How do dealers acquire a car from another dealer?

[jrlepage]

Hey all, well I'm a little irked because I put a $500 deposit down on a Red 2013 Accent SE with M/T on Friday, Monday is almost over and the dealer still hasn't secured me a car even though there are 4 of that configuration within 500 miles.

There was a fifth one only 200 miles away, and on Saturday I saw that dealer pull the listing and figured surely they were holding it for me, but no. Must've sold to someone else over the weekend.

I guess my question is what exactly does a dealer have to do to "secure" you the car of your choice from a different dealer? When there are 4-5 of the right configuration in a 500 mile radius, how long would you expect that process to take?

Don't get me wrong, I know that I'm being a tad impatient at this point, but I want to be prepared and know what to expect so that I'll know what's normal and whether my dealership is dragging its feet. In other words, at what point would you say to the dealer, "Look, if you can't make this happen in X amount of time, I'm going to drive the 500 miles myself and buy from such-and-such dealer directly."

[crownr0yal]

Originally Posted by jrlepage

Hey all, well I'm a little irked because I put a $500 deposit down on a Red 2013 Accent SE with M/T on Friday, Monday is almost over and the dealer still hasn't secured me a car even though there are 4 of that configuration within 500 miles.

There was a fifth one only 200 miles away, and on Saturday I saw that dealer pull the listing and figured surely they were holding it for me, but no. Must've sold to someone else over the weekend.

I guess my question is what exactly does a dealer have to do to "secure" you the car of your choice from a different dealer? When there are 4-5 of the right configuration in a 500 mile radius, how long would you expect that process to take?

Don't get me wrong, I know that I'm being a tad impatient at this point, but I want to be prepared and know what to expect so that I'll know what's normal and whether my dealership is dragging its feet. In other words, at what point would you say to the dealer, "Look, if you can't make this happen in X amount of time, I'm going to drive the 500 miles myself and buy from such-and-such dealer directly."

From my car shopping, they do "dealer trades" In order to get your car from another dealer, YOUR dealer has to send a car over there. So they may be trying to finish up that deal. I don't think you're being impatient. I wouldn't suggest threatening to drive the 500 miles yourself, but just kindly let them know that you will take your business elsewhere if they can't get you what you need in a timely fashion. Call them before the end of business today and ask them about the status, and let them know of your timeframe. Be firm. They have your money. You expect them to produce ASAP.

[jrlepage]

Originally Posted by crownr0yal

From my car shopping, they do "dealer trades" In order to get your car from another dealer, YOUR dealer has to send a car over there. So they may be trying to finish up that deal. I don't think you're being impatient. I wouldn't suggest threatening to drive the 500 miles yourself, but just kindly let them know that you will take your business elsewhere if they can't get you what you need in a timely fashion. Call them before the end of business today and ask them about the status, and let them know of your timeframe. Be firm. They have your money. You expect them to produce ASAP.

Thanks for the info - what do you think is a reasonable time frame to give them? Till end of week? To acquire the car or just to secure the deal? It's definitely nerve-wracking.

[crownr0yal]

Originally Posted by jrlepage

Thanks for the info - what do you think is a reasonable time frame to give them? Till end of week? To acquire the car or just to secure the deal? It's definitely nerve-wracking.

That's on you. I would call every couple of days. Have you called today? Call today! Then Wednesday ... Then Friday ... You deserve answers. I would give them a week to get the car. 500 miles is only 8 hours away. What's the hold up?

[mickeyboat]

Just purchased a new Accent SE a month ago. Never visited dealer, all over phone with sales mgr. Dealer confirmed a trade of cars before we finalized the sale over the phone. Got auto for $500 under invoice with no dealer add ons or costs. Dealer immediately sent driver to make swap. Was at dealer in two hours and drove Accent away from dealer three hours after we had a phone deal.

[crownr0yal]

Originally Posted by mickeyboat

Just purchased a new Accent SE a month ago. Never visited dealer, all over phone with sales mgr. Dealer confirmed a trade of cars before we finalized the sale over the phone. Got auto for $500 under invoice with no dealer add ons or costs. Dealer immediately sent driver to make swap. Was at dealer in two hours and drove Accent away from dealer three hours after we had a phone deal.

WELP!


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[craigbrooks]

Originally Posted by mickeyboat

Just purchased a new Accent SE a month ago. Never visited dealer, all over phone with sales mgr. Dealer confirmed a trade of cars before we finalized the sale over the phone. Got auto for $500 under invoice with no dealer add ons or costs. Dealer immediately sent driver to make swap. Was at dealer in two hours and drove Accent away from dealer three hours after we had a phone deal.

Mickey I beleive these guys are talking about a "dealer trade of cars" between dealers. ie; my new car for your new car.

Or has and does happen is dealer X buys the car from dealer Y and I buy the car dealer X purchased for me from dealer Y.

Dealers do it everyday...when it's advantagous.

[jrlepage]

Yup talking about one dealer acquiring a car from another dealer (in this case, two dealers several hundred miles apart from each other). Regardless, good news! Just got an e-mail from my salesperson saying they had secured me a car, and would be able to tell me tomorrow when it'll be delivered.

Next time I talk to him I'll try to find out more details on how that whole process worked since I'm still kind of curious. Doing more digging around on the Internet, it appears you guys are correct about dealer swaps. The hard part is sometimes Dealer A finding something on their lot that Dealer B wants, in order to get Dealer B to give up a certain car.

Was also reading that sometimes they just buy the vehicle... For that to happen though, Dealer B would have to sell for at or very near to invoice, which obviously isn't very profitable for Dealer B.

Anyway, I will update here when I learn how it all went down just for everyone's info. Now I just have to hope they don't call tomorrow and tell me, "good news, we've secured your car and it's going to arrive in just 30 days!"

[Blue Minnow]

Originally Posted by jrlepage

Yup talking about one dealer acquiring a car from another dealer (in this case, two dealers several hundred miles apart from each other). Regardless, good news! Just got an e-mail from my salesperson saying they had secured me a car, and would be able to tell me tomorrow when it'll be delivered.

Next time I talk to him I'll try to find out more details on how that whole process worked since I'm still kind of curious. Doing more digging around on the Internet, it appears you guys are correct about dealer swaps. The hard part is sometimes Dealer A finding something on their lot that Dealer B wants, in order to get Dealer B to give up a certain car.

Was also reading that sometimes they just buy the vehicle... For that to happen though, Dealer B would have to sell for at or very near to invoice, which obviously isn't very profitable for Dealer B.

Anyway, I will update here when I learn how it all went down just for everyone's info. Now I just have to hope they don't call tomorrow and tell me, "good news, we've secured your car and it's going to arrive in just 30 days!"

i was a dealer for a period of time. we would never give the same price for a trade as we would for one on our lot. that being said you should not pay more than the MSRP after taxes and license, and rebates. for example i paid $18500 for my accent out the door. the MSRP was $19,005.

[jrlepage]

Originally Posted by Blue Minnow

i was a dealer for a period of time. we would never give the same price for a trade as we would for one on our lot. that being said you should not pay more than the MSRP after taxes and license, and rebates. for example i paid $18500 for my accent out the door. the MSRP was $19,005.

I was able to get mine for $15,800 w/MSRP of 17,010 or thereabouts. Not too shabby considering that it wasn't on the lot!