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I always got a kick of out customers who claim that they hate the back and forth negotiation process and wish every manufacturer would take the Tesla approach by just pricing the car to sell, yet the minute you present numbers, the first thing they want to do is negotiate and argue the price. News flash folks, there’s a Monroney sticker on every vehicle with the price. Pay it and call it a day if you hate the negotiation process so much.
it is not, they're mock sales to training salesmen how to close a deal.
The guy in this video is nauseating; so full of BS it's not even funny. I'd have been out the door within 30 seconds. Here's my OTD price, can you match it? Yes or no. No? Ok thanks. If yes, write up a purchase agreement stating price of the car, taxes, and title fees itemized. That should be all that's on it. Any other fees or incorrect figures---walk out the door.
A few random thoughts:
1) Perhaps it's a regional issue or brand specific occurence that you're seeing.
2) The dealership model is struggling to survive as it is inefficient, expensive, antiquated, yet still has a lot of political lobbying power because it supports a lot of jobs while fattening the owner, managers, sales team, and financial partners. Taking advantage of the customer is an opportunity to make extra margin and dealerships run a monopoly on new cars (with the exception of direct sales brands...which have their own issues).
3) Perhaps the Audi sales guy sized you up as too practical and that even if you bought the car, he could have made a better (for him) sale on the same vehicle with someone else.
As for me, my last few auto purchases were completely different and averaged a total of 30 minutes per transaction:
2011 - My wife wanted to retire her high school car (1994 Acura Integra LS) and dip her toe into the world of hybrids with a Lexus Rx400h. They were incredibly popular in our region and fetched price around $25K on the used market. I found an internet ad for a used 2007 at a Jeep dealership in Scottsdale, Az asking $18,999. The car had 80K miles, brand new tires, 12V battery, and windshield yet it sat on the dealer's lot for 2 weeks. I called and asked what was the lowest they could comfortably do and they said they could drop $1K from the price. I said great. I secured the deposit by putting $3K on my credit card (3% cashback) and went to my bank for a cashier's check for the remainder. My buddy happened to be visiting his parents in Scottsdale so I hitched a 4 hour ride with him to the dealership. We take a test drive, I check under the hood, and I'm in and out of the dealership in 30 minutes and on my way back home with the car.
2014 - My mom needed to replace her totaled car. An old friend of mine works for Mazda corporate and gave me a friend's and family email to buy any new Mazda at cost. I pick out a Mazda6 with a manual transmission...the automatic felt anemic with its low-revving upshift transmission programming. I have my mom test drive the cars and she agrees that she prefers the manual. My mom pays cash and we're out of there in 30 minutes.
2016 - My wife wants to buy an EV. I find an off-lease, off-auction (literally was auctioned 20 hours before I bought it) 2013 Fiat 500e with 20K miles on it at a shady 1-star Yelp! used car dealership. The internet price says $5,999; market price ranged between $6,500 and $12K. I go for a solo test drive and I commit to buying the car. I'm in their office and suddenly the out the door price is $8,999 due to all of these BS fees, theft deterrent device, etc. I say I'm a little shocked. The dealer asks why and what price do I think is right. I tell him that I know they bought it off auction, it cost a little money to transport the car here and detail it up, they spent money on advertising, and they would like to make some money on the car because it's a business. I then itemize it all based on my research: $5K for the car, $100 per car from auction to dealership by transporter, $100 detail, $200 advertising, $300 for documents, and $1,500 for a profit for them. The negotiation/explanation takes all but 20 seconds. We agree on $7,200 out the door and I'm out of the dealership in 30 minutes.
2019 - Bought a Tesla through the Tesla website. I go to pick up the car and they walk me through the mobile app, confirm that the car charges up, and a few of the unique features. I sign 3 pages of paper and I'm out of there in 15 minutes.
I've had very good luck buying niche vehicles or car brands that were different from the branded dealer. I think the key is understanding where they're coming from and meeting them halfway. 95% of the time, they will make money on you but you have to remember that it's a business and not a charity. On the other hand, dealerships have huge overhead costs, it's a struggling and consolidating business, and bad behavior is often overlooked or rewarded. Nobody praises the virtues of a car salesperson or a dealer because it appears that they are in short supply.
I always got a kick of out customers who claim that they hate the back and forth negotiation process and wish every manufacturer would take the Tesla approach by just pricing the car to sell, yet the minute you present numbers, the first thing they want to do is negotiate and argue the price. News flash folks, there’s a Monroney sticker on every vehicle with the price. Pay it and call it a day if you hate the negotiation process so much.
