Frustrated with dealer fee's and add on's

What type and $$ fees are they quoting? And are they forcing the Toyoguard? Personally if a dealer has MY car with that Port Package installed and they won't wave the outrageous $699 - bye bye. And other port options are more than other areas of the U.S. Plain & Simple --- GREED. I'm in FL too - SET Land...

 

It's ridiculous. Had Maroone in weston tell me MSRP with $599 dealer fee; they wouldn't budge on it so I walked.

Today we put a deposit on a car from Headquarter @ MSRP with no dealer fees and floor mats included at no charge; just tax/tag.

 

That's a different issue. It's only a matter of supply vs demand. If the new 2010s fly off the lots and stores have a hard time keeping up with the orders or as happened with the Gen 2's three time if waiting lists form then MSRP will be the norm.

When there will be good volume on the lots then deals will be possible. It's only a matter of time. The question is 'how much time'.

 

I agree with DeanFL -- if the dealer plays games like that then I would get up and leave w/o hesitation. But sometimes it's easier said than done. Buying a car is a challenging sport, and demands experience, knowledge, energy. The dealers have a variety of arsenal to attack the buyer with often times w/out the buyer even aware of what's going on. And if the buyer is not experienced or knowledgable enough, the dealer will chew them up easily. I know I've lost before. If they don't succeed with additional fees, then they'll hit you with higher finance charges, or ridiculously low trade-in value, or additional option items, delivery cost, etc... They never cease to surprise me with new weaponry.

I bought a Sienna for my wife early this year, and I have also been visiting dealerships and test driving different cars for the past few months for myself, and I have learned quite a bit from these experiences. Essentially for me it boils down to three principals:
1. Dealers need to earn my business (not the other way around)
2. I have to negotiate (or the dealer would be happy to take my $$ w/o a fight)
3. I call the shots (I can walk away at any time)

There are half a dozen other dealerships within 1 hour drive, so why should I tie myself down to any one particular dealer if they are playing games with me? I don't want to be the sucker who falls for that.

Plus when they sell at MSRP, the dealer profits ~10-20% (see Edmunds or Consumer Reports bottom line pricing). Just making some rough guess-timates here. Say a dealer sells 20 Prius' per month at MSRP. The MSRP goes for $22k-31k depending on options and pkg. Being conservative, suppose the avg is $25k/car, and profit at MSRP is 10% = $2.5k/car. Then 20*$2.5k = $50k of profit per month for one car! That's not including all the Corolla's, Camry's, Yaris, etc they sell. (Someone please correct me if my assumptions are way off.)

If you don't have the luxury of waiting, and if you're not filthy rich, then the least you can do is obtain quotes from at least one other dealership nearby. Start with base pricing but make sure not to decide until you get out-the-door pricing with all desired options included, and interest rate if financing. You can even make dealerships compete by disclosing quotes back and forth.

 

I agree with you. Buyers seem so afraid that they will get stuck with add on fees, that they are relieved to be able to pay "just" msrp.

Others need a car now or choose to be an early adopter, so they accept that they may be paying more than buyers who wait.

Car companies set msrp to give dealers room to give discounts and still make a good profit. I sure hope this settles down within the next few months.

Roy

 

Tonight I made my first trip out to a Toyota dealership after I heard 2010 was on the lot. At Toyota Mall of GA - you can't just pull in, park, and walk onto the lot. You park in a 'guest' area - and the only way onto the lot is through a gauntlet of fanged alpha-male sales guys. Ok, maybe I'm overstating it there. They weren't actually alpha males.

I put on my blinders and walked past all the attempts to get my attention - found the double doors onto the lot and made my way out. It didn't take long to find the lone blue 2010 Prius standing out against the sea of generic toyo's flooding the lot. There was another man there admiring the car. I asked if he was interested in the Prius too - and he said this was his first day on the job as a salesman. Sweet! - I hate pushy - and this guy was a newbie - like I am to this site. It was a Prius IV - with the Solar Roof/Nav Package/Leather Seats/Dark Gray interior. I stopped by to see how it looked wrapped around me and after sitting in the drivers seat for a few minutes... it looked pretty darn good. I was surprised at how luxurious the interior felt. I expected plastic on a par with the Dodge Caliber that I'm currently renting. I would easily compare the look and feel on a par with the Cadillac CTS ( a previous rental ) - seat was very comfortable - and the dark gray interior looked 'pro' ... I also stopped in because - no matter how hard I searched, I could not find a clear picture of the drivers side water bottle holder. There is one on each front door - and they look ok - but nothing extra-ordinary --- like maybe having the door bottle holder offering a chilling compartment to keep the drinks nice and cold ... ok - at this price - may be asking too much. The blue metal-flake looking paint was deep and sparkly in the evening sun. The slot where fog-lights should go - just look wonky though - with those pastic inserts in place. I'm guessing there will be a good aftermarket to fill those slots.

Now I thought - Hey I would pay 30 grand for this. This IS nice.

Then I looked at the sticker and had to ask the new salesguy if Toyota had changed their mind and allowed the Solar Roof to be sold with the Advanced Technology package. The price on the sticker was 34,422.00 - for a Prius IV with Solar Roof. -- Reading the Dealer options - I saw something listed as "Market Adjustment" for 2995.00 ... What the heck is "Market Adjustment" - surely that can't mean ... Because more people want them than we have to sell - we can get away with charging a premium. Do all dealers do this ? I took a few photo's of the car - and the sticker so I could ensure that this just wasn't a dream ... and departed the way I came in.

Either I'll wait until supply catches up with demand - or I'll take another hard look at Honda Insight. There is plenty of supply there - just one dealership down ... Or - just buy a used 2009 from the people rushing to get the 2010 now

This will be my second new car - when I buy ... I don't remember it being this bad in 2002 when I bought my last.
I would attache photo's but - as of yet - I cannot figure out how to upload them from my iPhone.

runCMD - newbie wannabe Prius owner.

 

I went to Toyota of Wilmington, NC yesterday,5/28, thinking they had received their first Prius' last night.
No luck, they say they are due in tomorrow. In talking to a salesperson they have not pre-sold either of the cars they are expecting. Also called the Myrtle Beach dealer and they have two cars, neither sold as yet. Have not discussed price yet but I suspect it is MSRP + some dealer processing fee, I believe 4599.00 which is negotiable.

I think the best approach is to take a wait and see attitude and not get emotionally worked up. I know that this is not a Yuppie area where these cars are very popular like California cities. THe south east region has over 900 2009 Prius' leftovers.

In asking for a trade in appraisal on my 2007 Package V Touring Edition Prius, with Nav, Factory Tint, XM Radio, Mudflaps, new Michelins (4K ago), Mint condition w/31,500 miles and 11 months left on the 36 Month Callender Warranty.

I was offered $14000, yes I know it's their initial low ball offer. They only have one other used 2007 Prius on the lot. KBB says I should get around $17,000/

What are other experiencing with trades?