MikeinDenver wrote:kikbuti wrote:MikeinDenver wrote:
You can get multiple quotes on your trade in. We did with my wifes car. It is not unfair for me to assume the dealer wants to gouge me. I have seen it many times first hand let alone thousands and thousands of stories. I understand they need to make a profit to stay in business. But that doesn't have to be an exorbitant amount. I bet many of those dealers went out not because they solely made less money but probably due to despicable practices and people no longer shopping there. The biggest issue is the process and the BS. One can always shop for a better deal endlessly. Why can't dealers just post their price online like pretty much every other type of retail product and let people choose where they purchase it. You look up a TV at Best Buy then see it on Amazon for $200 cheaper. You buy it off amazon and wait or you go to the local best buy and buy it. But there is no BS!
I as an educated consumer know what the invoice is, I know about the holdbacks etc. So I will pay what I deem a fair price. Not more.
Thank you, MikeinDenver. I still say that it is unfair for you the characterize the dealer as wanting to gouge you. They want to earn as much as they can, just as you do on your job. You're not gouging your employer or your customers, are you? Nobody is trying to gouge anybody. There's the retail price, the dealer's invoice, the dealer's actual cost, AND the dealer's inventory cost. When you're buying a car, you're the hero. Of course, it's better for the dealer if you pay full retail, but that's not gouging you. It's the suggested retail. If you don't like the suggestion, offer your educated price.
Some dealers do post prices online. Some price MSRP plus SALE prices. Of course, once you see the SALE price and go to XYZ dealer down the road and buy it for $200 less, that dealer just shot himself in the foot by advertising a sale price. For that reason, many unscrupulous dealers advertise a price that is below cost. No other dealer is going to undercut it. When you show up to buy it, they use all kinds of tricks to either bait and switch or sell additional items to make the deal profitable. With an electric car like the Leaf, the dealer isn't going to earn money servicing it. Keep in mind that the service and parts departments of dealerships absorb the total cost of running the dealership (absorption rate.) The dealers' profit comes from sales of new and used cars.
Yes you can get multiple quotes on your trade-in. In Ohio as in many states, we pay sales tax on the difference between the purchase price and the trade-in.... so it IS advantageous to trade it in instead of selling it outright to CARMAX. Dealers lowball you on your trade-in.... as much as 5 or 6 thousand dollars. They're taking a chance that they will be able to sell your trade and make a profit, so their trade-in allowances are typically very conservative.
Bottom line... the horse trading business IS necessarily complicated. It's not complicated if you agree to pay retail like everyone does when they buy a Tesla vehicle. It is not too complicated for someone like you. I can tell that you have the skills to buy whatever you want. I understand that people want everything simple. The more that something costs, the more complicated the purchase. Automobiles are typically the second largest purchase people make, so buying one will be the second most complicated.