My undestanding is dealer holdback is between 2.25 - 2.5% of invoice and being a Certified Blue Oval dealer means an additional 1 - 1.25% on each vehicle purchased by the dealer. Can anyone confirm this? Does being a SVT dealer change the financial incentives to the dealer?

Thanks.

 

Not really. Why do you care what the dealer makes anyway? When was the last time you asked 7-11 on the proffit margin of a slurpee, or the jewler on the engagement ring, or home depot on 10 bags of mulch?(they are all MUCH MUCH higher then the margin on a new car at MSRP)......

 

For negotiating. You know, that integral segment of a business transaction most practice for any mayor purchase which in turn might turn into savings?

 

For negotiating. You know, that integral segment of a business transaction most practice for any mayor purchase which in turn might turn into savings?
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Why is it that people only negotiate major purchases? In some countries, price is negotiable on everything, and people haggle prices on everything.

 

I think it's because slurpees, most engagement rings, and mulch don't cost 10's of thousands of dollars.

When you buy a house you can go to the county records and see how much is still owed on the house (often via the internet), so you can figure how much the owner is going to pocket. I know I would be interested in this information when negotiating for a house.

I understand your frustration as a salesman but, I'm sure you can understand the customer's desire to hold on to as many of their hard earned dollars as they can.

It's a zero-sum game between the dealers and the customers.

 

Why is it that people only negotiate major purchases? In some countries, price is negotiable on everything, and people haggle prices on everything.
[/b][/quote]


That's all on us, the general public. We're the ones stupid enough to buy something without negotiating because the shop selling said product says "sorry, this is the price." If most people who walked in and were told this was the price and they walked out, the shop would loss massive revenues and they would quickly become very flexible on prices.

It's our culture, really. Our culture feels that unless you're making a big purchase (tv/tractor/car/home), it's not really worth the hassle to negotiate.

Take ATM Machines, for example. Almost everywhere you go, you are charged to take money out of your account. In some places (sporting event stadiums, amusement parks), it's as high as $10!! Why do they charge this high? Because people put up with it! There's noe xcuse - we know how much the fee is - they tell us and we must agree to it during the withdrawal process. If everyone simply STOPPED using ATMs with insane price hikes, you'd see the service charges drop like a rock. But our culture's mentality is "convenience over expense." We would rather be fleeced than temporarily inconvenienced. Companies know this and take advantage of it. People made due without ATMs before, so could we, but we'd rather take the fleecing.

In a nutshell, we're all to blame for the lack of price flexibility in this country.

 

Sorry, Kevin, the dealer is the exception to the rule IMO. If they acted like a store and simply put their best price on the car, and sold it for that, I might agree with your reasoning. But very few dealers operate that way. Instead, the dealers I go to always try to grab every last penny of my money in any way they can -- and if I let them, they'll gouge me for a couple thousand extra. So it's only fair that I try the same thing in reverse. IMO this situation was not created by the customers, so dealers (and by extension -- salesmen ) cannot complain.

 

My bank refunds me other banks ATM fees.

 

I've always found it peculiar how some are always ready and willing to pay more than what's worth on new items which are hyped. The GT500 will be no exception and probably be topped by some other Mustang model in a couple of years. In the meantime, the value all the "special" Mustangs of recent years are taking a dump.

 

[q
[/quote]
Why is it that people only negotiate major purchases? In some countries, price is negotiable on everything, and people haggle prices on everything.
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Same reason salesmen try to get as much as possible, to include over MSRP if they can.

 

Really???? What bank do you belong to!? I want in!

 

I bet we have the same bank

Sorry Charlie, you can't join....it's a secret society

 

 

Some folks are willing to pay the premium just to be first. And I am perfectly willing to let them do that -- because they'll soon tire of their new toy, and I'll buy it with a few thousand miles on it, basically brand new, for a lot less. The 03 Cobra is an extreme example, but I paid over $10k under MSRP for mine by getting it used, and it only had 3125 miles. Almost 500 horsepower for a few grand less than I was prepared to spend on a 2005 Mustang GT . I don't know if I'm -ever- going to buy a brand new car, at least as long as I'm buying Fords...

Dave

 

I theory that is a great plan, but, chances are that car has been beaten on in those first 3125 miles. Not all of them have, but, how do you know? Maybe it has been a mechanical nightmare for the person and they want to dump it. There has to be a reason for selling it and I doubt boredom was it. You might get lucky and get one that the person realized it was too much car and was afraid to get on it, but, once again, how will you know?

