Any reason to order the same car through multiple dealerships?

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FoolMeOnce
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Joined: Mon Apr 24, 2017 11:16 am

Any reason to order the same car through multiple dealerships?

Post by FoolMeOnce »

We're looking to buy a car. We can't find exactly what we want on a lot so we put in an order through a dealer, but have no ETA until the manufacturer "picks up the order," as we were told. The order only required a $500 deposit and is fully refundable for any reason.

Another dealer quoted me the same price for placing an order, and again this can be cancelled and refunded for any reason. Is there any benefit to put in a second order? Would it just be later in a unified line for the manufacturer, or could this second dealer somehow have its order filled earlier even if it was placed later than the first dealer?

I don't really want to place an order I know I will cancel, but I also assume the dealer could turn around and sell the car quickly anyway or just cancel the order if it hasn't been "picked up" yet. And their policy allows cancelling for any reason, so they are used to this.
Last edited by FoolMeOnce on Tue Oct 19, 2021 1:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.
tev9876
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Re: Any reason to order the same car through multiple dealerships?

Post by tev9876 »

It is highly unlikely that Dealer A will have a faster track into the production schedule than Dealer B. What might affect your delivery date is the options you select. With the chip shortage and supply chain issues everything is backed up. If you ordered advanced cruise control and that requires a chip on back order, you may be waiting longer. If you ordered a 6 vs 4 cylinder you might get it faster if the chips for that engine control unit happen to be available. If you ordered red paint and the pigment for that paint is sitting in a shipping container on the 60th cargo ship anchored off of Long Beach you may be waiting longer.

Some things, like GM removing auto start/stop due to the chip shortage, are known. Others are not. You can probably get a better idea of what is going on by finding a Kia specific forum.
barnaclebob
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Re: Any reason to order the same car through multiple dealerships?

Post by barnaclebob »

Here is what I have read about Toyota. The factory doesn't do "custom" orders. Your dealer will get a certain allotment of cars and they can get in line for a build that is the same or close to the one you want. Different dealers might get bigger allotments or priority based on how much volume they move. In this case it might be better to put down a deposit at two dealers.
Topic Author
FoolMeOnce
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Re: Any reason to order the same car through multiple dealerships?

Post by FoolMeOnce »

barnaclebob wrote: Mon Oct 18, 2021 9:09 am Here is what I have read about Toyota. The factory doesn't do "custom" orders. Your dealer will get a certain allotment of cars and they can get in line for a build that is the same or close to the one you want. Different dealers might get bigger allotments or priority based on how much volume they move. In this case it might be better to put down a deposit at two dealers.
Good enough for me, thanks!
tibbitts
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Re: Any reason to order the same car through multiple dealerships?

Post by tibbitts »

FoolMeOnce wrote: Sun Oct 17, 2021 12:15 pm We're looking to buy a car. We can't find exactly what we want on a lot so we put in an order through a dealer, but have no ETA until the manufacturer "picks up the order," as we were told. The order only required a $500 deposit and is fully refundable for any reason.
A reason I can think of is that dealerships change ownership, not to mention personnel, frequently. I wouldn't want to contend with my deposit getting lost while dealerships play musical chairs with owners and employees. I don't think you would be intentionally defrauded or anything, but it's one more thing to deal with (and for the administrator of your estate to deal with - remember you'd have to document what you have going on for them.)
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FoolMeOnce
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Re: Any reason to order the same car through multiple dealerships?

Post by FoolMeOnce »

tibbitts wrote: Mon Oct 18, 2021 9:34 am
FoolMeOnce wrote: Sun Oct 17, 2021 12:15 pm We're looking to buy a car. We can't find exactly what we want on a lot so we put in an order through a dealer, but have no ETA until the manufacturer "picks up the order," as we were told. The order only required a $500 deposit and is fully refundable for any reason.
A reason I can think of is that dealerships change ownership, not to mention personnel, frequently. I wouldn't want to contend with my deposit getting lost while dealerships play musical chairs with owners and employees. I don't think you would be intentionally defrauded or anything, but it's one more thing to deal with (and for the administrator of your estate to deal with - remember you'd have to document what you have going on for them.)
Good point about dealer turnover. As for the other point, if I die, I don't think anyone will be concerned with recovering a $500 deposit.
Bigt3142
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Re: Any reason to order the same car through multiple dealerships?

Post by Bigt3142 »

barnaclebob wrote: Mon Oct 18, 2021 9:09 am Here is what I have read about Toyota. The factory doesn't do "custom" orders. Your dealer will get a certain allotment of cars and they can get in line for a build that is the same or close to the one you want. Different dealers might get bigger allotments or priority based on how much volume they move. In this case it might be better to put down a deposit at two dealers.
I got the same information from my Toyota dealership. I assume this is very similar for all manufacturers right now. They'll get an allotment and if one's close to what you want, they'll put your name on it and you can buy it when they get it. Having two might be a good idea if you want certain features that one dealership might not get in their allotment. Just accept the best first one that matches and cancel the other after.
J295
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Re: Any reason to order the same car through multiple dealerships?

