Did you recently rush to buy a new vehicle before tariff-related price hikes? A reporter is looking to speak with shoppers who felt pressure to act quickly due to expected cost increases; please reach out to PR@Edmunds.com for more details by 4/24.

Employee / Supplier Purchase Programs

123578

Comments

  • chevyjoe1chevyjoe1 Member Posts: 9
    I wish everyone would remember that buying at supplier is a privilege. Doc fees vary dealer to dealer. GMS customers ARE not charged fees. I asked our dealer principal today what was a fair mark up to the consumer. His answer was very well put. He said, he wants to make enough money so his customers can always be sure they will have a place to come for good service, and the salesman they bought there car from a couple of years before will still be there because he made enough to support his family. He is a compassionate man, for both parties. He and his family have been a chevy dealer for about a half a century. I read the story about an undercove salesperson. Coincidently he was in CAL. but he could have been anywhere "USA. The way he described the dealers he worked for. I guess I work for the more laid back one. But the guy in the office next to me has been there since 1973. Suppliers should always get ALL discounts and rebates, along with any bonus cash available, if they deal with an upfront dealer. Some will try to "Scoop" the bonus cash for profit. But the rebate has to be shown, as well as the "Dealer" cash on the buyers order. READ CAREFULLY! Then ask. Godd Luck Ya'll
  • psgpsg Member Posts: 72
    I never heard back from GM so I still don't know what the deal with the doc fee is in NC. I plan to ask again but what the hell, I still think I got a great deal despite the $298 doc fee (GMS minus the $3250 GM employee rebate). I was also able to take advantage of a promotion the dealer was running (coupon in a newspaper ad) and get a $100 gift certificate for use at one of our local malls. Next time, I may try another dealer and shop more aggressively in regards to the fee, but this is my third vehicle from this dealer, and for the most part, they have always treated me well.

    Win some lose some.

    Phil
  • montanafanmontanafan Member Posts: 945
    (Background-Uncle retired from GM Parts in Maryland, Wife's best friend bought Supplier this spring)

    The wording about DOC fees is the same in GM guidlines for GMS and Supplier. "The assessment of Documentary fees or other simular charges other then those charges mandated by state of local regulation in connection with sales to eligible purchasers is strictly contrary to the terms of these programs" Can't figure out if "contrary" is the same as "not".

    And psg, before you raise you voice to loud, the acceptance of gifts or money greater then $50 could lead to the purchasers loss of privilege to participate.
  • igotamiataigotamiata Member Posts: 14
    I'm looking at buying a Mazda 6 and was quoted a price today with the S Plan discount. When I told the salesman I wasn't a Ford or Mazda employee, he said "It doesn't matter. Just find someone who works for them and get their four digit pin number. It never gets checked out."

    Is this common practice? Is it illegal in any way?

    Thanks for any help.
  • thelthel Member Posts: 767
    But surely its unethical to reap benefits that are not owed to you.

    BTW, I got a Miata to :)
  • crash838crash838 Member Posts: 4
    you go through with that. It is very much against company policy, and the employee that you get to do this, is putting his/her job on the line. The dealer was wrong. (and frankly sounds quite shady...I'd find another dealer) That stuff IS audited VERY regularly. It's clearly stated in bold when you go online to our employee sites to obtain a pin #. Last year, my mother bought a car that was co-signed with my grandfather. Grandparents aren't eligible for A-Plan, but parents are. I got a phone call and a warning because it was considered "abuse of the system". They explained how they audit the A/X/S plan purchases. If you legitimately have a friend/relative who is employee then definitely go for it, but I sure as heck wouldn't want to get into a legal battle with Ford's legal team!

