Sport S Max Tow - Stoked new owner, 11.5% under invoice

[JRobes]

Since the gladiator announcement, I (as many others) have been agonizing over getting a Sport S Max Tow or splurging with the Rubicon. I'm a minimalistic type guy, and since the beginning have had a suspicion that buyer's remorse would hit me if I got the Rubi, but the $6k price difference in my spec'd max tow vs Rubi builds tore me to the core. Fortunately, my decision became much easier last week...

For a few months I had been eyeballing a Sport S Max Tow at a dealership in Minnesota, they're one of the dealerships that just straight up advertise great prices online without any of the B.S. conditional discounts with fine print. Once I caught wind of the $2k bonus cash Jeep announced a week or 2 ago for non-Rubicon models, my mouth was watering. Long story short, after a few calls back and forth, I made the drive out from South Dakota to inspect it and pick it up. Condition was perfect, sales guy was great and knew not to jerk me around or I'd 180 out the door, and I knew they really wanted to offload this unit as it was on their lot since July; basically the perfect buying conditions for getting a great no hassle experience.

Details:
Billet Silver (my personal fav color)
Max Tow
7" U-connect
Convenience Group
Cold Weather package (basically required in midwest, and that heated steering wheel is a godsend)
All weather slush mats
3 pc hard top
Spray in Bedliner

Dealership: Apple Autos Dodge Jeep Ram, sales guy Jake there was awesome to work with, and very responsive.

My family qualifies for EP pricing (not the lower tier affilitate version they advertise at Black Friday), so they provided me the invoice sheet that listed the MSRP ($45,475), invoice ($43,767), and EP ($41,778). It was advertised on their online site at $40,799 which turned into $38,799 with the newly added $2k bonus cash. That all equates to 15% below MSRP, 11.5% under invoice, $1k cheaper than the usually unbeatable EP, and a new home in my garage. I'm stoked, as I no longer sit on this site night after night for hours on end dreaming of owning. "Patience is a virtue" paid off in spades.

Some notes on the vehicle itself so far:
- The 7" uconnect is very nice, and getting google maps by plugging in my Pixel 3 is perfect for the few road trips I do per year. This definitely convinced myself that the larger 8.4" screen with Nav wasn't mandatory for me.
- The basic audio system sounds very adequate, just bump up the bass a couple notches from stock.
- My Max Tow steering wheel has the "bright" silver accent pieces, even though the online builder shows it all black. I'm confused, but not complaining as it looks nice.

After having it for a couple days now, I am VERY happy with a more base model, and love that I still have the rubi axles and goodies that come with the Max Tow package that will help build a very capable trail/overland rig later in it's life. Only things I might change soonish are adding the MOPAR lift, wheels and tires from a JTR, and add the trail rails and tonneau cover of some sort in the bed (definitely NOT the factory roll-up one as it cannot actually lock).

Just want to end by thanking everyone on here for posting jeep pics, pricing, tips/tricks, and lessons learned; it all helped me greatly in narrowing down my dream vehicle. Hopefully we'll see some of you on the trails!

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[shokker70]

Since the gladiator announcement, I (as many others) have been agonizing over getting a Sport S Max Tow or splurging with the Rubicon. I'm a minimalistic type guy, and since the beginning have had a suspicion that buyer's remorse would hit me if I got the Rubi, but the $6k price difference in my spec'd max tow vs Rubi builds tore me to the core. Fortunately, my decision became much easier last week...

For a few months I had been eyeballing a Sport S Max Tow at a dealership in Minnesota, they're one of the dealerships that just straight up advertise great prices online without any of the B.S. conditional discounts with fine print. Once I caught wind of the $2k bonus cash Jeep announced a week or 2 ago for non-Rubicon models, my mouth was watering. Long story short, after a few calls back and forth, I made the drive out from South Dakota to inspect it and pick it up. Condition was perfect, sales guy was great and knew not to jerk me around or I'd 180 out the door, and I knew they really wanted to offload this unit as it was on their lot since July; basically the perfect buying conditions for getting a great no hassle experience.