Post by J295 »

As one data point, a few years ago when we purchased a new Lexus SUV our local dealers did not have exactly what we wanted in stock. I purchased through a dealer about 600 miles away and got exactly what we wanted. Our dealer had 7 total new SUVs in inventory; and the dealer we purchased from had 130 new SUVs, including six that met our criteria. I flew down in the morning (used miles for ticket), spent a bit of time with the internet sales person, then drove home.

Cost savings on a $60k vehicle for us was about $4k (due to having four dealers in various locations with our vehicle in inventory give me their final and best offer; and me agreeing that I would purchase the lowest price one and was not interested in negotiating .... all by email ... ymmv). Purchased at the end of a quarter knowing that typically there are dealership incentives kicking at those times/ second best time is end of month typically.
tibbitts
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Re: Any reason to order the same car through multiple dealerships?

Post by tibbitts »

FoolMeOnce wrote: Mon Oct 18, 2021 9:52 am
tibbitts wrote: Mon Oct 18, 2021 9:34 am
FoolMeOnce wrote: Sun Oct 17, 2021 12:15 pm We're looking to buy a car. We can't find exactly what we want on a lot so we put in an order through a dealer, but have no ETA until the manufacturer "picks up the order," as we were told. The order only required a $500 deposit and is fully refundable for any reason.
A reason I can think of is that dealerships change ownership, not to mention personnel, frequently. I wouldn't want to contend with my deposit getting lost while dealerships play musical chairs with owners and employees. I don't think you would be intentionally defrauded or anything, but it's one more thing to deal with (and for the administrator of your estate to deal with - remember you'd have to document what you have going on for them.)
Good point about dealer turnover. As for the other point, if I die, I don't think anyone will be concerned with recovering a $500 deposit.
I would, and because of that I have to update my "death document" every time I sign up for a credit card or bank account or brokerage bonus, or put a deposit on travel (okay not an issue in the pandemic era, but I still have some sitting out there from pre-pandemic), or... breathe, it seems like. I wouldn't want to be left out of the loop on anything messy, so I don't want my beneficiary to be, either.
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lthenderson
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Re: Any reason to order the same car through multiple dealerships?

Post by lthenderson »

I would be a bit cautious of the fine print before signing multiple orders with a $500 deposit. The whole reason to require the $500 deposit is to ensure the sale will go through. I imagine there are strings attached even if they tell you it is 100% refundable.

From one Kia website (bold text is my doing):

100% Satisfaction Guaranteed or your Money Back: If for any reason you are not satisfied with the vehicle you ordered at the time of delivery. You can cancel your order and receive a full refund of your deposit. Once the vehicle is delivered, the satisfaction guarantee is no longer applicable.

100% Financing Guaranteed or receive a full refund: To be able to pre order a vehicle a pre-approval must be secured. If at the time of delivery, financing is not able to be secured, the client will receive a full refund of deposit.


Sure it is 100% refundable but only at time of delivery. It doesn't say prior to delivery. It might be kind of awkward refusing one Kia with a shiny new one already sitting there.
tibbitts
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Re: Any reason to order the same car through multiple dealerships?

Post by tibbitts »

J295 wrote: Mon Oct 18, 2021 10:30 am As one data point, a few years ago when we purchased a new Lexus SUV our local dealers did not have exactly what we wanted in stock. I purchased through a dealer about 600 miles away and got exactly what we wanted. Our dealer had 7 total new SUVs in inventory; and the dealer we purchased from had 130 new SUVs, including six that met our criteria. I flew down in the morning (used miles for ticket), spent a bit of time with the internet sales person, then drove home.

Cost savings on a $60k vehicle for us was about $4k (due to having four dealers in various locations with our vehicle in inventory give me their final and best offer; and me agreeing that I would purchase the lowest price one and was not interested in negotiating .... all by email ... ymmv). Purchased at the end of a quarter knowing that typically there are dealership incentives kicking at those times/ second best time is end of month typically.
I'm not sure data points from the pre-pandemic era are relevant - it's sort of like saying "Well, back on my home planet, I bought a car by..." But my data point would be that when I bought from a non-local dealer and needed service, every warranty appointment was like the wait to order a car today. After you left your car on your appointment day, when there was nothing else to do, someone would work on it. So it could have been days before it was even looked at. Their attitude was pretty much "buy it there, service it there..." Now, some dealers aren't at all like that; in fact, some sales and service departments don't even like each other, so the service guys would probably root for you to buy elsewhere, and be happy to service your car. So as in all cases, YMMV.
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