Ordering a new truck is frustating

JALLEN4 wrote:

The reason I can say these things very assured I am right are the tens of thousands of units I sold as a new car dealer for 40 years. My people ordering units would not have lasted long if they tried to build potential margin rather than following the guidelines of what sells in volume.

You should have a sticky at the top to give us the tips on asking the right questions and learning the in and out of the deal. Wish I would have known two weeks ago when I bought a new truck. I’ll hit you up when I buy my next one.

Fordlover wrote:
I dunno, seemed easy to me. Went to the fleet guy, we went through the order screen and I selected all the options I wanted. 5 weeks later the truck was here. Was able to get the ultimate lariat package with all the options, and wasn't forced to get the moonroof (which I didn't want).

I will say the HD trucks (Fords at least) seem to be the most configurable out there.

When I bought mine did the same thing, went to the fleet guy and we sat down and he got out a book and started at page 1. He read the option and I said yes or no and he flipped the page read that one and so on until we got to the last page. He gave me the price and I gave him $100 and he ordered the truck and said it takes 6 to 10 weeks. Only problem was I ordered the truck in Feb of 99 and they never built the truck. After 10 weeks I would call every few days to see what the build date was. Then one day he called and said they arent going to build your truck. It will be a 2000 same price. So they built it that fall. Seams there were about 50,000 trucks they didnt build that year. They were the first ones built when the new ones came out

agesilaus wrote:
They are just trying to force you to buy things that you don't want in order to get what you do want.

:B Yes it seams that way. I want X so I have to buy package G and I get A B and C things I dont want or need

The other side of the coin , I want a " work " truck , no whistles or bells . Hard to find . All I wanted was a Cummins ! Found one in a farming community 400 miles away !

JALLEN4 wrote:


The reason I can say these things very assured I am right are the tens of thousands of units I sold as a new car dealer for 40 years.

And just how does that matter here at RV.net? Lol.

Well said BTW.

harmanrk wrote:

JALLEN4 wrote:
The dealer could care less what options you buy. Buying more options does not equate to making more money for them. Their profit is based on the sale price minus the cost of any particular unit.

You overlook that two are directly linked. The dealers stock cars with more options than what one might order, because it gives them the most profit potential. Every option on the vehicle adds to the invoice a certain amount, and to the MSRP a different (higher) amount. Therefore a vehicle with more options has more profit 'built in' to it from the start.

Now, you can saw that the MSRP is not the same as the sale price, which in most cases is true, but that difference is simple the amount of the potential profit, that the dealer is willing to give up, to move the unit. Its also worth noting that the vehicle with the most profit built into the MSRP, is also the vehicle that allows the dealer the most negotiating room on that sale price.

This holds true for the manufactures as well, as there is the Invoice price the sell the vehicle/option to the dealer at, then there is the 'cost' of the item from the OEM supplier to the manufacturer, and invoice is always more than cost.

While I am sure that makes great logic to you, it is not accurate. Again, the dealer stocks what sells. Simply ordering more equipment to create more "potential" profit would be a very silly idea. In a highly competitive market where people walk for a hundred dollars, how stupid would it be to price yourself out of the market adding accessories. The true way a dealer adds profit is through financing, warranties, add on accessories, etc...not by increasing their carrying costs stocking more expensive individual units.

The reason I can say these things very assured I am right are the tens of thousands of units I sold as a new car dealer for 40 years. My people ordering units would not have lasted long if they tried to build potential margin rather than following the guidelines of what sells in volume.

I think the fleet/Gov sales guys tend to be the most knowledgeable when it comes to ordering. When they these guys make ordering mistakes it is very costly, so they tend to be the sharpest sales guys in the dealership. I would try and work with these guys. Ordering is never an issue for me.

I thought the GM ordering process as far as giving me the options and the packages I want was pretty accommodating. That of course is subjective, I wanted an LTZ with most options except for the lane departure/vibrating seat thing. No problem, it was easy to separate. Don't need rear DVD, no problem. Want cooled and heated seats or just heat, you can have it either way. So for me I was good with the way they separate out the options.

harmanrk wrote:

parker.rowe wrote:
It would be nice to be able to build a more base level truck and pay the upcharge for the better engine(say a GM 1500 with the 6.2) without adding a sunroof, navigation, leather, and a coffee maker.

You have that package all wrong.... You are getting the coffee maker package. Of course you'll need leather seats, so spills clean up easy, navigation to direct you to the scenic overlook to enjoy the coffee, and sunroof to help you enjoy your sunrise coffee at the overlook. Unfortunately, that have to saddle you with the 6.2, as the HD alternator on it is required to power the coffee maker. :D

HAHAHA! Wow...amazing. I guess GM really does know what I need!

Do you sell cars by any chance? You may have missed your calling.

agesilaus wrote:
They are just trying to force you to buy things that you don't want in order to get what you do want.

Sounds like our government! :B Are you sure you're talking about a new truck here?

If you think about (maybe some have no idea what’s under the hood and behind the dash) what’s involved with assembling a vehicle, some options make sense to bundle.
If you want cameras but not Nav, well , it’s already 90% there, just don’t use the Nav if you don’t want.
Agree though it would be easier if you want say, heavy payload package and leather. No reason can’t put heavy springs under a Larait for instance.
Bottom line, though, some are too picky. Like asking for only the channels you watch. You got cable, you get them all, just don’t watch the ones you don’t wanto.