To negotiate a factory order car, you’ll need to set a budget, decide on your car’s specs on the factory website, then take your request to a dealer to negotiate a final price.
Ordering directly from the factory can be a great option if you’re looking for a customized car, but the negotiating process takes a little extra effort than walking into a dealership and requesting a model off the lot.
Can you negotiate price on a factory order car?
Yes! Just because you’re ordering a car directly from the factory doesn’t necessarily mean you have to pay the full MSRP price.
Dreadful as it might feel, one of the pluses of buying a car from a dealership is the opportunity to
negotiate a lower purchase price
. But if you’re trying to order a car directly from a factory, that doesn’t mean your negotiating power is gone!
Negotiations on factory order cars do take place, and since buying a car is one of the bigger investments you’ll make in your life, it’s in your best interest to ensure you’re getting yourself the best deal possible.
Why customers order cars from factories
Thanks to ongoing supply shortages and shipping delays, buying a car from anywhere right now is complicated. With fewer models to choose from at the dealership, more car customers are now going straight to the factory source.
One of the major benefits of getting a factory order car
is that you can further customize your vehicle if you want to.
If you’re custom ordering from a dealership, on their side, they’ll typically have the benefit of making some money on a vehicle they don’t have to pay to store and maintain.
However, there can be some drawbacks to factory orders, too.
At a dealership, you have a chance to test drive a vehicle and inspect it inside and out before settling on the one you want, which you might not have the opportunity to do if you’re placing a factory order and the vehicle you’re interested in isn’t in stock.
如果你的偏好是看到并开车之前e buying it, you could also check with a dealership to see if they could get the vehicle you’re looking for from another dealership location before opting for a factory order.
Also, after you place your order, you could experience a
long wait time
before you can finally get behind the wheel of your factory-order car.
How to order a car from a factory
How ordering a car directly from the factory works will vary depending on the manufacturer, and not all of them will sell directly to a consumer.
For manufacturers like
Tesla
, you won’t find many obstacles for ordering online, but many others will still require that you place your order through one of their dealerships. In other cases, you might be able to place your initial order online but will need to follow up somewhere.
Some manufacturers might not just limit where you can place your orders, but
when
—
Honda
and
Toyota
, for example, both order vehicles quarterly.
Step-by-step guide to negotiating a factory order car price
While car-ordering procedures will vary from manufacturer to manufacturer, if you’re ordering directly online from a manufacturer like Tesla, sales prices are fixed and tend to have less opportunity for negotiation.
In these cases, you’ll typically place your online order, pay a reservation or order fee, then wait for your vehicle to arrive.
You’ll usually have more room to negotiate a factory order through a dealership.
Just like you might if you were buying a car the traditional way, you can also gather
quotes from multiple dealerships
before settling on a factory order. Here are some general steps that the negotiation process with a dealership often involves:
-
Get your finances ready
: Get an idea of what you can afford to spend, and get approved for financing if you’re planning to use a
car loan
to purchase your vehicle
-
Design your car
via the manufacturer’s website, then print off the final price results
-
Visit the manufacturer’s local dealership
(you may need to set up an appointment first) and bring your printed build and price sheet with you
-
Explain you’re looking to
custom order a car
and ask for their
out-the-door (OTD) price
, or the total cash price you’d pay for the vehicle, including fees
-
-
Consider any dealership counteroffers
. If you’re not getting the deal you thought you could or the vehicle is less affordable than you expected, don’t feel pressure to still try and follow through with the deal.
-
Sign paperwork, get copies,
and
pay your deposit
.
It’s ordered! Now, you’ll just have to wait (very) patiently for your vehicle to arrive. When it does, you can negotiate a trade-in for your current vehicle.
Pro Tip
Make sure your purchase agreement includes the final sales price you agreed on and is signed by both you and the sales representative.
Other considerations for factory order cars
Consider your timing
Placing a factory order on a car can mean months of waiting for it to arrive. That means you’ll want to plan accordingly when it comes to selling or trading in your vehicle if you plan to do so, or when your current vehicle’s lease ends.
What if you change your mind?
As you continue waiting for your car to be delivered,
if you change your mind
in the meantime,
you may not be able to get your deposit back
. For that reason, it’s always a good idea to make sure your deposit is
refundable
if possible.
Get multiple quotes for more negotiating power
If you’ve tried negotiating at one dealership but weren’t happy with their counteroffers, don’t hesitate to reach out to other dealerships to
get quotes on comparable vehicles
. It’s possible you could find a better deal elsewhere, or you could bring those quotes back to the original dealership to take another crack at getting an even lower price.
Check for updates on your order from the dealership
Once your order’s been placed, your dealer should also give you
periodic updates
about the status of your order, but you can also contact them directly to check on it if you need to.
Red flags when ordering a car from a dealership
Unfortunately, some car dealerships aren’t as ethical as others. If you’re arranging your factory order car through a dealership, there are some practices you’ll want to look out for.
One of the few ways to
lock in your factory order car’s price
is to
have a buyer’s order signed by both you and a store manager with the agreed-upon selling price
. If a dealership isn’t willing to do this, you might not be able to rely on them to honor the sales price of your vehicle when it arrives.
The same goes for
putting a deposit down on your vehicle
. This helps ensure the car is reserved for you. If a dealer isn’t willing to do this, it’s questionable whether they’re truly intending to reserve the order for you. Some dealerships forego accepting a deposit so they can sell the vehicle to another customer at a higher price.
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