Hi folks. I saw a long and informative sticky on leasing, buying used, and so forth, but I didn't see there (or in a search) experiences people have had with bargaining at the showroom for an ordered car. My local dealer/salesperson was all "Oh, if you order then it's MSRP." Which is possssssibly true but I tend to doubt it. Certainly with VW and BMW products I've ordered I've always paid invoice + negotiated profit to the dealer. So I'm wondering if anyone here has ordered a car rather than buying and has also negotiated the price paid. I'm in the Bay Area of CA, btw. Thanks!

 

Depends on the make/model (as always) but any existing incentives can & should apply to any custom orders + I've personally have had luck negotiating against MSRP on custom orders too...not as much compared to an in-stock unit but never MSRP

 

Just go somewhere else. You negotiate a car. What is it that they don’t have on stock?

 

It depends on the company. Some manufacturers make custom orders easy, and their dealers are accustomed to doing them (BMW, Mercedes) and some manufacturers make it difficult and dealers dont want to do them (Lexus).

Its of course easier to negotiate on a car they have in stock and can sell today vs something they have to wait for. For BMW for instance though, they seem as willing to negotiate on custom orders as on in stock cars.

 

The particular color that one's wife desires.

 

Interesting. Porsche LOVES to special order. I wonder if it has anything to do with the $$$$ they charge for options ...? ;-)

 

Porsche is also fine with it. Its just the way the manufacturer is. Lexus does not want you to special order, its just not efficient for them to do that.

 

They will order the color. You just have to ask, color should come last. They just find you a model somewhere and they do a dealer trade.

 

the idea is why would they give you a discount on a non existent car vs a real car thats on the lot costing hte dealer money everyday

 

And you may not even need to order the color. The dealer can check the allocation incoming and requisition a car or trade with another dealer.

 

Yep. Aware of that. None in the area, apparently.

 

What model are you looking to buy?

 

I mean...they got mine from Alabama. They can get one from anywhere...nowhere in the country?

 

RX350L. Atomic Silver. With a 2nd row bench seat.

 

They should be able to find that somewhere.