Mitsubishi announces fleet-discounts for ADF and veterans
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Please note: This story was amended by request of Mitsubishi HQ on 16 March 2021 to reflect new facts and figures…
Mitsubishi Motors Australia has announced an Armed Forces Discount program that offers current-serving and retired ADF members national fleet pricing on any Mitsubishi vehicle make or model.
A Mitsubishi Motors Australia spokesperson told CONTACT that this pricing was ordinarily reserved for businesses with 40+ vehicles, and so was a considerable discount for the retail purchaser [*NB notes on ‘normal’ v ‘drive-away’ pricing below].
“Our range extends from passenger vehicles such as the Outlander and Eclipse Cross to light commercial vehicles such as the Triton and Express van,” she said.
“All of these are eligible for the program, and vehicles bought under the program will also receive our warranty and capped-price service programs [*NB editor’s notes and reader’s comment below].
“Fleet discount can vary from month to month, but as of March 2021, one model, which would normally* be $44,490 would be reduced to $37,747 with GST or a little over $34k before GST.”
The Mitsubishi Motors Australia spokesperson confirmed that because DVA Gold Card TPI veterans are exempt from GST for car purchases, they can claim the fleet discount and take the GST off as well.
*Please note something we’ve learned since first publishing this story – is that the “normal price” upon which the discount is calculated is not the same as ‘drive-away price’ usually advertised by dealerships and on the Mitsubishi web site [CONTACT does not know where you can find ‘normal price’ listed, but we’ve asked].
CONTACT has only heard from two people who actually received an ADF discount.
One guy reported receiving $500 off a ‘drive-away’ quote of $49,940 at a dealership (and was happy, because he hadn’t read this story and so the discount was unexpected (but, he’s less happy now, after digesting the story)).
Another guy told us he got $2700 off (but didn’t say what the original price was).
We also heard from two people who bought a different brand after feeling frustrated by a perceived discrepancy between this story and the reality at their dealership.
One commenter below also says that several different dealerships told him if he took the Defence discount he wouldn’t get capped-price servicing or the 10-year warranty. This is in direct contradiction of the story above – but the same commenter also said Mitsubishi HQ refused to clarify, over the phone.
CONTACT has written to Mitsubishi HQ seeking written clarifications. We will edit this story when we receive them.
CONTACT was not paid for this story placement. We thought it was info worth passing on – but, we’re disappointed by the negative feedback and ongoing confusion.
As always, buyer beware – but, we’d love to hear about your experience if you do go car hunting with this info in your arsenal.
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G’day Brian,
Mitsubishi Toowong gave me a $750 fleet (Defence) discount off the advertised drive away price on the 2022 Outlander plus threw in some floor mats.
It’s worth noting thought that the salesman was an ex AJ and was fantastic to deal with. He mentioned that the discount is calculated of the RRP before on roads, and not the ‘drive away deal’ so although the discount may sound like a few grand is actually a bit closer to what you could normally get. I also tried a car broker (one for free thanks APOD) and after a whole bunch of quotes he could not get a better deal.
Unfortunately the salesman I originally went with has since left the dealership and the person who took over from him has been less helpful however after a bit of back and forth they honoured the deal
Mitsubishi advise MMAL-21176 issued 21/9/21 for dealers to refer to
I’m pleased I viewed these comments as I’ve had similar experiences to everyone from Warragul Mitsubishi and Traralgon Mitsubishi also, it just confirms my thoughts. So disappointing and frustrating, I gave up in the end and won’t buy until I consolidate the effects.
Cheers to all;
Trying to find any sort of clarification form Mitsubishi or dealers is a joke. I’ve been emailing and calling this Cathrine for 2 weeks now with no reply. Had a price given to me by Caloundra City Autos for 42k on a new GLS Triton. Im TPI Gold, they would not tell me what sort of discount had been applied even when i asked. Requested quotes from several dealers in Brisbane. Only had Toowong call me back and the lad never even got back to me with the quote he promised. He told me the RRP for a triton GLS was just over 49k so i think once i mentioned 17% off that then GST/Stamp duty exemption he obviously couldn’t offer that, hence why he never bothered with the quote. Frustrating as we just want clarity on what we are entitled to. For Cathrine to get on here and say we should get 17% off RRP on a triton then to never reply and for dealers to just reject that isn’t good enough. Just my opinion though as I’m legitimately in the market for a new GLS. Also found a comment on facebook of a lad saying he used a group caled Defence Cars, and that they got him a 50k car down to 33k with ADF discounts applied. Never heard back from them either.
This 100% works if you go to a motivated dealer. I know of one in QLD (Brisbane) and Melbourne.
