2022 Mitsubishi Outlander's Amazon Live Reveal Is a First

Yup, free shipping with Prime, free returns, and over-the-curb warranty.

@Old_WRX I expect to see lots of these things filling my local Kohls parking lot, waiting to be returned. Assuming anyone buys them in the first place.

If they replaced the $950 destination charge with Amazon free shipping, that really would be an interesting twist. Not holding my breath.

@SCE to AUX TTAC Pop Quiz: How much of the destination charge is pure profit for the OEM? a) 0%, it is a cost pass-through (like it used to be in your grandfather's day, when the amount varied by distance and when you could pick up your new car at the factory and avoid the fee altogether) b) The OEM's receive some profit on the destination fee, but because they have a Deep and Abiding Love for You The Customer, it is only in the 1-2-5% range, certainly not over 10%. c) More than 10%, maybe way more than 10%, maybe way way more Some possible prep materials for those of you without an internet search engine (you can probably do much better on your own): https://www.cars.com/articles/destination-fees-on-cars-are-way-up-heres-why-405847/

@ToolGuy: That was a good, informative read. Thanks for posting the link.

@SCE to AUX $950 to ship from Japan. $1495 to ship my new Wrangler from Toledo to suburban Toledo. SMDH. As for the Mitsu, not bad looking, shame about the CVT. It'll look good on the Emerald Aisle, but I'll keep walking past it.

@here4aSammich If that link can be believed, and the automakers really are raising the fee because shipping costs are higher, then why can't I do a factory delivery to save us both money?

@jack4x The entire part of that article where it says that D&H is intended to be profit-neutral should not be believed. It changed long ago. The correct answer to the quiz is "c)" - there is a LOT of profit built into the D&H charge from many OEM's. To confirm this for yourself, look around for the cost of shipping a vehicle - one example [cites ~$0.40-$1.00 per mile]: https://tinyurl.com/17wyuvod Then look at where most vehicle assembly plants are - you aren't doing a lot of coast-to-coast shipping. Then consider that the OEM's are doing this in bulk, with their choice of transport (train/truck/port). They might come close to breakeven on *some* of the shipments, but they make significant $$$ on *most* shipments [see the Toledo example above].

@jack4x More: https://www.truecar.com/blog/destination-fees-on-new-cars-what-you-should-expect-to-pay/ Quote [but see below!]: "While destination fees are hardly the most exciting part of buying a new car, you should know that they aren’t a money-making line item. This fee is the full amount the dealership pays the manufacturer for each car delivered to their lot. To keep things fair, costs are averaged out so that dealers pay the same amount whether they’re five miles or five thousand miles away from the factory." •From a DEALER perspective, yes this is correct. •Note that this writeup from truecar completely steps over the question of MANUFACTURER [OEM] profit on Destination and Handling fees.