Any Questions for a Car Dealer?

rroyce10

...... I don't think it has anything at all .. to do with names.

It's simple economics 101 .. Honda's are wonderful, but they will build 50,000..maybe. Caravans, they will build 200,000+.

Re-sale value depends on one thing ..and 1 thing only. Market demands. If a builder is building 2 to 1 .. or 5 to 1, the re-sale will obviously be hindered. That's an easy one to figure out.

If Ford cut's back the Explorer to say 50,000 units or less .. the demand will be there, as it is now, but the price at the dealership will be Mucho higher.

Caravans have been the number 1 seller since 1984 --- Ford, GM and every Import has chased them for a loooong time. With limited #'s, they have sold theirs.. some have been very successful and some have had very limited success .. like GM and Ford -- but they attend to the mass market.

M Benz is ..and has been a wonderfull vehicle for a long time ..but when they approached the SUV market with the ML, it stuttered, stammered and failed. After 1 year, it was back to the drawing boards. Even with their high end, limited market 3%, they too had to adjust.

Re-sale value affects all vehicles that are focused to consume the vast majority of any market. So all in all, Chrysler has had ..remarkable success.

Terry.

isellhondas

The best and smartest thing to do in both cases...? Keep the cars they have!

Carleton...you must own a DC van?

Hate to say it, but they drop like a rock in value. Ask anyone in the business if you don't believe it. They don't exactly have the gratest reputation in the reliability area and no doubt that is part of the problem.

All cars depreciate but sme are much worse than others. And...yeah, Siennas seem to be kinda soft right now. Don't really know why?

rroyce10

....... A wonderful vehicle it is. But, the general consensus is: it has like .. no personality, no one remembers it, there is no identity in it.

That doesn't make it bad .. just boring. Thats why they have gotten cold on the market.

Terry.

abtseller

may be soft because of the current $750 or $1000 rebate on them.

Ed

rroyce10

..... They have had on and off incentives on it .. since 00.

There great vehicles ..and they will run forever. But who will notice ..l..o..l..

Terry.

abtseller

*yawn*

Ed

raybear

Must have been stuffed to the gills! You can buy a new one nicely equipped for under $25K.

isellhondas

I think the 25K buys a CE stripper doesn't it?

Well...yeah, maybe they are boring and that's holding them back. Personally I think incentive money hurts sales in the long run but that's another topic.

raybear

Standard Equipment $22,921 $25,755
Every 2002 Toyota Sienna includes some standard equipment
Optional Equipment

· LE EXTRA VALUE PKG (UN) $281 $312
· STANDARD PAINT (-PT) $0 $0
· CARPET FLOOR MATS & CARGO MAT (CF) $99 $163
· REAR BUMPER PROTECTOR (EF) $38 $58
· PWR PASSENGER-SIDE SLIDING DOOR (AJ) $316 $395
· TOWING PKG (TO) $128 $160
Total Options $862 $1,088


Destination Charge $510 $510
Advertising Fee $413 (included)
Total Options and Fees $1,785 $1,598


TOTAL $24,706 $27,353

suseml

We are considering purchasing or leasing a conversion van and I am wondering if anyone has any idea how much mark up is involved, how much we can expect to negotiate off the price, etc....

Also, any van owners who have suggestions--it would be great to hear from you!!

CarMan@Edmunds

Good morning, suseml. This is a good place to start in your search for information on Conversion vans, but don't forget to stop by the Vans Message Board. I have a feeling that there are many community members in that section of this site who would be able to give you a lot of info on this subject. Please feel free to use the following link to go to that section of the Town Hall: Vans Message Board.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shoppers / FWI Message Boards

sonjaab

Do any of you pay a "birddog fee"
when somebody refers a buyer to you ?
And they buy a new or used vehicle ?
And who pays it...You out of your
comission or the dealer ? Or do you
go 50/50 with the dealer?.......Geo

abtseller

sure, we pay them. Usually its $50 per car, but I have discretion there. I can pay more if I have a particularly helpful birddog. The dealer will usually pay half of it.

