Hi all,

I'm in the process of negotiating on a V6S AWD with a primary dealer. I called up a second dealer today to do some comparison shopping. I was told that they need to check my zip code to find out if I'm in their "territory". This is supposedly a non-compete policy from Jaguar. Has anyone heard of this? This is ridiculous!

 

No in fact I purchased two jags in the last year and a half from two different dealers in two different states. Before that I shopped three local dealers and none of them mentioned such a policy.

 

I had over 20 dealerships in 8 States competing for my business. I ended up buying from a dealership over a 1000 miles away. The second dealer is full of crap.

 

I've heard this about Land Rover. The story I heard was that people didn't want to wait and would order the same car from multiple dealers and buy from whoever delivered first, leaving the other dealers in the lurch.


True? I don't know, but I *have* heard that story from two separate dealers with respect to Rover sales.

 

Not sure if this applies to your situation, but what I heard for Rang Rovers is because of the crazy demand for the new model they were only selling to customers in their area. This prevents a guy from buying multi cars from SF, LA, Bakersfield, etc. dealerships and then reselling them used at a premium, or exporting them to Asian/China.

 

I was looking at a F-Type R in Palm Springs prior to buying from a local dealer and the sales-lady said that she needed to check if there is a non-compete clause for my area. Apparently San Diegans can buy from any dealer in CA. Not sure what areas cannot buy from this dealer.

 

I've heard that before. It depends who you call, some really want you as a customer, others seem to think they can't sell to you. I don't have an explanation as to why different dealers understand jaguar policy differently.

 

My buddy was looking for a Range Rover and they told him the same thing. Apparently it's more of a "shouldn't" than a "can't" type of rule because he ended up getting it from an out of area dealer anyway.

Also, I got my jag from Rusnak even though I'm walking distance from the Weho Hornburg... I had multiple dealers bidding against each other.

 

Unless they were company owned dealers that kind of anti competitive behaviour would be illegal here.

 

Does sound strange. All 3 of the dealers I went to knew full well I was negotiating with others. In fact, when I searched for a dealer on the Jag website using my zip code, they listed 15 retailers within 150 miles. I doubt they would have done that if there were some kind of non-compete policy.

Here, as well.

 

I am pretty sure they can loose a portion of their Business Builder for selling a car out of their (AOR) market. The other thing to remember is the dealer will take care of the customer they sold a car to first. Loaner cars as an example are a courtesy offer by the dealers & they are not obligated to provide you one just because your car is in for service.

 

So true. That's why I feel fortunate that I was able to negotiate the best deal with the most convenient from a servicing standpoint. I was able to develop a relationship with the general manager over the 7+ months I was waiting for delivery. When I did have an issue, he was able to get me into a loaner over a weekend (off hours). Absolutely the best dealership experience I've ever had.

 

While that may sometimes be the case, my experience has been the opposite. I've always purchased where I got the best deal, and more than half the time that has not been he most convenient dealer for service. Of the dozen or so "premium" brands I've owned, I've always been provided "new" model courtesy cars by dealer service departments where I did not purchase.

As the local Mercedes service manager recently said, "I don't care where you bought it, I want to you servicing it here, because my budget targets don't have anything to do with the sales department." Not only do they benefit from your service business, providing a courtesy car is one of the best ways to attempt to gain your loyalty for the next sale.

 

i set up a bidding war with 2 dealers in my area, maybe like 15 miles between them. Before I signed with the dealer i eventually chose, the other dealer already submitted my "build model" car and had it delivered in 30 days. He sent me an email with the pic of it attached saying my car just arrived. I must say I was impressed and knew he was trying to get my business with it being right there ready for sign and pick up but I felt bad and went with the other dealer because we had a better relationship I thought.

 

I had a similar situation with 2 dealers with the same ownership near my home. The first salesman took his sweet time getting back to me and the second salesman gave me a ridiculous price. When I told him he didn't even try to negotiate with me. One of salesmen contacted me by email a month later. By that time I already had purchased my V6S. I dealt with a dealership that was not close to my house - 44 miles away, but the salesman there was eager to get the car I wanted at a fair price. Made it a very easy process. I/we should not have to beg to buy a $90,000 vehicle.

 

I believe that any efforts made by dealers in the US to stymie or minimize competition by, from, or between other dealers would be a violation of the Federal Sherman-Antitrust Act which prohibits anti-competitive practices and the restraint of trade.

Auto Dealers attempting to carve out exclusive territories based on residence zip code would be an anti-competitive/restraint of trade practice.

If multiple dealers under separate ownership but all within a certain geographic region (i.e. the state of Florida for instance) happened to play golf together and cooked up this idea of zip code zoning, which they then agreed to put into practice... that would constitute collusion in an effort to restrict free market conditions. The US Attorneys office would want to know more.

The dealers can independently attempt to enforce such a practice, the consumers have no obligation to play along.