Car Buying Secrets

Placing an Order - Why is it not done more?

By: Roosevelt Gist

Do you really want to get the exact car you like, equipped just as you require and that perfect color? Then place a factory order with your local auto dealer. This process truly saves time, money and it’s hassle free.

Why don’t we factory order more? There are two reasons. The first is auto dealers want to sell out of stock or inventory so they don’t encourage orders. This means that the dealer wants to sell all the cars sitting on their lot first. Selling out of stock reduces the dealers monthly costs and makes you a customer now. If the dealer can’t sell you what is in stock the next best thing is to locate a car in the region that meets your requirements or comes very close. Selling out of stock influences the negotiations of the selling price. If the car is not exactly what you want you should have the upper hand in the negotiations because you are not buying specifically what you want. And, therefore, you should have a take it or leave it attitude.

The second reason we don’t factory order more is we are a "got to have it now" consumer. What I mean by this is we will settle for a car that is less than or sometimes more than we wanted just to own it right now. We don’t want to wait the six (6) to eight (8) weeks it takes for a factory order to come in.

Auto dealers sense your desire for immediate ownership and uses that against you to have you pay more than you should or to sell you a car you don’t want.

Auto dealers know that they have not made the sale just because an order was placed. Car buyers are still shopping even though a factory order was placed with a substantial deposit. Dealers know that you will buy a car that is close to what you want if you find it at another dealership if the price is right.

The factory order will get you the exact car you want and gives you a better negotiating position. Be sure the salesperson that places the order for you knows the product because you may be trying to order a car that cannot be built the way you want it. If that’s the case the order will be delayed several more weeks. This happens quite often with trucks and vans.

Questions to ask the salesperson: Have you placed a factory order before? What happened with the factory order that was sent back? Why do your customers place factory orders? What’s the latest date I can cancel or change my order and get my deposit back?