[Randy Chase]

I called Graham at Symbolic the day after the Los Angeles auto show in January 2001. I knew I wanted the car, but I had to sit in one first to make sure it was a good fit. That was over one year ago. He took down my information and said I was on the list. I called back every couple of months to see if there was any information or changes and to verify I was still on the list.

I called again in December of 2002 and spoke to Mike who asked me what my phone number was... and I told him and he said "Oh yeah, you were one of the first ones on the list." He also said "We will be taking deposits in a month or so and I will call you."

 

[LarryB]

Money Talks . Heard the local dealer also had a pre-deposit list, when I asked about it ... the order you put the deposit down, is the order you'd get your car. Any idea how big the list is? Worst case if you've got to wait a few months, you'll have a better idea how the car is doing.

 

[Randy Chase]

Received a phone call from Graham at Symbolic. He wanted to assure me that I was on the list, though they did need the deposit.

One thing though, they do not seem to be working on a hard list. In other words, no promises about your place on the list. Prior customers will get priority, as do local people. And people who will actually be end users. I like the last two criteria.

 

[adamant]

Thats why I liked the response from Steve Harris Imports. No deposits until the car is orderable. They have a list and it is a fisrt come first served. They seem like very nice people to deal with so far.
About a month ago there were only 5 people on their list, but who knows how many vehicles [if any now ] they may be allocated.

 

[LarryB]

Would rather have a hard list, you'll have a very good idea when to expect your car. Sounds like the dealers got a bit of a fudge factor... but it seems like it should work out.

 

[Randy Chase]

Agreed Larry. I can see it would be to the dealer's advantage to not have a hard list, but not to the buyer. Unless you are a good customer who comes in la month before they are released and offer them more.

That would be my only major concern, and not one I think I should worry about. A dealer could take higher bids for earlier spots and it could then be a while before you see a car.

 

[adamant]

Seems to me, taking "bribes" does nothing but harm the dealers reputation.
If there was a choice I would rely on a dealership with morals. IMHO.

 

[Turbo2]

From watching lists for the Evo8 and WRX, it seems dealers really go by the "money talks" adage. If you walk into the dealer with money in hand you can probably bump other people and move up. At least it seems to work that way at some dealers.

 

[LarryB]

Putting a deposit down with a dealer that has a hard list, should do away with any monkey business . The local dealer handles mostly Ferrair, Lambo, RR etc & is use to having deposit / orders a year in advance . These types of car is there bread & butter. They wouldn't last long (been around 25yrs) if they were jerking there customer around. Don't think they will try to stick it to us, like main stream dealers with a for the moment hot car.

Turbo2, it's going to take me a while to get us to that handle, that's me on the '2 message board.

 

[Larry Andrews]

Money talks in a market of limited supply?

Welcome to life...

The Mini guys were printing money for a while, selling cars out from under the waiting list right and left, often for up to 10K over sticker. (on a 20K car!) Crevier Mini wouldn't even talk to me for less than 6 grand over sticker the week the car came out, and I was #7 on their list.

 

[Randy Chase]

From the official forum-

Symbolic told me all 10 of the first lot of cars will be $10k over. NONE are going to MSRP-list-people. They've always been up front about this.. the first cars will go at market value to people with connections or those willing to pay for the instant-gratification.
After that, $5k over MSRP will be their offer for the next order(s). They'll probably play it by ear, would be my guess.
If I hold out for MSRP @ Symbolic, I'm probably looking at ~June '05 depending on allocation, and however much continued market interest remains in paying markups.

Ack

 

[zvezdah1]

Not really a big surprise, I wouldn't doubt that it's true judging from their track record. Certainly hope they get someone else for the LA market.

Chris

 

[roadrunner]

Not nice

This is very undesirable behavior, of course. However, a recent experience shows that availability of shared knowledge regarding pricing can be a valuable tool in adjusting dealer behavior.

Just last week a guy I know was at a dealer drooling over the Golf R32. Dealer tells him they are in very short supply, so were being sold at market pricing (in this case MSRP + about $4k). It took me all of 30 seconds on Google to locate a thread at vwvortex listing dealers who were advertising they would sell at MSRP, including at least one in the same city. When confronted with this knowledge, original dealer backed down immediately and agreed to sell at MSRP. Case closed.

Not exactly the same situation as our Elise of course, but I think this shows the power that forums like EliseTalk can have when it comes to creating well informed consumers. If we all continue to share this type of information, we will be that much stronger as a group.