[dieck]

Respect your perspective and experience.

My goal is to get out as cheaply as possible including time value of money (financing). I usually get somewhere between invoice and 1k under invoice depending on the model (all this before rebates). I know there are better and worse deals but this works for me.

To pre-negotiate the deal and get in and out with as little friction (and green leaving my wallet) is my style. As always your mileage may vary.

Originally Posted by Cliffy1

That may be your experience, but that is NOT typical, nor is it how we in the dealership view things. Let me give you a few reasons why.

First, old units are old for a reason. They are lower in demand. Every week, we get a meeting with the owner, demanding that we get rid of the older units that are costing him money. Older units seem to get "stale", and its actaully easier to sell an identical unit that just arrived. People somehow know if they are not the first butt to sit in a seat and they want that. That gives a lot of motivation to sell the aging unit.

The WFR line on the invoice isn't paid to the salesman. Its put into a pot to pay the average floorplan expenses. The more aged units, the more floorplan interst the dealer pays. The floorplan interest on old units counpounds and makes them weigh the whole expense sheet.

Next is the issue of location. What you're talking about is "conquest" customers. Those are nice to have and can be viewed as "found business". They also will never produce a referral, will likely never buy another vehicle from you and will never use our service department. A smart dealer will give the best deals to those who will generate future revenue. Granted, there are not enough smart dealers so your advice may be correct anyway.

Finally is the issue of time. The longer a customer stays in the dealership, the more likely they are to spend money. Customers who finance with a dealer's bank is many times more likely to buy more accessories, aftermarket products, warranties and financial products. Think about that for a moment. If you make an offer on the truck that leaves the salesman and manager with very little commission, they may be more inclined to take the deal if they have a glimmer of hope of talking you into buying something else once you're here.

I can't tell you how many times I have seen offers that don't get taken seriously. They are usually sent by fax and essentially tell the dealer that they can expect no repeat or referral business, no service business, no parts business, low front gross, no chance of finance profit, little chance of upselling and with so little time for rapport building we will probably get a low CSI rating when the survey. This is usually for a vehicle that has to be ordered or located and is often on a very high demand vehicle. When an offer like that comes, most managers will tell a salesman, "here's a price, but don't spend a lot of time with them. Its not worth it."