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Just about to pull the trigger...

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CindyC

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
I am a North Atlanta, suburban "soccer mom" and I am a day or 2 away from pulling the trigger and downsizing my RIDICULOUSLY EXPENSIVE 2004 Expedition to the Jeep Patriot.

Firstly, I wanted to say thanks because this forum has really helped me in the last 2 weeks be more comfortable with my downsizing. I love my Expy, but in the Atlanta traffic, I can no longer abide my +100$ a week gas bills and the drain on my budget.

I have test driven until my cheeks are sore from the forced smiles and pleasantries with Atlanta-area dealers. :). But as a result, I'm just crazy about the Patriot, and even though I haven't taken delivery yet, I've already purchased the high-temp paint to attack my forth-coming Patriot muffler with!

My only question remains....how did you all go about making the best deal you could with your local store? I keep reading that dealers can't keep them in stock, but I have yet (seriously) to see a Patriot on the road locally...so what gives?

We're heading out tomorrow to troll the dealerships and look for my ideal color/feature combination......any tips?

Thank you from a prospective newbie!
C

:pepper:
 
#2 ·
I can tell you the biggest thing is to try and negotiate in extras. This is easy because they dont want to take to much off the price but are willing to install extras since is cost them little to nothing. I got the trailer hitch, air deflectors, door sill guards, and 1 yr oil changes FREE. Also bring business cards from other dealers, if you feel like you are being played just say "Ill go talk to bob at AAA Jeep I have his card". The last thing they want is to lose you to another dealer. I have purchased several new veh. and one line i always use and works is "This is what I want NOT NEED, if I cant get what I want then Ill hold off". This was they know you are willing to walk out. DONT be afaird to leave or attempt to... they will give you what you want at this point. Lastly DOUBLE, DOUBLE, DOUBLE check the paperwork. Make sure they dont try to charge you for the extras or over charge you for anything. Once you sign its a done deal. Let me know how you work out.
 
Discussion starter · #3 ·
thank you Craig!

Whew. I was afraid I was going to get flamed!

Thank you, Craig, for not doing so. My husband is military, and this will be the first time I have gone through this procedure myself. While I don't feel daunted or intimidated by a dealer, I will admit to being sterotypically female (sorry ladies) and being an emotional buyer.

I am not ignorant to the options I want (seats, towing for the motorcycles, etc), I can tend to get WAY too wrapped up in the "I want" instead of "I need".

I really appreciate your kind and non-flaming words!

C
 
#4 ·
With us, it was tradein and interest rate. Trying to get them to give us a good deal for our tradein (that took better part of 4 hours). They still had teh minivan on the lot 5 weeks later, so I think we won that part. Second, financing was awful. Don't know if there are any deals going on or if you get a good mil rate, but check with your bank/credit union. This was last year, but to give you an idea, our credit union rate was 5.9%. They started us at 10% (with excellent credit) and got them down to 7.9% and then we gave up. The dealer around here is offering invoice pricing on some models, not sure about the pats. Good Luck!
 
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#5 ·
If your hubby is military, see if you can get a deal through AAFES auto sales.

And if you see something that is near perfect...maybe it has a feature you don't care to have but could see yourself living with...tell your salesman that "this Jeep is perfect...except I wasn't really looking to get..."

I desperately wanted a manual. They had a Steel Blue on the lot that was set up exactly how I wanted, except it had the CVT. I told my guy that I really really wanted a manual and didn't want to spend the extra on the CVT (It was like $1100 or something) and whammy! He knocked that off the price. Saved me over a grand right there!

Plus...Jeep offers $500 off to military members and former military with honorable discharges. On top of any other rebates going on. Bring hubby's proof of military service with you.
 
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#6 ·
You might try Abernethy Jeep in Lincolnton, NC. They sell on eBay and have the best outright price that I could find out of six or seven dealers. Besides selling near invoice, they were also reducing their holdback by half. One I saw listed for nearly $23K and they were taking about $2700 off. My local dealers thought they were doing me a favor by cutting $700 off sticker. Since I couldn't sell my trade, I took somewhat of a beating by trading it in locally, which is usually the case. But, on the bright side, I gained 8 MPG hwy. over my Silverado.
 
#7 ·
CindyC said:
Whew. I was afraid I was going to get flamed!

Thank you, Craig, for not doing so. My husband is military, and this will be the first time I have gone through this procedure myself. While I don't feel daunted or intimidated by a dealer, I will admit to being sterotypically female (sorry ladies) and being an emotional buyer.

I am not ignorant to the options I want (seats, towing for the motorcycles, etc), I can tend to get WAY too wrapped up in the "I want" instead of "I need".

I really appreciate your kind and non-flaming words!

C
Click to expand...
Cindy,

Just remember to get everything YOU want. If they are a classy dealership they will help you out and assist you with whatever you need. Your husband is in the military, so I assume that you're a tough lady. Just don't put up with any of their BS.

We got a 4x4 Sport 5 speed w/25E package and love it to death. They are very cool cars to drive and on our first tank we averaged 26 mpg between driving in the city and driving on the hwy. Can't do any better than that in this class.
 
#8 ·
CindyC said:
My husband is military, and this will be the first time I have gone through this procedure myself.
Click to expand...
With the hubby in the military, you may also qualify for an additional $500 discount... Be sure to ask... Take your dependent ID with you...

Go for it girl! And welcome to JeepPatriot.com!
 
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#11 ·
hey "CindyC"......you might even try what I did when i bought my Wrangler a couple years ago.

i did a search on the "jeep.com" site AND "autotrader.com" for 'new jeeps' with the model and equiptment you want.

if you find one thats interesting, email the dealer. i did this because the Wrangler Unlimited i wanted was in Cincinnati and i was in Indy. we spent a week 'negotiating' and on Saturday we had an agreed price. i drove my trade down on Sunday (they're open on Sundays in Ohio!!!) and i was in and out of there in about 45 minutes. best buying experience i ever had.

if you do the searches, you might even find one that is out-of-town that the dealer you prefer to work with may 'dealer trade' for. that's what happened this last time when i bought my Compass. my dealer didn't have what i wanted but i found the one i DID want and they got it for me.

doesn't hurt to search the 'jeep.com' site and 'autotrade.com' as well and as for me, i found it to be fun too!

may save you some time AND $$ down the road........GOOD LUCK! :smiley_thumbs_up:
 
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