Details:
Billet Silver (my personal fav color)
Max Tow
7" U-connect
Convenience Group
Cold Weather package (basically required in midwest, and that heated steering wheel is a godsend)
All weather slush mats
3 pc hard top
Spray in Bedliner

Dealership: Apple Autos Dodge Jeep Ram, sales guy Jake there was awesome to work with, and very responsive.

My family qualifies for EP pricing (not the lower tier affilitate version they advertise at Black Friday), so they provided me the invoice sheet that listed the MSRP ($45,475), invoice ($43,767), and EP ($41,778). It was advertised on their online site at $40,799 which turned into $38,799 with the newly added $2k bonus cash. That all equates to 15% below MSRP, 11.5% under invoice, $1k cheaper than the usually unbeatable EP, and a new home in my garage. I'm stoked, as I no longer sit on this site night after night for hours on end dreaming of owning. "Patience is a virtue" paid off in spades.

Some notes on the vehicle itself so far:
- The 7" uconnect is very nice, and getting google maps by plugging in my Pixel 3 is perfect for the few road trips I do per year. This definitely convinced myself that the larger 8.4" screen with Nav wasn't mandatory for me.
- The basic audio system sounds very adequate, just bump up the bass a couple notches from stock.
- My Max Tow steering wheel has the "bright" silver accent pieces, even though the online builder shows it all black. I'm confused, but not complaining as it looks nice.

After having it for a couple days now, I am VERY happy with a more base model, and love that I still have the rubi axles and goodies that come with the Max Tow package that will help build a very capable trail/overland rig later in it's life. Only things I might change soonish are adding the MOPAR lift, wheels and tires from a JTR, and add the trail rails and tonneau cover of some sort in the bed (definitely NOT the factory roll-up one as it cannot actually lock).

Just want to end by thanking everyone on here for posting jeep pics, pricing, tips/tricks, and lessons learned; it all helped me greatly in narrowing down my dream vehicle. Hopefully we'll see some of you on the trails!

Welcome aboard! Glad it all paid off and worked out!

 

[12BNNT]

Congrats! All that really matters is if YOU are happy with the truck and deal you got. Sounds like you are on both counts so alls good.

 

[Mikegcny]

Nice! I just got a very similar truck in NY for 12% MSRP. Not as good as your 15%, but after calling every dealer within 500 miles, I did the best I could here.

 

[K9Jeeper]

I’m seeing crazy good pricing lately. Saw a $50K Overland going for $41K here in KY

 

[Mikegcny]

I’m seeing crazy good pricing lately. Saw a $50K Overland going for $41K here in KY

Just be careful with the advertised prices. They often contain ever available incentive that most people won't qualify for.

 

[K9Jeeper]

Very true

 

[sgtkersh]

Just be careful with the advertised prices. They often contain ever available incentive that most people won't qualify for.

That’s generally true, but if you are ready to walk and have other similar offers you can usually make it work. Or real close. I have been buying new vehicles for 40+ years and have walked out of a few dealers over the years. It can make them eager to call you back in with a better deal. The internet has made things so much easier. I usually do all my negotiations over email. Send deals from other dealers for competition, etc. Just like I would buy stuff at work. It normally works out for me. I just bought an Overland in Virginia where the MSRP was $52,695 with destination and my take home price was for $43,786 including destination. I added stuff on top, and of course there are document fees like any other dealership in Virginia (range is $599-799ish in VA), but still my out the door with all taxes, title, etc was $47,505, still over $5100 below MSRP and still well below invoice. Again, that’s with all taxes, fees, etc. Pretty darn good deal.

 

[Mikegcny]

That’s generally true, but if you are ready to walk and have other similar offers you can usually make it work. Or real close. I have been buying new vehicles for 40+ years and have walked out of a few dealers over the years. It can make them eager to call you back in with a better deal. The internet has made things so much easier. I usually do all my negotiations over email. Send deals from other dealers for competition, etc. Just like I would buy stuff at work. It normally works out for me. I just bought an Overland in Virginia where the MSRP was $52,695 with destination and my take home price was for $43,786 including destination. I added stuff on top, and of course there are document fees like any other dealership in Virginia (range is $599-799ish in VA), but still my out the door with all taxes, title, etc was $47,505, still over $5100 below MSRP and still well below invoice. Again, that’s with all taxes, fees, etc. Pretty darn good deal.

