Should You Special Order a New Car?
Jason Lancaster
"Have it your way." "Made to order." These are phrases our culture has come to embrace. When it comes to buying a new car, I'm often asked about special ordering. People want a certain color, feature, or option that will make their car unique or better for them. Unfortunately, when it comes to cars, it's just not that simple. Here's why.
You should know that you probably won't be able to order a new vehicle during the last two or three months of the production year (those months usually fall between April and August). Although it does depend on the model and manufacturer of the vehicle, most production years usually end in the last few months of summer. Don't plan to special order a new car during this time.
Many auto manufacturers produce their vehicles overseas. Since the vehicles must be shipped across the ocean after production, the standard two-month shipping time must be added to the two months it takes to special order (4 months total). Overseas auto manufactures prefer not to accept special orders on cars due to the length of time it takes to reach the consumer. In fact, these manufacturers may not accept special orders at all. If they do accept them, they're often strongly discouraged.
There are some auto manufacturers that only offer certain features (like a sunroof for instance) as part of a "package." This package may include some features you don't want, and you may want to special order your car so you can buy the feature without having to buy the whole package. Unfortunately, a lot of auto manufacturers are unwilling to accomodate this request (Honda and Toyota are famous for offering certain options only as part of a larger package). Make sure you find out first, but sometimes you can't really order what you want.
Special ordering a car doesn't always make the most financial sense. If there's a special feature or package that you absolutely have to have, than by all means do a special order. But when you order a specific feature or package, try not to order something too out of the ordinary because it will effect your resale value. If your car is too unique, you may not be able to find a buyer when you're ready to sell. People tend to buy vehicles that are similar to the other automobiles on the road, so don't order a car that's so different no one will want it.
You should always consider buying a car off the lot before you special order one. If you can compromise on color or specific features, you will save quite a bit of money buying off a dealer's lot. Buying a car off the lot usually gives you the best deal because dealers are paying interest on their inventory (the cars on the lot) every day. Because they're paying daily interest, dealers try to sell those cars as quickly as they can to avoid huge finance charges. That usually means you get a big discount.
It used to be that you could special order whatever kind of car you wanted, but those days are fading fast. Dealers want you to buy what they have, auto manufacturers often don't want to honor special requests, and shipping times and production cycles have conspired to make ordering cars very difficult. Special ordering just isn't what it used to be.
Author Jason Lancaster, an auto business veteran, developed AccurateAutoAdvice.com. You'll find accurate advice on http://accurateautoadvice.com/new/new-car-buying-tips-how-much-should-a-new-car-cost/) how much to pay for a new car and http://accurateautoadvice.com/new/special-order-a-new-car/) special ordering a car.
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