Ordering Process

Pastusak.t · January 7, 2020

So I haven’t really found the answer I’m looking for by searching. If it’s out there just point me in the right direction.

I feel like to get what I want and not pay for what I don’t, I’ll need to order a truck. I’ve never done that before so I have a few questions.

First, how does the process work? Is the deposit refundable? Should I put a deposit down? Do I negotiate the price when ordered or when it arrives?

Second can you get the same deals on a ordered truck that you can on a truck already on the lot. I know 20% off msrp is good maybe 22-23% is great but is that possible when ordering?

Thanks for the input and if this info is already out there, I’m sorry for asking again, just point me to it.

Dave335 · January 7, 2020

The deposit is up to the dealership, some that I talked to required 1,000 down. The dealership that I ordered from wanted nothing down so I put no deposit on the order. The dealership is telling me that the deals that are offered on the vehicles will be the same deal that I can get on my truck. I will find out if this is true in a couple of weeks, my truck is waiting to be shipped from Flint

Pastusak.t · January 7, 2020

4 minutes ago, Dave335 said:

The deposit is up to the dealership, some that I talked to required 1,000 down. The dealership that I ordered from wanted nothing down so I put no deposit on the order. The dealership is telling me that the deals that are offered on the vehicles will be the same deal that I can get on my truck. I will find out if this is true in a couple of weeks, my truck is waiting to be shipped from Flint

So did you negotiate at all when you sat down and picked options?

redwngr · January 8, 2020

23 minutes ago, Pastusak.t said:

So did you negotiate at all when you sat down and picked options?

In my case we sit down and pick options and get it ordered.

My 'usual' dealer doesn't require deposit.

(Dealer does say that the options I order will give them a truck easy to sell or dealer trade.)

Price negotiation after it arrives.

Dave335 · January 8, 2020

I went with this dealership because they offered 1,500 below msrp and every other dealership wouldn't budge off of the msrp

Booger T · January 8, 2020

You are going to find that even when ordering you are still going to get some things you don't want just to get some of the things you do. Depends on the packages and trim level. As far as ordering my dealer doesn't require a deposit, says he can sell it easily if I don't take it. I negotiate the price up front plus any incentives and rebates that apply at time of delivery. As far as getting 20-22 % off msrp it may be a little early for that. At least in my area. I just took delivery of a 1500 LT with the Duramax and ended up getting it for 14% below msrp. Didn't think that was too bad.

FirstAscent · January 8, 2020

I believe, pretty sure, that any applicable incentives are valid but only the ones available at time of delivery.

So if you order today but the truck doesn’t arrive until 8 weeks from now, only the available incentives that are available 8 weeks from now would be applicable.

Sask Farmboy · January 8, 2020

Hey Tyler. I'm from Canada but I think the process is the same in the US. I negotiated how much they are taking off their cost. Any rebates from GM will increase that discount and so will lower my final price. But like I said, I got them to agree how much they are taking off of their cost and I put $500 down. I don't think there is a wrong way to negotiate, whether it is before or after the truck is at the dealer. We put the order into the dealer's "GM Workbench" and I got a printout the "Preliminary Order Detail" which lists the "Order #" (which is a 6-digit alphanumeric code), a description of the truck including the RPO codes (which are basically the options selected) and the MSRP. They then also printed out a prelim dealer sales sheet which included my name, a brief description of the truck and the agreed-on price. I then got them to go back into the system, enter my Order # and they confirmed that my "Event Code" was 1100. This is an order/build code that shows how your truck's order/build is progressing from 1100 "Preliminary Order Accepted", through many codes and eventually to code 6000 "Delivered to Customer". Since my order is for a 2020 3500 HD dually, and duallies are not being built yet, my order will sit at code 1100 until my dealer gets an "Allocation" from GM. He will then call me in, we will make any changes to my build/options, to confirm it is exactly what I want, and then he will apply my order to that allocation. We then go back into the system and confirm that now my event code has changed to 2000 "(Placed Order) Accepted by GM". Your first and only assurance that you have an order in AND the truck will actually be built is when your order gets to event code 2000. After that, it is a waiting game. I believe you can make changes to your order before it reaches event code 3000 "Accepted By Production Control", but it is not as easy to do, so it is best to have that all sorted out at the time that your order gets applied to an allocation. You can get updates from your dealer or you can use the online Chat function to find out progression, including your Tentative Production Week (TPW). Your dealer should be able to give you the event code and an explanation of what that code means as your build progresses. I am just in the middle of this process with my 2020 Corvette order. I don't know if you needed this much info but I hope it helps.

Booger T · January 8, 2020

9 hours ago, FirstAscent said:

I believe, pretty sure, that any applicable incentives are valid but only the ones available at time of delivery.

So if you order today but the truck doesn’t arrive until 8 weeks from now, only the available incentives that are available 8 weeks from now would be applicable.

You are correct, that is what I stated in my post.

jjackkrash · January 8, 2020

12 hours ago, Sask Farmboy said:

Since my order is for a 2020 3500 HD dually, and duallies are not being built yet, my order will sit at code 1100 until my dealer gets an "Allocation" from GM.

Any word/estimate when these are going to start rolling off the line?