spwolf

toyota here opens dealerships of their own to be their flagship stores and to improve customer service levels.

but yes, just like any huge company, they have strict rules and discounts are only those that are advertised.

when it comes to the customer, they will never get as good as a deal then when it comes 29th and car dealer NEEDS to make that sale happen!

Toys4RJill

Factory owned dealers are not good for the average consumer.

The problem we have today is that many people in America have forgetten what it means to pay for "quality". Everything is the bottom line or a rock bottom price.

If a dealer has a hot car or the car with more features, the so be it, charge more, price it high or do whatever.

With obsession with LOW prices, people have forgotten what its like to PAY for quality and good stuff.

mmarshall

I understand what you're saying here, but one of the problems with traditional haggling is that, no matter how "stupid" or "smart" you are, it often doesn't work with high-demand/low-supply vehicles. I can remember, just a couple of years ago, what I went through trying to find a new unsold Camaro SS to simply review, much less actually buy. If demand is high enough and supply is low enough, everybody gets screwed, smart and stupid alike......unless you know somebody in the buisness that is willing to pull a string or to to help you out.

That, of course, did not happen with the Saturn dealers. List price MEANT list, no matter how many cars you had in overstock or in low-supply. The only way that dealerships could get extra profit was if they stuck on dealer/factory-approved accessories, which some Saturn retailers did. But most Saturn shops did not, because the whole aim of the Saturn Corporation was to please the customer.

mmarshall

Price often has little or nothing to do with quality. You can buy low-priced (20K or under) cars from Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Subaru, etc..... and often get substantially better build-quality (and reliability) than some premium-nameplate manufacturers costing four and five times as much. Look at how much time, for example, an average Jaguar or Land Rover spends in the repair shop, compared to a Corolla, Civic, or Accent.

I8ABMR

I think if the dealerships were factory owned then the sales part would be a lot more honest and straightforward. This would be easier.

Toys4RJill

You really think this? It is straight forward right now. You look for a car at a few dealers and the best price usually wins.

Toys4RJill

People will pay closer to MSRP than invoice if the product is hot and in serious demand. This is good for everyone!

gengar

Absolutely. I have felt for a long time that car dealerships should primarily exist for service and not sales, especially for premium/luxury marques where it is more likely that buyers know what they are looking for and possibly even order their cars precisely to spec. Additionally, many brands have moved to lower-inventory distribution models (look at Porsche, for example), and this will further decrease the need for dealers to act as sales outlets.

The reality is that dealership sales represents one of worst middle management conundrums in all of business. There's no reason to have these dealers be taking a huge cut off corporate profits. It's an inefficient and unproductive system. As others have mentioned, the problem of varying management can also result in inconsistent sales and service experiences for customers which may damage the brand. If dealers were run by corporate, there would be greater systemic consistency.


Why on earth would you not still be able to haggle? Centralizing sales doesn't mean price consistency.

Fizzboy7

[QUOTE=



Why on earth would you not still be able to haggle? Centralizing sales doesn't mean price consistency.[/QUOTE]

My concern would be how Saturn made it.... no haggling.

Joeb427

iTrader: (1)

No haggling but when shopping at a few dealers they would beat each other on a trade in number if you had a trade.
Haggling light..

mmarshall

Saturn made it that way for several reasons. First, studies showed that customers disliked haggling more than any other single aspect of a car purchase (and I agree). Second, it prevented not only discounts, but also those annoying dealer mark-ups that you often see on hot new models in high-demand/short-supply, though Saturn did allow mark-ups on dealer/factory-approved accessories. Third, it gave the perception (and reality) that everyone was paying the same price for the same car (which was true), though, of course, sales-taxes and license-fees varied from state to state, and was out of Saturn's control. Fourth, Saturn set factory-prices at a reasonable level to start with, compared to the competition, so there was usually no need for incentives or discounts to move cars off thedealer- lots. Fifth, the no-haggle pricing also extended to used cars at a Saturn shop as well...so it made used-cars as easy to buy as new ones. Car Max, BTW, has adopted Saturn's no-haggle used-car pricing and money-back guarantee, and has, of course, done very well. I recently shopped with a married-couple friends of mine at a local Car Max for a late-model Honda Accord, and they loved the experience there.

Fizzboy7

Those are all true benefits for the Saturn buyer, but it does not disprove one can get a better deal with haggling. When the factory or dealer sets the prices, it's in their best interest to make a certain profit. While that's nice for them, it takes away the ability of the customer to save even more. Again, may work for the average Joe or Saturn buyer, but to the smart, savvy guy who does some homework, he doesn't get the chance to work his magic.

spwolf

not to mention that for dealer, decision making process it much closer to you.. for corporation, it is not.

it just doesnt work that way.