StephenPT
Full Access Member
Good points - and further confirmation that this process is so HIGHLY dependent on the dealer. My dealer is relatively small - nice people, seem to have their ducks in a row, offered supplier pricing, but at the end of the day they don't get much allocation. I felt like I had an understanding about how this allocation process worked before I placed my order, but after continuing to learn more - based on what I'm trying to order - I should have gone with a much larger dealer.I hear what you are saying. But I think it depends on your "must haves" in a vehicle. For example, I believe you also are waiting on a diesel and those are very scarce on the inventory site. They have been scarce for a long time. So maybe you would have found one, maybe not. But the likelihood that it is A) available and B) being sold for MSRP or less might be a low probability. I wanted to find a dealer who will honor Supplier pricing, which cuts down the number of available dealers even more.
Then what other options do you need? For example, I must have a bench seat in the 2nd row. Those are very rare on inventory units and even more rare on something like a Denali. So in my situation, I think I would have been waiting even longer to get what I want to show up in inventory.
Now if you want something more common like the 5.3 (or even the 6.2) you probably have lots of options taking the "search the inventory" approach.
Personally I still like the ordering process, but I wouldn't waste time with a smaller dealer. I've had an SLT (diesel) order in at a smaller dealer since 8/16 and it still hasn't been picked up. I put an order in for a base Denali (diesel) at a larger dealer on 9/16 and it was just accepted today.
But I do agree the ordering process is confusing and frustrating. I guess you have to pick which approach works for you.