Dealers - a new trough/whats the point?

[numtumfutunch]

Hi

I popped into my local BMW dealer today with a view to buying a high spec 3 series

Weirdly despite it being a large dealership they only had a limited number of cars on display and even more unusually the full EV ones were new but every thing else on display in the showroom was used

I wanted to look at a 3 series estate but they didnt have one, just a used saloon
The 3 was facelifted in May and this car was a pre facelift
(BMW nerd it was actually a LCI car but in May they LCI'd the LCI - everyone else ignore this)

The spec changed considerably with the May facelift and even the salesperson didnt know what was what
My questions were all answered by him looking at the configurator online which TBH Id done myself

And then we got to the haggling charade.....

I was initially offered some shiny beads and a bunch of flowers, pushing further resulted in theatrical trips to a mystical figure called "my manager" and after quite a lot of to-ing and fro-ing managed a heady 5% discount

At this point I showed him an email from a BMW dealer several hundred miles away at a 15% discount which "my manager" matched with minimal fuss

Why does it have to be like this?

The lack of knowledge in the product is frustrating but why do a ridiculous dance to get the best price when another dealer coughs up immediately?

Im aware I may get a pasting for this LOLZ

Cheers

[vaud]

Why not start with giving them the target price for you and see how close they can get, or exceed?

[numtumfutunch]

vaud said:

Why not start with giving them the target price for you and see how close they can get, or exceed?

Because they would have then undercut by 1p instead of revealing what they were prepared to deal at

[cliffords]

They are not car dealers and sales professionals, they are finance providers. They want you to rent the car for three years, then bring it back and rent another one .
There is little or negibable knowledge in the service department, they just plug it in and get told what to do .

I am old but 25 years ago, I worked in the motortrade for a few years, it's unrecognisable now from then.

That's progress apparently.

[vaud]

numtumfutunch said:

Because they would have then undercut by 1p instead of revealing what they were prepared to deal at

Sure, but if the OP is satisfied at 16% rather than 15%…

[Julian Thompson]

This is why allowing the dealers the autonomy to deal is a mistake. They’ll just hurt each other. You’ve just given me an idea for my own brand.

My U.K. dealers are all drop shippers anyway. Every sale gets paid to us direct and we send the dealer a commission….

[Bobupndown]

Hate the fking about, have to speak to my manager bks.
Next time that happens when I'm buying a car I'm off.
This is what I'm willing to pay, do we have a deal or not?

[Dog Biscuit]

So, did you end up buying a car or what?

[numtumfutunch]

Dog Biscuit said:

So, did you end up buying a car or what?

Yes, but not from them

[Presuming Ed]

Bobupndown said:

Hate the fking about, have to speak to my manager bks.
Next time that happens when I'm buying a car I'm off.
This is what I'm willing to pay, do we have a deal or not?

You understand the sales person doesn’t have the authority to provide, in this case a 15% discount and that a manager needs to sign these off as has the full picture in terms of vb or other incentives from the manufacturer that’s beyond the pay grade of the person on the shop floor.

15% is probably making a loss for the dealer without support.

[numtumfutunch]

Presuming Ed said:

Bobupndown said:

Hate the fking about, have to speak to my manager bks.
Next time that happens when I'm buying a car I'm off.
This is what I'm willing to pay, do we have a deal or not?

You understand the sales person doesn’t have the authority to provide, in this case a 15% discount and that a manager needs to sign these off as has the full picture in terms of vb or other incentives from the manufacturer that’s beyond the pay grade of the person on the shop floor.

15% is probably making a loss for the dealer without support.

Thanks for taking the time to post

I was offered 5% after 3 trips over 45 minutes to the big dog, two cups of half decent coffee and three biscuits (and no test drive)

The difference between the 5% they coughed up before they saw my email and the other dealer was £9,000

9k is a lot of cash, and as I also posted their product knowledge was poor which is being polite

If a dealer hours away can offer 15% with zero chance of me ever taking the car their for service due to geography they are saintly if trading at a loss - consequently Id hypothesise that they are still making profit on the sale as altruism isnt something normally associated with the motor trade

Its probable that most people take 5% as a massive win and are subsidising the rest of us who are more savvy - on the other hand why should the price of a new car vary massively according to how much of a nerd you are?

