Can really order?

cj42 · February 25th, 2012, 15:27

Can you really order exactly what you want or does the dealership just wait until one is made and then claim it? I have always ordered every car I have purchased but I stopped by the dealership today. They told me they can get what I want but they don't really put in a order for your car. They can see what's coming off the line and claim it.
First is this true or does someone have a better explanation? I looking to get a silver or tungsten a SE 6MT with monster mats & trunk liner.

BlackLab · February 25th, 2012, 17:52

That is not how it was explained to me. And given that people ask the guy at askavwsalesguy.com to track orders based on commission number I would say the dealership is feeding you a line. BTW I ordered mine almost 4 months ago and still no car.

cookeze · February 25th, 2012, 20:13

The best way to find the car you want is to go to www.cars.com. I live in Sacramento and I found 36 TDI Passats within 150 mile radius. Good resource when you're ready to buy.

NateM · February 26th, 2012, 03:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by cookeze

The best way to find the car you want is to go to www.cars.com. I live in Sacramento and I found 36 TDI Passats within 150 mile radius. Good resource when you're ready to buy.

I tried that. Unfortunately all the cars that fit the description of what I wanted were ordered cars for customers on the dealers lots. So I ended up negotiating a great price and ordered what I wanted back in December. It has already been built and I have the VIN number (in under 2 months). Just waiting on transportation now. If I could drive to TN and pick it up I would!!!

toomanymachines · February 26th, 2012, 08:25

We ordered our in november and just picked it up a few days ago. exactly as we wanted it but of course how many options do they have now.

Niner · February 26th, 2012, 10:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by NateM

I tried that. Unfortunately all the cars that fit the description of what I wanted were ordered cars for customers on the dealers lots. So I ended up negotiating a great price and ordered what I wanted back in December. It has already been built and I have the VIN number (in under 2 months). Just waiting on transportation now. If I could drive to TN and pick it up I would!!!

I found what I wanted, color wasn't first choice, but my dealership gave me some BS story about not being able to order it, certainly not at the price I was willing to pay for one in stock 150 miles away. I believe my dealer was hell bent on selling me what they had in stock, not what I wanted. I've lost faith in them altogether at this point.

TomB · February 27th, 2012, 22:03

You can order EXACTLY what you want. They are just being lazy. There are NONE to pull from the list. They are BACKLOGGED SOLD orders and they are NOT going to be available.

Find another dealer if you can. They obviously do not want to do the WORK of entering it. They are afraid they will be left high and dry if you cancel that is why they are fighting you.

1gunther1 · February 28th, 2012, 05:12

I'm ordering a new TDI SEL this week

Like others have said go to another dealer!

cj42 · February 28th, 2012, 07:13

Sorry guys I think there is a little miss understanding here. This it just me trying to get more info in how VW takes orders. The dealership said they can get me the car a I want and would "order it" but VW process of ordering is different then say Dodge. VW does more of an allotment of cars. I have called 3 dealers and the all basically said the same thing. Yes we can order you a car but its not the same process as ordering from a domestic car Manufacturer. I'm just trying to figure out how this allotment process works.

Niner · February 28th, 2012, 10:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by cj42

Sorry guys I think there is a little miss understanding here. This it just me trying to get more info in how VW takes orders. The dealership said they can get me the car a I want and would "order it" but VW process of ordering is different then say Dodge. VW does more of an allotment of cars. I have called 3 dealers and the all basically said the same thing. Yes we can order you a car but its not the same process as ordering from a domestic car Manufacturer. I'm just trying to figure out how this allotment process works.

Take your money and have all your financing lined up, figure out what you want, and go find the dealer that either has what you want, or very close to what you want, and make a deal. You'll end up frustrated waiting after ordering a car through VW with the length of the wait. Find what you want already in inventory, and be done with it.

