Anyone else almost get "took" by the dealer?

[forestacademy]

Originally Posted by spud

The only thing I think I got took is, I never pay sticker price for any cars I bought, but I have to paid sticker price for this one because my wife want it.
Dealer I delt with told me they made about $300.00 per car and the never put the market adjustment price for any of these other dealer.

Anyone ever pay over sticker price ?

I havent hear of anyone paying under sticker, but some have walked away with some extras for free recently.
Last summer while things were still new and gas was over $4 dealers were being creative in pricing. They didn't seem to be taking strait Orphans and jacking up the prices, they just wouldn't leave an orphan plain.
They would load them up with "option" you could live without and jack up the prices on those items. LoJack, Window Etching, Nav Systems, Pin Striping, and anything else they could think of to make money on those who just coudn't wait to get a car.
It realy did pay to wait for a car back them. Now, no real reason to wait unless you realy just want what you want. It will still cost extra to get some options added at the dealer rather than get it from the factory. Items like The Tac/CLock Pods will cost over $100 extra at the dealer.

So for now, everyone is paying sticker.
If someone who waited 9-12 months for a car found out that someone walked onto the lot and paid less they would get very cranky

[sberger]

Duh! Check interest rates before signing, what a concept!! Might also see how much the car cost! That cost would include TTL, dealer freight, and options. I found that the factory options were all pretty inexpensive, but just don't let the dealerships do local options, which will be very expensive. Interest rates will be lower if you do a fairly good down, decrease number of payments, and have paid your bills in the past, which will effect credit score. If you want everything easy with no money, then you will, and should pay. If you don't think, then pay up!!!

[rfernatt]

I didn't have to deal with financing, but some of those doc fees are robbery! And, dealer installed options are also typically exorbitant in price.

I paid sticker...

[broberts]

Originally Posted by rfernatt

I didn't have to deal with financing, but some of those doc fees are robbery! And, dealer installed options are also typically exorbitant in price.

I paid sticker...

I too did not have to deal with financing. I too hate the "doc fees" ("additional profit" would be a better name for it.) I too paid sticker price.

The place I "got stuck" was Lojack and chrome wheels. I wrote a check for $24,449.xx which included taxes, doc fees, chrome wheels, lojack, comfort package, floor mats, clock & tach and a key chain! That's about $4,000 more than the one I had on order - but I did not want to wait 8 more months. I have already had $4,000 worth of enjoyment for this cabrio and my orginal order would have been here NEXT month!


Bill

[chieftmc]

I too had NO financing; wrote a check for sticker price (plus tax, doc fee, etc.). NO surprises

[jayhead000]

I have heard of people paying over sticker. We called one dealer about a yellow cabrio, (used with 25 miles?) listed for 16,800 and the guy going to pick it up was paying 17,500. They said it had been sitting on the lot for a while and someone was picking it up that day. Could have been a dealer trap though, I think we got a call back.

[Blackbelt]

In MANY cases the dealer can make more off of the financing than they do off the actual profit from the car.
A dealer usually has agreements with a number of financial institutions(along with the parent companies financial arm). They are given a 'base' interest rate. Lets say that rate is 5%. If they write your loan at 9%, then they are paid an overage from the financial institution. The rates and the institutions they use are constantly changing. If they give you their "base" rate, it is usually lower than the rate you can get on your own. However, they very seldom want to give you that. If i am going to finance a car, i either get a home equity loan, OR i research the rates and make the dealer match my best rate. If they can equal my best deal, and still make a buck, i have no issue with that.

[chieftmc]

In these times, should one BE financing

[forestacademy]

Well you shouldn't (or cant) use a home equity loan. This is one of the big holes in auto financing now. A few years ago a very high persentage of Autos and SUV's were being purchesed with Home Equity loans or lines of credit because they were great rates and no negotiation.

This is One of the reasons the down turn in Home Values is tied to the down turn in the auto market.

[Woody14619]

Originally Posted by forestacademy

This is One of the reasons the down turn in Home Values is tied to the down turn in the auto market.

That and the fact that some new cars cost almost as much as a new home. I have neighbor that got a shinny new tricked out Hummer 2 about two years ago, which ran him just over $40K. Mind you, houses in my neighborhood at the time were going for $50K to $80K. Insane...