After reading a number of comments about the current difficulties in finding a van in-stock on a dealer lots, I figured I’d give a detailed explanation of the steps I went through to find Betty, my dream cargo van, in March of 2021.
My first step was figuring out the absolute highest loan I could get pre-qualified for so I knew what my absolute max budget was.
Once I established my maximum budget, I narrowed in on what “must-have” features I could afford, and what features I’d have to give up in order to stay within my budget.
With that list of features, I then searched nearly a dozen of the biggest cities on the west coast of the US. As soon as I found a dealer who’s website claimed to have a Van with my “must have” items in-stock, I’d reach out to that dealer directly to verify if they did in fact have the vehicle in-stock, and available to purchase.
More often than not, the vehicle had already been sold, or was custom ordered and hadn’t even been delivered to the dealership yet.
After finding a few options that were in-stock, I discussed logistics with the dealerships as all of the dealerships were at least a few hours, if not farther away from where I lived. Some were more than willing to either pick me up at the airport, or possibly even deliver the van directly to me.
The last piece of advice I’d give is simply to stick with it. It’s a lot of work, and requires tenacity, but the payoff is well worth it.

Timestamps:
00:00 - Welcome
00:44 - The First Step
03:47 - Websites Lie
04:53 - Be prepared to Travel
06:47 - Negotiate Outside of Price
07:42 - Transfer Between Lots
09:35 - Summary

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