Ok I am 19 years old and very new to the car-buying world. My current Saab, I walked onto a used car lot, told them I liked it and drove it off in a week.

Now I know that new car purchasing is a lot different, but I was just curious about something. Say I want an '08 Rabbit with certain features, can I just go to the dealership and place the order with a rep and then have the car at the end of the month or something?

Also I hear shadow blue is a very rare color to come across so how if there is no shadow blue on the lot, how do you go about getting one because if I do get a Rabbit (which I most likely will), I want the blue really badly.

That blue is a beautiful color. unfortunatly it will only be that way the day you leave the dealer. Scratches will cover it in less than a year....same with black. If you order your rabbit special, who knows how long it will take to get. Could be a month or three or more. Tell them what you want and they will search for that exact car anywhere in the area including nearby states.

It took me 4 months to get my 4 door, MT, shadow blue. Well of course I'm in Canada...

I checked out online all the dealers inventories and I found one at a dealer and it was exactly what I wanted, basic shadow blue:)
watch for scratches, I bought my car a month ago and is already scratched all over. most of them are from a car wash(wash it yourself !!), some they were probably there when I picked it up(check it out very in detail before you sign the paper work), I was in a hurry and I didn't notice some light scratches. learn from my mistakes. buy a silver or white.

Don't go by online dealer inventories. A dealer upstate NY where my car was shipped to still says they have it in stock even though I purchased it last month at a dealer 200 miles away.

some maybe are lazy, but mine I found it through there site. course it's a good idea to call them to be sure.

Where would I go about finding dealer inventory of new cars?

dealers sites

Of course the dealer closest to me doesn't have a website.

That's not a good sign, huh...

My dealer actually found my car on the boat still in the Atlantic. It was destined for regular inventory with a dealer in Mass. They exchanged a dealio before it hit the shores and thus became my rabbit...kinda like the thought of prelicked door handles to call dibbs. (Past Jetta commercial). Also, if you go for the deal the last week of the month...that is when the dealers a pressured to sell more...so it seemed like my dealer bent over backwards to get the deal struck ASAP...I non-chalantly (spelling sux) said "eh, when you find one" so he took it as a challenge.

I think you've been in the ROC for a while now, month or two. You could have ordered it and be driving it by now...good luck

I could be, but my situation is very complicated.

I drive a 1999 Saab 9-3 that is completely paid off and if I bought a rabbit I would have to finance $10,000 and pay insurance every month. I live at school and we aren't allowed to keep cars on campus (until senior year) or you are on a co-op job where you need to drive to work.

So I could buy the car in December (for winter break), and then not use it until Fall 2008 and it would just be sitting there as I take class in the summer and I would only be able to drive on weekends.

Thanks for the encouraging words though!
And by the time December comes and when I want to buy it I am looking at an '08 anyway.