[Grind]

I guess I should preface this by saying that I have zero experience with buying a new car.

I went to a local dealership yesterday looking to start the process of buying a new Wrangler. I wasn't 100% decided on 2 or 4 door, but knew I wanted the thing pretty stripped - soft top, and stick. A lot of the interaction with the salesman just seemed strange or illogical. They had many stripped base model wranglers to choose from, and he initially said that they can't move on the price at all. He said that their markup, on 2 or 4 door versions, is only 1300, and that they would usually split that with the customer. He also said their is no price difference between 2012s and 2013s. In the end, he ended up getting down to just under 25k (all tax and fees included) on a stripped sport 2 door, or 27.5k (inc. tax and fees) for an equally stripped 4 door.

From what I have seen, this seems kinda high. The salesman made it seem like he was doing me a huge favor going that low, and won't go any lower since further drops in price "will come out of his pocket".

I did walk away from the experience absolutely wanting a 4 door, but I am in a slightly awkward position now since there aren't many other dealerships with stripped 4 doors on the lot. I guess that does leave the option of ordering, which basically gets to the point of the two questions that I have.

Is the experience that I had with the salesman more or less normal and fair?

And does ordering a vehicle place you at a severe disadvantage when it comes to negotiating price

Any info would be really appreciated

[txgirl06]

Yep, sounds about right for a car salesman! Don't believe them! I would go back there, tell them exactly what you want and the price you want it for. If they want to make a sale, they will be forced to do everything in their power to get you want you want. If they don't have that, then walk away and tell them to call you when they have what you're looking for. It might help your case if you come with a printout of the vehicle you want that's at another dealership (even if it's in another city). Tell them you'd prefer to buy from them, but if they don't have anything comparable, then you will go to the other dealership. I've heard that in some cities they can make trades with other dealerships to get the exact model/specs that they need. But do keep in mind that it's getting closer to the end of 2012, so there may be limited inventory with those. If that's the case, might have to go with the 2013.

[txgirl06]

You can also look up blue book value on the car you want, to double check if the price is reasonable. If it's not, take a printout of the retail value for the car as proof that you're not going to let them take advantage of you.