Pickup vs Delivery vs Ordered car - pros/cons?

[GTP]

I made a short list of Mustangs optioned with my Must Haves, and perhaps some extra I Don't Mind options.

What are the pros/cons of traveling several hundred miles to pickup such a car, versus having it delivered to a dealer local to me, versus ordering a car.

I expect that Delivery implies my local dealer trades a car with the remote dealer, and there might be less room to negotiate.

I am interested in trading in my car (for timing, convenience, and tax reduction purposes), and so I realize that there is some risk in taking a trip out of state only to have them low-ball me for my trade once there.

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[Zooks527]

Travel

Pros: Road Trip!
Cons: Lowball trade offer. Might have to compromise on spec. Pretty locked in once you get there.
​

Delivered

Pros: Right there in front of you and you can still back out if something goes south.
Cons: Might have to compromise on spec. No Road Trip.​

Ordered

Pros: Exactly what you want, priced up front.
Cons: Can be quite a wait (mine was 20 weeks). Possible loss in trade value while you're waiting. No Road Trip.
​

When I've done the dealer swap route on cars for my wife, I've always been able to get it from a dealer giving me a better price than the rest of the crew. Haven't seen it effect the price at all.

 

[Nagare]

The other con for Ordered is that you potentially get less room for negotiation on the price. They know it is exactly what you wanted and that you were willing to wait for it. Some dealers will use that to keep the price at MSRP instead of going lower.

 

[GTP]

I am a clear film fan, so that is a Con for the road trip due to the risk of picking up paint chips before I take it into my favorite local PPF shop.

Good to know that I can negotiate hard for a good deal locally and not have to pay more for the dealer/dealer vehicle trade issue.

 

[DmanDmythDlegend]

I was able to get a solid chunk taken off my factory order. I have ATLEAST 6k off of my order right now, 4500 dealer discount and 1500 was the active incentive when i placed my order and will be honored if the incentive at delivery isn't higher. I was traveling out of state for work, found a dealer close to my hotel with almost the exact car i wanted (no show stopper interior), i gave them a shot to make me a buyer, used a local dealers pricing to show them what i was looking for and they straight up said "we can't do that, you should call and see if thats a real price". So i called my local dealer from that dealers lot and said "hey i am at this dealer, they said your price is impossible for the car i want, can you make me a deal on a factory order?" Advantage to a local buy is this place offers free inspections and 3 or 4 free oil changes, that would be useless offer if it were the out of state place. The best part was the manager walking out while i am pulling away and still on the phone with local dealer and saying he "might" be able to do better on deal. I just smiled and said " no, thanks to your guy telling me to call my local dealer we are wrapping up my deal on a factory order, have a good night!" Now I am on the painful wait side of things.

 

[GTP]

Cool story bro! How did you get that impossible price??

Looks like it's all coming down to what I can get for my trade-in.

 

[DmanDmythDlegend]

Cool story bro! How did you get that impossible price??

Looks like it's coming down to what I can get for my trade-in.

My local dealer was really interested in getting my buisness. I made it clear when i called that i was calling from another dealer and was not happy with the number they were putting forth as their "best offer" they were quick to make much better offer but still not what i wanted so i referenced some of the discounts they had on lot cars and they said "typically would not offer that much savings on a special order but because i reached out to them they wanted earn my buisness " so they came back with the offer and i ran with it. Now i just hope for a killer incentive around july when it comes in to really make it epic.

 

[19S550PP2]

I had been seriously watching and researching the incentives for over two years. When the 2019 GT PPL2 was first available to build and price on Ford Canada's website the PP2 option was only $5000 (now $6500) and the Recaros were a free option. It was also "employee pricing" so I went and put down a deposit, 301a, added active exhaust and Nav. My initial MSRP was $51,439 (CAD) and I locked in at $46,033.
That was in Aug. '18. I told them I wasn't I a rush and could wait until Spring so my salesman waited until the last day of employee pricing and gave it low priority. Fast forward to late April and my car has arrived, except now MSRP is $54,839 and they say my price is $47,653. Turns out free Recaros were a mistake. Thankfully Ford is honoring my deal and I'm picking the car up tomorrow.

MotS: If there is a very specific version of the car you want, order it when the incentives are at there height, otherwise, wait until last years model is deeply discounted, some great deals. I almost flew across country for a Premium with recaros and blackout pkg priced below a base model. I didn't have the down payment or I probably would have.

