Help! Need a Sanity Check for LR4 Pricing

[TCM75]

Urgently need some advice! I have been patiently waiting for my first LR4 for many months now. I have been getting really excited for my Lux: Loire blue with black pack, heavy duty, towing, ebony and cirrus interior, black finishers, connect and view (inControl).

I would have gone with the HSE, but decided to move up to the Lux because I really wanted the seat memory... kind of odd that memory is not available unless you get the Lux, no?. Doing that also meant I did not need to add the climate comfort pack.

In any case, I was told that there were/are no deals but they would sell to me for sticker. Ok. Every few weeks I would call for an update and about a month ago I asked if the price was finalized yet. I was told the dealership would not get a price until the car was loaded on the transporter after it came into port. Hmm, odd, I thought, but I kind of knew the price from the online configurator.

The car came in last week (I was away) and was told I would be given numbers soon. This was on Friday. Just today I was told the lease cost, which I still can't believe. Almost 1000/mo for a 39mo, 12k mile lease (with about $1500 due at signing) or about ~68 MSRP for an outright purchase. How could this be?

I had him give me a detailed breakdown over the phone and I found a few "extras" slipped in...see 2 and 3, below.


Here's some other things that don't sit well with me:

1) The salesman told me they really don't lease well because of a high money factor. I then asked about a prepaid (or single payment lease) and was told there is only one bank and they don't offer that option.

2) I ordered the car in the late summer and said I wanted a March '15 delivery. On one of my many subsequent visits to the website, I saw that there were some new options. I was happy to find a new "cirrus and ebony" interior color option as I was nervous that an Ivory interior was not the best choice to haul around my three dirt-loving little girls (all still in car seats). I emailed my salesman to add this and also asked about the incontrol connectivity, which he recommended. Going over the pricing today, I was told the "two-tone" windsor leather was an additional $850. Can the Land Rover website be that bad? No additional cost is mentioned and is certainly not reflected in the final price. I live in Northern NJ and am wondering if such cost-creep measures (like the extra for two-tone interior) are done as covert pricing adjustments based on geographic location.

3) The dealership added a "Protection Package" for over $500 that is basically wheel locks and rubber mats. Well, I already have WeatherTech mats and a cargo liner sitting in my garage for last few weeks and I don't like wheel locks - I'm not in the city. I got him to remove this.


I have been following the forum for a while and really want to explore what this vehicle can do. I have three young girls and a wife who tolerates my emotional car antics. I absolutely love cars and for me, (unfortunately) getting a new car is always more of an emotional decision than anything else. I have already been planning out trips with our "adventure-mobile", including a Land Rover owner's event in Manchester VT this fall.

I do not like to be taken advantage of (who does, right?) and although I have waited a long time, I would rather wait another six months to order through an honest dealership if the above information does not sound right.

Any insight is much appreciated,

Tom

 

[jwest]

It doesn't sound like a dealer that I would continue spending my time and energy any longer.

The "protection package" only protects their interest, if anything at all, their bank balance. If this was an order, but you didn't "order" that line item, absolutely refuse to pay for it but only at the very end of any larger $ figure negotiations. It will be YOUR final line item to close a deal. By that time the small items should be a gift from them for all your unnecessary worrying.

On the interior color, you may have unknowingly chosen something that is inherently a cost upgrade while from a different perspective, the salesman may have assumed you knew exactly what you were doing and simply made it happen for you.

Question: If you're leasing, you're simply giving them a ton of extra $. You know this right? From your plans with family, etc, keeping it past the lease term is generally a really bad plan. Lease for work, simply live with the payments, fine, but do not plan to buy it, not a Land Rover and it's money factor. So, $37,500 for the 36 months, what's the buyout at the end?

About that "no deals" talk, I say it's nonsense. If you don't have any $ in this that you can't get back out of it, just work with a different dealer. I've never bought at sticker.

Being in your area, there are many dealers to choose from that are not even very far away.

About pricing in general, I do not understand how it came to be that you didn't already have in writing the deal before it arrives? By the time the VIN is created (not even shipped yet) you all should be set on final $, ad ons, etc.

Maybe there isn't much negotiating on lease deals but I'd insist on 5-7% on a purchase, especially a highly optioned model. It just takes patience and a true inner willingness on your part to let it go if your limit is not reached.

 

[jwest]

see other thread: "...The dealer was also able to take more off sticker on the LR4 than the other vehicles. That closed the deal.

So we ordered an LR4 HSE in Scotia Grey with all the bells and whistles (and extended 100,000 warranty) which is scheduled to be delivered in the next two weeks. "


http://www.landroverworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=26823

 

[phil1ben]

The quote that JWEST provided above was my post. We ordered a 2015 LR4 HSE on February 10 including Climate Comfort, upgraded paint, vision assist, Sirius, InControl Apps, Black lacquer finish and Land Rover Extended Warranty. I negotiated among three dealers. Ultimately with a degree of negotiation between the internet managers I was able to get about 5% off the list price. The car was ordered and is on the boat now scheduled for delivery April 20. I was provided a final price before signing the contract and the contract did contain the final price. Cannot understand why you were not provided a final price before ordering. The first dealer started with only taking $925 off sticker and things progressed from there going back and forth. We are paying cash for the car. However, this fact (it was pointed out) did not help me because the dealers profit from financing and leases. I will say that I normally start negotiating from invoice price but that was not possible in this case.

