Remote Ordering

[Jeep_Davey]

Hi

I'm a current owner of a JKUR, looking to trade-in for a new JTR!

Currently in discussion with a dealer which has a pretty great price on the spec which I am looking for - trouble is they are an 8 hour drive away from me! I've been reading posts through this forum, and it seems a fair few folks have traveled to get the right truck/price - so wanted to seek some advice.

Wondering if anyone has any advice on how to avoid surprises after a long drive? Guess I'm just worried about driving 8-hours and them reneging on the price/trade-in price etc!

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[dh650]

Hi

I'm a current owner of a JKUR, looking to trade-in for a new JTR!

Currently in discussion with a dealer which has a pretty great price on the spec which I am looking for - trouble is they are an 8 hour drive away from me! I've been reading posts through this forum, and it seems a fair few folks have traveled to get the right truck/price - so wanted to seek some advice.

Wondering if anyone has any advice on how to avoid surprises after a long drive? Guess I'm just worried about driving 8-hours and them reneging on the price/trade-in price etc!

Whether it's your local dealer or one 8 hours away, I would strongly recommend getting everything in writing via email or text before you make the trip. This way you will have concrete proof of final pricing and you can always pull it out for backup if they try to pull some buffoonery on you. If they won't give you this I would bail on them and go somewhere else. The legit dealers have no problem in today's Internet driven economy to give buyers price commitments via email or text. The ones who don't, IMHO, are worried about you shopping the deal somewhere else, and very likely never had the intention of honoring that deal in the first place.

Also, have them agree to hold the vehicle for you to avoid the "Oh, we just sold that one before you got here but here's a nice substitute." Maybe this requires a deposit but I have heard horror stories of buyers making long trips only to find out their vehicle was sold to another buyer before they arrived.

You could also see if they would ship it for a reasonable fee. Many good dealerships do this all day and some will even take trades back on the truck. Do what's right for you but protect yourself too.

 

[usc4duke]

Check the dealer out on this forum first. Someone should be able to back the good ones.

 

[Shackleton]

I’m in the same situation but it’s a 12 hour ride. No matter what, your trade value is open ended if they Haven’t seen it. I’m working with a very reputable dealer and am happy with their price and have a good number on my trade but they can’t guarantee It Until they see it. I’ve considered selling my truck private party but then Ill owe more in sales tax on the new truck. I’ve also looked at shipping it to my house and buying sight unseen but with the death wobble am reluctant. When you factor in Covid risks with public restrooms and other concerns it almost makes sense to bight the bullet and buy local. It’s a weird phenomenon that I will go out and buy a $600 tool from Home Depot without comparison shopping but I don’t want to pay $100 more than I need to on a $50,000 truck. I think it’s a disease !

 

[Darel]

I was curious about this too, I am going to order a JTR later this year and I actually would love to road trip for it but the mechanics of the whole situation give me pause. Was curious how negotiations go? Maybe I'm old but I don't see being successful at the offer/counteroffer not in person. Also I will have a trade, how would they value the trade? Just take my word for it?

 

[Hootbro]

Nothing in life is going to come with a guarantee wrapped in a pretty pink bow for you. Just do your due diligence in researching the dealer in question. Myriad of ways to find out how a dealership overall treats their customers and sticks to the deal.

As far as trade in, I would use the KBB website and find some local dealers who will give you a paid cash offer trade in and written trade offer to keep in your back pocket if the selling dealer you are looking at starts getting retarded on pricing estimates.

Lastly, I would look at some the dealership vendors on the board here and you will find a ton of information on how they deal and their dealership ethics on making the deal.

Best Wishes.

 

[spenchey]

If you give me a solid description, 20+ current pictures of your trade, I have almost 100 customers on here that will tell you the price won't be one penny different when you show up

 

[ttn333]

Couldn't you have the deal all written and done before making the pick up drive? I bought a suby outback out of state and had all the paper work done via mail.

 

[gonzoy5]

Yeah if they're not sketchy and you get a good salesperson you can get it done via email and phone. Even going to Carmax to get an offer gives you a good leg to stand on with your trade. Get your financing options lined up first too. If the dealer can beat them then better for you.

 

[Jeep_Davey]

Thanks all.