    Just my 2.5 cents :)
  • igotamiataigotamiata Member Posts: 14
    He hasn't gotten back to me on on a price for the 6 I was thinking of ordering, so maybe he thought twice about it. Thanks again for the info.
  • bottgersbottgers Member Posts: 2,030
    I was told that Ford's X-Plan is the same as Mazda's S-Plan. I was also told that the E-Plan is different from either of the other 2 plans, and it offers a lower price than the other plans. Is this true?
  • tincup47tincup47 Member Posts: 1,508
    Ford Has basically three plans, A-Plan for Employees and their immediate Families, X-Plan for extended families and friends, and Z-Plan for retirees. A/Z plan are 4% less expensive than X-plan.Land Rover, Jaguar, and Volvo follow Fords practices. Mazda has chosen to price their S-plan like Ford does the X-plan. This same price applies if you are eligible regardless of status, they have only the one plan. I have never heard of E-plan, but if there is such a thing it would be for upper management and not transferable.
  • bottgersbottgers Member Posts: 2,030
    ....after explaining my situation, that I qualified for the E-Plan. My brother is a Ford employee, and he's in the process of getting me a PIN. This salesperson said this would qualify me for the E-Plan, which is a lower price than the X or S-Plan. Is this guy full of beans?
  • crash838crash838 Member Posts: 4
    E plan is for MAZDA employees (i.e. those guys that live and work in Japan) S plan is for FORD employees & retires, as well as immediate family members.
    *E and S plans refer only to Mazda Products.

    *S plan works out to be approximately 4% more then E plan.

    A/Z plan is for Ford Employees, retires and immediate family. X plan is for friends & neighbors.

    A/Z/X plans refer to Ford, Lincoln, Mercury products. Jaguar, Volvo and Land Rover *kind* of follow...but they do have complications/variations/etc.

    *X plan is approximately 4% more then A plan

    *** Ford does not OWN Mazda, so Ford employees are not the same as Mazda employess....although each work on products that are labled under the other one's name brand.

    Phew....I think I've managed to confuse myself, I hope it helps! If not I can try again later :)
  • crash838crash838 Member Posts: 4
    If you bro works for Ford, you all set dude! But it will be for S-plan, not E plan. Tell that sales guy to go take a class in company policies, or share some of that stuff he is smoking with you and us! :)
  • audia8qaudia8q Member Posts: 3,138
    crash is correct...E-plan is ONLY for employees of mazda north america.
  • ruefusruefus Member Posts: 254
    Through a Ford employee. He told me that the price I was getting was the same one he'd get. So while E-plan may exist, you can't do any better than S-plan.

    I loved the fact that I didn't have to haggle. The dealer agreed to sell on S-plan and off we went.
  • rekrucrrekrucr Member Posts: 6
    My brother-in-law is a retired Ford employee. He called for the S-plan and they told him Mazda plan not available to retired HOURLY Ford employees only SALARIED Ford retirees. Does anyone know anything about this? It just doesn/t seem right. Thanks.
  • crash838crash838 Member Posts: 4
    Unfortunately, that information is correct. Hourly employees (typically consisting of UAW members, and those that work in the plants) are not eligible for discounts on Mazda products (as well as Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo I believe). That applies to current employees and retirees. The only exceptions to this rule are those hourly employees that work at an assembly plant that makes Mazda products. For example, if you worked at the Flat Rock assembly plant, where they build the Mazda 6, and you were hourly, you could purchase a Mazda 6 with S-plan, but you would not be able to buy say, and MPV at S-plan. (Kansas City Assembly people could buy a Tribute, etc) It's a silly rule I know, but the info was correct.
  • rmoyerrmoyer Member Posts: 2
    I'm going to special order a GMC cargo van and do not want to use the supplier discount (which my wife can get) because I'm a contractor and qualify for GM's commercial upfit package (shelves and safety wall - valued at $1700). The catch is supplier discount must be titled in wifes name, commercial upfit must be titled in my business name. GM supplier price is $27012 , dealers first offer without discount is $27960, Edmunds TMV is $27164. So how close to the discount price can I expect to negotiate to without actually using the discount? TIA for any input.
  • sonjaabsonjaab Member Posts: 1,057
    I get gm employee discount which is cheaper
    than GM supplier......Ask dealer if he is
    charging you adv. fees and also DOC fees. I
    know GM employees do not pay them. Not sure
    about supplier deal tho. Be aware that combining
    some discounts with others is NOT allowed.
    I could NOT get a $750 upfitter allowance for
    a snowplow using GM employee discount in 01.
    Also remember if you order under the program
    the price is no cheaper anymore. Seems they
    would deal big time if its on the lot !
    I know its a pain about what name you can reg.
    it under. What about your wife buying and reg.
    then leasing it to your company ? I buy then
    lease them to my NYS-s Corp.....Total write off !
    And I get to keep 'em afterward !........Geo

