I love healthy discussions.
Every time I have tried to shop âlocalâ, I get reminded why I never purchase from them
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An Audi dealer in an upper middle class suburb of MA, once told me 3 years ago that Audis were not distressed merchandise. I guess he is not used to folks asking for 10+% off MSRP. I ended up getting my car for 13+% off MSRP at a competing dealer.
Itâs not always a plus when you have multiple dealerships in large metro area like NYC because they know they donât have to give you a decent deal due to the fact that 5 minutes later an uneducated consumer will walk in from the street and get taken to the cleaners. My last four leases always have been out of state or out of my area.
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Given that my state does not allow for temp tags, I can only work with in-state dealers.
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Iâm guessing his customers were payment shopping against BMW which leased very well back then (and Audi didnât). Letâs say a very well equipped 535i could be hacked for $550 all in. Customer comes in asking for the same payment on an A6 3.0T Prestige and when he puts that payment in his computer it shows a distressed-level discount to get there.
I always wondered why there are zero unicorns or even solid deals at dealerships where 99% of their clientèle deals hold gross and then some?
Because 99% of their clientèle deals hold gross
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You broke rule #1 of LHâŚ
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The rule wasnât broken. The negotiation had been over at that point.
While I agree with the sentiment in general, I still feel that this is akin to negotiating against yourself and there is really no good answer there. Letâs say one is not educated enough about promotions, or numbers available in general (remember we are talking about regular consumer here). If the number said is too high, thatâs the number youâll miraculously going to walk away with. If the number is too low, the whole conversation is going to be dismissed as âunreasonableâ and the customer will be treated badly.
This is obviously part of a much larger issue, that can / was / will be debated into the ground over and over and could be remedied with consumer education or just flat out pricing, but thatâs neither here nor there.
I mean letâs be honest, all everybody cares about is payment. From your mortgage to your car payment to your cable bill.
But you are taught to shop from a holistic approach rather than a closed mindset.
If one only cares about monthly payment, why are different financing periods offered?
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Ever notice how they not only offer but push longer and longer financing terms? I have seen 100+ month terms on exotics being offered (not manufacturer but 3rd party)
Regardless of how you get there unless you are clearing 7 figures a year, almost everyone is payment shopping or shopping within a budget because there are some old school people who buy cash only.
It literally boils down to payment for 99% of people which is why Iâll take mf bump all day for a larger discount. I canât remember who said it, I think it was @spockvr6
But anyway, you use that holistic approach of mf, incentives, sales price, etc etc to get to somewhere where you feel comfortable but also the dealer will say yes.
I fail to see the correlation here. Iâd even go as far as to say that preferring a mf bump is a perfect example of caring about more than just monthly payment, as it shows a preference towards a choice that reduces liability while keeping the monthly payment identical. If you just cared about monthly payment, you should be agnostic to a mf bump/commensurate discount.
I get what youâre saying that a lot of people just care about monthly payment. I donât disagree that a lot do. The whole purpose of this site though is to help people learn how to not be most people. Just because most people focus on monthly payment doesnât mean itâs a prudent choice.
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Well said, Matt. Although I do care about my monthly, knowing what goes into calculating a payment is what some newbies are missing.
Not trying to preach. I am always baffled when someone points to a deal that included all available incentives (loyalty, recent grad, etc), and they expect the same monthly although they qualify for none of these additional incentives.
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I have a good one:
This is years ago, my friend was shopping for a Grand Cherokee SRT and the sales person at a Miami dealership sat him down with a breakdown of the numbers and at the bottom there was a $2000 charge added. When asked what this was for he replied: Oh, thatâs for me because as you would agree, I did such a great job showing you the car"
PS: no discount on the car either
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I have a good one:
I come in today around 730AM per usual and listen to an overnight voicemail. A customer no-showed on an appointment, because customers are also inconsiderate liars, and said he went elsewhere. He didnât buy the car at the other dealership because he refuses to have car insurance. He will now only come to my dealership if he doesnât have to provide proof of insurance to drive the car off the lot.
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What a catch for you.
I had someone skip out on a delivery appointment, not answer anyone, and then he emails me the next day and says that there were âitems that needed my (his) attentionâ and that he got caught up, but also that he would be getting the car elsewhere.
Items that needed his attention. Okay. 
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