Ford F-150

SHOPSMART AUTOS – CUSTOMER INFORMATION – SEPTEMBER 1, 2021


Just Because A Dealer Says They Will Order You A Car From The Factory Doesn’t Mean They Can
(PT.1) There is something special about ordering a car from the factory just the way you want it. Many dealers will offer to order anything the customer wants that the dealership doesn’t have in stock. But some orders are easier than others, and not every dealer can get the car you desire. Here’s how it usually works: you build up your vehicle on the automaker’s website (if they allow ordered cars—some do not) by selecting your trim, colors and options and submitting that build to the dealer. The dealer then sends the request to the factory and, hopefully in a few months, you have your car. But it doesn’t always work that way, of course; in addition, the process includes misconceptions, like, for one, that you will have to pay sticker price for an ordered car. This is not usually the case. On something mainstream like a Subaru or a Ford, you should be able to score some kind of discount and maybe be able to get your factory ordered vehicle for under invoice before any rebates are applied. That, though, is for more accessible models. Where things get tricky is on higher-end cars, when dealers have a limited number of allocations for a specific build. Recently, I worked with a few clients looking for hard-to-find cars only to find out that the order they placed with their local store couldn’t be filled. One of them, for example, wanted to order a brand new Porsche 911 Carrera 4 GTS. My client figured this wasn’t something super rare or in high demand like a GT3, and that his dealership should be able to get it. He told me the dealer held his deposit for months without any answer or update as to when his car would come. What the dealer didn’t tell him is that their particular store did not have an “allocation” for a GTS and they were waiting for an opening. I made a few phone calls to my Porsche contacts and within a week I was able to find him a store that could get him a car. There is no reason why his local dealer couldn’t tell him within a reasonable time frame that they could not secure his car and he should look elsewhere.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Trackback from your site.

Leave a comment

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Shop Smart Autos is not responsible for any errors in price or vehicle information provided to us from our dealer partners. We take every precaution to ensure the information is accurate and correct. Any questions please contact the dealer.