Hey Moe

The price quoted early on is really a guideline as the actual invoice isn't calculated until the car is completed for some reason...price you pay is determined the day you take delivery. I was told that if the incentives from Chrysler are not as good at the time of delivery I would get the incentives that were available when I ordered. So for me we ordered in October and take delivery in a couple weeks. Hopefully year end incentives will be solid!

Trade-in is always a crap shoot...have you tried selling it locally or better yet taken it to carmax?? They'll buy on the spot and their price is good for 7 days. They offered me 7k vs 5k from the dealer...remember they'll tell you that you save more by trading in because you don't pay tax on the value of the trade...well, if they're giving me 5k and the tax savings on that is 300, then any offer over 5300 puts me ahead... I think ill take the straight up sale!!

Good luck with the transaction, and definitely shop your car around first before trading it...oh, by the way check in w any large volume quality used car guys - many times they'll buy your car too and in fact my best offer came from those guys (currently pending a private sale anyway)...have fun with the new ride when it arrives!

 

So did you receive a completed sales order when you placed the order?

 

That's odd. I received a print out listing the options and prices of everything save for tax, registration, trade-in, rebates, and discounts. That's a little shady, IMO--they had you sign something handwritten. I didn't have to sign anything or even pay a deposit (but the latter is probably because we've ordered a car with the dealership at the beginning of the year). Sounds like the dealership would cover their ass better by not giving a definite price right then and there because of how discounts/rebates can expire.

 

I got the same print out, Belinda. It appears that this is a common Chrysler practice then. And that's really what I'm trying to determine.
The hand written notes were on a sales order.

When you ordered the other car earlier in the year, did you have any issues with the agreed price and what was stated on the invoice when the car arrived at the dealer?

My other concern now is my trade-in. I just think I'm gonna be better off holding on to my '09 until the '14 comes in and this way, if there are any issues, I can still drive away in my truck.

 

I have a document that shows all the options, etc but nothing that is a "sales agreement"...I'm ordering thru a friend so we didn't do anything formal in advance, though the car that's currently on a train somewhere does have our name on it.

 

I just find it so weird that Chrysler does it that way but, if that's the procedure then I'm not too concerned.
Both you and Belinda seem to be in a slightly different situation than mine. I'm dealing with a dealer I've never dealt with before even though they have a good reputation. You're dealing with a friend and Belinda with a dealer she has a history with so I doubt you guys will have any issues when you take delivery. I hope I don't have any either but, I'm going to hang on to my truck as a safeguard and then check out some other options, like CarMax, to sell it...

 

No, no sales agreement when we ordered the first one. We pretty much knew what the price was going to be before tax/title, etc. Plus there was no trade-in on that one. When we ordered the Durango, they asked if we wanted them to appraise the Charger. I forget how long their offer lasts on those, but it's not much longer than a month. But we declined because we're taking the extra stuff like the intake, exhaust, and SRT replica rims off to sell separately. I pretty much have an idea of what the price is going to be before trade-in, rebates/cash back offer, and taxes because I know for sure that I get the 1% Below Factory Invoice (not MSRP) through the Chrysler Affiliate Discount.

Any sales agreement before the car is on the lot still sounds awful shady to me. Either you're going to get a great deal because your trade-in value may decline (ie maybe someone keys your car between now and then) or, more likely, they're going to save themselves the trouble of you trying to negotiate the price of the Durango or your trade-in when the car gets to the lot because you already agreed to the price beforehand.

 

Well, what happened in my case was, they gave me a price based on specs. When they tried to locate one, they couldn't locate it exactly how I wanted it. The closest one was an R/T in PA that had the polished wheels, which I don't care for. So, they told me it would have to be ordered. So, it'll save me some time when the car arrives but, I'm still a bit leery which is why I have decided to hold on to my truck until the '14 arrives...

 

Attached is what the dealer and I signed when I ordered my '14 GC. There is an associated pre-order with the matching customer and $, which once they had my check became a hard order.

The vehicle price went up before the vehicle was delivered (the 5.7L option went up), but my price did not change.

My deal was a little out of the ordinary, but in Mass this is generally what you get when you order a vehicle..

...tom

 

Thanks Tom.
I also received one of these but, what had me concerned was that she wrote the MSRP on it and that as it. No sales tax or any other fees. No deposit.
I had her write the agreed sale price on it before I left...

 

Don't worry about it until the vehicle arrives and you are sitting with the finance guy. You can back out between now and then. I am always worried about getting screwed...but many times that is not the case.

- Danny

 

Got my first email today.
Vehicle is scheduled for production...

 

How long was it from the time you ordered to the time of your first email? (I had dealer order my R/T on 12/10)

 

I got that email two weeks ago Be prepared to play the waiting game now.

