Vanity describes something that is vain, empty, or valueless and we both know a great credit score is none of those things.
WRT your scenario it depends which is the better deal. Does max MF make the total payments significantly higher than the higher monthly payment with 0 MF markup? If so I’d take the lower MF and higher monthly payment.
According to your calculator you got over 20% off MSRP. The dealer obviously isn’t making money on the transaction price of the car. So what little profit they have is in the approximate 1% mark up in money factor. A 1% markup is hardly gouging. You overall got a good deal on your vehicle. Just enjoy it. Give up your crusade on the “evil car dealer.” lol
How many hours did you spend on this deal that was $150 away from perfect? Because if the answer is more than about 2 hours, the dealership didn’t lose 
, they’ll sell the car to someone less price-sensitive and actually make more money.
You, on the other hand, have to do the legwork again; I value my time at a minimum of $50 / hour for bullshit activity like negotiating with Joe the Internet Manager at Bob Bukie’s BMW.
I think overall, you lost more than the dealer in this case.
Some of this thread should probably be added into the “Unrealistic expectations” thread.
A 2017 CR-V is pretty much solid gold to a used car lot. Not like we’re talking about a Regal Sportback or a BMW with expiring lease support 
Bragging about your score above and beyond what’s required to get Tier 1 is actually incredibly vain and empty.
How can a total cost ever be higher with a lower payment? (same DAS again, obviously) How can $600x36 ever be lower than $500x36? Which would you take?
I concur with whowhatwhenwhere. And in this case i think it’s different when a dealer says they won’t give it to you vs. being deceptive and trying to sneak in fees. I also agree that dealerships have dug their own grave. How many people do you know that like the process of buying a new car at the dealership? They have and still do line their pockets from sleazy sales practices that often take advantage of the most venerable customers (senior citizens for example). If they can swindle 6K out of your grandmother that’s on a fixed income, they most certainly will. And likely get together afterwords and laugh about it.
I don’t know what kind of dealers you guys are dealing with. But I’ve not had these nightmare dealer scenarios. I use a few dealers that I know and have a good reputation. I haven’t had the wool pulled over my eyes or walked out of there with something I didn’t agree to or understand. You can usually get a feel within the first few minutes you walk into a place if it’s going to be a bad situation.
So basically, if it feels like a CDJR dealer or a furniture store, just walk out.
Read all about this in my award winning novel, MY TIME IS WORTH SOMETHING
Also
You behave well (repay debts) because you have character. A lifetime of your character is modeled (in 3 bureaus) and reduced to any number of scores. You goal is to cross a threshold. If you are trying to “win” by getting the absolute highest score, you are missing our on opportunities to leverage it to your benefit. “Oh a new cash-back card that pays 1% more? Thanks I would like $400/yr more in my pocket for paying in full every month, thank you. No I don’t care if it cost me 30 points for 3 months on my FICO v8 run against my Experian bureau - I could still borrow/buy absolutely anything I want at the top rate.”
Also the models change constantly, FICO just pushed a new one. Reranking and releveling doesn’t mean A-tier isn’t still, but you might settle slightly lower in a cohort of you Demographic peers. You aren’t a snowflake (trust me, I’ve seen the data).
All these people who fixate on rate seem to end up looking at BMWs, which only have one (fair, but by no means low) rate. Your same credit score can get you many points lower on certain Lexus or Volvo models (just to name a few), but most people don’t pick a car for the money factor either (I’ll admit I chose my trim based on it).
On a used car, you can always bring your own financing. And if the exact used car you want is the right price and costs 1 coffee/mo in extra financing, you did just fine. If you want to avoid interest all together, get out that checkbook.
That way both you AND your 
can take an opportunity cost 
If you’re paying attention to what’s going on from the beginning and controlling the deal/offer, there should never be a fee “snuck in.” If a fee gets “snuck in,” that’s on you for letting it happen.
You are making a blanket statement that this happens everywhere, which just isn’t true. That said, if it wasn’t for people paying thousands more than they should, the deals found on this site would be nonexistent.
Since you are fixated on the slimy dealer sales practices, let me remind you a few things:
As I’ve said many many times before, leave emotion out of it. It’s a business trying to remain profitable and open. If you don’t like what they’re offering, go elsewhere. That’s the beauty of a free market. If you’re not willing to travel and throw your net far to obtain your best possible deal, that’s your problem, and you have to deal with what’s available to you.
Seriously. My MSDs alone have a nice RoR, but even in this market I’m making 1.5-2.5% more than my MF in cash equivalents, and 100% of the risk is on VCFS (that alone is worth the rent).
this makes no sense lol.
so basically your saying if Dealership A had a higher monthly payment with a non marked up Buy rate you would take that versus if Dealership B was offering you a lower monthly payment with a marked up buy rate?
Basically…lol. I guess I am spoiled though. I’ve had Lexus or BMW’s since 2002 except for my 2019 Tundra. But even in that case the Toyota dealer was good. I also bought my mother a used Toyota Sienna back in November at a Honda dealer here in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. It was a very easy experience. You have to deal with good dealers. I know it can be hard to find. But they are out there. Sometimes chasing the “best deal” isn’t always the “best” in the long run. I don’t mind paying a few dollars more if the dealer is straight forward and my ownership experience is as hassle free as possible.
Well this solid gold cr-v has spent nearly 30 days on their lot and it’s still for sale to this day.
I take your point but you paint with a broad strokes.
How can you blame the consumer when the entire dealership apparatus is setup to extract maximal profit at ever turn and highly weighted in favor of said dealership?
The average consumer buys 1 car ever x years and the average sales person closes how many deals in a month or even a day if they’re good? It’s fundamentally imbalanced.
omg 30 days? 
The point is that if you want to play hardball you need something that you can play hardball with. A 2017 CR-V is not it.
If we’re leaving emotion out of it then how is a low-ball offer consider ridiculous and insulting?
It’s only a business transaction, right?
It’s a business transaction…take emotion out of it.
Consumers are just as bad, if not worse, than the “slimy” dealers. That said, not all sales people are bad, nor are all customers bad. I’ve seen plenty of people on this forum with a sense of entitlement, however.
Dealership is a business. Every business out there is there to make money. I’m not sure why a dealership is or should be characterized any different. Ragu spaghetti sauce is out there to extract maximum profit too. The only difference is, you can’t change the price of the product…you either buy it or you don’t, or you wait for a sale.