[lfyoung]

I am trying to determine what the differences are in ordering a custom traverse versus just buying from dealer stock. I actually started building one on-line and I just have questions regarding all the fees and taxes.

-Can you complete the whole order on-line or do you have to go through a dealership?

- Are there dealer fees when you order and have it delivered?

- Are there additional fees with custom orders that there isn't with just buying from dealer stock?

- I saw a post that the incentives such as the rebates from chevy will not be shown on your order but will be calculated at the dealership?

- Do you get a final price on-line before submitting your order that includes sales tax, title, and such fees?

-I'm assuming the financing and all can't be finalized on-line but at the dealership that it is delivered to?

We went buy a local volume dealership today and the salesman tried to act like he had never heard of someone ordering one??? Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[AA/78U-Blue Gold]

We went buy a local volume dealership today and the salesman tried to act like he had never heard of someone ordering one??? Thanks in advance for your help!

Any dealer can order a vehicle, but of course they want to sell what's on the lot first

 

[sailfish]

Any dealer can order a vehicle, but of course they want to sell what's on the lot first

We purchased ours at the end of year after the 08's were out. Were very limited on what was available.

I prefer to order from now one that was we can get what we want.

 

[rbarrios]

-Can you complete the whole order on-line or do you have to go through a dealership?
.......dealer. thats how Ive ordered my 3 past cars. You can build one online- and take the printout to the dealer...
But Ive always gone to the same guy- and we sat down- and went over what I wanted.

- Are there dealer fees when you order and have it delivered?
Nope. Ive never had any extra fees for ordering.

- Are there additional fees with custom orders that there isn't with just buying from dealer stock?
Nope. Never had any extra fees for ordering.

- I saw a post that the incentives such as the rebates from chevy will not be shown on your order but will be calculated at the dealership?
True... the reason is--- that any inventives available- will apply at the time of delivery---- BUT- I have kept track of the cars as they are built-- and for our 07 Impala- as soon as I found out it was built and had a VIN # assigned-- I took care of the financing. With 1 more day of the offer--- I was able to qualify for 0% loan. The car arrived several weeks later.

- Do you get a final price on-line before submitting your order that includes sales tax, title, and such fees?
I think online you get the MSRP/Invoice only.... they do not include sales tax, title, and other fees-- because it varies from county to county, state to state.
For example- here in Los Angeles- my sales tax was 9.75% on about $31,000..... DMV are more.. (example- I have to renew my plates next week- and the DMV wants $424....

-I'm assuming the financing and all can't be finalized on-line but at the dealership that it is delivered to?
yup--- were it will be delivered.

We went buy a local volume dealership today and the salesman tried to act like he had never heard of someone ordering one??? Thanks in advance for your help!

thats silly....
they pretend because they want to sell you what they have there and then... and make their sales commision today... not in 2 months....
thats the thinking of the floor salesman...
Ive always used the fleet salesman.
Floor salesmen make money by selling a few cars for lots of money...
Fleet salesmen make money by selling ALOT of cars for less money...

The fleet salesman I use will gladly listen to my wants--- he will try to locate one locally--- if not.. **** gladly order...

Some months ago-- my buddy and I built a Silverado online- we knew what he wanted.
a V6 Silverado Work truck-- its a stripped down truck. you know black grille, steel rims- rubber mats, vinly seats,no carpet, no power windows, etc.. BUT you can add a little package for a few hundred more-- that adds cloth seats, carpet, power windows, chrome grille- bumpers- and rims....
We were ready to order--- and he just happened to locate one 16 miles away...
This actually worked out in our favor-- because it was a stripped down version (cheaper than a V8 LS) and he qualified for the truck month $4000 rebate, he also got the credit union rebate, he also got an additional $1000 off for financing thru GMAC-..... the nice thing was-- that he was paying cash.... so he financed got the $1000 off... when the 1st payment came in-- he paid off the truck...
Most people cannot tell this is a Silverado work truck with a V6- because of the way he ordered it...

the point of the story is that if you order it--- you can order it your way- and pay less.
The downside is you dont know what deals/rebates will be available when the car arrives....
Then again- if you buy today-- the dealer may have well equipped vehicles-- meaning more expensive...
I like ordering... I dont like buying stuff that has stuff Ill never use... it would drive me nuts....


another example-- when we were ready to buy our impala-- the dealer only had them with leather sunroof bose and other goodies that raised the price by about $4000. At the time the lowest financing rate was also 5% or so.
We decided to order the vehicle our way--- this allowed us to save about $3000-$4000 (compared to what was sitting on the lot- and what was available by him searching)...
the 2nd good news was when it was built-- we got 0%.. that added to the savings....
the 3rd good news.. is that by waiting-- we sold her used car privately--- rather than trade in...

