I know this happens up here, so I wouldn't be surprised if it happened in california as well. I undesrtand why a dealer would do that. It's all about profit. Profit margin isn't the same if selling/transferring the car to another dealer and since the car sells so well, I guess they don't see the point of loosing easy $$$.
The only problem I had in Oklahoma was finding the color w/options I wanted.. My dealer said he wouldn't have a problem trading if we found the right car.. In the end, I got a much better deal on a "second choice" color but with more options for a better price..
I live in Georgia. The car I wanted was in Florida, so they drove it 300 miles to my dealership. I just didn't have the patience to wait 3 months on a custom order.
No problem here in Las Vegas. This was my first new car purchase and I wasn't going to settle for squat. I got everything I wanted at $100 over invoice out the door.
All the dealers I talked to said they were having great trouble trading (east coast). Most dealers wouldn't even think about it, unless they were getting the same basic options in a different color. Came down to finding a few cars that had the basic packages I wanted, and tracking them down. I found 4 that met what I wanted in a 150 mile radius of where I lived. Of those four, three already had a deposit on them. The fourth one I ended up buying.
I live in Georgia. The car I wanted was in Florida, so they drove it 300 miles to my dealership. I just didn't have the patience to wait 3 months on a custom order.