Howdy - new to the Volvo world and would appreciate your input.

Looking at the 2016 XC90 and having a tough time getting dealers to come below MSRP. They sure are trying to maximize their profits through manipulating supply right now.

What's the best deal you've been able to get, and any dealer recommendations in CA (or further a field)?

Also, are there any other recommended Volvo forums / resources I should check out?

Thanks!

 

Try www.truecar.com. I ran one for our zip code and truecar was showing about $350 off list which is less than 1%.

 

I looked at a fully loaded Inscription with MSRP $72K, and dealer offered it for $67K. It has been a demo car with approx 2000 miles on it.

 

I'm also in California. It took a while and I had to order my car but I got it for $1700 under MSRP. Most dealers want you to pay MSRP but a few were willing to play the game. I'm pretty sure I got a pretty good price but would be curious to see what others got it for.

 

[QUOTE=mainesail;416673]Try www.truecar.com. I ran one for our zip code and truecar was showing about $350 off list which is less than 1%.[/QUOTE

We were in on Saturday, MSRP is all they will sell it for. They did give 1000 more for our trade than the Audi dealer was will to do, I guess it all works out in the end.

 

Just ordered the 2017 for 2300 below MSRP. Ordered a T6 AWD Momentum with vision and momentum plus and the 20" rims
Hoping it'll be good to me l. It's my first nice car

 

Hi Guys

I am thinking about trading my 2015 XC60 T6 in for a 2016 XC90 T6.

One question I have is, how much are people paying or discount are people getting with those XC90.

In the past 3 years, I have gotten 18% off MSRP on Mercedes E350. I got 20% off a Maserati SQ4. 10% off Porsche 911S, got 8% off on a limited quantity Mercedes GLE AMG coupe. Volvo XC90 was a hot car about 6 months ago and not much discount was given. But there are plenty of them in dealer stock now, plus with some small issues, i imagine dealers are more willing to give discount now. I am hoping to get 12 to 15% off. Is that possible?
Please share the info. Your help will be much appreciated.

 

Just ordered a 2017 XC 90 T8 R-Design, pretty much loaded, at 11% below MSRP or about 5% below invoice, which equates to $9300 below MSRP or $3200 below invoice. I never purchase new off the lot. Ordering gets me exactly what I want and not pay for what I don't, ability to deal from home, with many more dealerships, and with more control. The key? Research, such as dealer cost vs factory invoice vs MSRP, dealer overhead, contact info for fleet managers (most dealerships want you to deal with regular salespeople), and purchasing strategy.

 

Thank you for sharing. 11% off custom order T8 (which is very new now). I imagine 15% off a dealer stock T6 demo is reasonable. Maybe 16-17% off

By the way, did you have the 1000% incentive for Volvo royalty?

 

The deal I got was exclusive of any rebates or incentives. They will also be applied if in effect at delivery. Prob the best time for a "deal" is at the end of the model year as the new year is coming in, as well as end of month. However, I never buy off the lot for so many reasons. I wrote a very detailed request for bids and sent to 12 dealers, directed to fleet managers, internet managers, and a few sales managers. The responses varied wildly, from no response at all (6) to $500 under invoice to $1000 under MSRP. Typical dealership overhead based on the 2015 Volvo Annual Report was around 17%. Since the difference between invoice and MSRP is only 6%, I assume dealer break-even per vehicle must average somewhere around 11% below invoice (17% below MSRP), not including pretty large incentives they get from the manufacturer. So even the deal I got at 5%-ish below invoice is still a healthy profit for a dealership that simply has to punch in an order and spend one hour with me upon delivery. Factory invoice is nowhere near dealer cost, regardless of what they want you to believe.

 

Agree.
So, how did you get that 11% off MSRP? I can't imagine one of the dealers giving you that at the initial email contact. Did you have to call or go in to negotiate more?