 

Same question to you. Do you get emails directly from Dodge/Chrysler? I got my vehicle order number and VIN from the dealer directly. How would I get periodic emails of the trucks status to my personal email. Any ship date for you yet?

 

One dealer today told me they can order me a vehicle but to save a few weeks delivery time they would alter a vehicle already in production. Is there really a chance of that?

 

I think they are giving you a line to close the deal and then give you the bad news that they can't.

If it sounds too good to be true....

- Danny

 

The dealer was supposed to put your email in for VOTS when she/he did the order.

VOTS tends to be pretty far behind the times. When I got my "your vehicle is beginning to build" email my GC had already gotten thru Plant Release and was waiting for a railcar.

 

Thank you for the info!

 

I don't have any special knowledge of the process, but I've watched it happen several times. What follows is my interpretation of what happens inside the black box.

The key point is when you get to "D1" or "gateline" status. This is when your estimated ship date (and probably estimated delivery date) is assigned. D1 appears to be the point when the planners (or their computers) at the assembly plant know when all the parts that will go into your vehicle will be at the plant - and they (or their computers) schedule your vehicle onto the line based on those arrival times.

If you interpret the "ship date" as "plant release date", unless some major problem crops up you are pretty likely to hit that date +- 2 days. Then you get into the transportation system, where there are many more variables. Your dealer has access to much higher resolution data than VOTS gives you at this point. In my case, things went swimmingly until the GC hit the terminal railyard at Selkirk NY.. at which point it sat.. my dealer put in a "hot ticket" to get it to move from there..

Unfortunately, most dealer salespeople don't deal with orders, and would be very happy to never deal with orders. So, they don't know how to get the information you crave.. which is at their fingertips.

...tom

 

I've been meaning to ask: does this forum have a "Dodge Insider" like what the Dart forum has?

 

Got an email today saying my truck was being built.
Went on the VOTS and it says my truck is being shipped.
I'm so confused. I hope they finished building it before they shipped it...

 

What date did you order yours?

 

Is that Important MOE? You didn't get the Revell option did you?
STEVE

 

I don't remember seeing that option offered...

 

Got a phone call today from my saleswoman: my truck is on the train bound for PA. Estimated arrival at the dealer is Jan 2nd...

 

Ordered on Nov 30th and arrival on Jan 2, if it goes to plan that would be five weeks total. That is better than the 6-8 weeks that the dealer told me it would take to build a Durango. And your order even had the Holidays in there.

 

^^^ Super cool ^^^ New Years gift!! ^^^ Congrats!!

- Danny

 

JNAP has a program in place to try very hard to deliver a real customer order with a target of (IIRC) 6 weeks. Customer orders get priority over dealer-stock orders (and there are controls in place to make sure dealers don't make up 'customers' who then cancel the order leaving them with golly gee a dealer-stock vehicle)

I'm not quite sure why this exists, but I'd like to think that it comes from a belief that someone who orders exactly what s/he wants really WANTS that vehicle.. else they would have just driven off in whatever the dealer had on the lot. These are potentially enthusiastic customers.

I'd also like to think a motley crew of enthusiasts who once paid JNAP a visit (and hopefully will again soon) helped that idea along

Just my $0.02
...tom

 

I only got a few emails. It went from scheduled for production to finished to shipped.

I have to agree about the push for customer ordered cars. It isn't the first time I've heard of this. I also read where extra shifts had been added by Chrysler to deal with an increase in Durango orders this past month...

 

I also read where extra shifts had been added by Chrysler to deal with an increase in Durango orders this past month...

If it's true, that's good for Chrysler and for the customers :thumbsup:

 

Well I'm in the club(almost). Gave the salesman my CC info tonight for an R/T order. He says the order will go in first thing tomorrow. Hope the only problems I'll have with this vehicle is keeping it clean. I knew I'd regret it before I ordered but to me it looks best in black:wall:

 

Congrats!! What was your final price and specs?

 

Hey guys, picked up the R/T Wednesday night. Was dark out by the time the paperwork was done and then had a very busy day at work yesterday so I do not have any pics yet. Will post them as soon as I can take them...

 

So, after haggling with the "used car manager" about my trade-in value, they agreed to give me $14k for my 2009 Durango SLT with 41,500 miles. I know I could've gotten more if I sold privately but I did not have the time to do that. Final price on the '14 was $42,500 ($43,500 - $1000 rebate). Had $3500 from the trade-in and gave another $3000 down. Got a 75 month loan at 2.59%. They included a 7/70 extended warranty, wheel/tire warranty and window etching. But neither warranty is thru Chrysler Service Contracts so I think I'm going to cancel those and look to get some money back.
I also have to cancel the CSC I had on the '09 and see if I get any prorated money back from that as well.
I'm happy so far. Payment is only $75/month more than what I had for my '09...

 

Congrats Moe. Looking forward to pics.

 

Congrats!! Pix!!

- Danny