Ed

raybear

$50 also. Just have us link from your website

sonjaab

They are family and we get GM employee
discount. I have to go with them with
the GM papers from my mom. I got 100
just recently when i brought my aunt
to the Gm dealer where she bought a
new prisim (spl) to the same salesman
that I got my 01 truck from.......Geo

sonjaab

My cousin just got a new Trailblazer
with the GM employee discount and
0% interest. He went to the dealer
up the street from his house. I told
him to go to the other place. BUt he
wanted to buy up the street. So I lost
out on that birddog fee. Even tried to
send him to isellpontiac but he said
the Envoy cost more ! Still got a great
deal and no adv fees either !.......Geo
NOTE: both were clean deals..no trades !

isellpotiac

Base model to base model the Envoy is more money. The standard features on the GMC cost money on the Trailblazer so if you shop apples to apples you are talking the same money. I run into this all the time. One justification is GMC resale compared to Chevy. A tiny bit better. If you do send someone my way give me a call before they show and I can birddog you. I have a customer at Lockheed that made his first 5 car payments with the birddog checks I sent him. That guy was good for 4 customers a month LIKE CLOCKWORK. The people he sent me had never set eyes on me but are my most loyal customers after the sale.

sonjaab

They live in Phoenix NY. I gave them
your name. They were at your store on
a Sunday. I know your dealerships are
closed. They went to the dealer in
Phoenix on sunday. GM employee buyer
family so they saw the price on invoice.
I know the Envoy has more toys than
Trailblazer thats why they are a little
more in price. Like i found out on GMC
and Chevy pickups....GMC auto trans.
standard and some other stuff too.
But as you know that Chevy salesman
ain't gonna tell them...And they were
looking lowest price !
And so it goes and were happy with the
dealer and new suv..............Geo

sonjaab

Wanna laugh ! They take it home and
discover NO POWER SEAT in a chev. LS
not standard . gotta pay more or go to
the LT. Sure I said the Envoy cost
a little more BUT it had power seat !
They can live with it.........LOL

nyccarguy

The Detachable Control Arms are standard on both models! Sorry! Couldn't resist!

esto

I've read that a buyer can get sometimes get an edge in negotiations at the end
of the month, if the dealer is close to meeting a monthly sales goal. Is this edge
slightly higher at the end of a quarter (i.e. end of March vs. end of February)?
Are there quarterly sales goals/incentives in addition to monthly sales goals?

Thanks for any info!

Erik

ghulet

....my brother currently has a really ratty (he was in an accident, among other things) '96 Blazer he's likely to get rid of soon. He's thinking of getting a TrailBlazer or Envoy, probably a pretty basic version (no leather or chrome alloys). Are there incentives or 'special' financing on either right now? I have no doubt he can do better than MSRP, but I was wondering 'how much better'. Thanx.

raybear

End of the month is usually enough. Of course if the car you're looking for is hard to find and extremely popular it won't help much.

rbrenton88

IsellP never sent me a dime for the 15+ referrals I sent him. I think I'm being hosed.

rroyce10

...... When I was on the floor, I probably paid out $2,500/$3,000 a year in birdogs ..and was happy to do so.

Sometimes it was money .. sometimes it might be a gift certificate, to like the Chart House or something similar.

Even if the dealer wasn't kicking in ..I paid em'.

Terry.

number42

I made my first purchase of a car on friday. My wife and I planned to go with a new Protege DX. Unfortunately, the dealer didn't have any DX's at all. We did however test drive an LX, Which we were happy with. The dealer stated that he should have the car within a week or two (requested either sandalwood or black). (this is the NYC area BTW).

A few questions:
1. Is it acceptable for me to test drive the car that I will be taking home before I sign the papers and plunk down the cash (yes, its an all-cash deal, no trade-ins)?

2. On the paper I got from the dealer (with the deposit receipt), it mentions the A/C Option. FWIW, Mazda doesn't offer A/C on this model without Floor mats and CD Player (I think this is option DXF). Is it possible that the vehicle I will receive will not have the floor mats or the CD player?

3. If the car doesn't arrive in 2-3 weeks, would I generally be able to get my deposit back?

rroyce10

.... 2- weeks ..? It's a Protege' right ..? You live in the NYC area right ...?

2- weeks makes no sense, he should be able to find that vehicle in about 2-3 hrs...on the push.

Am I missing something here ..?

Terry.

number42

hmm, lemme think.
2002 dx w/ac and auto Sandalwood or black. All cash deal. Dealer signs for $14,200 OTD. NYC (Long Island City,Queens to be precise)

dealer was a bit tricky in disappearing a few times BEFORE he went to the manager re: price.

