Price Gouging Dealers

[PoPoCamaro]

Originally Posted by TFord

let me know what you find down there in Cali. I wouldnt mind the drive at all if all I find are gougers here in WA

Who have you found in WA that plans on gouging on the Camaro....so I don't go there. Thanks

[Pencil.Fight]

Everyone I've talked to didn't know enough to tell me anything about it. I did talk to one dealer who told me it would be at MSRP, but I wouldn't take it as any guarantee. I posted that information in the MSRP or Below Thread.

[2K05GT]

It's not GM that will be marking up the price, it's the Dealers, and they are in business to make money, if the demand is high the supply is limited, Capitalism takes presidence here. it's economics 101 Supply and Demand.

So will the Dealers markup 5 to 10 grand, YUP. you can count on it, if the demand is there, GM will see none of that money it's all dealer Profit.
Remember 2007 GT500 sticker was 42K yet dealer were getting 60-70K. today they are 42K and sit on the lot a while.

The dealer does not have a consience, If the demand is there and you won't pay the markup, then next guy will. Sorry but thats how it is.

I called 37 dealers in my area when I bought my 2005 Mustang, and they all wanted 5-10K markups. By May 05 Ford announced that it was increasing production by another 40,000 cars and by July 05 the markups disappeared.

So if I have to wait, so be it, I will let the fools throw their money out the window to have it first. I work too hard for my money to waste it. I asked my Local Dealer about markups, he told me "if the demand is there, YES, I 've got kids to feed"

So on the Maybe Bad Deal List
Dealer Name: Dudley Martin Chevrolet
Dealer location: 8000 Sudley Road Manassas, VA 20109
Dealer phone number: (800) 784-0281
Dealer website: http://www.dudleymartin.com/

[mega_man_01103]

what about if you pay cash? could you expect the same markups?
cant you haggle that price?

i understand the markup. i dislike it but hey, its america, but nobody will turn down straight cash, will they?

[The_Stache]

Originally Posted by mega_man_01103

what about if you pay cash? could you expect the same markups?
cant you haggle that price?

i understand the markup. i dislike it but hey, its america, but nobody will turn down straight cash, will they?

Cash, check, or credit doesn't matter. In fact if your financing with the dealer they get more money from you (interest) and deals with the financing company (% off the finance service, ect..)

Best bet is to search around and find the right dealer OR wait until production overtakes demand (I figure 6 months at the MOST).

[2K05GT]

Originally Posted by diarmadhi

Cash, check, or credit doesn't matter. In fact if your financing with the dealer they get more money from you (interest) and deals with the financing company (% off the finance service, ect..)

Best bet is to search around and find the right dealer OR wait until production overtakes demand (I figure 6 months at the MOST).

True, but then the Convertable is realesed so demand for that will over take the coupe?

[balonywolf]

You know, I don't plan on getting a Camaro until Fall 09 at the earliest, so I'm not too worried about the markup. What bothers me is if the release of a desireable trim package coincides with my purchase. If a popular package comes out in that time frame, and I can afford it, then I might be screwed.

For the most part, though, I'm not sweating the markup.

[stovt001]

Yeah, the big unknown is trim package releases. Will the top performance variant be available along with all others at launch? Will it be released first like the Challenger? (probably not) or will it be launched later (like the Corvette). Although that is not why I'm waiting a couple years to buy, it is certainly a benefit to waiting a little longer.

[jims69camaro]

Originally Posted by rray200

But there will be other muscle cars on the market that GM has to compete for market share with like the Mustang and Challenger.

and the dealers couldn't give two whiffs of bad air about this. sure, GM is concerned with its ability to survive in a market where there is competition, but the dealer doesn't care. he only cares about selling cars and getting as much money from each sale as is possible.

typical scenario: a guy comes into a chevy dealership. he says, i have $X to spend, and i am looking at the mustang, challenger and camaro. the sales-wo/man takes him for a test drive. asks after if he likes the car. plays subtle mind games with words, like always saying "your car" instead of "the car" or something similar. customer says he has no trade-in and the transaction will be cash, no loan. salesman goes to "the desk" to "beat up on his sales manager" and "get you the best price for your car". he comes back with a monthly payment, ignoring your insistence that the transaction will be cash. asks probative questions like, can you afford $X per month. tries to trial-close the deal by saying, "if i could get your car for you at $X per month, would you drive it home today?" you haggle back and forth, then the salesman calls the closer in. the closer asks the same questions: did you like the car, can you afford $X per month, if i could sell it to you for $X per month, would you drive it home?, etc., but says things like this car is rare, not everyone has these, they are few and far between. all meant to put in your mind that you have to pay more for this car.

sound familiar? remember, this was a cash transaction, but the dealer kept insisting on $X per month. this is a typical way for the dealer to get more money out of you. that extra $15 per month that you agreed to over your budget means an extra $900 profit for the deal on a 5 year loan. more, if the loan term is longer.

cliff's notes: dealer only cares about how much money he can get from you. will use every trick in the book to get more money from you. will play the "this car is rare, not everyone has these, they are few and far between" to jack up the price, plays games with the monthly payment in order to get more money out of you.

to reiterate, dealers could care less about the new muscle car wars. they want money, and the more money they can get, the better they feel. my local dealer is notorious for gouging when it's possible. they call it taking advantage of an opportunity, i call it gouging the customer.