 

[sailfish]

I prefer to order from now one that was we can get what we want.

Let me try that last sentence again.

I prefer to order from now ON so that we can get what we want.



DARN I think I did not have enough coffee this morning.

 

[bobg1951chevy]

You cannot order the car online, you can get a printout of what you want and take it to the dealer to order .... if he agrees to the price.

Salesmen are instructed to sell out of stock BECAUSE most dealers "floor plan" the units in stock, meaning they pay a bank 2% of invoice monthly all the time that vehicle sits on the dealers property.

There is NO DIFFERENCE in buying from a retail or fleet salesman, none. Either can give you the same bottom line. Fleet salesmen typically only sell to fleet businesses, companies, but fleet salesmen do sell to retail customers, as well.

Specific "fleet" salesmen are not as common, as they were when our USA economy was rosier.

Ordering will give you what you want, for certain, but you may stand the chance of losing or gaining incentives, depending what is in effect when you vehicle arrives from the factory.

bob

 

[lfyoung]

Thank you Bob, I see on line now that it gives you the option of finding your created vehicle at dealerships locally. I should have realized you can't just go order a car on line, kind of does away with the dealership purpose.

So the price that Chevy quotes you on line, how close will most dealerships come to that? We really want an LT with the sunroofs and towing package, that is almost impossible to find at any of the dealers we have been to. Only the LTZ seems to have the sunroof standard and we just don't need all the bells and whistles of the LTZ, let alone the $5-7,000 price difference.

 

[rbarrios]

I think weve been lucky then ---Our fleet salesman has said---" you guys are super easy to sell to--- Id be an idiot to try and sell you a car and try to sell 'extras'-- If I dont give you the best price- you WILL drive across the street and buy from them.

weve made repeat purchases from him- where we either had Cash, financing set up, and our FICO scores are in the 800+ range....
He has jokingly said-- what are you all in the same club? since at least 6 of us who have bought cars from him- have all had FICOs in the 800+ range.

Bob I think worked at a dealership-- so he may know more about how this works... but I prefer the fleet salesman.

 

[sailfish]

The first new car I ordered, back in the dark ages, I had a dealership try and tell me WHAT I wanted to order.

Mind you I was 23, recently divorced, and really wanted a new car.

I stood my ground the salesman became frustrated brought in his manager he became frustrated and since they would NOT listen...I walked out the door.

The two "guys" stood at the door and said "lady what will you do whey they say you HAVE TO BUY A STEERING WHEEL?".

I turned around and looked at them and started laughing turned back around and got in my old car left for another dealership.

Ordered EXACTLY what I wanted no trying to steer me into ordering something else.

If the rebates/extra discounts/% percent financing would be only available on stock then I would check out ALL AVAILABLE within the area.

I did that when we purchased our 03 VUE and again on our 07 Outlook. Granted Outlook had a couple options we would not have ordered that is just the chance one takes these days.

 

[quantum]

I have some input, but only valid in Ontario, Canada, so I don't think that would be much help. We ordered our vehicle, which saved us money over buying one off the lot.

 

[2LT AWD]

Some more input valid in Alberta Canada the dealer we have dealt with has an excellent selection of models with a range of different opitions and colors.

Have purchased vehicles near the end of the model year, July and Aug and have had great success getting alot of the MSRP price and getting all the opitions we wanted :thumb:

 

[andylibby]

I am in favor of people getting what they want, getting what they pay for, and not buying needless stuff they don't need or want. But, I've got some qualifiers to that statement, as follows.

First, here we are in the middle of the electronic information age. A prospective buyer can shop online at dealerships within whatever radius of his or her home that they wish. That increases the chance of being able to locate a car with the features they're looking for. And, if a person likes a particular dealership, that dealer can swap for anything at another dealer.

