if any when the car actually comes in which is usually a different month. The process can take 4-8 weeks.

Dealer Locate - They will ask for a deposit, don't give them a dime over $500 (i just did this last weekend and paid $1000 but got my money back). They will try and work with other dealers on getting you a car. Your intertest in the car is the last oncern on the dealers list. First and foremost is their profit and the profit the other dealer makes. Some don't do deals like this with other dealers and they dont have to. A lot of the time the dealer wont return phone calls. Some people have great luck with this while i want to say most don't. Do the leg work and see if you can find the car yourself. Its a lot of work but you will have more leverage over the deal and wont be paying transport charges and inflated prices because of the dealers making money.

Buying on the Lot: Best way to go about things. Putting a deposit down on a car means they will hold the car for you. This time is really meant to prep financing and what not and possibly to give you a chance to get in to see the car. There are many different scenarios but expect that if you put money down that you will lose it if you say you dont want the car. You have the most leverage here because they have what you want and they want to get rid of it. Not all dealers are gonna deal so move on to the next if they dont. Anything over invoice could be considered profit for them (although their overhead costs are variable between dealershsips and how well they run their business and choose to do so). Find out invoice and start below and try to end up around there. You cant expect them to not make a profit.

Always do deposits on credit cards. Why? It's easy to have your money refunded and if there is an issue where they start bull****ting you, you can dispute the charges with your credit card company (especially if you have evidence) and have a good chance onthe cc company being on your side. This is of course dependent on who you have your card with.

These are just some tidbits i have learned over the last few months and this past weekend. I have a deposit down on a car that i am going to do paperowkr on in the morning. I sourced the car myself and it is actually a car that is still in transit to the dealer from the factory (lucky me, it hasnt even set foot on the lot yet!) I had to look through so many dealer websites to find what i wanted but finally found it.

Good luck!
 
#8 ·
It's much easier to negotiate the price of a car on a lot than by ordering one. Regardless, I wouldn't pay more than $500 over dealer invoice and that would have to be a car I really wanted and couldn't find elsewhere. I've paid under dealer invoice on the last 4-5 new cars I've bought. Tell them you want to see the dealer invoice sheet and compare the VIN on the sheet to the car - there are some slimy dealers who will try to cheat you by showing you the sheet on a more expensive car (of course, this is by "accident"). I would do this "stealthily" as you don't want to create any unneeded animosity. Just mentally note the last four numbers of the VIN and compare. This applies to a car you're buying off a lot. If ordering a car, you'll want to negotiate the price upfront.

You need patience, do your homework, get pre-approved for a loan that covers the entire price of the car and more patience. If they get the slightest whiff you are desperate, you are doomed. Always be prepared to walk away.

MSRP is the "sticker" price, dealer invoice is what they try to convince you they paid for the car. On a $39,000 MSRP, dealer invoice will be around $34,000 - $35,000. If you put anything down when ordering, get the terms in writing.
 
#10 ·
Thank You everyone for the great information! I'm going out of town today to possibly purchase a Challenger, if this falls through, then most likely I'll hit my local dealer and build one the way I'd like.
 
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