How to order a car?

What's the most memorable/neatest/coolest way to do it?

The Order sticky begins after the order process lol.

Walk into dealer, check off the items?

Go to costcoauto.com, check off the items, print, take to dealer?


What to watch out for in the order creation process? (dealer prep charges, etc)

How about: "Do ____ first!" "Read ____ first!" "Avoid doing _____!"

Any input appreciated, thanks!




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When I ordered mine I didn't do any paperwork (doing that when I pick it up). I just told them what I wanted and they put it in the banks, and that I was an X-Plan customer.

I would find the online order guide and write down the codes for the options/packages you want and bring that list to the dealer with you and tell them "I want a GT with 401A, 19B...etc). Have them submit the order and ask to see the order sheet so you can make sure they included everything and did it right (in my case they left out the spoiler delete - 13D. Told them to fix that shit before I left).

I wouldn't waste their time if you don't have to, I contacted the dealer and let them know I wanted to order a car, then went into the dealer and asked to meet with the sales guy who reached out to me via email. Cut right to it "I know exactly what I want and just want to submit the order" and we got it done within 10 minutes and had some small talk during the process.

You can mention some of the dealer prep stuff, like "no badge and don't wash it" but they are going to tell you to remind them right before the car arrives - so I would be prepared to do that.

I used the Ford build tool. Emailed it to 6 dealers are waited for the phone calls to come in.
Locked a deal in on the phone, brought the build sheet with me and that’s it.

Ah, yes, the dealer vinyl badging and license plate frames.

"Badges? We don't need no stinkin' badges!"

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I printed the "Build and Price" page and brought it in to the dealer with my Mustang Club of America and X Plan paperwork. Nice and easy after that!

I also had it put in writing that I wanted no dealer stickers and to NOT mount the front license plate bracket.

Almost every new car I've bought has been a leftover from previous year or I got 5-8K off MSRP b/c they wanted it off their lot. I couldn't imagine getting those kind of deals ordering a car. But I've got like 5 dealers of almost every car maker within 30-40 miles of me, so there's always something on the lot that I want.

Nomadic said:

Almost every new car I've bought has been a leftover from previous year or I got 5-8K off MSRP b/c they wanted it off their lot. I couldn't imagine getting those kind of deals ordering a car. But I've got like 5 dealers of almost every car maker within 30-40 miles of me, so there's always something on the lot that I want.

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You wont get a deal like that on an ordered car. X Plan is about the best pricing you can get on an order. MSRP on my car was ~$40k I believe, X Plan got me down to ~$38k.

Bring a bag of cash and dump it on the table of the first salesman you see and say "that one".

When I ordered my G35 in 2003 I FAXed (yeah, that old school thing) the closest dealers and told them what I wanted to order. The one that gave the best deal I went in and ordered it. 4 months later the car showed up.

For the Mustang it was: e-mailed the dealership we bought the wife's Escape, went in, drove one, and told them what I wanted, filled out a credit app (no deposit but they want to make sure you can at least get a loan 1st), signed and walked out. No price discussion as I'm on one of the Ford fixed price plans....

All the Ford vehicles I've ordered, I will just use the build and price tool on Ford and then e-mail my build to the salesman. The last 2 Ford's I ordered, I did those under the x plan. I didn't use the x plan on my Mustang order since the deal I got was cheaper than the x plan.

I got a hell of a deal on my 2017 when I custom ordered it in March. 8k off MSRP on the tail end of orders before the 2018 went into production starting in the fall.

A lot of it has to do with your dealer. They have to realize that you custom ordering is pretty much a guaranteed sale as long as you show you have the financing and credit\cash to do it. It would be wise for them not to screw you over on price because you can walk at any point. It might be harder on a 2018 due to the fact it hasn't been released too long, but I have seen 5k off MSRP already. Spring is just around the corner and the Mustang sales are probably going to pick up even more.

Zelek said:

I got a hell of a deal on my 2017 when I custom ordered it in March. 8k off MSRP on the tail end of orders before the 2018 went into production starting in the fall.

A lot of it has to do with your dealer. They have to realize that you custom ordering is pretty much a guaranteed sale as long as you show you have the financing and credit\cash to do it. It would be wise for them not to screw you over on price because you can walk at any point. It might be harder on a 2018 due to the fact it hasn't been released too long, but I have seen 5k off MSRP already. Spring is just around the corner and the Mustang sales are probably going to pick up even more.

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This has long been the hold up me ordering a car(Unfortunately not a Mustang lol) the deals I see on left over cars sitting on lots you can get a hell of a deal that way. However none of those cars are equipped the way I want. So I have toyed with the idea of ordering a car to be sure I get exactly what I want, but at the same time also want to get the best deal.