I'm very close to putting in an order for a 2021 Limited Longhorn from a local (Atlanta area) dealer.
MSRP is $71,155. Dealer discount is $10,036, dealer fee processing/doc fees are $798, bringing the price before incentives/rebates, taxes/gov fees to $61,917, or 13% off MSRP. Let's say I were not to take the 0% financing, current rebates are $1,250-$1,750 (extra $500 for financing through Chrysler). Through in $1,000 for my current coupon, we're looking at $2,250-$2,750. Taking the lower number, price becomes $59,667, or 16% below MSPR. Not great compared to what I could have got in December 2020, but I'm comfortable with it and here's the crazy thing: the KBB on my 2019 Laramie with 20K miles is a few thousand dollars higher than when I bought it (used with 6K miles).
So if rebates were higher, the value of my current truck would be lower, so I'd net out about the same.
This offer matches—sort of—Aaron of Mark Dodge's price. I say sort of because the dealer fees are $500 higher, and the price of the Hemi eTorque apparently has gone up by $300 recently. But $500-800 I can live with if it means avoiding a fly-and-drive.
But...the process with the local dealer has been slow and a little frustrating. Aaron seems much more straight forward, while I still feel like the local dealer has something up their sleeve.
And this is what is—finally!—getting me to my point: What paperwork should I get from the dealer before putting down a deposit and placing an order? What I've got is three separate documents:
1. The build sheet
2. A price breakdown specifying MSRP, dealer discount, dealer processing/doc fees, government fees (but not sales tax)
3. A credit card authorization form for the $1,000 deposit that states if I don't pick up the vehicle 72 hours after it arrives, I forfeit the $1,000 deposit.
That's it. I expected some sort of contract. For those that placed a factory order, what did you get from the dealership?
P.S. At this point, I can't say I would or would not recommend the Atlanta dealer. They also seemed really reluctant to match Mark Dodge's price, but they were the only local dealer to even give me the time of day. I will say that you're likely to have a faster, easier time with Aaron. And I fully expect them to play the financing and warranty game when I do pick it up, but I know enough now to stubbornly stick to my guns on that.
P.P.S. I dithered on whether to order or wait for the 2022s. If I do go through with the order, and the 2022s come with UConnect 5, I'll have a little buyers remorse, but with the continued chip shortages perhaps delaying UConnect until 2023 (pure speculation on my part), the prospects of inflation and higher interest rates, and the current KBB price of my 2019 Laramie, waiting may prove to be more expensive.
