Totally a classic case of Supply vs Demand. Just like anything else on the market. Not surprised at all to hear.
Lot's of comments on supply and demand, but that's glossing over the issue as the dealer has no supply. If they had a supply (a car on the lot) then it's in their best interest to hold out for the highest price. The manufacturer controls the supply, and sells them to the dealer at invoice price. The manufacturer does not care what the dealer sells it for, as long as they keep production flowing out the door at the invoice price. If the manufacturer were getting a % of the sale, then it's a different story. In this case the manufacturer is the one losing the most, as they lost a secured order on a car several months out on production. The dealer lost out on a modest profit by demanding a large profit on a supply they had no control over; now they will get zero. This is why Tesla is cutting the dealers out of the channel (good riddance), as they work against the interest of the manufacturer. If I were to buy a Model 3, I'd put in a deposit and secure my queue in line, possibly for a better price since I'm willing to wait. I don't have to worry about demand since I'm locking in at a price, and the manufacturer has a secured order; both benefit. One possibly scenario is that every factory order takes away one car that would be destined for dealer inventory. Without that inventory, they have no supply with which to maximize the price.
Doesn't matter that the dealer doesn't have a car on the lot. They are asking more because they are hearing increased demand from customers. There were posts here from people getting worked up about not getting a 2017 model in 2016. The dealers are hearing the same, and they know not everyone that has asked them about the Prime is willing to travel out of state to get one. So when a Prime arrives they got multiple potential buyers for that one car. The dealers do have too much power in the US, but it will be years after the Model 3 arrives that there will be a chance of paying less than MSRP on one.
No one outside the dealership knows the actual cost of the car to the dealer. Let's face it, the Prius is a bad model for the dealer to sell. I have nearly 30,000 miles on mine, no problems (dealer income from repairs/upsells), I do my own maintenance (no profit for the shop, no upsell possibility, no parts sales, no profit from screw the customer shenanigans). In my case, if the dealer doesn't get a taste at the time of sale they get nothing.
if you put a deposit on a model 3 base, you'll be lucky to get it by 2020. otoh, you'll probably be able to buy a prime for 3-4k off within a year.
It's sold at over MSRP and still #2 EV sales January in U.S. only behind Volt. Prime is trending toward #1 in a few month or less.
You are presuming that Toyota's ability to sell its production is impaired by the dealer pricing strategy. That is far from obvious in a supply constrained environment. The part of the Prime story I don't understand is the Toyota rebate. That is just going to the dealers.
Pricing might finally be breaking loose in the midwest. In the last week here in Michigan I've found that I could now place an order through multiple local dealerships, and they're all willing to discount below MSRP. I just ordered a Prime Premium for $617 below the $29,889 MSRP. No $1000 factory incentive available (bummer) but at least I wasn't stuck paying MSRP. By the way, both dealerships with Costco pricing were the ones with the highest price. That's only going to get worse as dealership prices continue to fall once supply catches up with demand.
This is incorrect. At this level of supply, if you don't buy it, the manufacturer doesn't loose a thing. The car is made and sold to a dealer. You are not the manufacturer's customer, the dealer is. When you turn down the car, someone else buys it. At the end of the month, they still sold 50 cars. They don't care if they sell a specific car to you, or the next guy that walks in the door. Now, if they can't sell the car to another person, then you have put a dent into the quantity of their sales. That is something the dealers care about. But again, at this level of production and demand, you walking out the door is VERY unlikely to have any effect on monthly quantity sold.
BECAUSE.....they are selling EVERY one of them that they can get, most often BEFORE they even get them. AND....the assumption is that Toyota is cranking out as many as they can. Or they have calculated what they think the ultimate demand will be and aren't stupid enough to invest in extra production facilities just to crank out more at the beginning of a new model. They KNOW how to play the game. If you don't like it, buy something else......or wait a while. I'm pretty sure that neither Toyota nor your nearby dealers really CARE what you as an individual decide to do in a case like this.
Bad assumptions. Place a $1000 reservation for a car that will be sold for $35000 plus BS fees. Nobody knows how much content that $35000 buys. Are you going to have to pay extra for wheels and paint? What are the options and the costs for enabling the features that aren't included in the base price? How long will Tesla hold to the original price? My guess based on the Model S is "not long". With Tesla the longer you wait the higher the price for the car although you are also receiving more features for the higher price. If you want to buy a car out of inventory with some miles on the odo Tesla will sell one to you but don't expect to be able haggle. Be careful what you ask for. Tesla is doing its best to control the ownership experience. Over the air updates can add features or take them away. You may find that when you need service the Tesla Service Center is the only game in town.
Glass is half empty, hmmmm The reservation is 100% refundable. If you don't like the unveiling, or the final costs, take you $1000 back. Or, wait. Let those that are more confident buy the first ones. I'd far rather deal directly with the manufacturer than have to deal with stealerships
I've only been in Priusdom for a model and a half (2010-2017) but we've seen all of this before. My company just gave me an iphone6.....which is about as capable as the $190 Droid that it's forwarded to. In 2014, people were standing in blocks-long lines and GLADLY paying full retail for them. In 2015, you could get deals on them. Now? They're giving them away. Same with G3, which were going for MSRP minus $4,000 before people got a good look at the car that they were replacing it with. I still maintain that if you're willing to hop on a plane, then you're guaranteed to get a good price....but sometimes???? That's not much less than MSRP. In other words.....sometimes the laws of Supply and Demand cannot be overturned even by activist judges. Don't like it? Buy another car or just wait. Primes will be JUST as efficient in a year as they are now.
In the end, I don't think it would make much of a difference. You'd just end up with ..... um ... stealerfacturers.
All prices reflect supply and demand except in price-controlled situations. Do the math on cost savings and intangible cool factor to decide whether you want to pay the asking price. Counter-offer. Remember the bumper sticker "Cool Prius!" ... Said no one ever. Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
Why is it folks will plop down big bucks to wait 5 years for a vaporware Tesla, but won't wait 6 months to get an actual car?