One more point. You do not say in your post whether you actually signed a Contract or a Lease. Most consumer protection laws require an automobile contract to specifically identify a sales price. These laws vary from state to state. I believe that New Jersey has a very stringent Consumer Fraud Act which covers the sale of automobiles and provides for triple damages and attorney fees upon a violation. It is my recollection that such a contract must contain a final sales price. Lastly, although I live in PA I was negotiating with one dealer in NJ. They were readily negotiating off the sticker price but would not go as low as my ultimate purchase price....which really based on the number of cars I have bought is not that low.

 

[PaulLR3]

We ordered our LR4 HSE Lux with HD package, Sirius, black wood and short roof rails. The sticker was about $65K and I negotiated $1500 off. The dealer and I signed the contract and I gave them a $1000 deposit. No nonsense when the car was delivered months later.

Maybe a quick consultation with a lawyer would give you some bargaining advice. I have ordered a few Audis before the LR4 and here in Massachusetts I have always negotiated the exact price and signed a contract long before the car was assembled and delivered.

Here is what I would do...walk away from that first dealer. Go to another dealer and negotiate a price on the exact vehicle you ordered. If you get $1000 off, that seems fair as nobody has LR4 inventory. Then tell them your situation - and see if they can do a dealer swap for your car. If not, just order another one through a dealer you can trust.

Just don't buy from a dealer too far from home. Our dealerships around here have a policy where they only provide service loaner cars if you bought the vehicle from that dealership. See if that rule applies in your area.

 

[TCM75]

update

Thanks for the replies.

The contract is a bit muddy. I actually ordered a car (different config) last March and decided to postpone. I was told the dealer had no way of securing cars unless someone made an order. I was told I could give $1000 that would be fully refundable at any point. At least on that order, it says MSRP under price and then lists the options (with no price).

Spoke to dealer this AM and I was assured they want me to be "happy". I could even walk away from this vehicle without a problem (although that's not the point). We worked out a 48 month lease that is more favorable. I am leasing through my business, so this seems to keep everybody happy.

Honestly, I wanted the '15 LR because I love the styling. Not a huge fan of the new styling, but if they end up putting a diesel in the next gen, I could be swayed. I am perfectly happy keeping cars for longer than 36 months, so the 48 months should work out fine and give me an option to upgrade, OR purchase it (if it has been really reliable).

Tom

 

[colorover]

Thanks for the replies.

The contract is a bit muddy. I actually ordered a car (different config) last March and decided to postpone. I was told the dealer had no way of securing cars unless someone made an order. I was told I could give $1000 that would be fully refundable at any point. At least on that order, it says MSRP under price and then lists the options (with no price).

Spoke to dealer this AM and I was assured they want me to be "happy". I could even walk away from this vehicle without a problem (although that's not the point). We worked out a 48 month lease that is more favorable. I am leasing through my business, so this seems to keep everybody happy.

Honestly, I wanted the '15 LR because I love the styling. Not a huge fan of the new styling, but if they end up putting a diesel in the next gen, I could be swayed. I am perfectly happy keeping cars for longer than 36 months, so the 48 months should work out fine and give me an option to upgrade, OR purchase it (if it has been really reliable).

Tom

One more data point. We got about $1500 off on our '15 Lux. Like your color combo, we went with Mariana Blue/Arabica Windsor leather. We were pinched at the time since we needed to get it done before year end for tax purposes. There were no LR4s in our region in stock and LR makes it painful for dealers to try and sell out of region. We got lucky that LR dumped some LR4s to dealers before year end, so we bought off the lot on the last day of the year. Not a lot of negotiating leverage to say the least.

LRs do not lease well because they don't have to use those programs to move cars like BMW and Mercedes do. They generally have very low residuals and high money factors. Not sure I could ever justify a long term lease, we wound up buying it outright.

The not being able to secure cars without an order is BS. All dealers get allocations, some they place orders against (like yours), others they option themselves and then sell off the lot. I will say there is a lot of weird antics when it comes to LR allocations, though. Inventories have been very tight given the limited production volume, effectively one factory and high demand. It will really depend on your market and in some cases your specific dealer (LR gives more allocations to single brand locations, even more if they have recently remodeled their dealership to the new style LR is demanding.)

 

[CanadianDisco4]

Agreed with all the other posters sounds like they are trying to take advantage of you. I managed to get $2500 off on my lease and I didn't have to take any protection packages or other things they try to sell. But like the others said just have to be difficult sometimes. I took my 4 month old son in changing diapers and crying all through the process they gave me deals to leave, if you have small kids I recommend it

 

[LR4TQ]

I also special ordered my LR4, it did take 2 months to get here but once it arrived, I was able to get a discount off of MSRP. It was a $66k truck with the options that I wanted and I got close to a 10% discount. Did you put a deposit on the truck? If not, I would look at another dealership.

 

[JotaDe]

I bought at msrp. I was in a waiting list to order for about 3 months before finding a different dealer with an open order about 2.5 hours away.

I didn't want to wait for another dealer order allocation and build/ship time. So I didn't want to play chicken and be another 6+ months out. At which point I would've got the 2015 with the running boards I didn't want.

I did get free wheel locks, LoJack, and cargo net out of it. No complaints though as the process was smooth sailing all the way through and the dealer did everything we agreed upon.