There are many ways to shop for a car. One popular approach is to resolve, "I must have vehicle X, equipped just as I prefer. If I can't find it out there, I'll order one, and wait as long as needed."
The opposite strategy is to decide, "I'll see what's available to buy right now in the vehicle category I've selected, then make the best choice I can. I'd rather be driving something than waiting."
I generally take the latter route. I've custom-ordered a car only once in my life, and that was back in an earlier era, when you could spec out a vehicle with an American manufacturer, then drive home with it a predictable six weeks later, with no detours. Maybe that capability is gone forever.
I started looking for a new car in the Pittsburgh area around May 20. My wife and have (had) two relatively young Jeep Cherokees (three and four years old), and although there was nothing wrong with them, I realized that we needed something with more passenger space. A Cherokee is an excellent daily driver, and is great for transporting two people either across town or across the country, but one thing it doesn't do well is seat four somewhat tall adults comfortably, especially when a couple of them have bad knees that dislike being folded up. Perhaps no compact SUV can do that. I decided to trade up to a three-row SUV, not because we need three rows of seats, but because I wanted second-row captain's chairs with fantastic leg room.
I did some research on many models (Ford Explorer, Lincoln Aviator, Toyota Highlander, Nissan Pathfinder, Subaru Ascent, Volkswagen Atlas), but focused seriously on three options: the Jeep Grand Cherokee L, the Hyundai Palisade, and the Telluride. My method was to look for inventory online and then contact the dealers directly to find out what was really available, and for how much. I have to say that I wasted a lot of time doing this, because so much of the web-featured new car inventory is already sold, reserved by another customer, or otherwise spoken for. The dealers just refuse to remove this misleading content regardless of the inconvenience it causes to shoppers. I complained about the practice to several of them. One claimed they were forbidden by their manufacturer from removing obsolete inventory entries until god knows when. Another admitted that even if they have no actual inventory to sell, they still want to do some advertising for these models to generate customer interest. I think the dealership retailing model is mostly broken.
As for the Grand Cherokee L, I had concerns about color choice and bang for the buck. See this post for discussion: Motor Trend picks the Telluride over the Grand Cherokee and the Highlander. GCL pricing was all over the lot (pun intended). My local Jeep dealer, from which we had bought the Cherokees, was inclined to go straight MSRP, less any applicable incentives. Another dealer only 30 min. away was offering about $2k off. And another dealer in my area made me a very detailed offer that included a markup of $2400, plus a $600 finish protection package, for a total of $3000 over sticker. The sales rep claimed that "We, the Dealerships of America," have no choice but to impose these price premiums. I saluted and left the offer on the table.
I looked hard at two 2022 Palisade possibilities. Both were Limiteds, since I dislike the overly baroque Calligraphy wheels and fussy trim features. A dealer in Youngtown, Ohio, wanted $3000 above MSRP. Another Hyundai dealer about 10 minutes from our home had an incoming Limited, supposedly to be sold at MSRP, that I was told was available to reserve. I would just need to make a $500 deposit. At around noon, I made the appointment to see the sales manager at 6:30 the same day. When I arrived, I was curtly informed that the Palisade had been sold to someone else two hours before I arrived. Needless to say, I was not happy with those clowns. This was a dealership from which my wife and I had bought or leased six cars over 25 years (they sell other brands in addition to Hyundai). Nice to see that they return customer loyalty. As I said, mostly broken.
Throughout this period, I was looking for Tellurides as well, but no one had any. I chased a lot of inventory dead ends. Finally, I got lucky with Monroeville Kia, which had a few coming in at once. I sped over there, as recounted here: Race across town to reserve. Remarkably, the configuration I got just a few days later -- Black Copper/Dune Brown SXP AWD -- is close to what I would have chosen if I had ordered my own. I might have had trouble deciding between Black Copper and Dark Moss, and/or between Dune Brown and gray, but the process spared me the effort of deciding.
And although I prefer the Prestige Package, I would have taken a Telluride without it. I think the Nightfall Edition Package, though surely popular, is of dubious value when applied to an SX. The most important part of any blackout package is the wheels, and the SX already has black wheels (which I like better than the special Nightfall black wheels anyway). $1.4k for a net effect of replacing some chrome trim finish with black finish is not appealing to me; nevertheless, I would have accepted a Telly with Nightfall too, even though I didn't want it.
I paid MSRP without any straight markup, but with a $1k dealer exterior and interior protection package. (Anyone remember the TruCoat scene in Fargo?) In a different negotiating environment, I would have resisted the forced purchase, but I decided that the overall deal, especially the timing, was beneficial enough already. The protection package comes with some kind of guarantee, so it may have at least some value.