 

That's all on us, the general public. We're the ones stupid enough to buy something without negotiating because the shop selling said product says "sorry, this is the price." If most people who walked in and were told this was the price and they walked out, the shop would loss massive revenues and they would quickly become very flexible on prices.

It's our culture, really. Our culture feels that unless you're making a big purchase (tv/tractor/car/home), it's not really worth the hassle to negotiate.

Take ATM Machines, for example. Almost everywhere you go, you are charged to take money out of your account. In some places (sporting event stadiums, amusement parks), it's as high as $10!! Why do they charge this high? Because people put up with it! There's noe xcuse - we know how much the fee is - they tell us and we must agree to it during the withdrawal process. If everyone simply STOPPED using ATMs with insane price hikes, you'd see the service charges drop like a rock. But our culture's mentality is "convenience over expense." We would rather be fleeced than temporarily inconvenienced. Companies know this and take advantage of it. People made due without ATMs before, so could we, but we'd rather take the fleecing.

In a nutshell, we're all to blame for the lack of price flexibility in this country.
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We are to blame for the "lack of price flexibility"??????

This has become an interesting topic....so I must respond!

As far as prices in the US go, most are absolutely right that they are higher...and as far as American businesses go, they do try to extract every dollar they can from the consumer. As well they should.

Now, before I get flamed, please tell me which of you members can go overseas and make the same amount of money in another country? (security forces notwithstanding...after all you are risking your life!)

The answer is almost nobody. Wages are exponentially higher in the US.
Why? Because we demand it as workers....

So....if we are going to demand higher wages....we can expect to be charged more for the goods and services that we buy. Simple economics.

I'll go one further....most of the people on this board drive Mustangs...and this choice of vehicle is by no means the most "economical" option.

So why? Because we WANT to!!! I would imagine very few of us wear the absolute cheapest clothes we can find, nor do we have the cheapest tastes in almost ANY of our other purchases!! How many of you have dial-up internet? Non-cable TV?

If you want the "nice things" in life we will pay for them. And I am sure Ford will find buyers for every GT 500 they make.

Lowballing the American companies only hurts OUR economy. My view...shut up and pay the man if you want what he is selling...quit griping about the price.

 

Round figures on my last Cobra purchase:

Blue Oval Certified dealer (approx).....$ 300.00
Dealer holdback (approx)....................$ 800.00
Over invoice.......................................$1,0 00.00
Dealer fee...........................................$ 400.00
-------------------------------------------------------------
Total dealer take..............................*$2,500.00*

My total savings between invoice and msrp was +/- $2,100. I am puzzled as to why a dealer needs to make $4,500 on a vehicle which it pays $36K for and not be content with making $2,500 instead. Had I paid the $39,020 msrp plus their $4k AMV they would have made $8,500.

My main purpose for posting this topic was to bring awareness to the members and discuss the possibilities of a fair deal. I've bought 5 other Mustangs (1 at invoice, 2 at $500 over, 1 at $750 over, and another at $1K over) from two dealers and they never complain, on the contrary, they want my business.

 

Unless they make 13,500 of them...

 

We need a higher wage simply to maintain a standard of living. I'm perfectly content with my salary at present, but as my cable, gas, electricity, water, sewer, insurance and of course taxes, go up, therfore, so must my income.

I agree that we must pay for the 'nice things' in life, but after giving it some serious thought about what I'm willing to pay (not what I can afford), I've decided that even though the GT500 is a very nice car, emotions aside, its not worth paying over sticker. Like George has said earlier, its the latest and greatest in a line of hot mustangs. Remember when the 2000 'R' came out? It was the 'ultimate' mustang at the time. There will always be something newer and faster.

Paying over sticker? A wise man once said, A fool and his money are soon parted.

Just my $.03 (adjusted for inflation)

 

It's the old "chicken and the egg" argument...

we need higher wages because the price of goods keeps going up, and the prices keep going up because the wages keep increasing.


My take on it is that if you are in a business that sells negotiable goods, it goes with the territory. Many dealers will try to get as much out of you as possible, and many customers will try to get as much out of the dealer as possible.

I don't fault the dealers for wanting to make as much money on each vehicle as possible. And I don't fault any customer for wanting to know the exact costs dealers incur, as well as their profit margins - any leverage in negotiations is far game. But when it comes down to it, if you're not willing to pay it, either negotiate it down, walk away, or buy a Focus.