Not sure what could be up with that. Only thing I can think is that no one sells Dx's?

benjaminh

On another board, someone wrote that a salesperson offered them a Ford Focus for $1000 less than invoice (invoice minus the 1000 rebate). How is that possible? Wouldn't the dealship lose money on the deal when you count their overhead, or is there some other money from Ford that would allow them to break even while they move the metal out the door?

number42

FWIW, I would logically assume that there is some sort of rebate (either Factory to Dealer, or Factory to costumer) going on. From what I hear around here, the Invoice price is a Theoretical Number just as is MSRP.

IF there is a rebate, it may be that the customer gets back the money from the factory at a later date. (meaning that the cost is invoice, and you later get money back. I look at that as separate transactions). Or, if its factory to dealer, then the dealer will get the rebate check, at a later date (again separate transactions, but nothing that the customer need to think about or care abt).

Invoice = (Cost to the dealer + Holdback) - (Rebates and incentives).

All in all, I am not sure its good to focus too much on Invoice price or MSRP. Just try to get the best price you can.

NOTE: I am not a dealer, nor do I play one on TV.

landru2

Those sound like pretty simple questions for the dealer you bought from to answer. Have you tried asking them?

number42

-> Have you tried asking them?

Keep in mind that this is the first car I have ever purchased. I am merely attempting to determine what is considered standard.

number42

This dealer. LOL, I called him today, after placing the order on Friday, he states that he has not yet found the car I ordered. That I should call him Wednesday for more information.

If he were in my business, he wouldn't last long. I remember an old boss of mine who told us there were three answers that were acceptable for a " yes or no " question: " Yes ", " No ", and "I don't know, but I'll find out."

I always thought that useful regardless as to what field I find myself in. I take his answer as " I don't know, and I am not willing to find out ".

landru2

If those simple questions can't be answered by the people you bought from perhaps it's time to determine whether you should be dealing with them.

number42

problem is, the deposits already down.

lazura

Due to the excellent resale value on my 2000 BMW 5-series, I have built up some good equity. I'm going to sell this vehicle this year and I want to hopefully keep this equity in tact if possible. Below are my current choices for purchase. What do you think the prognosis is for these vehicles over three years (15K miles) for 'equity preservation'?

2002 BMW 330Ci convertible
2002 BMW M3 Coupe
2002 Mercedes C32 AMG

jpvwaudi

go with the Benz; M3's only come in stick (I think) and not everybody will buy a ragtop; some things to think about when its time to sell a used car; you gotta be able to sell any particular car to the largest possible segment of the public.

dsattler

Step one: read the fine print. A Toyota dealer in this area (Maryland) is advertising all cars $500 under invoice on the radio and in print. The radio ads carry no disclaimer, but the newspaper ads note two things: the $500 under invoice is contingent on qualifying for the manufacturer's $400 recent college graduate rebate (otherwise the real number is $100 under invoice) and cars may have dealer installed options and accessories. I'd bet a lot that every car has a dealer installed appearance package (pinstripes, wax, Scotchguard) for a few hundred bucks, as well as some other stuff you may or may not think is worth the money. On the other hand, you probably CAN get an Aztek for $500 under invoice for real.

audia8q

Most dealers have a slim stock of DX models because of the packaging of the LX model....I'm a pretty big mazda dealer and never have more than 1 or 2 DX models because they just don't sell compared to the LX..so give the dealer a little time to locate the car....
Yes, A/C is in the DCX package as you mentioned. They could also be thinking about finding one without the package and adding A/C. Just ask the dealer for clarification and let them know you want the package not just the A/c.

Yes, it's ok to ask to drive the car before you drive it home.

rroyce10

....... Bimmers are nice and have good resale .. but, since your in that category the Benz will go for more, faster and easier.

Depending on where you live .. the Coupe will sell easier and faster than the Convert ...

So at this point in time ..It's your dime.

Terry.

bjfrank42

1. Where does the college grad rebate come from? Manufacturer? It seems like all dealers are offering one.

2.Had a dealership offer a $500 dealership loyalty rebate. It wasn't a manufacturer rebate because it was good if you had previously bought any car from their 4 car lines. I figured since it was from the dealership, I could bargain with it even though I hadn't been a customer previously. They let me walk without giving any of it to me. Where does that money come from?