    Talk to your tax pro. first....Maybe it can be
    of benefit to both of you !
  • sonjaabsonjaab Member Posts: 1,057
    My buds dad just got a 03 Chev. Told him get
    me the vin# and I would check GM employee price.
    He did and got the truck for $1500
    over employee price. He shopped too and that
    1 dealer had the best price on a clean real....

    ALSO: Check Edmunds TMV again....Sometimes they
    (and others)do not mention adv. or regional fees!
  • rmoyerrmoyer Member Posts: 2
    Thanks for the reply sonjaab, but your lease scenario overlooks part of the problem. Buying in my wifes name excludes the GM upfit. To get the upfit I must register in company name from the get go. I take from your second reply you're suggesting $1500 over employee price is a reasonable target? $27012(supplier price)-$1080(4%)=$25932(employee price)+$1500=$27432(reasonable target?)
    BTW they are charging a $300+ ad fee, I don't recall the exact figure.
    Now, if they would just let me hang a snow plow on my new AWD van I'd have my dream machine! Thanks again.
  • sonjaabsonjaab Member Posts: 1,057
    Heck if you could find the van on the lot
    you want email me the VIN# and I can give the
    employee deal price and ya could go from there !
    Yea don't forget the ad fee ! See like I said
    some programs cannot be combined with others !
  • dakota388dakota388 Member Posts: 2
    I just found out that I qualify for the S-plan through work. I am excited because I have been looking at the Mazda 6 for a while now.

    My question to ruefus-How much did you save from the sticker price? Ford Partner's website tells you everything except that.

    Thanks for your help.
  • tahoedreamintahoedreamin Member Posts: 1
    Thanks to all who've taken time to post info. I realize this isn't rocket science but some info seems contradicting with regards to GM supplier purchasing. Am looking for Tahoe Lt with most of the bells and whistles. Reported invoice for most websites approx. 40,500. Have done most of the legwork and now need to find Southern Cal. dealer interested (or reluctantly willing at the very least!) Not trading so doesn't sound like much incentive for dealer. Not interested in wasting anyone's time including my own. Wondering if anyone has had good bad experience in this region and what I could reasonably be looking at for purchase price using the gm supplier program. Thanks in advance to any kind souls who respond!
  • montanafanmontanafan Member Posts: 945
    It might be easy to try to see if GM's GM Buypower system could help. It believe that you can search for Tahoes equiped as you want, then right from the site, e-Mail the dealer and just ask if they will do a supplier program purchase. Good luck.
  • nowitswarnowitswar Member Posts: 9
    Chrysler employee discount (i believe) is 3% off dealer invoice.

    Is there even any room to negotiate if you are already below invoice?

    I know you can still apply any rebates, cash allowances, etc on top of the employee discount if those promotions are running at that time...

    But pretend you are going in to buy or lease a car that currently has zero incentives. No rebates, no lease loyalty, no nothing.

    Under those circumstances, would it even be possible to buy it (or get the cap cost lower, if a lease), for less than 3% below invoice?

    And if so, how much additional room is there to negotiate? Another 1%? 2%? $100? $1,000?