Sorry for the length of this essay. I hope recounting the details helps someone else out there. If you're flexible, you can drive something good sooner than you may think.
The opposite strategy is to decide, "I'll see what's available to buy right now in the vehicle category I've selected, then make the best choice I can. I'd rather be driving something than waiting."
I generally take the latter route. I've custom-ordered a car only once in my life, and that was back in an earlier era, when you could spec out a vehicle with an American manufacturer, then drive home with it a predictable six weeks later, with no detours. Maybe that capability is gone forever.
I started looking for a new car in the Pittsburgh area around May 20. My wife and have (had) two relatively young Jeep Cherokees (three and four years old), and although there was nothing wrong with them, I realized that we needed something with more passenger space. A Cherokee is an excellent daily driver, and is great for transporting two people either across town or across the country, but one thing it doesn't do well is seat four somewhat tall adults comfortably, especially when a couple of them have bad knees that dislike being folded up. Perhaps no compact SUV can do that. I decided to trade up to a three-row SUV, not because we need three rows of seats, but because I wanted second-row captain's chairs with fantastic leg room.
I did some research on many models (Ford Explorer, Lincoln Aviator, Toyota Highlander, Nissan Pathfinder, Subaru Ascent, Volkswagen Atlas), but focused seriously on three options: the Jeep Grand Cherokee L, the Hyundai Palisade, and the Telluride. My method was to look for inventory online and then contact the dealers directly to find out what was really available, and for how much. I have to say that I wasted a lot of time doing this, because so much of the web-featured new car inventory is already sold, reserved by another customer, or otherwise spoken for. The dealers just refuse to remove this misleading content regardless of the inconvenience it causes to shoppers. I complained about the practice to several of them. One claimed they were forbidden by their manufacturer from removing obsolete inventory entries until god knows when. Another admitted that even if they have no actual inventory to sell, they still want to do some advertising for these models to generate customer interest. I think the dealership retailing model is mostly broken.
As for the Grand Cherokee L, I had concerns about color choice and bang for the buck. See this post for discussion: Motor Trend picks the Telluride over the Grand Cherokee and the Highlander. GCL pricing was all over the lot (pun intended). My local Jeep dealer, from which we had bought the Cherokees, was inclined to go straight MSRP, less any applicable incentives. Another dealer only 30 min. away was offering about $2k off. And another dealer in my area made me a very detailed offer that included a markup of $2400, plus a $600 finish protection package, for a total of $3000 over sticker. The sales rep claimed that "We, the Dealerships of America," have no choice but to impose these price premiums. I saluted and left the offer on the table.
I looked hard at two 2022 Palisade possibilities. Both were Limiteds, since I dislike the overly baroque Calligraphy wheels and fussy trim features. A dealer in Youngtown, Ohio, wanted $3000 above MSRP. Another Hyundai dealer about 10 minutes from our home had an incoming Limited, supposedly to be sold at MSRP, that I was told was available to reserve. I would just need to make a $500 deposit. At around noon, I made the appointment to see the sales manager at 6:30 the same day. When I arrived, I was curtly informed that the Palisade had been sold to someone else two hours before I arrived. Needless to say, I was not happy with those clowns. This was a dealership from which my wife and I had bought or leased six cars over 25 years (they sell other brands in addition to Hyundai). Nice to see that they return customer loyalty. As I said, mostly broken.
Throughout this period, I was looking for Tellurides as well, but no one had any. I chased a lot of inventory dead ends. Finally, I got lucky with Monroeville Kia, which had a few coming in at once. I sped over there, as recounted here: Race across town to reserve. Remarkably, the configuration I got just a few days later -- Black Copper/Dune Brown SXP AWD -- is close to what I would have chosen if I had ordered my own. I might have had trouble deciding between Black Copper and Dark Moss, and/or between Dune Brown and gray, but the process spared me the effort of deciding.
And although I prefer the Prestige Package, I would have taken a Telluride without it. I think the Nightfall Edition Package, though surely popular, is of dubious value when applied to an SX. The most important part of any blackout package is the wheels, and the SX already has black wheels (which I like better than the special Nightfall black wheels anyway). $1.4k for a net effect of replacing some chrome trim finish with black finish is not appealing to me; nevertheless, I would have accepted a Telly with Nightfall too, even though I didn't want it.I paid MSRP without any straight markup, but with a $1k dealer exterior and interior protection package. (Anyone remember the TruCoat scene in Fargo?) In a different negotiating environment, I would have resisted the forced purchase, but I decided that the overall deal, especially the timing, was beneficial enough already. The protection package comes with some kind of guarantee, so it may have at least some value.
Sorry for the length of this essay. I hope recounting the details helps someone else out there. If you're flexible, you can drive something good sooner than you may think.
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