I purchased a Pajero Sport in March 2021 and got national fleet pricing which was immediately $4,000 off the rrp. The dealer then went a bit further with the discount and really looked after me! I would recommend this dealership highly, send me a PM if you want me to send you contact details. In the end I got premium paint, tow bar, electronic brake controller, dash cams and a few other things for less than the drive away price special for that month. If you have TPI gold card you would also save on the GST. Tritons seemed like they had a substantially larger discount but each vehicle is different and it changes month to month. Well worth looking into if you can find a motivated and experience dealer (found the right dealer on the fourth attempt)!?
Thank you Christopher. I’m very pleased to hear a positive comment on this story.
Can anyone else match this?
Brian Hartigan
CONTACT Editor
P.S. I want to make it clear, CONTACT was not paid for passing on this story. We passed it on because it sounded like a good deal. But, we were worried by the mostly critical feedback – so very pleased to hear this positive story from Christopher.
Thanks Christoper for this information.
It seems like every dealer has there on way of dealing with this. Here in Melbourne I’ve been to two dealers and both have told me to contact Mitsubishi Head Office and get them the information as they had no clue what I was talking about.
If you have the contact details of the dealer that helped you in Melbourne, it would be greatly appreciated if you can pass this on to me.
Thanks
Dan
Hi Christopher, if you have a TPI card then you will qualify for National Fleet. Regarding govt charges or other gov costs you should be able to get a letter signed saying you qualify for that, I’m not sure exactly where thats from, likely ATO or Centrelink. Ben @ Warragul Mitsubishi
If you are a TPI just search the DVA website. They have info online plus the requisite form which needs to be filled out and lodged with the dealer at time of purchase – they will probably take a photocopy of your gold card for their records too.
Hey Chris, can’t find how to PM you. But I’d be keen to get the Qld dealer contact details. Thanks for letting us know it’s still working.
Hi Tim. I’ll pass on your details to Chris.
Hi Chris,
Great info and would love to know the Melbourne dealer who knows how this works, also interested in a Pajero Sport and dreading the nightmare of getting the deal right!
Tranks, Trev B
Hey Chris! I’m interested in hearing about this dealer as I’m on the hunt for a Pajero Sport currently 🙂
I have spoken to several dealerships here in Melbourne who tell me that by going with the defence discount I won’t get capped price servicing or the 10yr warranty.
Calling Mitsubishi Head office to clarify didnt help. I was told they couldn’t comment on it and it was between me and the dealership. No clarity about the discount and the benefits from them means that dealerships can lie through their teeth about it. So dissapointed.
I had a good experience,
I wasn’t aware of the this discount and we were going through all the paper work with the dealer. He asked about any concessions and I mentioned my dva card in passing, and the dealer found the email and worked out the discount.
Would be good if they asked specifically as I nearly didn’t mention it since I wasn’t aware. ( Since it looks like some staff from Mitsubishi are reading these comments) Maybe some publicity for customers would also be helpful, and great it would also be great advertising.
Would have saved me going through the process of getting quotes etc.
Same thing with Rockingham mitsubishi, offered $500 off a $27000 ASX at “fleet pricing”. Honestly, Mitsubishi are one of the worst companies to deal with
Hi there,
This is Catherine from Mitsubishi Motors Australia. The discount is a national discount for armed forces and retired armed forces members. The discount is available at all authorised Mitsubishi Australia dealerships. It offers the same National Fleet Pricing that we give to our major fleets across Australia. These discounts vary based on model and year of manufacture, but the top discount is on a Triton and is 17% off our RRP price. It would be lower than this for SUV models since they cost less. We offer significant discounts on our advertised Drive Away prices, which can come close to these but will not be as low as these prices. The Dealerships may be advising you on a discount amount on our national Drive Away pricing, rather than RRP, and therefore this would seem to be significantly less.
We want to make this a positive experience and we are sorry to hear that there have been difficulties with this offer as we had introduced it based on both staff and stakeholder relationships with ADF members and retired members. It had been suggested by a family member of an ADF member as a way to give back. If you would like to email me with the details of the dealerships you approached, I would be happy to reach out to them and provide them with your feedback and ensure they have clarification of the offer. My email is media.relations@mmal.com.au.
100% this is correct, I work for a dealer that has Mitsubishi and in the fleet department,
Please bare in mind the RRP is not the Drive away promotion for that particular month, don’t get them twisted! the price on the computer on the Mitsubishi website is the drive away not the RRP
it is still a couple of thousand better then a retail drive away price and if you have a gold card even better due to stamp/gst savings
you defiantly all deserve that and more!
thank you for your service!
