Essentially the cars that are already on dealers lots are cars the dealers spec'd out and ordered, unless they traded another dealership for.
Each car that is made, is made from a spec sheet. Whether the spec sheet is made by the dealer or a customer, it is still made to order.
Yes, you can only order packages now, whereas before you could order individual items. In some cases you can order some items individually.
Way back when, guys like Frank Sinatra or Clark Gable, could order any color of interior or exterior they wanted. I have seen an old Tbird that Frank Sinatra ordered from the factory that was a one of a kind color combo.
I worked in the auto industry for 31 years. Started when I was 19.

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My question in mind, why don't we order our vehicles and buy them the way we want them rather than purchasing from the lots?

Depending upon the model and manufacturer, you can do this. You will pay a premium and an extended wait but you get what you want.

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My question in mind, why don't we order our vehicles and buy them the way we want them rather than purchasing from the lots?

I did exactly this for my first NEW car, a 1970 Mustang fastback. I spec'd the body style, paint, interior, engine, transmission, accessories, etc. on a phone call from Biloxi to my dealer back home in West Tennessee. Both the vehicle order as well as financing from my banker were arranged with a verbal promise on phone calls...the good old days. Delivery took about 3-4 weeks and I picked it up when I was home during a PCS transfer. Cost me a grand total of $3,150 out the door. It used to be an extremely common way to buy a new car.

I was still a legal minor and my dad 'helped me find' a school car off the dealer lot. We got exactly what HE wanted: box stock plain vanilla no radio 3 on the tree slant six no-nothing 2 door Dart with 8,000 miles on it, for something around $1400 IIRC...... Oh, it was 1964....

Ordering cars used to be pretty commonplace back in the 50's & 60's. My great uncle used to order a new Rambler every year & go to Detriot & pick it up personally. Most would just have them delivered to local dealers though.

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Originally posted by GaryBF:
Ordering a car used to take about eight weeks for delivery. Most people don't want to wait that long.

Bingo! In a world where people won't wait an additional 60 seconds for their Happy Meal, they aren't going to wait weeks for a new vehicle. That and most people aren't really that picky anymore. We are truly the instant gratification culture.

My wife ordered the car before her current one. They didn't offer the interior color she wanted with the exterior color she wanted, so she special ordered it (grey interior with green exterior versus the tan that was std with green exterior). The dealer thought it looked good and so ordered two. She was quoted 8 weeks, but it showed up closer to four. That was back around 2009 though if I remember right. When it came time to replace, she found something she was happy with on the lot so no need to special order.

i kinda ordered my new Tacoma. only 1 local dealer was willing to work with me the rest told me they couldn't do anything and wanted me to order off the lot. I found local guy who had a good relationship with his factory rep. the day i called him was the day they had just placed their next order of vehicles. he told me he had 1 off road tacoma on order and he would call to see what could be changed. He got the color i wanted ( orange) and tranny i wanted (manual) changed, and also got the least number of factory options for me as i only wanted towing and a satellite radio upgrade. nothing else. The only thing i got that he couldn't get rid of was factory floor mats which i replaced the 1st month with Husky liners. I told him i was willing to put cash down and wait for months only took about 6 weeks as he was able to call his rep that same and get changes made. He not only didn't make me give a deposit, since he knew it was sold the day it dropped off the transport truck he sold it to me for 1k under sticker ( good price for a taco). it was the most pleasurable dealer experience ever. he kept me in the loop emailing me when he got status, like when the VIN was assigned, when it was built in San Antonio, when it was shipped to my local port and of course the day it delivered, i picked it up that afternoon.

so moral of the story is find a dealer who knows whats up.

IF your buying a Tesla, you can literally choose everything including the interior seat configuration as they are 100% custom and if you live in the bay area ( or even if you don't) you can go to the factory and pick it up. My cousin did that with his model X

Haven't you ordered a new Ferrari ever ? LOL.

MDS

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Originally posted by PR64:
I'm no expert but ....you have to keep the assembly line going, supply chain etc.

if every car was custom they would be crazy expensive and take forever to produce.

You can order custom cars but you better have a faaaat wallet.

Yes, it helps supply chain and assembly line.

Ordering a car, you pay the same for it. invoice is invoice.

Having sold cars, a lot of people buy them spur of the moment, there are a lot of people who see something and then have to buy one. Also other situations turn people who aren't spur of the moment into spur of the moment, their car gets totalled or has a major breakdown that's not worth fixing.

