When I ordered, the cheapest used Defender was $10k more than the one I ordered and didn't have half the options Hoping that continues to change but in May 2022 wasn't an option

 

Prices are softening, at least in the US. I acquired a new 130 First Edition at a discount to MSRP. The dealership also certified the car giving me another year of warranty - not sure how they managed that on a car with 17 miles but I'm not complaining. While there were a few dealers with markups due to 'mandatory accessory buys' they were dropping in number and some didn't both trying to hold to the higher numbers and went to sticker right off the bat. I suspect higher interest rates and economic slowdown are having their impacts. That said, inventories are still pretty tight so if you find a build you like sitting on a dealer lot I'd investigate it quickly. If you're willing to have some flexibility on options/config you can also find deals.

 

Many very helpful responses. Couple things to respond to,
1. ive looked at used and can buy more of what i want for the same or less money.
2. i want 4 doors. i dont care about the power as long as it can get out of its own way. i have other cars that have power. the LR will be driven mostly in town, maybe on a trip here or there. the worst conditions it will see will probably be snow and that is mostly if i drive it to mountains or something in the winter. i will not take it rock crawling, etc. i might tow a small trailer. i do not own anything that requires towing and if i did i have a suburban that would do the job.

unlike some of you, i drive mostly black cars and always have. i totally appreciate that others are tired of it but i just love it on anything. to me, all black makes the crappiest looking are look decent!

Here is my initial attempt at a build:

 

I also like black/black. Santorini black is quite reflective and looks sharp IMHO. Nice build, will look like a million bucks for a lot less than that!

 

Un-Blank:

It looks great for what you are scoping. If you desire to cut one thing, particularly since you are buying the 19" wheels and none of the off-road goodies, I would suggest you might prefer on-road tires.

Others on this site have never seen me suggest such a thing. But, if you go with the 19" wheels, for which the only possible off-road tires are the two which LR developed with Goodyear, and which the consensus on this site is they are far from wonderful, you might best be served by getting on-road tires.

Others need to comment whether my suggest is helpful or not.

Enjoy !

 

How did you manage that? I dont think anyone has got under MSRP in quite some time.

 

Well, I bought mine back in October 2022. Defender SE P400 with 20k mall crawling/suburban miles on the clock. With all specs I wanted, except HUD - that was not in my must have list. It is probably a one-of-a-kind SE, since it has everything an HSE has, except the sunroof (which I did not want on purpose), plus all off-road options (including the rear active differential) and none of the "MIA" parts we are seeing now with the new builds. I paid roughly $70k for it - $2k less than MSRP when it was new. I have the sticker. Previous owner was an older couple that had a full size RR as primary and the Defender as "the wife's" car. Honestly the new car smell was stronger than in some inventory brand new Defenders I test drove. After I bought it, I went online the next day and configured an exact same spec (adding the sunroof, since you can't delete that anymore) and got to a sticker of $85k. So, $15k in savings was a good deal in my book. Yes, during my search I did find overpriced end-of-lease cars that you could easily tell were significantly abused/offroaded and priced at $10k more than what I paid. Like I said, you need to have patience to find the right one. Plus, I believe the market is now even softer than back in October. But, hey to each their own. Ordering/specing brand new and waiting several months, also has its charm (I am not trying to be ironic - just to clarify ).

 

FWIW, if you think about reselling in the near future, you should consider adding the air suspension. When I was searching for mine, all the sales people I came across told me the ones in coils were collecting dust in the lots.

 

Interesting. i dislike immensely "specialty tires" that are developed between car and tire manufacturers. Is this specific to the 19" wheels? Is there a better option?

This is good info. Does the air suspension limit the ability to have a lift installed? yes, i know ive said it wont go off-road... What is LR's reason for the air suspension? i know many brands use it for load leveling...

 

It honestly wasn't that hard, just took some time and clever timing.

I shopped a dozen-odd dealers the last ten days of December and told them all that I would close and take delivery before year-end IF they found me a car that met my very few requirements and was at/under my budget being upfront I wasn't going to pay above sticker or deal with any add-ons or games. Some didn't get back to me, and that was fine. 1-2 were holding to mandatory accessory packages and/or add-ons so I quickly, and politely, excluded them. The last half-dozen were ripping through their lots and incoming inventory/reviewing possible order cancellations. A few didn't want to budge below MSRP and wanted me to pay above my number - which was a no go. One dealer had been sitting on a few First Edition 130's for about two months and opted to bite just after Xmas. I lived up to my end, closed the deal, and took delivery within 48 hours/before year's end. It wasn't a massive discount, but below sticker by a noticeable amount and they added a CPO warranty as an extra inducement. They even delivered it to my house and didn't even try to push anything extra. Came with a nice bag of LR goodies - a couple of thermos bottles, a cap, keychain and some other branded items. We finished the paperwork in about 15 minutes and that was that.

I do wish, however, that I received a second key. Oh well...