Yes of course. My point is that if you see an advertised price of x dollars, you cannot immediately say "they are selling for x dollars".

 

[BAT]

Since the gladiator announcement, I (as many others) have been agonizing over getting a Sport S Max Tow or splurging with the Rubicon. I'm a minimalistic type guy, and since the beginning have had a suspicion that buyer's remorse would hit me if I got the Rubi, but the $6k price difference in my spec'd max tow vs Rubi builds tore me to the core. Fortunately, my decision became much easier last week...

For a few months I had been eyeballing a Sport S Max Tow at a dealership in Minnesota, they're one of the dealerships that just straight up advertise great prices online without any of the B.S. conditional discounts with fine print. Once I caught wind of the $2k bonus cash Jeep announced a week or 2 ago for non-Rubicon models, my mouth was watering. Long story short, after a few calls back and forth, I made the drive out from South Dakota to inspect it and pick it up. Condition was perfect, sales guy was great and knew not to jerk me around or I'd 180 out the door, and I knew they really wanted to offload this unit as it was on their lot since July; basically the perfect buying conditions for getting a great no hassle experience.

Details:
Billet Silver (my personal fav color)
Max Tow
7" U-connect
Convenience Group
Cold Weather package (basically required in midwest, and that heated steering wheel is a godsend)
All weather slush mats
3 pc hard top
Spray in Bedliner

Dealership: Apple Autos Dodge Jeep Ram, sales guy Jake there was awesome to work with, and very responsive.

My family qualifies for EP pricing (not the lower tier affilitate version they advertise at Black Friday), so they provided me the invoice sheet that listed the MSRP ($45,475), invoice ($43,767), and EP ($41,778). It was advertised on their online site at $40,799 which turned into $38,799 with the newly added $2k bonus cash. That all equates to 15% below MSRP, 11.5% under invoice, $1k cheaper than the usually unbeatable EP, and a new home in my garage. I'm stoked, as I no longer sit on this site night after night for hours on end dreaming of owning. "Patience is a virtue" paid off in spades.

Some notes on the vehicle itself so far:
- The 7" uconnect is very nice, and getting google maps by plugging in my Pixel 3 is perfect for the few road trips I do per year. This definitely convinced myself that the larger 8.4" screen with Nav wasn't mandatory for me.
- The basic audio system sounds very adequate, just bump up the bass a couple notches from stock.
- My Max Tow steering wheel has the "bright" silver accent pieces, even though the online builder shows it all black. I'm confused, but not complaining as it looks nice.

After having it for a couple days now, I am VERY happy with a more base model, and love that I still have the rubi axles and goodies that come with the Max Tow package that will help build a very capable trail/overland rig later in it's life. Only things I might change soonish are adding the MOPAR lift, wheels and tires from a JTR, and add the trail rails and tonneau cover of some sort in the bed (definitely NOT the factory roll-up one as it cannot actually lock).

Just want to end by thanking everyone on here for posting jeep pics, pricing, tips/tricks, and lessons learned; it all helped me greatly in narrowing down my dream vehicle. Hopefully we'll see some of you on the trails!

Thats basically what I am looking for except I would like to have the Auxiliary switches but its not something that would be a deal breaker.

 

[JRobes]

Thats basically what I am looking for except I would like to have the Auxiliary switches but its not something that would be a deal breaker.

Same. I'll eventually install those myself when I do the larger tires since the vehicle needs to be flashed for both of those and I'd rather only pay the dealership once. I like the idea of using the Tazer to program yourself, but I'm not risking losing the warranty.

 

[Incommando]

Not quite as good: sticker $44,675 selling price $38,660 after rebate.
Sting-Gray Sport
max tow
24s package
( power everything, 7” radio, auto a/c, auto headlights, configurable display, etc...),
cold weather group,
aux switch group,
slush mats,
premium soft top

It had only been on the lot for three days, though

 

[salonganesa]

