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Pontiac GTO Prices Paid and Buying Experience
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Sorry I ended up talking about my buying experience. My advice to you is to find another dealer. And be patient. They will be coming out with incentives at some point.
Pontiacs site shows all the inventory at dealers in the area so I walked and drove 15 minutes to the next dealer that had the same car I was looking for (cyclone gray 6 speed). Walked into Pride Pontiac in Lynn, MA @5:30pm. Was greeted by a nice salesman. Told him what I wanted to pay, he asked me to write a check for the deposit to show him I was serious which I did. Went to his sales manager who told him the car was on the site but still in transit. Spent 5 minutes with the sales manager and we negotiated a great deal. Paid hundreds less and I get a car right off the truck instead of a 150 mile demo. One of the quickest deals they have made in a while. I feel for the sales reps at the other dealer b/c the manager lost a quick sale.
These are great cars and I wouldn't expect any major incentives because they are starting to move despite zero positive press.
Had another dealership I drive by everyday tell me when I first went in to just look at the car that they weren't sitting on the lot for more than 48 hours. I laughed b/c I drive by everyday and the same exact cars are still there. Sold one or two but not w/in 48 hours.
Shop around is my advice but don't expect them to be giving the 2005s away.
The sales guy started out with that shallow, phony demeanor that I absolutely detest, then threw me $1000 off MSRP and $21,500 for my '03 SVT Cobra. I really wanted to get past that shallow connection I had so my wife and I lured them away from the numbers for awhile. We started talking about how business was going at the dealership, my wife asked about her family, we talked about hobbies and pasttimes, and even managed to joke and kid a little bit. Soon we had them offering another $1000 in a "hot button" discount. The new car price was getting close but I told her she really had to sharpen her pencil on the trade because a dealer down the street had offered me substantially more (not a bluff). She asked me where she needed to be but, in a nice way, I stayed with "more than that". Edmunds valued my trade at $22,100 (22,150 miles in "clean" condition) and the offer from the other dealer was $22,500 with no firm number on the GTO. She came back with $22,800 and offered me the 1.9% for 36 months on the difference (which I didn't think I could get because of the $1000 cash allowance). The car is sitting in my garage this morning.
Final Deal:
MSRP: $34,295
Dealer Discount: ($1,000)
Cash Allowance: ($1,000)
My Price: $32,295
Trade-In Allowance: $22,800
Difference + Tax + Doc Fee + Title = $10,335 @ 1.9% = $295.81/mo for 3 years
I know it may not be the absolute best deal, but I drove away feeling like I got a fair deal and the salesperson made a little money too.
What do you folks think?
The important thing is that YOU are happy with your price.
Enjoy!
What made you get rid of the cobra?
i've driven an 03' and it made me wet my pants..
ahh, the whine of a blower!!
Sooooo, with the $5000 final payout they received on the car from GM, they are still trying to net more than MSRP for the vehicle at this late date.
I test drove this particular car last December when it had about 100 miles on it. Now I understand why they still have it.
Mentioned that to a dealer and he said the GTO is not covered under that.
The discount is 5%.
Anyone know if that is true or was this guy just blowing smoke?
GM employee (GMS pricing) is offered on the GTO - if you're an employee, log into GMFamilyFirst and then access the special version of GM BuyPower which will show you the employee pricing.
Dealers are _not_ required to sell you a car at GMS pricing. Many wouldn't, at least initially. I'd strongly suggest shopping around for a dealer that will... most of them have gotten smarter since last year (but there are a few who are still not offering GMS and/or are trying to mark up the cars over MSRP).
--Robert
I personally would never pay more than MSRP for any new car. Strongly suggest you check other dealerships.
GM's "offer employee pricing to everyone" deals start on June 1. Of course, this may not be as good a deal as you might think, since rebates will either go away or be significantly reduced...
--Robert
So I'd guess a good deal would be Invoice minus the Employee Discount rebate.
Yeah right... no one is going to touch my credit to test drive a car. I dont want to feel like I have to argue with a dealer just to test drive a car!
If you are under 30/35, might do better to:
a) use GMBuyPower to see if the dealership even has a GTO (many don't - with only 12k being built, they are selling, and dealers seem to struggle to keep 1 or 2 around). Be aware that a car will show up on GMBuyPower when it leaves the docks in California, not necessarily when it gets to the dealer.
b) Dress up nicely - no jeans - at least a polo shirt and nice khaki's, if not a shirt and tie, when you walk into the dealership.
If the sales rep gives you any guff, walk away and ask to speak with the general manager. If you get no satisfaction, walk away and go to another dealership! Regardless of your age, they will probably lowball you on your trade - it may be best to sell it outright, if possible. Try to find out what the "Black Book" (not Blue Book, Black Book) value of your car is - or go post on the "Real World Trade-In Values" thread over on the Smart Shopper board.
May I ask where in the U.S. you are located?
--Robert
I'm used to this though... same thing when I was trying to pickup the EVO.
I'm in Miami, FL.
