I think you do understand why the dealers get that way. The dissonance is the dealer mindset doesn’t jive with the consumer mindset, and I don’t think normal customers are willing to accept just how adversarial car-buying at traditional dealerships has become (in general; not the LH-experience).
Auto sales has been honed for decades. And most importantly, it follows the rule of first degree price discrimination (nothing to do with race discrimination).
Price Discrimination - Definition, Types and Practical Example.
Simply put, the buyer and seller have to negotiate everything in first degree price discrimination. In this sales model, the goal of the seller is to capture as much “consumer surplus” as possible. As dealerships have learned, the seller has significant leverage and advantage in a first-degree price discrimination. They’ve spent decades honing their art and knowing how to press buyers into paying more than the buyer normally would.
Buyers by and large do not know the dozens of tactics dealers use to maximize the transaction price. But buyers do feel the pain of those tactics. How many cars does a normal buyer (not @djrabbi) have in their lifetime? Compare that with millions of samples to learn from on the sales side.
So to answer your question on understanding dealers getting preachy and pissy - it’s because anger and pejoratives are the first line of defense when a customer pushes back against the dealer. Dealers are accustomed to having all the advantage in the negotiation. A buyer who presses too hard turns the tables and makes the dealer amazingly uncomfortable and reticent to do a deal with that particular buyer because now the dealer is the one being shaken down.
As we enter the recession, I think all buyers should realize the cash they bring to the table is the advantage. They should be playing the hardest of hard-ball to squeeze as much utility out of that first degree price discrimination. They can get below triple-net when they convince that sales manager that a 300+ days lot anchor isn’t going to move in the next 30 days. And the buyer is literally saving them from flooring costs and carrying costs by taking that trash off their hands. Negative margin transactions should feel as bad to the dealers as the good feels they got when taking massive ADM from buyers.
I think LH brokers/dealers know that they’re just enticing sales based on low pricing, and it’s a completely different experience. But remember, the low-cost deals LH brokers get to liquidate here are only enabled because 99% of other car transactions to the general public are the byproduct of an aggressive sales approach that maximizes hassle on the buyer so that it maximizes dealer margins. You can’t have the good of LH without the bad of the normal sales model screwing* over everyone else.
Edit: * for the LH users who are also sales people - I am not saying you individually are screwing over people. I’m speaking to the general sales model of conventional franchised dealerships in the USA. I think the way LH deals happen is great, but the way LH brokers/sales clears inventory is probably frowned upon by the normal car dealership.
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