Hey guys
A 30th anniversary edition has landed at my dealer. I was planning on putting in an order today for a P400 with all of my chosen specs, BUT - with an Anniversary Edition sitting there ready to drive-away with, I'm tempted.

I'm curious - though we dont know where car sales will go, I'm wondering this:
Should I buy the Anniversary Edition AND put in my order for my spec'ed car, and when my spec'd car arrives, could I sell the Anniversary edition near purchase price? I have no idea where used Defender prices are compared to sticker, but if my wait is about 6 months, I'd put on around 7,000 miles.

What do you guys think about the above idea? Or, should I just put my order in and wait?

 

There is a thread on here somewhere about someone selling their year-ish old Defender to Carmax to fund the purchase of a new Trek version. I think he damn near made it an even trade.

All of which to say, it IS a risk, but it is probably a relatively safe bet. Purely my opinion.

Of course, the worst that happens is that you can't quite get enough to cover the custom order and are forced to drive around in a 30th-anniversary edition. Not the worst fate in the world. Dealer may be less than pleased but I doubt they'd have an issue selling it. 'Course, I didn't ask about down-payment for the custom order... that could change things depending on what the dealer wants up front.

 

what is the dealer markup price?

 

Like all gambling games, I ask - "how much are you willing to lose"? Unless you know how much you are willing to lose, it's hard to go into the game. Let's say worse case. Traditionally, a used vehicle would lose 20% in the first year. Historically, that's a starting point. If you think anything above that is an up-side, I'd go with it. I'm sure many will tell you how optimistic they are of the "win", but I like focusing on the loss potential. I doubt the entire world will tank in 6 mos, but who knows.

 

IMO, one of two things could hit used car values.

Either production normalizes and anyone can walk into a dealer and buy at sticker or below again (unlikely in 6 months).

Or, the economy gets kicked into the ditch, everyone is poor, and people are cooking dogs in the streets (maybe).

What state are you in and, in that state, how does sales tax work on a trade-in?

 

To me, JLR is going thru an existential problem. Very few manufacturers make any money on new vehicle sales. The only reason Dealers are adding markups is because the product availability is so **** poor. JLR would sell more, but they can't get their logistics straight. BTW - my favorite quotes are all from WW2 Generals: Eisenhauer was quoted to say "Strategy is for amateurs, logistics is for the professionals". Doesn't matter WHAT strategy JLR has if they can't get their logistics in gear. Anyway, back to the existential problem: almost ALL profit at automotive Dealerships are made (in order) on Parts, Service & Used Vehicle sales. They are lawn darting the math if the production keeps shrinking; Dealers extort customers & force them to go elsewhere; they can't Service the vehicles; "Service Sells Vehicles" and then repeat the diminishing loop. All driven by product demand.

The #1 thing to cure this is to get control of production. However, I don't think JLR is focused on the logistics (I say this from the empirical production #'s). I keep seeing new product launches forcing more demand on a shrinking shared parts supply. They are going to fragment their own brands into irrelevance. I am just as passionate as @The Insider in the hard work of their peeps, I just fear that the leadership may not have the laser focus they need. I understand they are becoming more of a niche with less resources at play, but I just read that Tesla has now vertically integrated over 85% of their supply chain to ensure stability of delivery. My last shot: "if you do what you always did, you get what you always got". JLR needs a shake up in the logistics side of the operation. If every Dealer could put a Defender in your hands like pre-COVID, the Luxury treatment would return to customers; JLR would have a healthy/predictable parts sales future; and, the grass would be green across the world. Ok, I know I'm poly-anna'ing this a bit...

 

You got any data to back that up? Nothing I have read over the years has supported that idea, but I am far from an expert. Or did you mean dealers rather than manufacturers?

 

You're correct. In my puke of thought stream, it's more applicable to Dealers.