And running a credit check is a bad thing if youre not sure of taking the loan. Every hit on your credit counts ya know.
Maybe its because GM is jerking them around on the GTO or maybe the volumes are so low they just don't care. After all, selling small numbers of $250,000+ exotic cars with a $40K markup is one thing. Selling small volumes of a car with a smaller markup than a Bonneville is something else entirely.
Also glad to hear that Ed Morse plays "straight" with buyers. I visited Sheehan 2 weeks ago, and they were still bumping up the Employee price with their own "add-on's" such as paint sealant.
I would really like to take advantage of the Employee pricing, because it would be the only way to get a "fair" price in South Florida. I am eligible for the GM Supplier discount, but I cannot use my GM Card earnings with that discount, however GM Card earnings CAN be used with the Employee pricing. Alas, I am building a new home right now and just don't have the cash today. Plus I still need to sell my '96 Impala...
Of course, I agree that pricing and how a customer are treated are two separate things. While they have every right to get as much for the cars as they can, they certainly shouldn't be rude to potential customers. While I would never buy from Sheehan in Lighthouse Point FL because of their pricing, even though as one of the largest dealers they get more cars than other dealers, they have never been smug or rude to me... they just won't the let the cars go for what most of us would consider a fair price.
I also can't fault dealers for not offering test drives to anyone who walks in the door. Ideally, I would like to buy one fresh off the car carriers... one that someone else hasn't driven harshly in its first 100 miles (I still believe there is such as thing as a "break-in period").
Salesman at Sherwood Delray Pontiac was no better. Automatically added 1k for pin stripping, undercoating etc. even though it wasn't even added to the car.
Passed on contacting Coral Springs due to a problem with the service department on our Pontiac Vibe. No other dealer had car readily available.
If you are interested go to Ed Morse Sawgrass website, and look for female internet salesperson--she and the finance person were truly outstanding! If you speak to her tell her we're the family that got the black/black 5 speed GTO on the very rainy Thursday night 6/23/05. They also sold a midnight blue and impulse blue that same evening.
The car is not to be missed. This dealership is head and shoulders above the others. A Corvette with a back seat for $10 k less. We weren't planning to buy just now, but the offer was too good. If you can work it out definitely go for it!
Thanks again for the info; I was actually interested in the Impulse Blue one at Ed Morse, which, as you said, was sold the evening you bought...
Best of luck with the car! (I may decide to opt for a leftover 2004 if I can get it under $25k, and then minus GM Card earnings...)
price was 30268. i had found it on gmbuypower a few months ago and 'reserved' it the day after 'employee pricing' was announced.
previously i've been a z28 owner (85, 89, 94, 96, 00) & 1977-firebird-305-owner.
i australia!
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If there are '05's (or even leftover 04's) stagnating on dealer lots, it's a dealership issue, not a lack-of-sales/lack-of-interest one...
--Robert
(Reason I'm asking is because I "can't" buy one now. But, if I know how much the dealers are making on each GTO sold under this promotion, perhaps they'd accept that same profit when I'm ready to buy an '06 next year.... Hey, anything to help in the bargaining process, right?)
My question was more pointed to the Employee Pricing promotion. Seems to me that on a large-scale program like this, GM would be simply paying the dealers a flat amount per car model in addition to the margin. For example, just throwing out hypothetical numbers, let's say that a particular dealer normally pays 7% below invoice for a given car model. So for each car sold, he makes whatever the difference is of the selling price and that 7% below invoice figure. (Then at the end of the year, he also gets his "hold-back" check.) But for this promotion, since GM is setting the sale price, wouldn't it make sense that GM is then paying a flat $800 (or whatever) to the dealer, to help make up the difference between the Employee Price and what the dealer might normally sell the car for? (Thus, the dealer's profit would be the difference between what his own contract price is for the car and the Employee Price, plus whatever this "flat" amount GM is paying as part of the promotion (plus his hold-back).)
Now, since we can look up the invoice price and compare it with the so-called Employee Price, if we just knew, ballpark, how much GM is paying the dealers for each GTO sold under the Employee Price promotion, we would know what a "fair" price to offer a dealer is... in other words, what price is worth doing business at.... without really knowing his true "profit", because we don't know what his contract says he pays for the car, and we don't know what GM-to-dealer incentives are available at any given point. (Put another way, we would know what he "gets" for the car (the Employee Price from the customer, plus this mystery payment from GM), but we would not know his true "cost" for the car or his profit, which is fine... I was just trying to figure out what a fair selling price is.)
But, that is gross profit... he has to pay expenses out of that.. And, if everyone is getting the same deal, it isn't like he can make up for a skinny deal on the next guy... I doubt you'll find anyone selling under the employee price..
regards,
kyfdx
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Cars.com shows 12 used '05 GTOs within 250 miles of Cincinnati...
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Pricing ranges from $27,300 to $32,995(!) - with mileage ranging from 25 (still new?) to over 8000. Interestingly enough, the cheapest car has only 100 miles on it, while the most expensive has 1600...
I would not pay over 29k for any used '05...