    I want to get the absolute best price I can, but I do not want to go in and ask for a price so low that the dealer couldn't even give it to me unless they took a loss on it.
  • landru2landru2 Member Posts: 638
    to Ford and if Ford ever caught us bribing Ford employees to do business at our store there would be big trouble.
  • nowitswarnowitswar Member Posts: 9
    I'm confused. What did that have to do with the questions I posed?
  • landru2landru2 Member Posts: 638
    Manufacturers are very strict about their employee purchase programs. If a dealer offers you a lower price than the program allows, the manufacturer looks at it as a bribe. Manufacturers will penalize dealers that they find doing this. So no, don't expect to negotiate the employee program price.
  • afk_xafk_x Member Posts: 393
    It never hurts to ask but since a salesperson gets paid very little to do an employee deal in the first place don't be surprised if the salesperson laughs in your face...

    Speaking for GM only we occasionally get bullitens allowing us to sell under the GM employee price. We never have but I have always scratched my head when I read them...

    I can't imagine you would ever be able to purchase below the normal employee price unless you catch the dealer at the perfect time. Lets say he has to sell one more unit to qualify for some mega bonus...still that would be almost unheard of....
  • nowitswarnowitswar Member Posts: 9
    Oh, I didn't look at it like it would be a bribe. I just thought there still might be room to negotiate.

    I suspected that employee price was the abslolute rock bottom price.

    Thanks for confirming.
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,976
    ...gets some kind of discount from Chrysler, because his Dad was some high-up exec. I don't know exactly what the discount is, but they're limited to buying 4 cars per year for their family. The way he talks, it's "dirt cheap", and that the salesperson hates to see him coming.

    I never could get a real answer out of him as to how much of a deal he'd get...all he'd say was "at cost".
  • hgdhgd Member Posts: 1
    The Chrysler EP is well below dealer cost, however you choose to figure it. Chrysler itself gives up much of their profit. Enjoy your new vehicle!
  • nowitswarnowitswar Member Posts: 9
    The employee discount is 3% below dealer invoice.

    Example:

    2003 Jeep Grand Cherokee
    Limited 4WD 4dr SUV w/HO V8 (4.7L 8cyl 5A)

    Sticker: $39,040
    Dealer Invoice: $35,587
    Employee Price: $34,519

    Additionally, you can also use incentives on top of the employee discount.

    Currently Chrysler is running a $2,500 offer.

    So, $34,519 - $2,500 = $32,019

    Savings of $7,021 from sticker.

    And even $4,130 cheaper than Edmunds TMV ($36,149).

    A great deal to say the least.
  • im_brentwoodim_brentwood Member Posts: 4,883
    Employee prices are usually unbeatable. Occasionally you can beat X-Plan prices on some Volvos, but even that is rare.

    Bill
  • isellhondasisellhondas Member Posts: 20,342
    Even when offered these prices, some people will STILL want to grind for more!
  • zueslewiszueslewis Member Posts: 2,353
    cheaper than anyone else can buy it.

    Buyer: Yes, but is that your BEST price?
  • nowitswarnowitswar Member Posts: 9
    Well, you still have to watch your back.

    My last lease was at employee price. But what was interesting was that 3 dealers all gave me different prices.

    Exact same model, same options and package, same discounts, same miles, same lender, same everything... oddly enough I was quoted $45 per MONTH cheaper at one dealership. How did that happen if they are all supposedly working off the same cap cost?