3. When I traded in my 98 Dakota I still had 3 years and 13000 miles of extended warranty remaining. I used that to try and get more for my trade, When I was with the F&I guy signing the papers, he gave me a $400 credit for it even though I told him I would give it up with the truck. Why didn't the dealership want the warranty? Figured it would help them sell a used truck with 57000 miles on it.

Thanks
Brian

sonjaab

MY cousins Trailblazer LS was about 30k
sticker...Air, tilt,cruise,alloys, Cd etc.
cloth int, pr windows,locks....NO power seat tho !
Envoy was about 33k with more toys !
Minus about 3500 GM employee family disc.,
2002 rebate, and 1000 GM Family Savings
Cert.that GM sends directly to retiree,
employee etc to give out to family members
to get them to buy a new GM vehicle !~
Even better no advertising fees, ADM sticker
or mop and glow pkg ! Just tax (7%), tag (43), doc fee (75),
NYS insp (15)
..............Geo

audia8q

College grad rebate usually comes from the MFG...

I am not familiar with the exact loyalty program you asking about...since it appears to be a dealership program...but many mfg do have special rebates for returning/repeat customers.

GM, especially cadillac, has mastered this incentive.

artwis

I just checked my non factory extended warranties and they can be transfered if I sell to a private buyer but if I trade the vehicle in the warranty is over.
Art

nyccarguy

The 330CiC will definitely have the lowest resale value of the 3. The Mercedes may have the highest residual value, but the C-Class in general is going through a few growing pains right now which may affect its resale down the road. As for the M3, yes it is a stick, but M3s are always in demand. I think that would be the easiest car for you to get rid of when the lease is up.

BTW...I'm not a dealer, but only a humble enthusiast voicing my opinion.

tiredofmanual

I know a lot of people (myself included) that would jump at the chance to get an M3 and consider it blasphemous to have one in anything other than a stick. You exclude 2/3 of the American public with a stick, but there just aren't enough M3s at less than sticker price to satisfy the other 1/3.

nickm2

I've heard that it's always good to buy your car at the same dealership you plan to have it serviced at- does that really make a difference? I'm trying to follow that advice, but wondering if its really worth all the effort- the dealership closest to my house doesn't have the options I'm looking for, but I found it at another dealership about 50 miles away and asked them to see if they can transfer it to the dealer closest to me- I would think the transfer of inventory would be a simple process, but its been a week and I can't get a straight answer or ETA. Now he's saying lets meet and I'll buy the car and THEN they'll transfer it. No way I'm buying a car without test driving it first. Should I just go to the dealer 50 miles away and get the car I know is there? I'm not planning on getting a ton of service there other than the recommended service intervals, but heaven forbid something significant pops up that is under warranty, is there a difference between taking it to a dealer that you bought the car from or another one? Especially if I started conversations with the dealer closest to my house, got fed up and went to another dealer, and then bring it back to the 1st dealer for warranty work. I have a feeling I wouldn't get the best treatment. Any thoughts are appreciated. Thanks

Kirstie_H

Seems as good a place as any for SPAM!!

Reminder...



Town Hall Chat tonight! It's "Open Mic" night tonight, so feel free to drop by and talk about whatever's on your mind. (You can usually count on sonjaab to be there:)

kirstie_h
Roving Host
Edmunds.com

landru2

Unfortunately, you have sown the seeds that will prevent you from getting this car from your local dealer. Big mistake to ask the dealer to transfer it to the closer dealer. Now when the close dealer calls on it the other dealer will refuse to transfer it. This isn't like transferring merchandise between Target stores.

Now the dealer with the car knows you want it and will probably come to them to buy it. There is absolutely nothing in it for them to transfer it so you can take your business elsewhere.

nickm2

Yes, it does appear I have stuck myself in a bad position. So another dealership can just refuse to transfer the car? Interesting. Would it be "bad form" for me to tell the closer dealer never mind this is taking too long and go to the one 50 miles away? There won't be a price difference for me since I'm getting this under Ford X-Plan. I guess my only question now is, is there truly a service difference in bringing a car into a dealership where you bought it versus another dealership? Especially when you have had contact with the one dealership and then didn't buy from them, and then bring the car in for service. Do the service people and fleet people get together about these things, or are they separate? Thanks