I am trying to convince my spouse to trade her leased Ford Expedition in for a Jeep Grand Cherokee 4Xe. The lifetime average mpg of the Expedition is 14.7 mpg and we just don’t need a vehicle that big anymore.
I have been looking through all of the Jeep GCs in the South East to try to find what would be the best deal on a Summit Reserve. It appears some of them have been sitting on the lots since last fall. In fact I found one in Kentucky that has an 8/30/2022 build date on the Window Sticker. They are advertising an $8,000 dealer discount which is the most I have seen.
Some of the earlier 2022 Jeep GC 4Xe vehicles like this one had a $1,400 lower starting MSRP. That can help a lease deal somewhat.
Has anyone else tried to search for one of these older and lower MSRP vehicles to really get the absolute best deal possible? I imagine they are desperate to get rid of this vehicle since it has been sitting there so long.
If you want to optimize a GC 4xe deal, you need to choose the trim with the best programs. Which is not the Summit Reserve.
The lower MSRP does not help you that much. Assuming the same programs, it will have a lower $RV too.
Construct your target deal using the knowledge on this forum and the incentives you can stack, and then make offers. Not just to one dealer but to many.
Odds are that many of these dealers are sitting on inventory this old precisely because they’re stubborn rather than desperate.
Yes, I was trying to optimize the Summit Reserve trim because that is all my spouse would accept. She really just has a bad impression of Jeep so the base trim wouldn’t work for her.
I was wondering if anyone has searched for older base models with the lower MSRP. With a 24 month deal you still get 60% of that $1,400 reduction. It isn’t a huge amount but every little bit counts, right?
Have you looked at a base trim 4xe? A base trim 4xe is equivalent to a limited trim gas with a bunch of standard features that are optional om the gas. It is far from being a “base” trim.
In my searching, I have found this to be exactly the case with dealers that have multiple '22s on their lots. Many are using the incentives as their only rebates/discounts.
You are absolutely correct about the base trim. In fact I convinced my brother to get the base model last week. However, my spouse is totally different. She just thinks Jeeps are junk. The only thing that may convince her otherwise is that Tupelo interior. She really likes that tan interior a lot.
The Summit Reserve makes no sense at all when compared to the Base trim but even the SR trim makes more since than the other vehicles she would consider(BMW X5, Mercedes GLS, Lincoln Navigator, Audi Q8…etc). Those are all going to cost WAY more than even the SR trim.
I am having trouble just getting her to even look at the SR. Unfortunately, the Base trim would just be a non starter. Sometimes you just have to pick your battles.
You would be surprised. She REALLY likes that tan interior. She also REALLY likes a better stereo. Basically, she just doesn’t like the Jeep badge and would look for any excuse to say she doesn’t want it. However, that interior and the McIntosh sound system would convince her if I could just get her to even test drive it.
I looked at the new INFINITI QX60 because it has the Tan interior and a “Luxury” badge. They want $70K which is $3K over sticker and a .00278 base Money Factor. Even that car which is just a glorified Nissan Pathfinder would be way more than the Jeep SR 4Xe.
It isn’t the same interior though. I know it looks fine but it just wouldn’t be enough to convince my spouse to “drive a Jeep”. The Summit Reserve interior might be enough though. It really is a shame that Jeep doesn’t have a luxury brand name for their Grand Cherokee line. I know they have the Wagoneer brand but they really should roll the Grand Cherokee into that some how. I don’t care about the luxury brand name but some people do. It doesn’t make any sense but it is what it is.
I can empathize with you. Not much you can optimize in this scenario.
The truth is, to get a good deal, flexibility with trim is an essential ingredient. For even better deal, flexibility with models helps. For great deals, flexibility with make helps.
Maybe not “optimize” compared to lower trims, but sometimes it’s not paying the absolute least amount possible, but rather paying the least amount possible for what you really want.
I won’t pretend to know much about Ford Expeditions…but…playing devil’s advocate…
I just find it hard to believe that the interior and options of the ‘base’ 4xE wouldn’t be as nice, if not nicer, than an Expedition (depending on trim I suppose)?
Especially the ‘base’ with the tech II package and the upgraded rims?
Even comparing top trim Summit Reserve 4xE to top trim Expedition…I know there’s a size difference, but just looking at some pictures of both, the SR wins hands down
I disagree that you can’t optimize the deal with the SR trim. You still can optimize the discounts, rebates, and MSRP just as you can with the base model. Sure the base model is a better deal but it just won’t work for my situation. Still doesn’t mean that it isn’t worth trying to optimize the SR deal.
The difference in monthly lease price between the Base 4Xe trim and the SR trim is about the same as the difference between the SR Trim and the “Luxury” competition. It is going to be $1,100+ a month for anything else equivalent to an SR Trim 4Xe. You should be able to get an SR Trim for less than $800 a month with just First Month Payment out of pocket.
I know $800 a month sounds ridiculous when compared to $400-$500 a month for a Base Trim but $1,100+ a month is way worse for anything else.
With the higher trims, you may be better off using a standard rate sfs lease for the extra idl cash and buying out the lease immediately instead of leasing to term.
