Quote:
Originally Posted by Noah930
Now, if someone were to really agree to the amount I offered, I'd go through with the purchase without dicking around with all the other dealers. I figure that's only fair to them, too.
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And there's the problem. Most other people wouldn't, which is why most dealers won't give you their best offer right up front. They want to meet you in person to feel out if you're actually serious about writing a cheque for the full amount, right then and there. Maybe you're playing honest with them, but bear in mind that at least 90% of the customers that the salesman deals with in a month will not buy anything. And many of them make BS claims about either not needing financing, or their credit situation if they do. The car buying customer is one of the most educated (in terms of the product) yet at the same time one of the most unreasonable and demanding of all. So they do have a right to be cautious with their offers.
That said, buying a new car is a fool's game, IMO. Buy 2-3 years old, 30-40k on the clock. That's usually the sweet spot between condition and depreciation.
When I was involved in the dealership, what I wanted to do was post a breakdown of each car's price in the window, with a no-haggle policy. Here's what we paid for it (show the invoice), here's what we put into it for reconditioning (repairs, cleaning), here's our lot pack (overhead), here's our salesman's commission, here's our dealer profit. So you'd see a car that cost 15 at auction, 1000 recon, 1000 lot pack, 300 commission, 1500 dealer profit, total sale price 18800. My partner disagreed.