Too good to be true deals or dealer price gouging?

[DLAW]

I live in Northern Delaware and I'm now in contact with 9 dealerships. Everyone in my region including the greater Philadelphia area don't believe that any dealership in the country can do 5%+ under invoice on a Gladiator Rubicon, specifically in my case, a new build on 2021. Everyone around me is at invoice with no further flexibility.

I have received offers from dealerships further away (driving 2 to 6 hours) ranging from 4% to as much as 7% which includes FCA Code and financing through them.

Why are ALL dealerships around me, several of which are referred and trusted people, so confident in saying the following? "not possible" "might be a scam" "they are losing money" "all dealerships in America get the cars for the same price" "best we can do is at invoice".

Am I being scammed and who's doing the scamming? The one's saying "7% under invoice" or the one's saying "It's not possible"?

Sincerely,
First time Jeep buyer

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[Klutch]

They are not scamming you. They are simply unwilling to offer you the discount other dealers are willing to offer you. The dealer is lying by saying such discounts aren't possible. They know full well some dealers offer those discounts, but the last they want if for you to go elsewhere.

Dealers who offer 7% below invoice will typically do so only on vehicles ordered from the manufacturer. This is because dealers are alloted a set number of vehicles and they want to make all the money they can from those vehicles. However, vehicles they order for a customer don't count against that allotment, so they're willing to offer bigger discounts. The dealer also gets incentives from the manufacturer for moving more units.

East Coast dealers will almost never offer a significant discount because there are just SO MANY people there. Same with Southern California. Venture to Idaho or Montana, for example, and they're a lot more motivated.

 

[kevman65]

There are dealers who are Board Sponsors here.
Get in touch with them, see if they can give you a deal you like.
If so then you can do a fly&buy and drive your new JT home.

 

[Shootist]

One thing I will warn you about is dealerships making promises of below invoice then you get there and they start talking about the addendum and all the things they did to the truck. I would be sure the deal is completed by 100% before you take the time to travel there. I mean including financing as well. Basically you will show up, sign your paperwork and take delivery. May be harder to do this if you have a trade in but you may be able to get them to honor a Carmax trade in value if it is acceptable to you.

 

[DLAW]

There are dealers who are Board Sponsors here.
Get in touch with them, see if they can give you a deal you like.
If so then you can do a fly&buy and drive your new JT home.

Thanks. I'm in contact with Criswell and Tri City which were two I stumbled across on this forum (I'm new here) Their deals are very transparent and straight forward, and seems to align with what everyone says on this forum.

But I have MAJOR suspicion on those deals being driven by my local dealerships. And when I say that, I mean 7 different ones in my region have laughed at my on the phone or seem to be angry with me over suggesting that such a deal is possible. Some of them hurried me off the phone and didn't even want to waste their time. I'm just trying not to get scammed.

Thanks for the help on this stuff!

 

[Whitarmy]

I was going to jump on one of those $10k+ off deals on a Rubicon when COVID started only to find out they had a $3k+ admin fee depending on the contract. So the scams are out there. Not all are scams but that is where I have seen them making up the difference.

 

[XJhawk]

The finance contingency makes up a big chunk of that discount

 

[whiteglad]

I believe Koons at Tyson's Corners in the DC area is also a forum sponsor. Being out west for several decades, I do not have recent experience with North East dealers.

 

[Higher_Ground]

Honestly I had to run through 4-5 dealerships before I found anyone even willing to budge off the advertised price at the time (employee pricing).

But when I did, they were advetising MSRP of $41825 for $36250. I had to ask him 2x if that was including a ton of rebates I would never qualify for, and he said just a $1000 rebate for financing with them. It was a little cheaper for me to use my own financing so I paid $37250. I don't know if I could have really haggled with them much more, but it was one of the last Gator models with the options I wanted so I was happy.

I will say that the people there seemed a little amateurish and totally wasted my time - to the point I had to flag down the manager and get them moving on paperwork. And on the other hand, some of the more friendly and knowledgeable salesmen were also the ones who scoffed at the idea of going under employee pricing. I guess they just like playing the game more. It's hard to tell who is going to give you a good deal in isolation, so it's good you are asking around to several dealerships.

I even had the owner of Lake Norman arguing with me over email saying they could never sell a car for that sort of discount. Needless to say they quit emailing me back when I sent them the photo of my new truck :D

Good luck!

 

[Rickv100De]

DLAW,

I am in southern Delaware and I am seeing the same thing. My attitude is I get to hold on to my money longer if a dealer will not deal. I do not need to force someone to take my money.

Time is on your side and it pays to be patient.

Rick

 

[DLAW]

DLAW,

I am in southern Delaware and I am seeing the same thing. My attitude is I get to hold on to my money longer if a dealer will not deal. I do not need to force someone to take my money.

Time is on your side and it pays to be patient.

Rick

Thanks for the encouragement. I'm worn out with this region. I'm going in person this weekend to sit down and put these far-away offers of 7% under invoice in front of them and say, "I'd rather do local business with you, but I will travel to save thousands of dollars. Can you match this?". This is a no-brainer.

If they say no, then that's it. I'm ordering far-away and figuring out transportation later. It will be a fun road trip to get to know my new toy, and The Greater Philadelphia Area can KMA! They know the game. They know exactly what THEY are doing, and they know exactly what the good-deal guys are doing.

BTW, this forum has been awesome. I can't wait to post photos of winning this game.

 

[GA D90]

I've have an order in with a dealer 8hrs away ... saving 4K... worth the trip!

 

[whiteglad]

There are some high volume, low price dealers, but many of them aren't close to you. Being in the west, I know of Dennis Dillon and Dave Smith in Idaho for Jeeps and Rams. I believe Koons in the DC area is large for Jeeps. You can search on jeep.com by choosing your zip code and restricting distance, then see how many JT's they have, and what discounts they list on their website views of units you are interested in.
After all that, sometimes you find a rare unit that you really like, such as Higher Ground did, and you decide the discount is good enough.

 

[Rickv100De]

Thanks for the encouragement. I'm worn out with this region. I'm going in person this weekend to sit down and put these far-away offers of 7% under invoice in front of them and say, "I'd rather do local business with you, but I will travel to save thousands of dollars. Can you match this?". This is a no-brainer.

If they say no, then that's it. I'm ordering far-away and figuring out transportation later. It will be a fun road trip to get to know my new toy, and The Greater Philadelphia Area can KMA! They know the game. They know exactly what THEY are doing, and they know exactly what the good-deal guys are doing.

BTW, this forum has been awesome. I can't wait to post photos of winning this game.

Several posters here have had good luck with D'Ambrosio out of Downingtown.

I would be shy of sitting down with a dealer since then they can apply pressure. I have emailed local dealers with the same "can you match this I prefer to stay local" tactic but had no luck. Only discounts were what Jeep was offering nothing extra from dealer. So I saved my money and keep looking. Hearing of others deals on pricing makes me know they are out there. I can wait.

Rick

 

[Racer_X]

When I bought mine, I went to some local dealerships. One was willing to deal, but couldn't match 5% below invoice. They were straight up with it too. Another I went to was full scamola: tinting, wheel locks, nitrogen tires "standard dealer upgrades" etc. Dealers usually vary. My uneducated guess is there is some cartelling going on. Or property rent is in a similar bracket/range and they need more to cover their costs of local advertising, utilities, etc.

If you're getting 7 dealers less than 2 hours from your place, that's incredible density. I don't have that and I'm in the Chicago suburbs.

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