    This was before I knew the ins and outs of how leases are computed, so I do not know how they came up with the numbers they did, but I am glad I did not trust the first two dealers saying "you are getting this cheaper than anyone else, it is not possible to go any lower", because apparently it was possible.
  • audia8qaudia8q Member Posts: 3,138
    We see people who shop the supplier purchase programs all the time....kinda funny to watch people shop 10 dealers and get the same exact number. haha
  • shaygirlshaygirl Member Posts: 15
    I have access to the X Plan at work and recently looked at an S60 to lease. With the X Plan you have to go through Volvo's finance company. But the dealer immediately offered my a much better price to lease through Chase, I think the Chase vehicle price was $2500 less that the X Plan price because they were running some pretty good incentives. Monthly payment was about $50 less with the Chase deal. Was quite a surprise to me! Didn't end up with the Volvo, but it certainly seemed alike a good deal.
  • audia8qaudia8q Member Posts: 3,138
    The dealer can still offer the x-plan price and run the lease through chase... then its reported as a cash sale...which is how outside lease source sales are reported anyway.....your getting the double talk.
  • landru2landru2 Member Posts: 638
    for Ford anyway, they monitor employee deals directly and do not allow dealers to vary in how they calculate the deal. If a Ford employee gets two different numbers for the exact same deal it means someone has made a mistake. For instance, if we decided to charge a doc fee on an employee deal (not allowed), Ford would catch it and make us refund it to the purchaser.
  • landru2landru2 Member Posts: 638
    Like audi said, you can always pay cash and get the X-plan price, less the cash rebate. It sounds like there was a $2500 rebate in place on your Volvo.
  • vikdvikd Member Posts: 187
    What with the '04 Max coming out soon and dealers trying to unload '03's, do you think that a dealer would offer a better price than going through the vpp calculations to arrive at a non negotiable price that way? In other words, the vpp plan essentially allows you to purchase at invoice minus holdback, but I have seen '03 Max SE's being let go for around $1500 under invoice. I know there are certain circumstances that effect price i.e. end of body style etc... so should I approach the buying process from the vpp angle or simply negotiate a better deal (possibly) through standard means? I'm looking at a Max '03 SE Titan. Ed. with slider, mats, splash guards, wind deflector. Any ideas what my dealer may let this go for? Thanks for the help as usual...

    Regards... Vikd
  • psuf4ipsuf4i Member Posts: 16
    I'm eligible for the S-plan but when I asked 2 local dealers here in Eastern Pennsylvania, here's what they told me:

    One dealer said no S-Plan on V6 5-speed cars or any car with sport package.

    The other said no V6 with sport package for anything less than $1500 over invoice, but they will do the 4 cylinder with a sport package.

    Just a little FYI.
  • ruefusruefus Member Posts: 254
    You're being lied to, or at the very least the dealer has no idea what they're talking about.

    I just BOUGHT a V6 sport-package car on S-plan. It's sitting in the parking lot right now.

    Go somewhere else - 'cause even if they aren't lying, at minimum they don't know what they're doing.
  • audia8qaudia8q Member Posts: 3,138
    Just because the dealer isnt interested in a little or no profit S-plan does not make them a liar. so settle down with the flame throwing.

    Dealers are not required to honor the S-plan...If something like the sport package 6 is in high demand and low supply there is no reason for a dealer to offer the program. This isnt to say some dealers will but it's up to the individual dealer...If the dealer won't offer the S-plan the consumer should call around and see it somebody will offer it.
  • bottgersbottgers Member Posts: 2,030
    Once you receive an S-Plan pin number, how long is it good for?
  • ruefusruefus Member Posts: 254
    If memory serves, the PIN is good for the model year. They'll take the make & model info prior to giving you the four digit number.

    If you read my post again, you'll note that I thought they'd said no S-plan was available period. Not that they wouldn't. Based on that my post was dead accurate.

    I'm well aware that dealers don't have to sell on S-plan. I went to two or three before settling on one that would do it.

    If V6, sport pkg is what you want - I'd still go somewhere else.
  • psuf4ipsuf4i Member Posts: 16
    After reading my post, I realized that I should have added that I will be going somewhere else to buy the car.

    I was just trying to inform some poeple that just because you are eligible for the S-Plan, you may not be able to get the car the way you want it. I knew that participation was voluntary, and that not all vehicles were offered under the plan. I just had no idea that the dealer could choose certain option combinations to exclude for the plan, and was trying to inform others of that fact. Next time I'll keep it to myself.
  • im_brentwoodim_brentwood Member Posts: 4,883
    Correct.

    When I was with Jaguar we would NOT sell certain models under the plan (XJR, XKR, S-Types when they came out, XK8s for a while, etc..) as there was no need to take cheap deals on cars that did not need to be discounted to sell.

    Bill
This discussion has been closed.

Helpful Tools

Most popular vehicles