I ended up passing on the deal I was in discussions on - sounded great at some 10.5% below invoice, but I didn't get a good feeling from them, and there were multiple online reviews of people who’d traveled there for an agreed upon price, only to suffer a bait and switch (there were also some who’d said that things worked out as agreed to be fair) - decided the risk wasn’t worth the 16 hours of my time and the extra miles on my trade.

Ended up finding a (slightly) more local dealership that I felt more comfortable dealing with, and picked up my new JT yesterday!!

Before I get into this interesting experience(!), I’ve got to give a plug for Lithia Jeep of Portland. I worked with Larry Porter in sales, and he made it an easy experience - no funny business on the price, straightforward negotiation on the price of my trade, and good communication throughout. The price was great too - they advertise being “home of the promo price” on their website, so I guess you can expect a decent deal.

So…. I started out my Gladiator search with the intent of doing a factory order, especially having seen some of the below invoice dealer offers on here. I don’t know whether it was impatience, or the cross-country delivery fees, but I decided I’d explore in-stock vehicles at dealerships across the West. So many phone calls! In case it's helpful to others - here's some of my observations from this experience over the past few weeks!

1. Many dealerships/salespeople really haven’t adjusted to selling remotely. I spoke with a good few dealerships like this - I’m asking questions about the car, the trade, the price etc, and all they wanted to talk about is when I was coming by to test drive it.
2. Perhaps some of them just don’t want to sell a car over the phone...? So many of the dealerships I spoke with were going away to put together a quote, or were going to call me back in a few minutes….then, radio silence.
3. Quite a few of the dealerships weren’t even willing to entertain a discussion on a below invoice price. I think that your best chance of finding a good deal is to look for dealerships which have consciously taken a low margin/high volume strategy.
4. There seemed to be a lot of reluctance to provide price commitments in writing over e-mail. A couple of dealerships seemingly were able to offer a price that I was agreeable to, but for some reason expected me to drive a few hundred miles without them providing anything in writing.

Combine this with the standard irritations of (some) car dealerships, and while it’s definitely true that you can get some good deals out there right now, you’re probably gonna have to work for it!! If I were to do this again, I’d definitely start with research on dealers who’ve taken the volume strategy - rather than wasting my time with dealers who were never gonna give me the price that I wanted.

Anyway, now I’m the proud owner of my new Gladiator!

 

[GA D90]

Hey, I'm about to place an order remotely (deal done via email) . The dealerships are on this forum, but pretty far away, This is a very new thing for me to do a deal this way. Is everyone having good experiences??
I hoping to feel more comfortable about this, the deals are great, I'm just hoping not too good to be true!
Thanks!!

 

[spenchey]

Hey, I'm about to place an order remotely (deal done via email) . The dealerships are on this forum, but pretty far away, This is a very new thing for me to do a deal this way. Is everyone having good experiences??
I hoping to feel more comfortable about this, the deals are great, I'm just hoping not too good to be true!
Thanks!!

I'll provide you with over 75 references (mostly from here) that will tell you nothing but great experiences with us. If you want to send us your money via wire we can send paper work back and worth and all you have to do is come pick it up... no hidden games... no BS

 

[Cwelroy]

I found a good deal on my Gladiator in Tacoma, WA at Tacoma Dodge. which is about a 4 hour drive north of me. I verified the price via text with the dealership and via phone (ten times over as the dealer website price was $12k less than it was on auto trader, which linked directly to the dealer website where, again, it was listed $12k less). I asked them if I could do a deposit to hold til that weekend and they said no, because if I went up there and changed my mind, they would have to give me the money back anyways. I said ok, hold it and I’ll drive up later that day. They also gave me a text guesstimate on my trade, which I found very reasonable. They didn’t even see pics, just had the VIN and the mileage.

So I drove up, they had the vehicle sitting in the “sold” section waiting for me. Then they realized they didn’t add in the extra cost for the 35” Nittos, Mopar beadlock Rims, Mopar lift, Mopar sun shade, etc (which is why it was listed for $12k higher on auto trader). And they still honored the price without any hassle. And they gave me what they quoted on trade in. I was in and out in an hour and a half or so. Super simple process. Worth the drive a million times over. Shoutout to Dave at Tacoma Dodge.

 

[GA D90]

I'll provide you with over 75 references (mostly from here) that will tell you nothing but great experiences with us. If you want to send us your money via wire we can send paper work back and worth and all you have to do is come pick it up... no hidden games... no BS

Thanks for the feed back... encouraging!

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