When I went to my dealer in December they originally told me I would be 15 or 16 on the list but that they would take a deposit of $1,000 and call me anything changed. A few weeks later I get a call that one of their customers who had ordered a car developed a health issue and they would not be able to take the car. They would offer me to take the car at $30k over. I said no because I didn’t love the build (and the $30k over). A few weeks after that in late February I get a call saying I could have a configurable allocation for $20k over. I took it for a little less than that. I’m happy that I got one and the money is not a huge deal in the context of a $180k car, but I wish dealers were more upfront about how this works. I’m fine with the “you gotta pay to play” philosophy but be clear that that is how it works from the beginning. I still want to ask my dealer “hey what happened to the 15 or 16 people in line ahead of me?”

Then again I recognize that these guys are in the business of selling cars and telling someone they probably won’t get a car and then following up with an offer for a car at ADM is actually not a bad strategy.