Second is that I doubt I could have gotten as good a deal monetarily through the special order process. I bought off the dealer lot and paid $9,000 below window sticker. I got a lot of features I didn't necessarily go shopping for, but I find that I like having them, and at the price I paid, I really didn't pay much for them anyway.

I also feel that my vehicle with all the extra doodads will be worth more when it comes time to part with it. That's got to be part of the ownership equation, in my book.

Just my $.02. :thumb:

 

[sailfish]

AND when we decide to buy I will research ONLINE what inventory the dealers within 50 miles of us have in stock.

I will ask the dealership of my choice to get the one, if they don't have it.

Technology...such fun...and easy.

 

[rbarrios]

When my buddy was looking for his W/T Silverado-- we searched online-- no hits came back with the exact build...
So when saleman located the unit- we were a little surprissed.
Few days later when I searched for the VIN online- The truck showed up on that dealers web site.... but he already had it in his driveway.

 

[andylibby]

One thing is certain, not all dealer Internet sales sites are the same.

Some merely list a variety of generic vehicles disguised as actual listings but with photos that don't even match the cars. They're designed to entice someone into calling on the phone and the person on the phone is supposed to get them to drive down to the dealership. From there on, it's old-time selling as usual. Visit that kind of site over 30 days, the cars never change.

Others, however, are legitimate selling sites with actual inventories and real photos. I've purchased two new cars from dealers over their Internet sales sites from the comfort of my office (not my Traverse, though.) If you have a dedicated dealer interested in helping and not being intrusive, it can be a painless experience.

 

[sailfish]

With PAINLESS being the key word.

 

[lfyoung]

the on-line inventory of dealerships within 50 mile radius is what has me so frustrated. On two of them, the stock hasn't changed for a month. They are stock photos, with just the standard options listed. One of which was the one we went to Saturday and the guy says "we've sold five traverse's in the last week". Um, either you are lying or your internet inventory skills stink! And why do they say that? Do I think they are going to run out of them and there won't be any left in the entire state, so I better buy TODAY!!??? Um, no that and the comment about not knowing about ordering a custom one made us walk away.

We aren't sure what we are going to do at this point, we aren't in a big rush, just want to get the most bang for our buck.

 

[rbarrios]

They are salesmen- and make money on every vehicle sold-- and will want to sell you a car today- as thats where their next pay check comes from...

What I recommend you do-- is-- go to the dealers web site--- and look under CONTACT US or similar .. and look for the FLEET/Internet salesperson.
Email them or call them- and tell them youre interested in ordering a vehicle.


As for the vehicles shown online-
Well it could be they update the site weekly....
it can also be that the Traverses they sold--- were swaps with another dealer---
Like I said earlier-- my buddy bought his Silverado-- was swapped by our salesman...few days later- the silverado was in my buds driveway-
yet if you did an internet search on his VIN-- Pics of the silverado showed up on that dealers web site.
so its takes a few days....

 

[bobg1951chevy]

Some dealers display their ACTUAL inventory online, that's the place I will visit.

Others paste pics of vehicles that they don't have and never had. Keep away from them, they're not interested in your business.

How to tell if the inventory is actual????

Contact the Internet sales person at that dealer .... and ask.

It's not cvomplicated if the person you deal with is a straight shooter.

You'll know B.S. if and when you hear it.

Bob

 

[Z15]

I see on line now that it gives you the option of finding your created vehicle at dealerships locally

Not all GM dealers can be searched online. The dealer has to pay to have that service and its not required they have it. There are 3 GM dealers in my area that their inventory will never show in an on line search because they don't subscribe to that feature nor do the have a web site other than a single page like a yellow pages ad. Nor do they have the staff that could handle that job. In other words they won't spend the money.

Their inventory will show up on the dealer locator because that's a GM inventory feature.

Another reason for lag time in removing a sold vehicle from on line inventory it while it may be sold today, the paperwork may not be finalized for a few days and the check has cleared. The dealer is not going to send in the title application and paperwork till the customer checks clears in 2-5 days. If the check bounces the dealer lost the vehicle.