What You Need To Know About Special Ordering A New Car

Special ordering a new car is supposed to mean that you get exactly what you want, usually within a couple of months. If you look back at the history of car manufacturing, you can read about several instances of people ordering very specific cars directly from the factory. Today it's not that simple. Here's what you should know.

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.

With some manufacturers there's no point in doing a special order. A lot of companies make cars overseas, and because these cars have to travel across the ocean, there's more than just the standard two-month to complete the special order - there's also the two-month shipping time. Because of the amount of time it takes, overseas manufactures don't really like to do special orders. If it's even possible to order a car, it's often strongly discouraged.

When you're thinking about special ordering a new car, keep in mind that some automakers force you to buy some options as part of a package. Toyota and Honda, for instance, are famous for making customers buy certain options in groups - a lot of times they won't sell you a car with a sunroof unless you buy the "sunroof package." The "sunroof package" might include leather seats and an upgraded stereo, in addition to the sunroof itself. Don't want the leather or the stereo? Then you might not be able to get a sunroof because these features are "packaged."

It doesn't always make financial sense to special order a vehicle either. You should special order if there is a certain feature that you just have to have, but if you order something out of the ordinary it may negatively affect your resale value. When you want to resell your car, it may be difficult to find a buyer if your car is too unique. Most people buy vehicles similar all the other cars out there, so it might be difficult to find a buyer who wants one that is very different.

The last thing to think about before you order a new vehicle is that you might be able to get a better deal buying off the lot. You may have to compromise on the color, or features, or both, but if you buy off the lot you're always going to get a good deal. In fact, buying off the lot is almost always the best deal. The reason? New car dealers have to pay interest on every car that's on their lot - every day that a new car sits on a lot, it costs money. Therefore, dealers try to sell the cars they have quickly so they don't end up paying a lot of finance charges for inventory.

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.

By: Jason Lancaster.

Author Jason Lancaster, a car industry veteran, created AccurateAutoAdvice.com. You'll find accurate advice on ordering a new car and how much to pay for a new car.

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