Best time to buy a Jeep?
- Thread starter Scuba
- Start date
MedixJK
-
Best post ive read all day....hilarious
MTG
Caught the Bug
Drunic
New member
My good friend used to sell jeeps for a few years. We bought a Cherokee trail hawk for the wife for huge discount from him. What I learned, goto the biggest dealer in the area, they can go the lowest because they deal in bulk sales to get their bonus compared to smaller dealers. Go the last day of the month in the evening, the bosses want to get as much inventory off lot for their bonus and will give you more for trade in or discounts etc. Final thing,he said you don't get a discount on a wrangler, they just won't do it, but may get added incentives at the right time if they need to sell. He said dealers only get limited amounts of wranglers as it is. Too bad he left selling jeeps.
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Blazindevl
LOSER
No offense but your friend is full of hot air. Either that or he truly doesn't understand how the business of selling cars works. A discount is the dealers ability to lower the price to entice you to buy and Incentives aka rebates come from the manufacturer and in no way can be adjusted by the dealer. As a consumer you are entitled to whatever incentives are offered at the time of purchase so long as you qualify for them. As for Wranglers... They are discounted just like any other car and many are able to buy them at invoice or below just by being a little savvy. Show me a dealership that wont discount wranglers and I promise you they don't sell very many cars!
RedRum
New member
Actually a lot of what he said is true in regards to large dealerships taking loser deals just to meet a quota as they do receive a bonus whereas a small dealership can't lose money on a vehicle because they will never get the quota bonus and need to make money on the vehicle itself ... Dealerships by me really don't have to discount wranglers because they can't keep them on lots so ... And wranglers very rarely have incentives that apply to them whereas other models usually do
Blazindevl
LOSER
Not trying to start a pissing match here, just trying to educate...
"Actually a lot of what he said is true in regards to large dealerships taking loser deals just to meet a quota as they do receive a bonus whereas a small dealership can't lose money on a vehicle because they will never get the quota bonus and need to make money on the vehicle itself"
This is simply not true. Having worked for Chrysler for a long time, I will tell you that when they run the dealer incentive program or VPA as they call it, every dealership participates... Big or small. The monthly sales objective that Chrysler gives each dealership or "quota" as most people call it, is usually based off of what the dealership sold that month the previous year. For example if Jo blow motors sold 50 jeeps last January then their goal for this month most likely is gonna be 55-60. When Jo blow motors sells 60 jeeps this month, Chrysler cuts them a check for somewhere between $500-$1500 per car sold in the month of January, depending on the program at the time. This could mean up to an extra $90,000 in revenue for Jo blow motors for hitting their objective. Larger dealerships can obviously make much much more. The store i worked at used to sell around 300 new cars a month and I will tell you that hitting our goal month to month was extremely stressful but we always did. On the last day of the month, if a dealer is let's say 10 cars away from its objective, then yes they will do stupid deals and lose thousands if need be to get that big check. However, that window of opportunity is usually very small for the consumer. It's like trying to predict when lightning will strike!
The bottom line here is the OP's post as to when is the best time to buy a car? Many opinions have been posted here and if they work for you then great. My advice would be to wait and buy during the model year close out which is during the summer months and beginning of fall for two reasons. First is that if there's going to be any rebates on jeeps, thats most likely the time you will see them which translates into more savings. Second, youll have a car thats technically a year old (based on model years of course) and has no miles on it. Unless you drive a boat load of miles, This most likely means that when you go to trade it in it will be worth more money.
Again, hope some of this sheds some light and helps
"Actually a lot of what he said is true in regards to large dealerships taking loser deals just to meet a quota as they do receive a bonus whereas a small dealership can't lose money on a vehicle because they will never get the quota bonus and need to make money on the vehicle itself"
This is simply not true. Having worked for Chrysler for a long time, I will tell you that when they run the dealer incentive program or VPA as they call it, every dealership participates... Big or small. The monthly sales objective that Chrysler gives each dealership or "quota" as most people call it, is usually based off of what the dealership sold that month the previous year. For example if Jo blow motors sold 50 jeeps last January then their goal for this month most likely is gonna be 55-60. When Jo blow motors sells 60 jeeps this month, Chrysler cuts them a check for somewhere between $500-$1500 per car sold in the month of January, depending on the program at the time. This could mean up to an extra $90,000 in revenue for Jo blow motors for hitting their objective. Larger dealerships can obviously make much much more. The store i worked at used to sell around 300 new cars a month and I will tell you that hitting our goal month to month was extremely stressful but we always did. On the last day of the month, if a dealer is let's say 10 cars away from its objective, then yes they will do stupid deals and lose thousands if need be to get that big check. However, that window of opportunity is usually very small for the consumer. It's like trying to predict when lightning will strike!
The bottom line here is the OP's post as to when is the best time to buy a car? Many opinions have been posted here and if they work for you then great. My advice would be to wait and buy during the model year close out which is during the summer months and beginning of fall for two reasons. First is that if there's going to be any rebates on jeeps, thats most likely the time you will see them which translates into more savings. Second, youll have a car thats technically a year old (based on model years of course) and has no miles on it. Unless you drive a boat load of miles, This most likely means that when you go to trade it in it will be worth more money.
