Buy Now, Or Wait Til September For Better Negotiating?

[christmas]

Hi & thank you for the insane amount of information & resources. Been wanting a Gladiator since I've seen 'em. I don't need one, just want one. I see at least two dealers within a 2.5hr radius doing about $5k-$6k under MSRP, however both of these have their version of $800-$1,500.00 Dealer bs (Data Dot DNA, Karr Alarm, or Nitrogen Filled Tires :/, Window Tint & 3m Stripping on doors, Out of state $500 registration charge padding with Nationwide DMV) I know these are terrible wastes of money & cost almost nothing for the dealer.. but do I do it now, or as my friend who used to be a general sales manager at a dealership suggests, wait until at least September (end of quarter, new year models start to roll out, summer demand dies down) for more leverage to tell them to go stuff their bs fees when they actually need the sales? Not getting much traction on telling them their addendums are terrible & I won't buy them.

I'm looking for Mojave, VERY basic options, just automatic so my wife doesn't destroy it & trailer tow package, a few others would be nice (bed liner, aux switches) but not necessary. I actually want cloth seats (it's 108F out now), don't want the advanced safety stuff, fancy radio for $2K, etc. I've poked around the google doc for below Invoice pricing (think the numbers on it are outdated though given the PDF Pricing sheet I saw on here too)..

What do you think, wait & save.. or wait & see prices keep going up? I know real estate is plateauing here.. wondering if trucks will do the same after summer. It's been a weird year for vehicle sales, curious what you all see coming..

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[Mrbizkitt]

Why not just order exactly what you want from a dealer offering 6 to 8% below invoice? You don’t have to deal with the “nitrogen package “ or the “pin stripe and mud flap package.”

 

[jay21mojave]

1. The Consumer Price Index climbed by 5.4% in the year through June, the Labor Department said, as prices for used cars and trucks accelerated rapidly and accounted for more than a third of the surge. The overall inflation change was more than the 5% increase reported in May and was the largest year-over-year gain since 2008.

2. Chip Shortage/Other Shortages: Dealerships in my area have inventory depletion at over 70% from usual levels. As the chip shortage eases and automakers boost production, the mismatch between buyers and sellers will also go away. That will ease a lot of the recent upward pressure on U.S. inflation.
This will happen just WHEN ?

3. IMO BUY NOW..2022 models will have a price increase; I have a Mojave on order .. hope to get by Labor Day.

 

[christmas]

Why not just order exactly what you want from a dealer offering 6 to 8% below invoice? You don’t have to deal with the “nitrogen package “ or the “pin stripe and mud flap package.”

@Mrbizkitt I feel ya but there aren’t any or those I’ve found near Las Vegas, looks like closest maybe in Idaho.. :/ basically these dealers are offering 6% below invoice with the discounts & rebates.. but then dumping junk fees in that’d likely equal a plane ticket & drive back calculating gas & time lost working if I went to Idaho. Not to mention flying is a horror show atm

 

[christmas]

1. The Consumer Price Index climbed by 5.4% in the year through June, the Labor Department said, as prices for used cars and trucks accelerated rapidly and accounted for more than a third of the surge. The overall inflation change was more than the 5% increase reported in May and was the largest year-over-year gain since 2008.

2. Chip Shortage/Other Shortages: Dealerships in my area have inventory depletion at over 70% from usual levels. As the chip shortage eases and automakers boost production, the mismatch between buyers and sellers will also go away. That will ease a lot of the recent upward pressure on U.S. inflation.
This will happen just WHEN ?

3. IMO BUY NOW..2022 models will have a price increase; I have a Mojave on order .. hope to get by Labor Day.

@jay21mojave I get the inflation thing, that’s one reason I’m looking forward to financing at 3% less than that for 6 years instead of cash. To clarify though I’m not looking for a 2022, looking to maybe buy a fairly bare-bones 2021 Mojave left over around September or so.

 

[glassjawkid32]

@jay21mojave I get the inflation thing, that’s one reason I’m looking forward to financing at 3% less than that for 6 years instead of cash. To clarify though I’m not looking for a 2022, looking to maybe buy a fairly bare-bones 2021 Mojave left over around September or so.

Lots seem to be depleted quite a bit. All my local dealerships have closed their reserve lots. If the options you want are available now I'd just pull the trigger and enjoy your new truck imo. Along with that I'm seeing more and more gladiators on the road everyday. Now is the time.

 

[IamPro2A]

@jay21mojave To clarify though I’m not looking for a 2022, looking to maybe buy a fairly bare-bones 2021 Mojave left over around September or so.

Good luck with that. You are assuming there will be any 2021 Gladiators the way you want it left over when the 2022s hit.