It's not quite as simple as that. If I come to your business because you advertise a cost of say $24,000 on your website and you then tell me it's $30,000 instead, I will try to negotiate or more likely you will try to negotiate when I say I'm no longer interested. It seems to me like dealers very consciously plan to engage in a negotiation as part of the process and thus incentivize the customer to do so as well.
It's not quite as simple as that. If I come to your business because you advertise a cost of say $24,000 on your website and you then tell me it's $30,000 instead, I will try to negotiate or more likely you will try to negotiate when I say I'm no longer interested. It seems to me like dealers very consciously plan to engage in a negotiation as part of the process and thus incentivize the customer to do so as well.
Yep, when I see one number on your website and give me another in the showroom, unless that second number is in my favor (e.g. lower), I'm walking out the door and never coming back. The second you give me that second number that is higher, I'm done with you and we no longer have anything to discuss.
I always got a kick of out customers who claim that they hate the back and forth negotiation process and wish every manufacturer would take the Tesla approach by just pricing the car to sell, yet the minute you present numbers, the first thing they want to do is negotiate and argue the price. News flash folks, there’s a Monroney sticker on every vehicle with the price. Pay it and call it a day if you hate the negotiation process so much.
Like others are saying, this is BS. If you are truly a proponent of that then remove this dealership model, make it a store with a set price on a vehicle. I don't walk into store to buy a phone and then get told, "that's not the real price, it includes screen protector, cover, and 1 year of Pandora, it's an additional $100 on top of the price you see. We can't take those items off, they were put on by the manufacturer." "We are adding $100 due to market conditions". No other sales works like this.
Like others are saying, this is BS. If you are truly a proponent of that then remove this dealership model, make it a store with a set price on a vehicle.
Exactly right.
What moron decided it was a good idea to ban car manufacturers from selling direct to consumers? I can't think of any other consumer product where I am legally prohibited from buying direct from the manufacturer. Some products, it's impractical but it's not illegal. I have zero interest in the song and dance that is car buying. In fact, the fewer people I speak to in the buying process trying to sell me yet another thing, the better. And for consumers, the more choices, the better.
Again, nothing would make me happier than Amazon or Carvana or any one of the big tech guys getting into the car business and wiping out inefficient and shady dealers.
Best Buy generates a ton of jobs too but we don't ban Apple from selling iPads direct to consumers
The internet price says $5,999; market price ranged between $6,500 and $12K. I go for a solo test drive and I commit to buying the car. I'm in their office and suddenly the out the door price is $8,999 due to all of these BS fees, theft deterrent device, etc. I say I'm a little shocked. The dealer asks why and what price do I think is right. I tell him that I know they bought it off auction, it cost a little money to transport the car here and detail it up, they spent money on advertising, and they would like to make some money on the car because it's a business. I then itemize it all based on my research: $5K for the car, $100 per car from auction to dealership by transporter, $100 detail, $200 advertising, $300 for documents, and $1,500 for a profit for them. The negotiation/explanation takes all but 20 seconds. We agree on $7,200 out the door and I'm out of the dealership in 30 minutes.
You're a very forgiving person. They advertised a price of $5,999. The only acceptable price AFAIC is $5,999 or less. They quote me so much as a penny above that at the closing table, I walk away from the deal (and I ALWAYS ask for the final, out the door number including all extended warranties and service plans that I want). "Come in for a test drive!" equals I block your number and you never hear from me again. And that is not negotiable.
All of those itemized costs are irrelevant to me, they're a cost of doing business and they're included in the final number. I don't know what their costs are, and frankly I don't care. If they gave me an online price of $5,999, then the basic presumption is that that price is acceptable to them, the seller, and it is sufficient to cover ALL of their operating costs and whatever they consider to be an acceptable profit margin. End of Discussion. I don't care if you're losing money on the transaction, you must have your reasons and I'm not interested in them. Sellers sell products at a loss all the time.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kwong7
On the other hand, dealerships have huge overhead costs, it's a struggling and consolidating business, and bad behavior is often overlooked or rewarded. Nobody praises the virtues of a car salesperson or a dealer because it appears that they are in short supply.
None of that is the consumer's concern. If they can't compete without resorting to borderline fraud, they should close their doors.
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