I have bought two new cars in my life (the rest were used, or great prices on dealer "demos.").

The two that were new were a 1968 Mustang and a 1978 Mercedes. I ordered both of them. The Mustang that I wanted was a non-standard combination of a standard paint color (red), and a standard interior (tan), but the combination of these two was non-standard. It took about a month and a half.

The Mercedes, I specified it down to the last detail. Started with their lowest priced base car for the U.S. market, a four-cylinder non-turbo diesel (62 hp, it could barely get out of its own way), then added the non-standard items I wanted. This was while I was working in Barcelona, so I ordered it through Mercedes-Benz of USA, but factory pick-up. They balked at one option I wanted, a higher end radio, saying that it this radio was only offered on the more expensive model cars. My comeback on this was, "OK, I'll take the option of pre-wiring and speakers installed, with no radio. Since I don't speak German, I would appreciate if you would make an appointment for me with a Blaupunkt dealer in Stuttgart to sell me a radio and install it."

The response I received was "We will extend special consideration and install the radio of your choice at the factory."

So, I did get the car I wanted with the exact options I wanted. Total delivered price: $17,100.00 for a new, custom-built, Mercedes 240D, including an hour with Hans, a personal delivery technician.

I mentioned that the Mercedes was purchased while I was working in Barcelona. My job there: technical team lead on a Transfer Of Technology project, 18 months, providing the SEAT automobile factory with a computer system that would enable custom orders for each individual car.

Yes, it can be done!

It a bit like guns. Buy an over-the-counter mass produced rifle or pistol for $400 to $1,000 or so and take it home that day.

Buy a completely custom gun and wait 10 weeks to 5 years and pay $3,000 to $20,000. Your choice.

We live a society of instant gratification, see the car, take a whiff for of the new car smell and 90 minutes later you are driving it off the lot. Screw waiting...

Tesla's are made to order.

My 2014 Wrangler was built to order, so was my brothers 2015. It's pretty common with Wranglers.

Back in ancient times it was what my dad always did. He even was at the GM assembly line when they built his 1970 Cutlass! It was a one off with options like a 3 speed Hurst, Police suspension, no power steering and sport steering wheel. My mother hated driving that car!!

My Uncle was the only one in our family that could buy a new car. He always ordered. I remember the little metal plate they put on the glovebox with his name on it.

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Originally posted by JeffSig2022:
....why don't we order our vehicles and buy them the way we want them rather than purchasing from the lots?....What's your take on this?

Because then the manufacturers would have to buy some paint colors other than black, white and grey.

Trying to find a blue or red car these days is like finding a needle in a haystack. Dealer will have 75 cars of the same model, 74 of them will be white black or grey. 1 might be blue or red. I get having the "popular" colors, but do you really need 15 of the same model in the same color with the same options?

Sure makes me want to order one, but I find I can normally get a better deal on a car that is on the lot than one I have to order. I have tried it twice in my life, both in the 80s. First was an 86 Mustang LX Convertible with the V8 engine and manual transmission, grey cloth interior, red exterior and black top. Put $500 down, waited 8 weeks, car came in with leather and automatic. Dealer wanted me to pay for the difference. Not in a million. So I declined and eventually got the deposit back.

Second was a 89 Jeep Cherokee with the straight six and manual tranny. You guessed it, red with grey cloth interior. Came just the way I ordered it and life was good, until the clutch went south about 3 years later, but thats another story.

The other 15 new cars I have purchase over the years have been off dealer's lots, many times in different states than where I lived at the time in order to find one equipped the way I wanted it in a color combo I could live with. That usually meant blue or red and a manual transmission, but not always.

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Originally posted by V-Tail:
The Mercedes, [snip]

So, I did get the car I wanted with the exact options I wanted. Total delivered price: $17,100.00 for a new, custom-built, Mercedes 240D, including an hour with Hans, a personal delivery technician.

Mine was an '82 & 20 years old when I bought it, but it's one of the nicest cars I've owned, and the slowest.

We live a society of instant gratification, see the car, take a whiff for of the new car smell and 90 minutes later you are driving it off the lot. Screw waiting...

Here's a perspective on ordering cars from the old days-

2-door Ford Falcon with three speed on the column- would love to have it around now. Parents ordered it in 1961...
Great little car. Ran across this receipt after cleaning up house after I lost my mom.