Again, hope some of this sheds some light and helps
J.B.
New member
I didn't read the entire thread but I always find shopping at the dealer on the last day of the month the best. The sales team will have a quota to move so many vehicles a month. If they haven't met the quota they will bend pricing far better. Also study and know what you want and what it comes with standard. Show you know more about the vehicle than the salesman. Have a firm fair number in your head and make him come down to your price. If the sales person up sells that the model he has contains more features than you want let them know it means nothing to you and won't pay more for it. Be prepared to walk away if they won't budge and go to the next place. Chances are the salesman will call you back later in the day anyways with a new offer. Let them know you don't NEED the vehicle just looking and a bit interested. They play hard ball on you so turn the table around and play it back harder. They will bend sooner or later.
Blazindevl
LOSER
Much respect for what your wife does! Me personally, I hate talking to people on the phone... Most are just downright rude
Jeep2010
New member
I work in the car industry and a lot of what is said is true. End of the month is a good time. I'm not at a huge dealer so I never really see a huge jump at the end of a model year. It could be true for other dealers but I can't tell you with certainty. But the people I see who gets the best deals are ones that are nicer. If an asshole comes up and tried playing tricks or something like that, I tend to dig in deeper. But if the person is nice and up front. I tend to see better deals and more help later on. But end of the month works well.
JoeB-JKURX
New member
Internet and Costco or USAA Pricing
I have had good luck on pricing (right at invoice - or almost $6000 under MSRP) for 2014 JKURX (limited edition). Contacted Internet Sales Manager, asked about Costco (said that they didn't sell Jeeps through Program but would give same price at $200 over invoice). Went in to negotiate with Internet Sales Manager and asked whether there were any better deals to be had. She said that she could sell at Invoice if I had USAA. Told her that I wasn't USAA but would take the deal (invioce) anyway. She took me to the GM (where I expected to be pressured into a higher price) and he just says "DEAL". That, along with a 1.25% rate for 3 years financing closed the deal. Finance guy tried to sell a bunch of adds but I turned them all down (he seemed pissed but so what).
I have had good luck on pricing (right at invoice - or almost $6000 under MSRP) for 2014 JKURX (limited edition). Contacted Internet Sales Manager, asked about Costco (said that they didn't sell Jeeps through Program but would give same price at $200 over invoice). Went in to negotiate with Internet Sales Manager and asked whether there were any better deals to be had. She said that she could sell at Invoice if I had USAA. Told her that I wasn't USAA but would take the deal (invioce) anyway. She took me to the GM (where I expected to be pressured into a higher price) and he just says "DEAL". That, along with a 1.25% rate for 3 years financing closed the deal. Finance guy tried to sell a bunch of adds but I turned them all down (he seemed pissed but so what).
trailraider
Active Member
smart dealers just RDR the vehicle and roll it into used stock and sell as a demo.The dealer gets the back ended payment and they lost no money on the vehicle and can still sell at close to invoice.
the dealer and FCA will make their money either way. they may pretend they are losing money to get the sale, but ultimately they dont. there is a reason they have fifty service bays and 30 car showrooms.
as stated before buy when you can afford it. thats the best time to buy.
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Blazindevl
LOSER
This is extremely inaccurate. It is highly illegal to RDR or report cars sold that aren't technically sold for the purpose of getting an incentive payment from the manufacturer or even in general. It can likely cause them to lose their dealership and is a major no no! "smart dealers" absolutely don't do this. Doing so causes title issues, warranty issues and all kinds of other problems.
When a car is put into demo service, it is reported to the manufacturer as such and not RDR'd as a sold unit. In return, the manufacturer gives a monthly payment, or "allowance" to the dealer as an extra incentive to sell the car being that it will now have a few extra miles on it. Each dealer is allowed a certain amount of Demonstrator vehicles which are typically driven by dept. managers and retired before they hit 5000 miles (depending on local state laws). Once retired, these vehicles are returned to the new car lot and are still sold as new cars with the factory warranty starting from the existing mileage being that they have not been titled. In some cases and they are rare, a car will remain in demo status for an extended timeframe and because the mileage exceeds statutory limits will be moved and sold to used inventory and the money accrued from the manufacturer will be used to write down the cost so the dealer takes less of a loss. However, this is extremely rare.
And yes, dealerships do lose money on cars every now and again... Just not very often:thumb:
trailraider
Active Member
Sorry "smart" was the wrong term to use. But many dealers have a seperate used car company not affiliated with the "chrysler brand" etc , just for this fact. you can sell cars all day long to this company. no different then fleet.or they sell to their other flagship used car departments.its all manipulation , no different then when they tell you " you can have a Hellcat" but you need to buy 15 promasters to get it. thats hy the larger dealers can bump the line with obscure orders like the Hellcat. FCA and the dealers know the ropes to get what they want, and inturn they turn a blind eye to eachother.
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