The dealership is provided from FCA a build sheet that has an invoice price, or dealer price, listed on it. That invoice price is associated with the VIN which is why some places have access to the invoice price with the VIN. Now, there are holdbacks and other incentives that dictate what the dealership ACTUALLY pays for the vehicle and that is nobodies business other than FCA and the dealership. If a business can not turn a profit the business will go away.

 

I fully agree with what your saying. There has to be profit.

My main question is people seem to have access to the FCA build sheet with the dealer pricing on it.
As my OP, I'm calling BS to anyone who claims they know this number.

At the day this unicorn of invoice dealer cost truly is irrelevant and each buyer has to work out their best deal at the time given the day of the month, VIN of the unit , current direct to dealer incentives ect.

And lastly , the number changes drastically if you "Buy it today!"

 

Yes, the "unicorn" is invoice. It used to be that everyone worked down from MSRP and invoice was a true dealer cost, then the manufactures started playing the "invoice pricing sale" game. They then had to introduce holdbacks and added dealer incentives to allow for profit. The true joke of a number anymore is the MSRP.

 

I agree 100%.

I'll share my strategy which really gives a rats a$$ about invoice, dealer cost, incentives anything

I put together a Jeep.com build sheet with all my choices. Basically a full load 2020 Sahara Unlimited Altitude. Every option but safety package.

I have visited several dealers and drove a few and more importantly found decent vs shady dealers.

I made a list of 6 dealers. 3 in Edmonton, 3 in Calgary that I'll work with. I called and asked for the sales manager at each dealer and said:

I will send you a build sheet of the exact unit I want. I want you to get back to me within 48 hrs with your final out the door all in price. I am sending this to 5 other dealers.
I will inform the successful bidder within 24 hrs and be in their dealership the next day with a bank draft for the successful bid. I don't need to come into any dealership, meet any sales people, test drive any units. Strictly a Hi, nice to me you, congrats on winning the bid, here's my check give me the keys bye.

Of course test drive the specific vehicle and walk around first. But very little dealer time

This is how I have gotten my contracts in construction for the last 25 years.
Basically, I'm not playing by their rules, they can play by mine.

 

I've worked in a few dealerships, that strategy will work at some and others will just refuse to even give you a quote...not that you really care because at that point you will just move onto the next dealership. I try to build a more friendly relationship with the dealer because when push comes to shove, a dealership will try harder to make a friendly customer happy than a robot or a$$hole. You may never need a favor, but I have had enough dealerships work to get manufactures to good will repairs for me after warranty or help me work through sticky situations, that it has made me respect a good working and friendly relationship.

I have also been though a TON of professional sales training and an interesting statistic that has always stuck with me is that the longer a negotiation and sales process goes on, the more unsatisfied a customer is. Almost EVERY time we would have a customer scrape and scrape for every last penny, they gave the WORST reviews...even if they were spending HOURS to save $100.

 

You nailed the feedback, when I was young I hated the game but wife loved it like a wild beast she feeds on negations to save a few $$ lol. Current purchase I was a cash customer and to my surprise that means nothing because I heard they get kickbacks or incentives to sale loans over cash. I ended up hitting every jeep dealer until I found my best deal. In the world of CarMax style sales most dealers in Las Vegas have adopted to there style of take or leave it and literally let you walk out the door.

 

Again this a$$hole agrees with you! I have had 2 so far show no interest. Then I’ve have 3 that say, put me down! That’s my whole point though. To have NO negotiation. They know before you walk in what it will take to keep that unit there and the tip point to say Sold.

I’m trying to avoid all that. I’ve seen job plans come across my desk and said, Not interested in bidding on that.

As far as the relationship building goes, I’m a retired single guy so I’m probably not buying too many more brand new vehicles. And when I bring it in for service, I’ll bring SWAG for the service manager! That’s who I’ll build a relationship with

 

Basic auto industry finance stuff. The Dealer pays an "invoice" price to FCA or any other manufacturer, which is the price that gets listed as asset value on the balance sheet and floor planning, which is financing of their inventory, ususally via a bank or manufacturer's finance arm. Dealers rarely pay for their own inventories. As vehicles get sold, the dealer "relieves" their floor plan balance by paying the "invoice" price to the bank, etc. All along they are paying interest on the floor plan financing.

Now, along comes the manufacturer. Each vehicle carries with it something called "holdback", a cash figure that is sent to the dealer for each sale. This is usually paid quarterly for each vehicle sold the previous quarter. Each vehicle has a specific holdback figure. Manufactures will also incentivise certain slow sellers by throwing in both announced (customer) and silent (dealer) rebates. The customer rebates you already understand, but the dealer rebate is the same thing, called "money in the truck." Customers never see these manufacturer to dealer rebates, but along with holdback they give dealers a way to still profit on deeply discounted sales. The longer a vehicle sits in inventory the higher the floor plan interst and "lot rot" (deterioration) costs, so it behooves him to keep the inventory fresh.

So, what's all that mean to you? Before you buy DO YOUR HOMEWORK!!!! Google the crap out of the brand and model you want to buy, looking for the holdback figure, and any customer and/or dealer incentives. Dealers, being what they are (and we ALL know what they are, right?), will often secretly sell that information to websites. Look around and you'll find not only the real dealer cost (invoice, less holdback, less trunk money) and be able to cut yourself a sweet deal. Throw in financing incentives (zero or low percent) to complete the package.

Jeep has painted themselves into a corner with JL/JT retail pricing, so rebating and other incentives are going to be commonplace on them for a long time.

 

Without a doubt the best explanation of auto costing and and profit strategies.

 

More dealership smoke and mirrors. So much so, you'll need an attorney to decipher through the BS

 

I have bought at "invoice", at PP (preferred price aka family and friends), and well below either. It can depend on "hotness" of a model, such as right after the JT came out, and on many other things. JT's were going for much over list last summer, but now the factory offers $2000 off on some models, and some dealers offer $4-7k more discount. Do your homework and see where the incentives are, search existing inventory on jeep.com and then go to the dealers' sites to see what discounts they are offering. That will help you see what models or individual units are "hot" and what ones they are anxious to move.

So, the rule of thumb to seek x% under invoice is only that. Look for special deals, end of the month, middle of winter after Christmas, etc.