Dealers Price haggling vs Tesla's price fixing

[AudubonB]

...I've always gotten my cars lower than average and even played a dealership into selling me a car in the red...

Oh, brother. Without good information on that final claim, the likelihood it is true is....umm...wait, I know I've got a winning Powerball ticket around here somewhere...

Rather, they duped you on the price and they duped you into letting you think you won/they lost. Yecch!

 

[RajendraD]

So let me get this straight: if you buy a used car you are not getting the features of a new car? And this is something that only happens to Teslas?

I think you got me wrong there. Almost all companies (whether it is Auto companies or tech companies) have their product cycles. For cars it is 4 years and for gadgets it is usually 1 year. If you follow the industry closely you know which company releases their product when and one can plan accordingly. Tesla doesn't go that route. Had I known that they would be releasing new hardware in October, I would have waited. Some people don't want to wait and some don't care additional gadgetry. Here I was not given choice. That's all I am saying. People argue that something always come in the future. I agree to that and if I want to wait for it, I will wait and buy. It should always be informed decision.

 

[zer0cool]

I enjoy my dealership experiences. Tesla's purchase and delivery experience is pretty sub-par compared to dealerships. I think for many, especially in larger markets, service pretty far behind as well.

In terms of pricing, I am not sure if direct sales actually results in greater consumer welfare compared to dealerships. There are lots of inefficiencies. People just agree to it like it's propaganda or something. I think dealerships offer pretty significant benefits. If dealerships can actually do what they do best more efficiently than company stores, then we should support dealerships instead of company stores.

 

[jelloslug]

I think you got me wrong there. Almost all companies (whether it is Auto companies or tech companies) have their product cycles. For cars it is 4 years and for gadgets it is usually 1 year. If you follow the industry closely you know which company releases their product when and one can plan accordingly. Tesla doesn't go that route. Had I known that they would be releasing new hardware in October, I would have waited. Some people don't want to wait and some don't care additional gadgetry. Here I was not given choice. That's all I am saying. People argue that something always come in the future. I agree to that and if I want to wait for it, I will wait and buy. It should always be informed decision.

If you are always going to wait for something in the future you will never buy anything. The Tesla system is vastly superior to traditional ways as they don't wait for months or years to pass by before they introduce new features.

 

[TexasEV]

I think you got me wrong there. Almost all companies (whether it is Auto companies or tech companies) have their product cycles. For cars it is 4 years and for gadgets it is usually 1 year. If you follow the industry closely you know which company releases their product when and one can plan accordingly. Tesla doesn't go that route. Had I known that they would be releasing new hardware in October, I would have waited.

You and many others. Google "Osborne effect" and you'll see why you you wouldn't be able to buy that way much longer, because Tesla wouldn't be able to remain in business.

 

[Pandamoanium]

Oh, brother. Without good information on that final claim, the likelihood it is true is....umm...wait, I know I've got a winning Powerball ticket around here somewhere...

Rather, they duped you on the price and they duped you into letting you think you won/they lost. Yecch!

Sadly they thought they were taking advantage of me. They just got greedy, but it's only people like you and your assumptions which made that possible so I appreciate assumptious people like you!

I went in there and negotiated a 78K car down by stating I would put no money down, take the full term, highest rate and with the dealership. So they did me a solid and took the price down even more. At the end of the terms, I would have paid them pretty much double to triple the discounts they gave me. Not to mention I was only 23 at the time and the monthly salary would have 60% go to it. They knew I didn't have any other expenses since I lived at home with the parents. Even had someone co-sign to make it more believable.

Bought the car, told the finance manager they heard me wrong and put down 25K which changed everything but it was late and he wanted to get out of there. Paid it off in 6 months when I could have paid it in cash. Lesson here is to not buy your cars unless you have the means to pay it off right away, or so that's how I like to go about it.

As for your powerball joke, you should look into the chances of winning one versus getting a good deal on a car. It happens more often than you think.

 

[AudubonB]

What was that vehicle's MSRP.....and far more importantly, what was its holdback? Without knowing those data, you have no base to make your claim.

 

[Pandamoanium]

What was that vehicle's MSRP.....and far more importantly, what was its holdback? Without knowing those data, you have no base to make your claim.

If all I needed was MSRP and holdback percentage then I'd still be in the dark. Bottom line is 78K MSRP and getting it for 64K. Before you ask, it was not an older model, it was a new model at the time. Invoice means nothing now since they will always show it to you. It never includes the factory holdback (I assigned 7% when I did my research based on some of the other brands), dealership holdback (4% even though they will tell you 2%) factory rebates as well as additional discounts from selling the cars or meeting a quota. Ever hear them use the term, "This is an car I sell everyday, I'd discount it more if it weren't." Or, "This is a special car which is not an everyday car, I can't discount it more. If it were an everyday car I could."

I don't expect you to believe it, but it happened and if you've never had a good experience negotiating then that's unfortunate. It's never happened to me again and this didn't all happen in one shot.