Decided to put a deposit for the new Mirage.

[defensivetackle88]

After shopping around for a used/new car since I sold my Prius back in August, I have decided to go ahead and place an order for the new Mirage as it is for the best. Don’t want to pay overinflated price of used. It will be my very first brand new car via financing from my own at 2% rate.

Dealer required deposit so I’ll be working on that. The Mirage is supposedly in transit but that’s all they know of at this time.

Is there anything that I should be prepared for ahead of time? I don’t want to burn or miss out some opportunities to save me the most $ possible from inflated price. I will back out of the deal if isn’t meant to be.

Any input, opinion, and such is greatly welcome

[defensivetackle88]

Too bad there’s no flowchart or tactics out there that I could use to know or prepare when dealer pull a “dealer’s trick”. Better to be safe than sorry.

[Fummins]

If I were to order a car I'd want the total costs upfront in writing so there are no extra surprises when/if the car shows up.

When the wife bought her latest overpriced turd a few years ago the dealer tried adding on a bunch of extra bs like wheel insurance, extra tire warranty, and some other useless crap. I made them take that crap off the invoice but they added some stupid "winter package" bs that they claimed they include on all cars they sell. It included mud flaps(which came standard), and a snow brush and little bag with some cleaning supplies...
I was ready to walk at this point but the ol'lady wasn't leaving without overpaying for a pointless vehicle. They also added those useless numbered stickers all over the body that are supposed to magically prevent theft. Unfortunately, it seems dealers can charge whatever they want. If you walk they'll just sell it to the next guy.

[Top_Fuel]

...The Mirage is supposedly in transit but that’s all they know of at this time.

Do they have a VIN number of a specific vehicle? If they don't have a VIN...they don't have a car.

I know White Bear's website shows 13 2022 Mirages with manual transmissions. I don't think they actually have these cars on their lot yet...but they have VIN numbers connected to actual cars they are expecting.

How much of a deposit are they requiring to hold the car...and are they agreeing to sell it to you at a specific price? And will they put all of this stuff in writing?

I just drove past my local Mitsubishi dealer a few minutes ago. As far as I can tell, they have 0 new Mitsubishi vehicles available right now. Their lot is literally empty. I haven't seen a new Mirage there for a couple of months.

[defensivetackle88]

Yes. VIN were provided and breakdown price including tax and fees were addressed via email.

If I understood the process correctly, once the vehicle is at the lot, dealer will be sending me the invoice with the agreeable price.

Now is a great time for me to shop around for the best APR. It unfortunate that there’s no incentive available at the moment for the Mirage from Ally.

[defensivetackle88]

IÂ’ll walk out and request a deposit refunded immediately if the agreeable price ends up above MSRP according to the eventual contract. I ainÂ’t that stupid to give them any leverage. I know what the market value of the Mirage. DoesnÂ’t matter to me on what dealer verbally says about the car value.

DonÂ’t really need a 2nd car now but it would be nice to have. Im just saying.

[Fummins]

There was an inquire made to buy some more Mitsu's the other day. They don't have a fleet department and there are no longer any fleet discounts at the local Mitsubishi dealers. We need some more vehicles cause they keep getting smashed up. There are no more nv200's around and no Mirages in white coming out this way until maybe April. The one dealership we usually buy from has a whopping 8 new vehicles on the lot, their showroom is mostly used cars lol.

[Top_Fuel]

The only other unknown in your situation could be timing. If you agree to leave a deposit, is it non-refundable if circumstances beyond the dealer's control cause a massive delay in the car being delivered. What if the car doesn't show up until June...will you still want it?!?

The other question for me would be how much is a reasonable deposit on a $15K car that doesn't have a ton of demand? Maybe $250? If the dealer wants $1,000 deposit but has no clue when it's coming in, then I'm walking on that deal.

[Dirk Diggler]

OP I was in the same boat as you and decided to over pay by $3k for a brand new 2021 ES CVT Mirage. Total price including dealer fees, tax, tag and title was $18,039.99. Before the chip crises, I could of gotten a top trim Mirage for that kind of money or paid $15k for an ES CVT base. I was really pissed about the price until I started researching what used Mirages are going for on Carvana, CarMax, used lots etc. I'm talking about 2020 Mirages with over 20k miles for $18k. It just made sense in this terrible market to take the best bad deal out there and I did. I managed to find a dealer 3 hours away that 2x 2021 lot leftovers. I was grateful to even find a Mitsu dealer that had new cars! The good news is the base ES Mirages come loaded now with amenities. I have everything a top trim Mirage has except nice alloy wheels, foglights, and fake leather wrapped steering wheel. I can live with this.

[Fummins]

Now I want a new car! I found a new phev outlander for $40k(plus whatever else they tack on) in town. Awd would be nice to have again but an 84 month car payment wouldn't be so nice. But....Once my kids start going to and from school on their own I'll have an extra $700/month to throw away.