Here is my Question....

[Mendocino101]

Some honest thoughts please....

So many people here are looking for the "Best Price"....While many say they want the best price and would love to be simply given that price or even have it listed when they walk in the your dealers show room....My question is this...how many people would truly understand and appreciate....if a dealer simply listed his real genuine "fair" price and in it they included the things that 90% of people want.....steps....delivery....cover lifter start up chemicals...now if his fair price is  "truly fair"...not necessarily the very cheapest you have seen posted online but within reason...would you look at that and say hey this dealer is being upfront and complete with their price....and it is close to the better prices I have seen, would you put any value on that and understand that yes someone else can always be a little less but you will have to grind it out for that price or the other dealer knowing the one dealers policy simply buys the deal by slightly bettering the price... would you still want to grind for that extra few hundred dollars......or would you have some loyalty to the one dealer who tried to make things easy up front and was still fair with their pricing....any thoughts.....

[Dr. Spa™ Ret.]

it works for Saturn  

[Tman122]

Yea but Saturn sells a family and a not so good car, mediocre. Besides this is America, profit profit profit. Stocks need to go up!

[Tubber]

We are a no haggle dealer ourselves. This is the price, and the package offered for the promo we are running this month. We offer special financing and $100.00 off for cash or check / w 50% down. Three showrooms and everyones going to give you the same deal. If you beat the other dealer down on his price, then they tried to get you right from the start.  I've found that most of my customers agree with this way of doing business. The customer that does not agree is shopping on price, and if thats the case so be it.

[Lori]

The LA dealer haggled with me a great deal.  She threw in a lot of stuff, to keep the price even with the HotSpring.  HotSpring and Sundance both gave me upfront prices, that were somewhat in line with what others were paying.

I got some great extras (a hydro-pulse plate for one) that are not "usual" freebies (or perceived freebies)!!!

I didn't even try to haggle.  My husband did, but I knew it was a fair price for my area.

Great question, Mendocino, btw!!!

[empolgation]

short answer:
yes, that is my preferred way of doing business.

(there are plenty of other threads that include the long answer )

[autoplay]

I'll try to make it short and brief with a response........

I believe any business that's successful has a profit margin to maintain,along with generating sales.

If you cheap out with your dealer,who's to say he/she will be in business in 5+ years to service you?

Vary rarely do I give my work away. If the customer thinks my price is too high,they can always get another bid.  

As the old saying goes,you get what you pay for.

[Wisoki]

My guess is if you have your check book out and will not write the check until Saturn gives you a better price, they'll budge. Then again I wouldn't know, you wouldn't catch me dead in one of their show rooms.

it works for Saturn  

[HotTubMan]

I also agree, that is the best way to do business. The comment about ht e dealer being around in five years is also quite valid. Furthermore, places that sell tubs as a "side business" dont care if they make alot because they do not intend to provide good if any service.

Sometimes you might find a dealer that can offer a better price because he/she does a few things "right" because they have $. Buying in bulk, with cash (as opposed to using a flooring financier) will lower the costs of the dealer.

[johnnythunders]

That means since i buy a mustang Gt every 2 years I should get my Oil changed there too.And when i was having trouble with my rear end of the car the dealer told me that it was me that was at fault,even with 17,000 on it.went to another ford dealer and he fixed it and gave me a loaner car and said I was not at fault.johnnyT :-/

[autoplay]

What year is your GT? You hear the latest.....you won't be able to purchase a Cobra/Mach1/SVT  stang till 2007. Also heard,2004 might be the last year for the Mach1.


As far as your prob,if you had/have someone on the inside working in the service dept.....you would/will have no probs.  Wifey joined the modern mustang club of our town (Sarasota),and it just so happens the service manager of Ford,is in the club too.  Any probs arise,he designates who is going to do what work on the vehicle etc etc. Hope this helps.