Cheers, and have a great weekend everyone

[Caddyshack]

Maybe the 15% dealer just needed turnover for a bonus from the head office or just needs to shift some
Metal? Did they have a physical car or was this a new order?

[numtumfutunch]

Caddyshack said:

Maybe the 15% dealer just needed turnover for a bonus from the head office or just needs to shift some
Metal? Did they have a physical car or was this a new order?

Built to my spec for February delivery which was changed to March on my request for the new plate

[skyebear]

Presuming Ed said:

Bobupndown said:

Hate the fking about, have to speak to my manager bks.
Next time that happens when I'm buying a car I'm off.
This is what I'm willing to pay, do we have a deal or not?

You understand the sales person doesn’t have the authority to provide, in this case a 15% discount and that a manager needs to sign these off as has the full picture in terms of vb or other incentives from the manufacturer that’s beyond the pay grade of the person on the shop floor.

15% is probably making a loss for the dealer without support.

"Speak to my manager" = going out back for a vape.

[Sheepshanks]

Julian Thompson said:

This is why allowing the dealers the autonomy to deal is a mistake. They’ll just hurt each other. You’ve just given me an idea for my own brand.

My U.K. dealers are all drop shippers anyway. Every sale gets paid to us direct and we send the dealer a commission….

Several manufacturers, most notably Mercedes, have moved to Agency sales already. They all want to do it.

[911Spanker]

What's the spec? Gone M3 or B3?

[Saudade]

numtumfutunch said:

On the other hand why should the price of a new car vary massively according to how much of a nerd you are?

Cheers, and have a great weekend everyone

I don't even see why there is any % off, it's really frustrating for the buyer and the dealership and alienates potential customers who don't realise they can walk in and just get £10k off the car. I suppose the majority buy on finance and want to be seen in a car that lists for £60k even though it's worth £30k and cash buyers have to suffer by still paying an inflated price even after knocking £15k off.

[Caddyshack]

skyebear said:

Presuming Ed said:

Bobupndown said:

Hate the fking about, have to speak to my manager bks.
Next time that happens when I'm buying a car I'm off.
This is what I'm willing to pay, do we have a deal or not?

You understand the sales person doesn’t have the authority to provide, in this case a 15% discount and that a manager needs to sign these off as has the full picture in terms of vb or other incentives from the manufacturer that’s beyond the pay grade of the person on the shop floor.

15% is probably making a loss for the dealer without support.

"Speak to my manager" = going out back for a vape.

Whilst it is a cliche sales technique, in a dealership they do often have to run it by the sales director or sales manager.

[Caddyshack]

numtumfutunch said:

Caddyshack said:

Maybe the 15% dealer just needed turnover for a bonus from the head office or just needs to shift some
Metal? Did they have a physical car or was this a new order?

Built to my spec for February delivery which was changed to March on my request for the new plate

I am guessing it has to do with new car bonuses- my friend owned 4 merc dealerships which he sold and retired, he explained that sometimes it was just shifting enough units to get the manufacturer bonuses.

[Bobupndown]

Caddyshack said:

skyebear said:

Presuming Ed said:

Bobupndown said:

Hate the fking about, have to speak to my manager bks.
Next time that happens when I'm buying a car I'm off.
This is what I'm willing to pay, do we have a deal or not?

You understand the sales person doesn’t have the authority to provide, in this case a 15% discount and that a manager needs to sign these off as has the full picture in terms of vb or other incentives from the manufacturer that’s beyond the pay grade of the person on the shop floor.

15% is probably making a loss for the dealer without support.

"Speak to my manager" = going out back for a vape.

Whilst it is a cliche sales technique, in a dealership they do often have to run it by the sales director or sales manager.

So let me speak to the organ grinder, not the monkey then.
One trip to see what the best deal available is OK, not fking about back and forwards multiple times. I do think fixed price across the board is the way ahead.