That’s generally true, but if you are ready to walk and have other similar offers you can usually make it work. Or real close. I have been buying new vehicles for 40+ years and have walked out of a few dealers over the years. It can make them eager to call you back in with a better deal. The internet has made things so much easier. I usually do all my negotiations over email. Send deals from other dealers for competition, etc. Just like I would buy stuff at work. It normally works out for me. I just bought an Overland in Virginia where the MSRP was $52,695 with destination and my take home price was for $43,786 including destination. I added stuff on top, and of course there are document fees like any other dealership in Virginia (range is $599-799ish in VA), but still my out the door with all taxes, title, etc was $47,505, still over $5100 below MSRP and still well below invoice. Again, that’s with all taxes, fees, etc. Pretty darn good deal.[/QUOTE


Which dealer did you work with? I'm in the market for an Overland. The dealerships in Hampton Roads aren't very helpful...I'm awaiting a salesman from Fredericksburg to email me some offers.

 

[sgtkersh]

So, I always start with USAA as a buying service. That sets the bar and gets multiple dealers emailing me. My last 4 purchases have gone very well like this. I bought a Grand Cherokee and a RAM 1500 from Lindsay in Manassas where their Loveit price beat USAA/Truecare but a decent amount. Then I bought a JL from Chrysler of Culpeper where they beat the USAA price as well by a decent amount. The last couple, especially the JL and the Gladiator, I was able to negotiate the out the door price before arriving at the dealership. I basically tell them I can do all the shopping online/email and will not talk on the phone. I send them offers from other dealers and work off each other.

So, to the Gladiator when I did this I had offers from Lindsay, Safford of Warrenton, and I think third was in Chantilly. I always ignore Chantilly since they don’t seem to negotiate very well. I focused on Lindsay and Safford. I looked at Lindsay’s Loveit price and it was below USAA. I started negotiating knowing that often other rebates might be baked in you do not qualify for, but they do list it as “dealer discount” on the website. Anyways, as I was negotiating Safford sent me some decent deals and I sent them the Lindsay Loveit prices/links on Lindsay’s website I wanted.

I got one push pack from my salesperson at Safford about the non-qualifying rebates and I pushed back that I have generally had good luck from Lindsay and within 10 minutes I had an offer $10,800 off MSRP plus destination, so really $9305 off MSRP.

See attached on what I got in email. Again, I had that before I walked into the dealer. When I bought my JL from Culpepper last year I had similar in the out the door price and I literally walked in, gave them my down payment check, USAA dealer checked, signed the paperwork and left without any real hassle. The biggest hassle with Safford is I had to wait for them to drive the Gladiator up from Fredericksburg.

 

[Mikegcny]

So, I always start with USAA as a buying service. That sets the bar and gets multiple dealers emailing me. My last 4 purchases have gone very well like this. I bought a Grand Cherokee and a RAM 1500 from Lindsay in Manassas where their Loveit price beat USAA/Truecare but a decent amount. Then I bought a JL from Chrysler of Culpeper where they beat the USAA price as well by a decent amount. The last couple, especially the JL and the Gladiator, I was able to negotiate the out the door price before arriving at the dealership. I basically tell them I can do all the shopping online/email and will not talk on the phone. I send them offers from other dealers and work off each other.

So, to the Gladiator when I did this I had offers from Lindsay, Safford of Warrenton, and I think third was in Chantilly. I always ignore Chantilly since they don’t seem to negotiate very well. I focused on Lindsay and Safford. I looked at Lindsay’s Loveit price and it was below USAA. I started negotiating knowing that often other rebates might be baked in you do not qualify for, but they do list it as “dealer discount” on the website. Anyways, as I was negotiating Safford sent me some decent deals and I sent them the Lindsay Loveit prices/links on Lindsay’s website I wanted.

I got one push pack from my salesperson at Safford about the non-qualifying rebates and I pushed back that I have generally had good luck from Lindsay and within 10 minutes I had an offer $10,800 off MSRP plus destination, so really $9305 off MSRP.

See attached on what I got in email. Again, I had that before I walked into the dealer. When I bought my JL from Culpepper last year I had similar in the out the door price and I literally walked in, gave them my down payment check, USAA dealer checked, signed the paperwork and left without any real hassle. The biggest hassle with Safford is I had to wait for them to drive the Gladiator up from Fredericksburg.

What was the finance rate they made you take (or pay the extra 1500)?

Also that's a high dealer fee. That's probably close to 2% of the invoice price.

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