In my lifetime I have bought two brand new cars (1986 Reliant and 2020 Elantra ECO). Both were walk in, chose the car, and buy type of transactions (well, the Hyundai was a two-day deal with looking at their inventory on the internet). Both cars were bought below sticker, the Hyundai WELL BELOW.

So, that's the background. Now, I'm looking for a new Durango (used is stupid expensive) with limited options. It's going to be a GT with trailer tow (heated seats are a must). It will HAVE to be ordered. I have looked at the AAA and Costco "buying services". Not real sure how they work, but I did get an email from a dealer north of here with more than I'm looking for (2021) for a decent discount, but not enough. Has anybody used one of these services? Any other way to get something below sticker? I could spend a little on the 2000 and drive it a while longer, but I'd like to get a new one and drive it until I'm really old...

Check out this thread on 5th gen rams. Dealer is Mark Dodge in Louisiana. Pretty much the go to dealer for below invoice factory orders. Fly in, drive home, or have it shipped. Ordered my 2021 Rebel from similar discount dealer in Auburn WA (Bud Clary), but unfortunately they don't do the discount anymore. Quote was 8K below MSRP, ended up 12K below MSRP with incentives before T&L. Not sure about Fresno area, but SOCAL dealers believe MSRP is a good deal.

Mark Dodge

Both Fresno area dealers are owned by the same family. We stopped at one yesterday. They immediately wanted to add a 10% dealer markup. Told the kid (probably younger than 25) that I would never pay dealer markup. The Madera dealer might be better to deal with (I think they work with the AAA program). Looks like the closest Costco program dealer is in Turlock (about an hour away). They sent me a quote on a '21 GT for about $4k below MSRP, but still more than I am willing to pay and in a color that I don't want (Destroyer gray).

In today's market where dealers have limited availability of product, it's a seller's market. Since they don't have a bunch of units on hand, they expect to get top dollar for everyone that leaves the lot, including whatever else they can stuff on top. If you insist on a "deal", wait for a couple of years and see if the chip shortage and other supply chain issues get ironed out so the on-the-lot inventories increase.

Buying services work where the car you want isn't limited availability. It's not "the best" price you might get if you shop your a$$ off, but it's decent. Basically the program has a specific dealer they work with for each brand in your region and they price cars purchased through the service at a pre-set amount, plus pre-set prices for any options you want. I've used one twice in the past, once for an in-stock car and once for a special order unit. I looked into it again when we started shopping for our latest car purchase in December, but it wasn't available for what we wanted. Since sometime in the last couple of years, that buying service no longer has an agreement w/ any Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep dealers. And, coincidently, the local CDJ dealers are extremely aggressive on how they look for ways to bump the margins up on their sales, including charging premiums for buyers who don't use their in-house financing, "out of region purchaser adjustments"... you name it, they probably do it.

As far as what we paid for our Challenger 1320, the simplest way I can put is is... more than I wanted, but less than I could have. We ended up going to an out-of-state dealer 120 miles away, but that was primarily because nobody closer had anything available optioned how we wanted it. We could have special-ordered a 2022 for less, but you can't get a 2022 1320 w/ a back seat now, which was a deal killer for us. Let's just say it was an "interesting" experience.

If you are getting legit offers below MSRP you are probably doing as well as you are going to in this market.
Waiting until the supply chain gets back in shape, and dealers have lots of vehicles on their lots they’d be motivated to deal on may be an attractive idea, but don’t forget that inflation may make today’s unacceptable deal look pretty good when looking back a year or two from now. 5% off a $55,000 SUV today is a lot better than 15% off the equivalent SUV a year from now if the MSRP has gone up to $65,000!
I work for a truck OEM and things are scary in the supply chain right now. I was at a meeting a few weeks ago where an executive mentioned our steel prices are up 260% over the last year! I was too much in shock after hearing that to remember price increases on some of the other materials he listed like aluminum, plastic and chips, except for the lowest material increase which was rubber at 15% higher.
Our production is constrained enough by supply issues that our 2022 production schedule was filled last year and we basically stopped taking orders. And we have a clause in order contracts that we can raise the price on an order if material costs rise more than a certain amount by the time the unit is built. Customers can cancel the order then and get their deposit back, but my understanding is few do.
I doubt the automaker’s have it much better. Things aren’t going to get better anytime soon. The situation is sort of unreal now.
Sadly at this time, if you are frugal you probably are going to have to live without.
You might check with member Snake Eyz here to see if he has any of his 2022 retiree allotment of friends and family codes left, that gets you invoice minus 1%+$75 I believe it is.
He generously gave me one a year ago I used on my Ram 2500 order and I’m indebted to Rich for his help!

If a Friends Control Number will help, I've got 3 more that I can give out for 2022.
As stated it's make the pricing 1% under dealers invoice and if they have any other incentives they still apply.

Let me know if you need one.