mjm3457,
Very nice primer on buying a Jag.

 

Do you have an idea of what kind of kickbacks or factory incentives dealers get for F-Type sales? They like to make it seem like invoice is the dealer cost, which I know isn't true, but I don't see any evidence to suggest a hidden holdback or floor plan credit.
It looks like invoice price is roughly a 6% discount off MSRP. For the 2014's some dealers are offering up to $20K off, for 2015's about half that. Personally, I'm having a hard time getting local dealers to come close to invoice, at least on MY2016 cars. I'd like to get as much of a discount as possible to get a bit ahead of the high depreciation on these cars.
I agree for the most part, though this can be a bit tough if you buy your car from a dealer that isn't close enough to do the follow-up service. Worse for those who buy from dealers hundreds of miles away or in another state.

 

I disagree that you are at a disadvantage when having your car serviced at a dealer other than where you purchased it. I've done this on more than a dozen different cars, and I always got the same new loaners of the same make, and the same quality of service.

I've discussed this very subject with several service managers, all of whom essentially said:

"I don't care where you bought the car, I'm just happy you brought it here for service because that helps my numbers. The fact you didn't buy it here is the sales department's problem, not mine. They have their sales targets, and I have my own numbers to meet. I'll fight for you just as hard on warranty repairs because that's how I get paid by the manufacturer."

 

Absolutely agree with you Foosh. Service is another revenue stream for the dealers; they make a lot of their money there. They aren't going to refuse service to any customer, or provide poor service, and Jaguar wouldn't tolerate if they did. (Ever been asked to fill out a follow-up survey?) But I have found that my sales rep was helpful in getting repairs and service when I needed them. I bought 3 cars over 7 years from the same guy; want to guess how I'm treated when I walk in the door? And I know that many have bought cars at a distance and obviously have their service and recalls done at the local dealer, and have been very successful with that strategy, both ends of it.

I'm guessing dealers make more profit in service than in sales, over the life of the car, much more. So the front of the store, sales, feeds business to the back of the store, service. Service managers want your business, and they'll do a good job for you because they want you to come back again in the future regardless of where you bought the car.

 

I wasn't trying to suggest you'd get poor service by taking it to a dealer other than the one you bought it from. My comment was in reply to the note about the strong relationship with the dealer so he'd be your advocate in cases of issues with the car. It's hard to maintain that relationship when you're not local to the dealership you purchased your car at.

Personally, I shop around to buy the car at whichever dealership is able to get me the best combination of pricing and pre-sales support. I prefer to work with the same dealer when I can, but given my vehicle tastes change, I've rarely been doing so lately. However I always take the vehicle to whichever service center is most convenient, which is rarely attached to the dealership I purchased the vehicle at. I have a great relationship with my service center staff, since I'm in there at least every 6 months or so for maintenance.

 

Yes, every successful dealership absolutely makes way more money on service than sales.