Finding any price gouging?

[RussJeep1]

I'm as eager to buy as the next guy/gal. But to wait is to get better prices in more dealers, and after model year 1, possibly a bug reduced vehicle....much that FCA has tested so much, and I wish the purchasers good luck and strongly suspect that they'll love their purchases.

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[RussJeep1]

Head over to Station Jeep in Mansfield. A few of us have purchased there at 5% below invoice.

Mcdvball: what additional charges were there if any? For example, you pay Koons in VA $699 for this deal.

 

[OversandJL]

$384

Mcdvball: what additional charges were there if any? For example, you pay Koons in VA $699 for this deal.

$384 Doc fees. That's it.

 

[RussJeep1]

$384

$384 Doc fees. That's it.

Wow, sounds better than even Koons, even if this dealer doesn't extend Tread Light member discounts..

 

[OversandJL]

Wow, sounds better than even Koons, even if this dealer doesn't extend Tread Light member discounts..

It was better than Koons and local for me. Just like any deal with doc fees the higher your MSRP/Invoice the less of a percentage the doc fee represents. Ask for Ryan the Business Manager.

 

[simpleJL]

San Leandro CDJR in California offered me 4% above MSRP because of the "demand".

I laughed my ass off and got 6% below invoice elsewhere. $80 doc fee.

 

[wooderson]

San Leandro CDJR in California offered me 4% above MSRP because of the "demand".

I laughed my ass off and got 6% below invoice elsewhere. $80 doc fee.

Where did you get that deal? I’m also in CA.

 

[simpleJL]

Where did you get that deal? I’m also in CA.

It's my little secret for now, I don't have approval to post on their behalf.

I did, however, manage to haggle a few to 5% below invoice before finalizing with another dealer. I posted about it in the West Coast thread. Gilroy and Yuba City were both willing to do 5% below invoice. I had to haggle to get there though, as they aren't advertised prices.

 

[Jeepsmashin]

I'd like to know too, plz do tell after you purchase it

 

[KaDeTime]

It’s not really price gouging, most of the buyers are not as informed as this group, there hasn’t been a new wrangler in years... I’ll bet this is a very hot seller... consumers can buy wherever they choose and a dealers window to (theoretically) make some extra money on them is short.... so is it the dealers fault if someone buys a marked up vehicle or the consumer... in the Internet age I’d place that squarely on the consumer.

Its not the Dealers fault its the government for forcing us to be using dealers in the first place and not being able to order it directly from the manufacturer!!!!

 

[COBill]

Its not the Dealers fault its the government for forcing us to be using dealers in the first place and not being able to order it directly from the manufacturer!!!!

Because ordering from a manufacturer results in lower prices?

Instead, ordering from a manufacturer would guarantee everyone paid MSRP.

 

[KaDeTime]

Because ordering from a manufacturer results in lower prices?

Instead, ordering from a manufacturer would guarantee everyone paid MSRP.

Do you think that when you buy anything from a third party that makes a profit on sales of set item it would be cheaper than buying directly???


MSRP is a made up number so the dealer can tell you he is making a good deal for you.

 

[RonH]

Because ordering from a manufacturer results in lower prices?

Instead, ordering from a manufacturer would guarantee everyone paid MSRP.

Not if there were still dealers, but with the option to buy from the manufacturer. Consider this; you want to buy a widget. Now, most widget makers have a website where you can purchase said widget at $X (MSRP). However, you are able to find a widget reseller on Amazon that will sell you the same widget for $X-1. If you're like me, I'll buy from the seller on Amazon. This isn't some made up example...this truly happens all the time. However, there are widgets out there where resellers are more expensive than the manufacturer...in that case, I buy from the manufacturer's website. What should be allowed, is for car makers to sell directly to the public. I'd be willing to bet, their price would equal MSRP. What that would do is put the screws to these dealers who are selling some models for MSRP+++. It would, in effect, set the max price you or I would pay for a vehicle and stop this random upcharge on some vehicles (think Raptor). However, if only the car makers sold their cars, then, you'd be right...there would be no deals to be had, only MSRP.

 

[RussJeep1]

Ok..let's reel this in....Manufacturers forced to use Dealers...in the US?....Manufacturers charging MSRP? Cheaper buying directly?....

There's a saying in business school: you can eliminate the "middle man" but you cannot eliminate what the middle man does (and the money it costs for the middle man to do his job.)

Manufacturers use dealer networks because it's a more lucrative model for them to do business by. A "dealer" regardless of industry (and as opposed to a broker: think Wall St.) maintains inventory, focusing on the sale and service to the end consumer. The manufacture focuses on making product. Each group does what it does best, which actually saves the consumer money because these two groups can specialize in their respective crafts.

Think about this. Why do we have money? "There's a stupid question," you say, "to buy stuff."

Money evolved because it has allowed us to advance as a society to such a state where we need to make less things for ourselves, rather specializing in 1 craft and doing it well, whether you're a welder or a nurse, etc. We then buy the things we need that we don't specialize in, that others do, at better quality and lower price than we could do ourselves.

Being a jack of all trades, for lack of a better way to describe it, is not economically efficient. You can't be an expert at every craft: there's a learning curve, ability, aptitude, etc..

"But I don't need the dealer to show me 'feeds and speeds,' etc. I just need someone to process my order," if I may paraphrase KaDeTime's sentiments, I hope correctly.

Fair enough. There are dealers out there, at least in the vehicle buying world, that charge percentages below MSRP (below even Invoice--which really isn't true Invoice: as in the real cost for the dealer to buy the product--true invoice is lower) that are "order takers." They give you a lower price in exchange for not taking up their time.

MSRP originated from anti-trust legislation. Manufacturers can't tell brokers and dealers what to charge because government (with good intentions) wants neither side of a transaction to have overriding power---hence the "S" in MSRP: "suggested" retail price.

That in some industries products go for above, at, or below MSRP is a product of demand and a consumer's willingness to research best deals.

If the middle man were worthless on the whole, and by in large to a marketplace, that middle man would cease to exist. Proof: we are seeing the demise of the classic brick and motar stores, particular in clothing sales. Someday NYs Macy's Day Parade may be the Amazon Day Parade.

But in markets where Dealers maximize Manufacturer's products, Manufacturer's protect their dealer network by not selling from under them. In industries where experiencing the product before purchase are key, like cars, showrooms will still in part be necessary. And dealers are more efficient at running showrooms, often offering several brands, than manufacturers, who in turn are better at making product.

Mediums like the internet will reduce dealer networks, but until sci-fi technology allows test models of product to be sent to the prospective buyer (Star Trek transporters) people have to go someplace nearby to see fit and finish.

 

[COBill]

Here's a counter-example: Apple products.

They are largely the same at Apple's web site, Apple stores and most third-party retailers, the only place you might find discounts on anything but older products are at some web retailers, even though you know Apple sells to retailers at wholesale prices.

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