 

I first contacted the 12 dealerships I had earlier researched, asking for the specific fleet managers (or internet managers) I had discovered, told them I was only interested in ordering a specific vehicle with specific options and accessories, and asked if they would be interested in participating in a competitive bid. I told them I was familiar with their profit margins and wanted a quote that was a percentage or a dollar amount above or below invoice. I followed up with emails to all the people I contacted with a competitive bid offer letter that specified exactly what I wanted, the terms (asking for a percentage or dollar amount in relation to invoice, not including rebates or incentives -,which would be applied at delivery above and beyond the agreed price, and the date and time of closing of the bid). I reached out to dealers within 500 miles of me. The one that won is in a small town about 200 miles from me. Had I not received a reasonable offer (below invoice) I would have extended my search radius, even out of state if necessary.

 

And no, I did not call or go in to negotiate more. If I received two or more quotes that were close I would have. I did contact a few who left messages for me (ignored my request for a written reply) or emailed with offers nowhere close to reasonable (close to MSRP) for a factory order and told them they were "not in the ballpark" and gave them a chance to rebid. None did. Interesting, since there's very little to no overhead and less work for a factory order and a much larger profit margin for them.

 

Hi djd562, it looks like a great deal. Is it possible for you to let us know which dealer was able to come up with that pricing ?

Thanks...

 

Yes, do you mind sharing which dealer it is that you got the deal from?

I had 3 dealers telling over the phone that the most they can give me is a couple thousand below MSRP. When I mentioned about 11% off on a custom order T8, one dealer told me it is because VOLVO is giving $4000 manufacturer incentive.
Every dealer around here kept telling me how hot XC90 is and they are selling lots of them and no need to give more discount. One funny thing is when I mentioned all the issues the early XC90s are having, none of them said there is any issue they are aware of.

 

Hi Guys

Do you mind sharing more information on your purchase? Help out another forum member with his/her future purchase? More info shared, the more it will help everyone in the future.
Greatly appreciate it!!

 

I'll ask the dealer if I can share his info. Unfortunately, most floor salespeople at dealerships have no idea about pricing, overhead, profit margins, holdbacks, incentives, etc. Management doesn't want them to because if the salespeople knew actually how much $$ they had to play with, it could reduce their (management's) profit. It's all part of the game. That's why it's really important to get past those salespeople and talk with fleet or (second best) internet sales managers. I assume as we are near the end of the 2016 model year there will be more "deals" flying around as dealers will have to move the 2016s out before they get the 2017s.

Here's a good article to read: http://www.clark.com/eye-opening-truth-about-dealer-invoice-price

 

James Bragg | Clark Howard

 

Thank you for sharing the article. Well, unfortunately, dealers still play this game. hoping they can make more money by selling the cars to consumers that doesn't do any research. Only until the year end or model change and they have way too many cars sitting on the lot, they are willing to sell for less.

XC90 is the perfect example. A new car that sells well. So dealers rather wait a little longer and sell for higher price.

I really don't think 15% is too much to ask for a DEMO especially it includes a $1000 from the Royalty incentive. I guess I may have to wait another month or 2 till the 2017 come out.

 

A Demo is essentially a used car that was used by the dealership to generate profit on other vehicles. Personally, I would walk away from that dealer if they are not willing to sell it for your price.

The Internet is your friend. You can use it to contact many dealers who should compete for your business. A few will, many won't, but all you need is one. Let them know you are contacting other dealers to get the best deal. Do it by calling and following up with email. Try doing dective work online by researching fleet managers. They often deal with businesses who know what they want and already have profit margins built into those agreements which are often way below what the floor salespeople negotiate for. If you know exactly what you want and you have a good idea of prices, they can be much easier to work with (less BS). Get a price commitment sheet from them. Don't be rushed, it's not like no more vehicles will be built. Walking in to a dealership to negotiate with salespeople on the lot is like walking into a lion's den wrapped in raw meat.

Also, it's usually best to not have to deal with trade-ins or dealer financing. These are just opportunities for the dealer to complicate and confuse you by playing a shell game with prices (like give you $$ off new but less for trade in, or hide additional profits in their financing). It's cleaner, less confusing, and keeps more money in your pocket if you do all that stuff yourself, before negotiating.