Kind of like that style wood trim. Wondering when someone may offer an aftermarket version of those. Might have to just CNC my own if it never happens. I'm not a fan of the fake on/tape on versions, so I'd favor those that are solid and can be bolted on.

 

Just like in California. Every soccer mom has a Range Rover...with a few G Wagens thrown in. In suppose that's why the Orange County and LA areas have so many dealers. In San Diego County there are two.

 

In an ideal world LR would work with the consumer to get them whatever vehicle they want from wherever they are. Regardless of if I walk into a dealership in New York or New Mexico I shouldn't be penalized on when I can order a vehicle because of that specific dealership and their alleged allocation numbers. The fact that people are looking for dealers out of state to accommodate their needs is reflective of how nonsensical this dealer system is. Perhaps none of this was an issue pre-covid and JLR has just not yet understood how to pivot appropriately to meet what their consumers need.

So it seems like certain dealerships get higher allocation amounts based on some sort of historical ordering or sales achievements. Why do they penalize those dealers who are increasing demand and trying to move up their sales figures? I would have to imagine that the dealers who had been losing out on the business were probably the ones who were voicing concerns about the out of market sales. Although to me at face value this seems like a poor system between the dealer and the manufacture, instead of changing the system to something more equitable (say first in first out), they have just modified it to limit consumers options and for the diehards simply just wait longer.

I do have a question from those who have been turned away from out of state dealers. What happens if you say you live in that second area part time? What happens if you don't say anything about where you live at all? Can you just show up to pick up your defender and if you have to show a different license you provide an alternative answer such as you live their part time, or you are in the process of moving and dont have a new id? Are the sales people really that inquisitive to figure out if you are truly out of market or do most people just don't want to try and take the risk?

 

My sales guy told me people were calling from all over looking for any number of models to purchase, then send abroad to China for example. JLR made it so that if a US car leaves the country, the warranty is voided. I didn't have to sign a first right of refusal if I decide to sell the car or any of the other docs people are referring to here.

 

I think the China market could care less about the warranties. I hear that Defenders are going for $250k over there.

 

In general, dealers are permitted to sell a certain percentage of their monthly allotment out of the region.

If a car sold by a US dealer is exported within 12 months for NVDR date, the selling dealer is charged back 15-20% of MSRP as a penalty.

 

I also didn't have to sign any sort of right of first refusal or no-export document. Maybe I just didn't come across as suspicious since I already had to travel a few states over to pick mine up?

 

Drove my '22 Defender home this morning. Friday before Labor Day was not really my preferred travel time, but I left early and it wasn't TOO terrible. The new Defender made it much more tolerable! '22 pangea green / white top P400SE. Ebony interior with ebony headliner. Clearsight mirror, heated/cooled seats, off-road / advanced off-road packs, adaptive cruise. Came exactly as ordered!

 

Allocation is intended to control very bad behavior.

Mfrs want dealers to show and sell every model, not just the most popular. They allocate a mix to ensure the whole line is represented.

They also expect the dealerships to not "get ahead of themselves" by selling more vehicles than they would be able to service.

Further, when a hot new model comes out (Bronco, Defender, etc.) they want to control discounting and prevent 1 dealer from blowing them all out.

It also helps make sure smaller dealerships in tiny markets still get desirable inventory.

There are more reasons but basically it controls the brand experience from errant dealers.

 

So sounds like this is a JLR marketing and brand management issue. Their overall sales model just seems outdated for 2021.

To address some of the concerns/points of interest you presented I would say the following:

If JLR has dealers who do not follow whatever requirements they have then that's on them to keep their dealership network "in line." Consumer should not be penalized because JLR wont regulate their dealers and implement safeguards to stop the situations you mentioned.

I don't know the ins and outs of the car business or have prior experience like I believe you do, but again these sales systems don't make sense in functional actuality in todays world. JLR should control pricing of their brand. Pricing in the auto industry is very murky and not clear to the consumer. Dealerships get incentives on top of the amount they sell over invoice which add another layer of complexity to the true cost the vehicle. This is a product of the manufactures production and supply levels. Again if we lived in a world where you could simply order your defender at a set price this would eliminate the typical auto transaction. This might upset the "wheelers and dealers" of the world but I think the majority of people hate car shopping due to the way dealership pricing structure works and how negotiating back and forth typically ensues.

I can understand your part about a dealership needing be proportioned to provide warranty service. I think that is reasonable. I think that if a dealer is selling a certain amount of vehicles a year then they need to meet a quota for staff for potential warranty work. JLR can improve their reliability and maybe those numbers can be a lower ratio? I mentioned in another thread that I think it would be great for all auto manufactures to have independent shops be certified to perform warranty work. Certain auto manufactures have body shops who get certified to meet the standards for body work repair.

In a FIFO sales system smaller dealerships would be in the same position as every other dealership. Their demand will be relatively lower, else while the playing field should be even? I also think a brand like JLR should be trying to sell whatever they can vs saying "sorry all out of defender allocation for the year, would you like a Evoque instead?". I don't think JLR is actually operating that way since they seem to be cannibalizing production of the lower selling units to build their more popular ones like the Defender.

I realize this is just me dreaming....

edited for some formatting error