TomB · February 28th, 2012, 22:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by Niner

Take your money and have all your financing lined up, figure out what you want, and go find the dealer that either has what you want, or very close to what you want, and make a deal. You'll end up frustrated waiting after ordering a car through VW with the length of the wait. Find what you want already in inventory, and be done with it.

I can attest to the frustration, but it is WORTH it to get EXACTLY what you want. At this price do not let their excuses deter you.

Tell them you want to order what you want and to stop giving excuses.

To add some information, I believe VW does give allotments to each dealer based on total sales. It sounds like you are talking to low volume dealers so they may not be able to order anymore (they already shot their allocation). I guess there is an advantage to using the largest dealer in Washington State or region since they can more or less get what they want for their customers.

Then again, your dealer may have used all their allocations on pre-orders of what their person doing the ordering THOUGHT would be wanted. They may have wasted them on their selections instead of what the customers really want and they could be trying to get rid of those first.

Knarrly Viking · February 29th, 2012, 04:20

Dealers are not all alike. You have to shop around. When I was shopping for my Passat, I used USAA's car buying service, which put me into contact with 3 DC-area dealers. One of the dealers didn't bother to call me, only sent generic emails back. They didn't get any of my time. The second one, sent a generic email, followed up with a real email, and then left a voice message. I called this dealer, nice guy, looked in his database and found the car I wanted, just not in the color we wanted. He said he could order one for the USAA price. 3rd dealer did the same as the 2nd, but their voice mail wasn't understandable, and when I called the guy, I still couldn't understand him. That friday night, I called a dealer not on the USAA list, that was closest to my house. If I'm going to have to order the car, might as well be close to me. They offered me $200 over invoice, which beat the USAA price, and they could get the car and color I wanted, but would have to pay shipping cost from NH to MD. The 3rd USAA certified dealer called be back that night(8pm) and offered invoice. I ended up ordering the car and color I wanted from the closest dealer at invoice.

Pit the dealers against each other, get what you want, you just might have to wait 4-6 months if you order a car. In my case, that's just fine. I don't have to make a car payment for another 4-6 months.

tdiatlast · February 29th, 2012, 04:25

Of course, you have to have access to multiple dealerships to use these "competitive" methods...

JARED_LA · February 29th, 2012, 08:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by Knarrly Viking

Dealers are not all alike. You have to shop around. When I was shopping for my Passat, I used USAA's car buying service, which put me into contact with 3 DC-area dealers. One of the dealers didn't bother to call me, only sent generic emails back. They didn't get any of my time. The second one, sent a generic email, followed up with a real email, and then left a voice message. I called this dealer, nice guy, looked in his database and found the car I wanted, just not in the color we wanted. He said he could order one for the USAA price. 3rd dealer did the same as the 2nd, but their voice mail wasn't understandable, and when I called the guy, I still couldn't understand him. That friday night, I called a dealer not on the USAA list, that was closest to my house. If I'm going to have to order the car, might as well be close to me. They offered me $200 over invoice, which beat the USAA price, and they could get the car and color I wanted, but would have to pay shipping cost from NH to MD. The 3rd USAA certified dealer called be back that night(8pm) and offered invoice. I ended up ordering the car and color I wanted from the closest dealer at invoice.

Pit the dealers against each other, get what you want, you just might have to wait 4-6 months if you order a car. In my case, that's just fine. I don't have to make a car payment for another 4-6 months.

Knarrly Viking:
Did basically the same as you. What quotes did you get on shipping and how far is the drive? Just trying to compare my shipping costs....

Knarrly Viking · February 29th, 2012, 08:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by JARED_LA

Knarrly Viking:
Did basically the same as you. What quotes did you get on shipping and how far is the drive? Just trying to compare my shipping costs....

I decided against paying anything to have a car shipped from dealer to dealer on my dime before I got the quote. I'm a cheapskate and I have time to wait for the order. Dealer said she was shipping a similar car for another guy from brooklyn to MD that couldn't wait.