 

[DmanDmythDlegend]

Looks like the loaded one i walked away from is still available. Don't know where your coming from but since you cant order any more its an option
https://www.ashevilleford.com/new-Asheville-2019-Ford-Mustang-GT+Premium-1FA6P8CFXK5173668

 

[IronG]

In my opinion for a Mustang at least ordering seems the best all around option if you are dead set on a specific configuration. If like some you don't car much outside of it being an auto or MT, then you have lots of choices on dealers lots. If you want hard to get options or color combos you will need to order. I do think there is a slight advantage of buying off the lot (current model year) compared to ordering, but unless you get lucky the difference will most likely be 10% or less. Other cars like Hondas, Toyotas etc are easy to find on dealer lots as they sell many more of them. Any low production car like a Mustang, Challenger, Camaro etc will be much harder to get exactly what you want.

I almost never do trade ins, but I usually see what they will give me just in case it is reasonable. Most of the time it is not. Just negotiate the price of the car first then the trade, that way you know you got the best price possible on the car. Most of the time they will low ball you so I usually say no thanks. Selling a car is pretty easy unless you are in a rush to sell then it can be a pain. I sold my Porsche just recently just a month after I bought my Mustang and it is was painless. I got about 7k more than what the dealer would pay. If you have some self control, patience and good sense, you can get a good price off the lot or order and then also get top dollar for your current car.

 

[GTP]

Looks like the loaded one i walked away from is still available. Don't know where your coming from but since you cant order any more its an option
https://www.ashevilleford.com/new-Asheville-2019-Ford-Mustang-GT+Premium-1FA6P8CFXK5173668

Yes, I found that one, among 7 others with my minimum required options. Haven't contacted them yet. Did they tint the windows?

One dealer offered me a good price on my trade. When I asked for better price on the new car, the manager then simply took $2k off his original trade quote, admitting that he needed to make profit somewhere. I appreciate his candor. The price delta - not so much.

I've read this forum for 3 years now, and it remains a mystery if/how dealers can make money when they discount so much.

 

[DmanDmythDlegend]

Yes, I found that one, among 7 others with my minimum required options. Haven't contacted them yet. Did they tint the windows?

One dealer offered me a good price on my trade. When I asked for better price on the new car, the manager then simply took $2k off his original trade quote, admitting that he needed to make profit somewhere. I appreciate his candor. The price delta - not so much.

I've read this forum for 3 years now, and it remains a mystery if/how dealers can make money when they discount so much.

Windows were not tinted. They were not interested in doing much for me when i was there but maybe having lost one deal they would be more eager for the next one coming to look at it

 

[GTP]

I almost never do trade ins, but I usually see what they will give me just in case it is reasonable. Most of the time it is not. Just negotiate the price of the car first then the trade, that way you know you got the best price possible on the car. Most of the time they will low ball you so I usually say no thanks. Selling a car is pretty easy unless you are in a rush to sell then it can be a pain. I sold my Porsche just recently just a month after I bought my Mustang and it is was painless. I got about 7k more than what the dealer would pay. If you have some self control, patience and good sense, you can get a good price off the lot or order and then also get top dollar for your current car.

Good info, thanks. As I said, that one dealer came right out and admitted that the new and used car prices are linked because he has to make money somewhere.

I thought about selling it privately, but a trade-in saves me ~$1500 in sales tax. And I have a "buyer" ready when I am, which could be helpful with either a lot sale or ordered car.

My thoughts now are to definitely study the 2020 order guide when it comes out, and then consider selling my car privately while waiting for an ordered car. Either I get more for my 2016, or I can trade it as a fall-back plan when the new car arrives. Might be tough to get a good price for an ordered car outside of factory incentives.

 

[Zooks527]

I've read this forum for 3 years now, and it remains a mystery if/how dealers can make money when they discount so much.

Holdback (money paid to Ford via the invoice but returned to the dealer later), dealer incentives (they get them too), and volume (Is it better to sell 10 cars at $1000 profit each or 5 at $1500 profit each?).

 

[lew]

Might want to wait till fall when the price reductions are at there highest, and settle for a lot car that is close enough to what you want. When I ordered my 19 GT Prem. the dealer offered a guarantee that the trade in value would stay at our negotiated price for however long it took to take delivery. It was a good deal because it took over 6 months to get my car. I probably put 6000 miles on my car while waiting. An unexpected private offer from Ford (750) was also included in the closing.

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