Cars are “allocated” to the dealers. Acquiring the dealership and the right to buy cars from the manufacturer is what is expensive.
Dealerships do not pay for cars at time of delivery. The actual differred cost to the dealer is a very complicated thing because of allocation, dealer-incentives, customer cash-back, financing rates and carry and delivery costs (much more in Alaska and Hawaii than in New York). Many times more complicated than yo-yo retail I would guess.