go blue 99

I've seen a few people say you don't get as good of a deal if you special order. If true, why is this the case? Even if you can get $2000-$2500 off, the dealer still makes a decent profit for just filling out some special order paperwork.

I know the order might not count towards sales quotas, but wouldn't the dealer be happy he sold a car for profit that never took up space on the lot?
Or am I missing something..is the paperwork a huge hassle to fill out? Does the dealer not want to cannibalize his on-lot sales?

Basically, do I have any bargaining power with the dealer if I want to special order?

thanks for any insight.

Evitzee

You may have a shot with a dealer if you make it clear in no uncertain terms you will NOT be buying a car he has in stock. Make that clear up front. One of the main reasons a dealer doesn't want to order is he would rather move stock he has sitting on the lot. If he knows you won't accept anything less than a special order car you can deal somewhat with him. But if he thinks he can sell you a car he has, or if you waver in your conviction, the game is over.

IRCRomeo

From what Lexus told me directly, a lot of times people back out on a special order. That leaves the dealer stuck with a car that may not sell at all.

kensteele

corrected.

mralex

I notice that too, both in person and via email.
I wanted the LT package with just the NV but Lexus doesn't make them by default. Also, there aren't too many Glacier here too.
As soon as they find out you are not interested in any cars in the lot they are not interested in you. When you are in the dealership they will walk away and talk to other customers, and when you are talking via email they won't response anymore or they will just reply you with a high price.
One of the dealers insisted on selling a 2007 IS 350 for MSRP.
Another one even said they don't do special order.
I guess as kensteele and IRCRomeo said, they have a risk of you not buying the special order at the end. The situation is worse if you try to special order a manual.
Also, I guess they don't get the incentives that they can get if they sell one from the lot.
Lastly, selling one from the lot earns you immediate money while special order is usually 3 to 4 months away.

jjbodean

thats fairly accurate. placing special orders are a hassle, can end up getting lost in the shuffle, and if a customer backs out, you end up with an odd-ball color, equipment package, etc. i do them, but yes, i like to be better compensated for them. most of the time customers are willing to pay more and wait longer if they can get exactly what they want instead of having to settle.

Technique

How is placing a special order a hassle? I've seen the process first hand. It takes, literally, 5 minutes.

mralex

Exactly.
Here is the quote I got from a salesman about special order:

It sounded like I was begging them to earn my money.
I guess it is not whether they are compensated or not; it is a matter of where and when that compensation is coming from.
By selling the cars in the lot they get hold back and incentives instantly.
For special order I think they might not get either of them.

Technique

They get holdback. They get everything just as if it were a regular car sitting on the lot... Only the timing is different. If they special order the car today, and they sell it in January, and there are incentives in January, then they get the incentives. All it does is substitute a car they are going to get in a few weeks with a car they are going to get in a few months.

Don't believe the lies... Find a dealer (if one exists in your area) that will tell you this... Then you know you've found a salesman who is not lying to your face... I found ONE salesman out of over 40 I emailed who was open and honest with me and told me the truth... I bought from him even though he didn't have the lowest price...

jjbodean

yes, holdback is the same, etc, everything financially is the same. it's just a pain in the rear to special order it, make sure the order took, confirm with my district manager the order is being processed, then field calls once a week from the customer asking when their car will be available after you already told them it would be 90 days or so, then hope they dont get cold feet and back out in the mean time for this blue is250 with black interior, 5 speed with park assist and nav. will i do a special order? yes, done 3 in the last 30 days. but i dont like it.

Technique

Thanks for being honest!! Hopefully this clears things up about special orders a bit...

However, out of everything you mentioned, I think 90% of the pain of a special order is "field calls once a week from the customer asking when their car will be available" Lucky I haven't had to call my salesman once as he's kept me up to date. Although there's really not much to do once the order is placed until the car is in production...

homer4598

I placed an order (as Technique already knows) on Saturday. Got a great deal. Yesterday I confirmed via E-mail that the order was actually placed on Monday. Now I'll be a good customer and not bother the dealer -- I know the timeframe so there is no point in calling the salesman until that time gets close.

IRCRomeo

Could you explain how the SO process works? I want to clarify some things from what my dealer tells mee.

1) Lexus only accepts orders once a month.
2) Even though you order a car, Lexus may not make it.

I got a call on Monday from my dealer telling me Lexus accepted the car and the it will be produced in December. Is this a normal time frame? Then it should arrive in late Jan, early Feb. Is that also a normal time frame to ship it?

I'm in no hurry to get the car and prefer to get it after the winter. I'm only curious on how this process works.

jjbodean

yes, special orders are procesed once per month, typically just after the 15th of the month is the cutoff date, here in the southern area anyways.

if you special order it, it will come. i have not had any problems building a customers car unless they want to swap wood trim or something like that. that lexus will not do. but if its in the book as an option and does not conflict with another option you have picked, theres not a problem. i had customer this past month order an is350 with the x pkg but also wanted ground effects pkg - no dice, they conflict each other.

orders placed this month are due late november for december production. i would say it would be probably february or maybe even march before that car would be to the dealer.

Technique

Hmmmmmm........

How can an order placed in November slate a car for production in the same month? That seems too fast to me. It also seems that if a car is slated for production in a given month, that it should be at the dealership in 1-2 months after that, not 3-4 months after production.


The way I understand it:

If a car is ordered in November, it will be in a January production (2 months later), and arrive at the dealership in late-February or Early March (2 more months). 4 months total time.