| BugAHoo |
Dropped off my aging Sentra for service at Victory Nissan Richmond yesterday and (again) checked out the 09 Murano LE sitting out front. Looked at the window sticker this time and saw it was fully loaded with sunroof and Nav and listed at $39,920... but then it had the added line item of "Market Value" that tacked on another almost $3000 to the price! This practice of adding "market value" is just ridiculous... I mean, if that's just their way of giving them cushion to negotiate down to list price, spare me. Just tell me the vehicle is in high-demand, low supply and that you won't sell below list price, but don't tack on another $3000 to the price and expect me to want to buy the vehicle now!! If anything, it gives me every reason to wait until there is greater supply and the "market" reveals that most people can't afford to buy new cars right now if they aren't in dire need of a new vehicle.
I just hate the overall car buying process as it is... why can't cars, like everything else, just have a price? When merchandise doesn't move or when new models are coming out, have a sale and drop prices. Why this stupid game? Sigh... rhetorical questions... I don't really expect an "answer", just expressing my frustration with the process. |
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| Corin |
Basic supply and demand. New re-design on a popular car, they simply can get away with it.
Will I put up with that? Not likely. But many people will. And as long as they're selling them fast enough with that mark-up, there's no reason (business-wise) to lower the price.
Would you be willing to take a salary decrease just because a tiny percentage of your customers complained that you were making too much money? I don't think so.
As for "why can't there just be one price", I always find it fascinating when my friends from other countries always try to argue prices at stores that obviously DON'T haggle. America is one of few areas where there ARE set prices for most things. Most of the world uses bartering for nearly everything.
Mind you, I DO agree with you that the car-buying experience is very frustrating and annoying. Which is why I sent out messages to every Nissan dealership in Washington State telling what I wanted, and stated that I refused to haggle and would go with the lowest offered price (considering travel time, of course). $500 under invoice price. Could I have gotten a better deal? Maybe. But it also would have added a lot of stress and time to my search. |
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| Eric L. |
Its called "dealer markup" and almost every dealership does it. The exception are the ones that have a set non-negotiable price such as Saturn or Scion. I wouldn't single out Nissan dealers for this. Keep in mind that almost no one pays the dealer markup, unless the vehicle is outrageously popular or the buyer doesn't know any better.
I like the Edmunds.com method of purchasing a car - essentially emailing/faxing/calling dealership fleet or internet managers to get the best price before you step foot into a dealership. For an 09 MO though, supplies are still low right now, so it will probably be difficult to get the dealer to budge significantly from MSRP. Wait a few months though, and you might be paying close to or below invoice. |
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| zebelkhan |
| Back in 97 when I was looking to buy a 97 Honda CRV, there was a waiting list for it so most dealers had a "dealer markup" added to the list price. I looked around and finally found one dealer (Hayward Honda) that had two of them in stock. I went down there and not only did I not pay the markup, but also not the list. I paid just a little over invoice. |
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| njjoe |
There are people out there who still pay sticker price for a car. We all know people like that. They are either afraid or unwilling to negotiate and will pay what the window sticker says. The dealers love people like that. They put the "dealer markup" on the window because they know there are people who will pay it, and there are those who will begin bargaining from that point.
Personally, I always start at the Dealer Invoice and work upwards. :4:
-njjoe |
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| Eric L. |
quote:
Originally posted by njjoe
There are people out there who still pay sticker price for a car. We all know people like that. They are either afraid or unwilling to negotiate and will pay what the window sticker says. The dealers love people like that. They put the "dealer markup" on the window because they know there are people who will pay it, and there are those who will begin bargaining from that point.
Personally, I always start at the Dealer Invoice and work upwards. :4:
-njjoe
If you're a cheapskate like me, you start at invoice minus holdback minus rebates and work upwards! In June 2003, I got my new MO for $1200 under invoice. :D |
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| Kris |
quote:
Originally posted by Eric L.
If you're a cheapskate like me, you start at invoice minus holdback minus rebates and work upwards! In June 2003, I got my new MO for $1200 under invoice. :D
Eric,
you are a pro!
I wasn't that fortunate....still got not a bad deal...
My last purchase was "Supplier pricing" - dealer could do nothing to inflate the price: :)
I agree with Joe, there are many people who know nothing about car pricing. They start haggling from what ever is on the sticker, including "fresh air" in tires for $499.95, teflon coating for $999.95 etc. Typical dealer margin maker.....these days however we have Internet, and it helps....and boards like this one... |
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| hfelknor |
People want to buy the last one at a huge discount.
But they don't want to pay a premium for the first one.
As a guy who sold cars for a short period of time many moons ago, I see nothing wrong with a premium.
It takes two to tango. If you don't want to pay that, then don't, but would you step aside please so that those folks in the back can get up here.......
It is a mass produced car with a rather small demographic. It will come down in price rapidly.
Homer |
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| qs933 |
quote:
Originally posted by BugAHoo
I just hate the overall car buying process as it is... why can't cars, like everything else, just have a price?
They do...it's called "MSRP."
The way I see it, if I can ignore the MSRP and start negotiating based on the so-called "invoice" price, the dealer has the same right to ignore the MSRP and negotiate down from a "market" price.
I consider myself to be pretty frugal. However, I look for the best value (tangible or otherwise) rather than the lowest price. I'd rather buy a good car that I'll be happy with, versus one that has $5K of rebates because no one else wants it. |
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| muranomax |
quote:
Originally posted by BugAHoo
Dropped off my aging Sentra for service at Victory Nissan Richmond yesterday and (again) checked out the 09 Murano LE sitting out front. Looked at the window sticker this time and saw it was fully loaded with sunroof and Nav and listed at $39,920... but then it had the added line item of "Market Value" that tacked on another almost $3000 to the price! This practice of adding "market value" is just ridiculous... I mean, if that's just their way of giving them cushion to negotiate down to list price, spare me. Just tell me the vehicle is in high-demand, low supply and that you won't sell below list price, but don't tack on another $3000 to the price and expect me to want to buy the vehicle now!! If anything, it gives me every reason to wait until there is greater supply and the "market" reveals that most people can't afford to buy new cars right now if they aren't in dire need of a new vehicle.
I just hate the overall car buying process as it is... why can't cars, like everything else, just have a price? When merchandise doesn't move or when new models are coming out, have a sale and drop prices. Why this stupid game? Sigh... rhetorical questions... I don't really expect an "answer", just expressing my frustration with the process.
I dont know about you guys but I have never bought a car at retail price. I always go in with invoice price and negotiate. The most I have paid is 500 bucks over invoice price. I bought the 2004 Murano brand new for invoice price. I bought a brand new,loaded Rogue for my wife for 50 bucks over invoice. Three grand over MSRP is a big rip-off. I dont care if it is is hot demand,its not worth it. Remember the dealer is making a pretty good profit even at invoice price. Just wait for 3 months and the market value will disappear.
Thanks |
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