Hi, popped into the Mitsubishi Dealer in Townsville (one of the biggest Garrison Towns) mentioned I was interested in buying a new car and said I was in Defence(still serving), I asked if there was any incentives going and was told NO just what was currently on the website. Where did you get the info about Defence special pricing, as I am still interested in buying a car with good buying incentives (discounts). Regards, Paul.
Hi Paul. I got this info from Mitsubishi HQ – double checked it – then triple checked after another serving member in Perth was told no.
It’s DEFINITELY a thing – so tell the dealer to contact Mitsubishi HQ – and don’t take no for an answer 😉
Mitsubishi Motors Australia Limited
1 Tonsley Blvd, Tonsley, SA 5042
It’s in the dealer’s best interest to look after you and Mitsubishi’s best interest to make sure you’re happy.
I will also pass on your experience to Mitsubishi HQ as well. They obviously need to educate their dealer network better.
Cheers
Brian Hartigan
CONTACT Editor
Hi Brian, I contacted the dealership today and spoke with the fleet sales manager and he confirmed that we are eligible for the Defence Force Discount (Fleet Discount). Great I thought I was on to a winner. He then said looking at it, there would be a great discount of $500, I queried this and he then said it could be possibly $1000. He then put me in touch with the salesperson who I dealt with on the weekend and said he would get him to do up some quotes. I then received a phone call from said salesperson who wanted me to narrow down my specific model and colour so that he did not have to make up too many quotes. Because the car I looked was POA, he said it would be roughly $2500 more than the 2WD which they had on at $35990, I then asked him what discount I would get and he said there are no discounts. I told him that the fleet sales manager would speak to him to knock up a quote with the Defence Force Discount, to which he replied, I did not know you were in Defence. I was a little confused and disappointed at this point and said what about my Part Exchange Vehicle, what price am I getting for that? As three weeks ago I was offered $6000 for it from the same dealership chain, he replied $5000, so in less than a month it depreciated $1000. He gave the standard sales pitch of the other dealership put extra money on your PartEx but would have added this on to the new car sales price. I said no they didn’t I got the price of the new car then included my PartEx. He said he may be able to get an extra $500 but couldn’t promise anything, I said I really would like $6000 for it as I had just paid an extra years Rego on it. At this stage I said, look probably just forget it as I don’t think any of this sounds right. He said he would go and speak to the manager and get back to me with quotes. He called me back and said he had emailed two quotes, one with fleet discount and one without and no extra money for my PartEx, I told him I would have a look at them and get back to him. I was shocked to find that with their current Drive away price should have been $2500 more for the model I wanted, but it worked out at $5000 more. The Fleet Discount Quote still only worked out $500 cheaper. I am no mathematician or car salesman, and I am not stupid, to me this does not seem right. I replied to the email from the car salesman and said I would not go ahead with the sale, and maybe I would wait until their next container ship arrived in March, but if I did that then my PartEx may only be worth $2000 if it depreciates $1000 each month. To sum the whole experience up, I would say that being open and honest from the outset would cause less misunderstanding and probably help you sell more cars. Sorry for the rant, but I am disappointed. Regards, Paul.
Hi Paul. I am disappointed and dismayed about this for you.
I am also disappointed and dismayed for me – because, when you say “being open and honest from the outset would cause less misunderstanding and probably help you sell more cars”. This would seem to indicate that you think I am trying to sell cars? Surely you should have said “…help them sell more cars”.
I and CONTACT have absolutely nothing to do with this deal – it wasn’t even a paid advertisement. I simply passed on what I thought sounded like a good-news story.
More than that, though, I have communicated with Mitsubishi HQ three times on this matter, for you and others, in an effort to ensure the facts portrayed in the story are straight.
If this comes back to haunt CONTACT because of negative experiences, then I will be as unhappy as you are – and I will communicate same to Mitsubishi HQ – for both our sakes.
I will also leave this story and these comments on line so that others may judge for themselves. I would also be very keen to hear from others who have shopped or browsed at Mitsubishi because of this story. Did you get a good discount or discount offer – or a disappointing one?
Hi Brian, I am sorry, but this was aimed at the dealership being open and honest from the start, and not yourself. Sorry for any misunderstanding, you do an awesome job. Regards, Paul.
All good mate.
Thank you for your support.
And I sincerely wish you and yours a very merry, safe and above all healthy Christmas and New Year.
Hi Brian,
I shopped around two dealerships in Brisbane after Xmas and all I was told was $500-700 discounts on a new Triton 42-43k, roughly 1-2%. Kind’ve got laughed at when I mentioned the fleet discount of up to 17% as mentioned in the article. They are selling heaps of cars so didn’t seem very interested. Thanks for the article though any discount is better than none.
Thanks for the feedback David. I will make sure Mitsubishi HQ sees this.