Is mitsu known for making the best decisions?

 

Unless you're horrible at haggling you shouldn't be paying sticker price anyway.

 

always haggle on the price of the car and not the car payment btw. i wouldnt go over msrp, i can play the game well and usually get an invoice price. it just takes experience and patience.

 

Over MSRP??

Just find out what the dealer paid for the car, including any kickbacks/rebates/etc. -- the information is widely available (Consumer Reports, for example)... then add 5% or so to what the dealer paid. Not rocket science.

Of course, if you're buying a Ralliart or other special edition, they might go as high as MSRP -- if a dealer even tries to ask for more than MSRP for a car, just walk away, since there's a much greater chance that a bunch of foolish bozos are paying too much, than that the manufacturer set the price too low (no large car company would ever intentionally underprice a car!)

 

I was hoping to be driving one before October...

Would it make more sense to order one or wait for them to show up at the dealerships first?

 

I think it would be best to wait. I would think that, with a preorder, they'd be more likely to force to you pay a premium, whereas if you wait about a month after they come out, and they've built up some inventory, you might be able to save a bit of money.

 

Good thing for South Coast Mitsu down here in Cali haha there's no haggling involved they already cut the best deals of anyone out there and the sickest inventory. Can't wait til they get the RA

 

Any magazine reviews yet?

 

Agreed. If you want a RA you'll get one, you may not be the first to drive one off the lot but you'll get yours. Pre-ordering one or putting a deposit down isn't really the smartest thing to do. Sometimes the dealer won't give you your deposit back if you happen to find a better deal elsewhere and of course they're less apt to haggle with you since they know you're rabid for the car.

Remember too that, for us in the snow states, the later the car comes out in the year the better. October and November aren't car buying months since people usually aren't too fond of driving their new "babies" through the salt and snow. Eventhough the vehicle has AWD the thought of driving something brand new through the worst of weather doesn't sit well with most people. This coupled with the recent spike in gas prices gives you some useful tools when sparring with your salesman.

 

Well, I hope they wouldn't give you your deposit back if you don't buy a car from them -- don't you know what a deposit is for? If you find someone who lets you make a refundable deposit then both of you are complete morons, since a refundable deposit means virtually nothing to either party. If you make a deposit, then you really also need a signed contract that spells out specific terms, and obviously you haggle over the terms of the contract, unless you have no sense at all. Then again, I'm up in Canada, where contracts are safer, because the loser pays legal costs in lawsuits here.

Of course you'll get a Ralliart if you want one, though you may end up having to buy the 2010 model, at least they'll have worked out all of the kinks by then. It may not come in red-orange, and it may not have the TC-SST or even a manual, and with the price of gas it may end up being a lot like a Lancer GTS with an ordinary 2.0L engine, but you'll definitely get something in the Lancer lineup. The Ralliart isn't a mainstream car, and in days of high gas prices, dealers are not going to be stocking up on hard-to-sell cars. My guess is you won't see nearly as many of these as you seem to expect, and dealers may be basing a lot on how many customers will commit to the car. Very many dealers seem to have Evo X GSR's sitting on their lots right now, can't see them looking to pile on the pain with large stocks of the Ralliart.

 

Well we're not all millionaires down here in the states and sometimes unforseeable circumstances (i. e. family, illness, unemployment) happen and we're unable to make the purchase and essentially need our deposit back. I'm in sales and i've given many a deposit back just for those reasons, but I guess I'm just a compassionate moron eh?

 

In these modern times, you don't need dealers to stock up. Go test drive whatever your local dealer has on hand, then if you like the car, order it from whatever dealer in the country has what you want and get it delivered. There's absolutely no reason to settle for a car that isn't what you want simply because your local dealer doesn't have better.

 

Sure, that sounds completely reasonable, but the guy who wrote wanted a deposit back because he found a better deal somewhere else -- completely different rationale.

I'm just tired of idiots ranting about how they can't get their deposits back when they simply change their minds... as if a deposit means nothing at all (which incidentally is precisely why so many deposits do mean nothing at all these days).

 

That applies to regular issue cars -- good luck finding the Ralliart sitting on a random lot. The ones with the most sought-after features aren't going to be freely available, as dealers will be able to find local buyers.

Also, not all of us live near enormous markets -- if you live right in a massive metropolis, then naturally there's never any reason to put down a deposit, but if you live in Spokane, Halifax, or Anchorage, you may want to make sure you get the car you want... if you really want it, of course.

[for the record, Fredericton, where I live, is even smaller than the three cities above, and every bit as remote as Spokane or Halifax]

 

Has anyone seen any indication of the numbers heading to the US and Canada? I would expect them to be at least as high in the US as the MS3 (5000/year). Those cars have sold pretty well, at least compared to the higher-priced MS6, but there a still cars on the lots.

I think the difference b/t a $24-$27K car (MS3/RA) and a $28-$31K (MS6/X GSR) in terms of sheer numbers of people who can afford it is pretty significant. I doubt US dealers will be shy about ordering them. Although I may be underestimating the effects of gas prices on people who don't know you can get very good gas mileage with a turbo car by staying out of boost as much as possible. No fun but it works.