So on the Maybe Bad Deal List
Dealer Name: Ocean Chevrolet
Dealer location: Route 37 West, Toms River, NJ 08751
Dealer phone number: 732/244-8400 out of town call toll free: 800-728-1539
Dealer website: http://www.tomsriverautomall.com/

[Sterling]

Originally Posted by twigg107

go through the internet sales department.... You can save alot of hassle and money. When I was looking for a truck, all the dealerships I went to the salesmen would try to pressure me and over price their vehicles. I went to carsdirect.com and got quotes from 4 dealerships, they were all a hell of a lot better!

Hell when I bought my subaru STi, the salesmen tried to charge me $6k over the price they had in a autotrader that was sitting on his freak desk!!! 4hours later and alot of yelling, I walked out for $2k under what they had listed. What was sad, Their was a lady who bought a used/older WRX for more then what I got my STi for!!!

Without a doubt you can get the best deal if you start with the internet sales department. I used to be the Internet Manager at a Chevy Dealership and they will quote you a much lower price than someone walking on the lot because they don't have you at their dealership yet. They know that you have probably contacted several other dealers at the same time and they need to be competitive to get you to even show up for a test drive. I am no longer in the car business as i have a much better paying job now, but the internet manager at a dealership is your best bet at a good deal.

[stovt001]

Originally Posted by sterlingnotes

Without a doubt you can get the best deal if you start with the internet sales department. I used to be the Internet Manager at a Chevy Dealership and they will quote you a much lower price than someone walking on the lot because they don't have you at their dealership yet. They know that you have probably contacted several other dealers at the same time and they need to be competitive to get you to even show up for a test drive. I am no longer in the car business as i have a much better paying job now, but the internet manager at a dealership is your best bet at a good deal.

Having worked at a dealership myself, I can confirm this.

['09-Z28]

Originally Posted by sterlingnotes

Without a doubt you can get the best deal if you start with the internet sales department. I used to be the Internet Manager at a Chevy Dealership and they will quote you a much lower price than someone walking on the lot because they don't have you at their dealership yet. They know that you have probably contacted several other dealers at the same time and they need to be competitive to get you to even show up for a test drive. I am no longer in the car business as i have a much better paying job now, but the internet manager at a dealership is your best bet at a good deal.

I can confirm that too. I recently helped my sister-in-law buy her first car. I had a family member that worked at a dealership down the street from me, and he got us a family discount which was a pretty good price. But I decided to call some internet managers at other dealerships around the valley. I was shocked to find out that we could get the same car for more than $1k less than the family discounted price if we went through an internet manager. It's definitely the way to go.

[Sierra]

I have bought vehicles from a local delaership since 1990. I have an 18 year relationship with this guy. To bad that they dont sell Chevy's. I wonder if they can get one for me? I don't plan on getting one until early 2010 anyway. So if you are looking for a good deal on GMC, Pontiac or Buick then go to
Dealer Name: Arena Bucik Pontiac GMC
Dealer location: Route RT 30 Hammonton, NJ 08037
Dealer phone number: 609-561-0707

[TAG UR IT]

Originally Posted by jims69camaro

typical scenario: a guy comes into a chevy dealership. he says, i have $X to spend, and i am looking at the mustang, challenger and camaro. the sales-wo/man takes him for a test drive. asks after if he likes the car. plays subtle mind games with words, like always saying "your car" instead of "the car" or something similar. customer says he has no trade-in and the transaction will be cash, no loan. salesman goes to "the desk" to "beat up on his sales manager" and "get you the best price for your car". he comes back with a monthly payment, ignoring your insistence that the transaction will be cash. asks probative questions like, can you afford $X per month. tries to trial-close the deal by saying, "if i could get your car for you at $X per month, would you drive it home today?" you haggle back and forth, then the salesman calls the closer in. the closer asks the same questions: did you like the car, can you afford $X per month, if i could sell it to you for $X per month, would you drive it home?, etc., but says things like this car is rare, not everyone has these, they are few and far between. all meant to put in your mind that you have to pay more for this car.

I'd turn around and walk away. Since you bring this to mind and I don't recall discussing it before, I have to mention another dealer.

When I was buying my first Camaro, I wasn't sure if I wanted a Firebird/TA or a Camaro. A bud of mine whom I worked w/ bought a brand new decked out Firebird right when they were released. It was gorgeous, so I wanted to go to their dealership and take a look/price.

Well, I get to Superior Pontiac in SA and get out of my car. I walk to the Firebirds for sale.....no stickers w/ prices to be found on them....only worksheets showing what the veh was built w/. Salesman comes over and I inquire about prices. He asks me to come inside. Well, I'm serious about buying, but am just shopping around at this point (gotta get those prices, you know?).

He comes back w/ papers in hand and asks me to sign some paperwork to release pricing info. I just about fell over. "I have to sign paperwork to get a price? Are you kidding me???" He tells me it's their company policy that they need to get a prospective buyers info and signiture in order to release pricing information on thier cars. I told him he needed no such info to give me the MSRP on a freakin car. He still refused to give me anything w/out a signiture. I told him their business practices were rediculous and I walked out saying I was going to the Chevy dealer to look at Camaros.

One week later, I pulled up to Superior Pontiac w/ a typed letter in hand driving my new Camaro. I saw the salesman outside, walked up to him, asked if he remembered me, and he replied that he did. I asked him, "you see that Camaro?" He replied that he did. "That's what happens when salesmen work w/ prospective buyers. All I asked for was the MSRP. I could be driving a Firebird right now." I handed him a letter (later realizing that I should have handed it to his manager) which complained about their "procedures" and how it was BS that they needed a signiture to release something as simple as a price which should have been on the window in the first place (like my Chevy dealer).

Due to that day and salesman, I will NEVER go back to Superior Pontiac.

BOOOOOOOOoooooooo....