At least in my neck of the woods, that's probably hopelessly optimistic. My local dealer hasn't had a Gladiator on the lot for a month, and the last one was a $75k AEV that sold almost as soon as it hit the lot. The dealer across the state I got mine from currently shows 1 in stock, and that's a Sport S with every available option.


In my opinion, you are better off ordering exactly what you want ASAP, especially if you want something barebones-ish to save money. The ones the dealers ARE getting are all highly optioned to make money. Get the 1% under invoice Tread Lightly discount from a local dealer now, and enjoy your new Gladiator.

 

[Florida Mojave]

OP - I agree with the other guys, if your looking for "bare bones" your not likely to find it on a lot and IF you do its going to be full of all the bs you talked about... IMHO ordering is the only way to go right now for best price and least amount of dealer bs. I am picking up my ordered Mojave this Saturday; it was completed from the day I called the dealer to the day it arrived in 4 weeks.

 

[Mrbizkitt]

@Mrbizkitt I feel ya but there aren’t any or those I’ve found near Las Vegas, looks like closest maybe in Idaho.. :/ basically these dealers are offering 6% below invoice with the discounts & rebates.. but then dumping junk fees in that’d likely equal a plane ticket & drive back calculating gas & time lost working if I went to Idaho. Not to mention flying is a horror show atm

Maybe you could order from the dealers with the 6 to 8% discount and then have is shipped to you. I know when I was in Tennessee the driver picking me up at the hotel said they’ve done that. Just another option.

 

[JDChris]

If you can find one with the options you want without too many extras you don't care about, I say go for it.

 

[christmas]

I think maybe you are all correct! @Mrbizkitt i wasn't aware those discount dealers would ship, that's worth looking into! If shipping a 6-8% under invoice is less than the bs add-ons with current stock, no reason not to. If shipping would negate enough savings the lot stock w bs upcharges makes more sense, they're here now at 2021 prices & may not be later. As @glassjawkid32 & @JDChris say, esp in my preferred lack of options. @IamPro2A you're right, there is a good chance I won't find it later. Thank you all for the input, time to make some calls.

 

[IamPro2A]

Sign up now for the Tread Lightly discount, since you need to wait 30 days to use it. It might just be worth it to buy local and take the 1% off invoice it offers, vs the time off and expense/hassle of flying or the price of shipping and not getting to inspect your new truck before purchase. For me, the numbers didn't really work to do that 6% thing, so I just went with a dealer I like 2hrs away.

 

[christmas]

Sign up now for the Tread Lightly discount, since you need to wait 30 days to use it. It might just be worth it to buy local and take the 1% off invoice it offers, vs the time off and expense/hassle of flying or the price of shipping and not getting to inspect your new truck before purchase. For me, the numbers didn't really work to do that 6% thing, so I just went with a dealer I like 2hrs away.

I'm reaching out to the guys on here who seem to still be doing decent below invoice to see what shipping here would cost.. Looks like there's one in SLC, which is only about 6 hours. As long as the local dealer will play ball w/ FCA discount that may be better. In my initial search a few said they wouldn't honor it as supply is too low. However.. 30 days would put me right around my birthday, just in time for a mid-life crisis-mobile..

 

[SwampNut]

I follow one of the car sales subs on Reddit. Everyone there agrees that this is the worst time to buy, and the prices are driven by low supply and high demand. People are panic buying at $5k over MSRP, plus fees. Every day I read about deals where AFTER they agreed on a price, the actual invoice shows a "market adjustment" of many thousands. Dealers claiming that the negotiations didn't include that. So expect to be jerked around, and either wait, or make sure you get a true OTD price by email first. And that's not guaranteed either, just read this morning about a guy who got the guaranteed Costco price by email and then after everything, in finance, they sprung a $4k market adjustment on him.

 

[SeanKenmore]

I follow one of the car sales subs on Reddit. Everyone there agrees that this is the worst time to buy, and the prices are driven by low supply and high demand. People are panic buying at $5k over MSRP, plus fees. Every day I read about deals where AFTER they agreed on a price, the actual invoice shows a "market adjustment" of many thousands. Dealers claiming that the negotiations didn't include that. So expect to be jerked around, and either wait, or make sure you get a true OTD price by email first. And that's not guaranteed either, just read this morning about a guy who got the guaranteed Costco price by email and then after everything, in finance, they sprung a $4k market adjustment on him.

I didn’t know about this practice from the dealers listed on this forum and also are sponsor dealers. Has anyone else experienced “market adjustments” when ordering from dealers are offering 6-8% below invoice such as TriCity or Gupton?

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