P.S. ...her car in shop today,so she's driving a lowly toyota CAMry  lolol

[johnnythunders]

I am  really a MOPAR guy,,,Have 3 superbirds 2 orange and 1 white on white all with 440 six packs
Have a Hemi 1970 orange challinger Don't want to say much about the car but its worth over $270,000,1969 daytona red 440,1969 1/2 440 sixpack roadrunner red with black hood that comes off.among a few other Mopars.I don't want to say too much about my can collection here somebody might know me.Every one is original.But anyway I like Mustangs to drive around with since i can't drive the other cars because they are a investment lol.But I wanted the Mustang Gt that they were showing a year ago with the air dam and shelby hood.But now I am a bit sad because none are like the pics from a year ago from the auto shows.They look a little plain but i heard that they will becoming out with a few different types of mustangs during the year.I think i will hold off till they comeout with I hope the shelby lookalike.........Lets talk about Spasssssss lol :DJohnnyT

[johnnythunders]

sorry i didnot answer your question.I have had the 1995 gt and then i had the 2000 Gt and now driving 2003 gt......I don't lease lol.....JohnnyT

[Bill_Stevenson]

Price shopping is a big game.  As a consumer, I will usually pay more expecting to get a better deal overall.  This is true for anything I buy.  I look for high quality first and foremost in both the product and the service.  For example, I shop in a high-end grocery store that has a nice selection of wine.  Two doors down there is a liquor store with a similar selection of wine.  At the grocery store, the price is typically a buck or two a bottle cheaper, but help with a recommendation is either worthless or non-existent.  At the liquor store they are knowledgable.  If you ask for a recommendation it will be a good one.  They have steered me away from a more expensive bottle of wine in favor of a less costly one that they think is better.  So I buy my wine and beer from the liquor store because, in the long run, I think the money evens out and the service is superior.  The same principle holds for tubs or anything else.

On the other hand, in my business we deliberately attempt to sell at the high end of our market.  We are not afraid to knowingly quote at a higher price than our competition, and then work to substantiate our higher price by providing far superior products and services.  If a client decides to buy at the lowest price from a competitor, we are not sorry to lose the sale.  Almost invariably, low price buyers are a pain in the neck.  

One thing I will do, too, when a price-buyer gives me the impression that he is using me to weasel a lower price from a low-price-competitor is to really low ball the thing.  I do this knowing full well that the low-price-competitor will meet or beat my price.  That way, he gets the sale, but he doesn't make any money.  Free enterprise can be a ruthless affair.  

My advice to anyone on either end of a sale (buyer or seller) is to set price well down the priority list and focus on making sure the product is right for the need, the service is there to back it up, and the delivery schedule is agreed to and met.  After all that is OK, then work on the price if you must.  Remember that the seller is more likely to be there when needed if the enterprise is financially healthy.  Caveat Emptor!  

Regards,

Bill

[cparlf]

Hey JT; MOPAR = what??

A former Dodge runner myself, 360 Plymouth Duster and a 440 Charger, all mid to late 70 vintages.  We used to joke MOPAR meant My Old Pig Ain't Runnin.  Had to add that comment, haven't thought about it in years and it just popped in my mind.  Raced many a night around the strip in Asbury Park.  Listen to "Racin in the Streets" by Bruce Springsteen.  It was all real in the 70's.

That said, now, the rest isn't focued towards JT, but in general....


Re the pricing issue, fair is only fair in your own area.  In NJ, I pay close to five thousand a year in car insurance, no tickets, no accidents, all the family has good records, good student discounts, "conservative" cars, and I am with USAA, a closed insurance company.  To me 5K is acceptable, for NJ; but to my friend in Huntsville, AL he pays under 1 thousand for the whole family policy, similar circumstances.  Apples to apples is the only way to compare.  I bought an Optima.  I liked the dealer, and from what I saw about several other brands I made the decision to go with the dealer I liked AND the tub I wanted.  I paid maybe 1,200 more than the lowest post I've seen here.  Then again, my dealer is in NJ too, and he has bills to pay, insurance to contend with.  I can not compare a price in Alabama to a price in NJ.  

I am a CPA by trade, (Constant Pain in the A_ _?) and have met many potential clients that I turned away because ALL they cared about was the Almighty dollars.  I like my dealer, and I want him to want and respect my business.  
Off the soap box now....