Was I stupid?

[deegee]

I've been looking all over for a 300C that wasn't being priced over MSRP in California. I'm to the point where I'm considering a trip back east to visit relatives, just to buy one at a reasonable price. There is a dealer in Chicago with about 15 Cs on the lot - ain't no one here in CA with stock like that....

At any rate, I received a quote for a loaded Lava Red C from a dealer, for MSRP. When I arrived to look at it, it turned out that this had been the demo car, driven by the sales manager. It had been on display for a week at a golf tournament, and the manager had been driving it home. It had 800 or so miles on the odometer. I decided I didn't want to pay full sticker for a car with that many miles on it. I really doubt that the break-in was done with the care that an actual owner would use, and I bet it has had more than its share of full-throttle fun and games. Now I wonder if I was stupid. I'm still inclined to let this one pass. I have a perfectly good Audi to drive until the prices get more reasonable.

[Redman]

Ya' did gud Tonto.
Wait for the right one.
Just get on eBay or Cars.com and buy one from an Eastern dealer (with 0 miles) and have it shipped to you for $5-800. Better than markup. Heck, a real entrepeneur (sic) could make some real dough here.
Cheers!

[deegee]

How do I go about arranging shipping? Is this something a dealer would know how to do, or are there services I can locate? Do you have a recommendation? I know for a fact that I could get the car at least $1K under MSRP back east. Even with shipping, I should save money. Plus, dealers here want ADM unless you order, where they charge full MSRP.

[deegee]

Well, Google of course can answer my questions. There certainly seem to be many companies engaged in this area. Anyone have a personal recommendation?

[II kings 9:20]

The dealer shuld have many contacts and deals for shipping at a reasonable cost $500. Houston to Columbus, OH ran me $500 for a Lexus. As to whether you should get this one entirely depends on the discount. There is no such thing as the one that got away, never be in a hurry to spend money, the worst you can do is keep your money, I think you get where I am on this issue.

[deegee]

You're right - no hurry here. I've been looking heavily for about a month. My wife is tired of it - when I started I was looking for both of us, and now that she has a new car she doesn't want to here about it any more :-\ Given the delays of ordering, and the availability of cars outside of CA, I'm very inclined to buy out of state. Seems like shipping is a more viable option than I had thought; my previous issue with an out of state sale was finding the time to go somewhere and drive home. I won't truck with anyone marking up above MSRP.

[wardog]

deegee,

I don't think you have to go that far east to get a good deal. My local dealer (John Elway Jeep / Chrysler) where I bought my Jeep sells 300's (even C's) for $1000 under MSRP. They are one of those no-haggle dealerships and I've had good results with them for my sales/service needs. (Joe Collins was my sales rep) According to their inventory they've got 2 Vanilla C's right now. (Don't go by their price as listed on the sticker though, give them a call) With a deal like that you should be able to get one shipped to you and still be under MSRP.

You can view the window stickers by going to
http://www.chrysler.com/purchase/index.html
and look at online inventories.

For Zip code type in 80401 and then select
John Elway Chry-Jeep West
16300 West Colfax Avenue
Golden, CO 80401
(303) 278-0101

Whereabouts in CA are you? I grew up out there. Ever heard of Bonsall? I escaped Kalifornistan in 1992.

[deegee]

wardog, I'm searching everywhere. I think I've burned the fivestar.com pages into my screen. At first, I was looking only for Lava Red. Now, after washing my wife's brand-new dark blue Honda, I'm thinking that maybe a white car isn't such a bad idea after all! I had filled out quote forms many times. I seem to get a response about half the time, although Chrysler requires a response within 1 working day. The only firm quote under MSRP I've received was from southern Michigan. I'm willing to work with anyone, I just need to get them to respond to the emails.

I'm about to go to a local dealer, where they have a lava red and a white in stock. I want to look at the colors, to see what I could be happy with.

[wardog]

Oh, forgot to tell you, it's illegal to sell cars on Sunday in Colorado so you won't get a hold of anyone today. We do have some crazy laws out here too.

[deegee]

Hey, this is California, the land of crazy laws.

I'm in Ventura county, northwest of LA. Moved here 8 years ago after 10 years in Santa Cruz, a truly different planet.