Originally Posted by davidyan

Ed- with all due respect, it is as close as what really goes on. Perhaps your dealer was managed very well to drive solid profit margins. I'm glad the business worked out well on your end.

The way I described is exactly how I bought my 370Z. I have also helped numerous friends and relatives the exact same way to negotiate for their cars getting very similar deals and on occasion, even better deals. The reason some don't get those deals is because they either give in to fast when the salesman / closer counteroffers with a "meet me in the middle deal" or, the customer wants a color or option that only that one dealer has and they make it known that they must have it that way. Or, its possible that the dealer you work at is doing so well that they don't have to sell at invoice. Look at the pricing threads and you'll see how many people have paid invoice or even below.

Car negotiation tactics aside, my primary point was to highlight that he (the previous poster) shouldn't feel guilty paying invoice. Because when the dealer accepts that type of offer, they are doing exactly that i.e, accepting that the offer is something that they can live with. It might not be what they were hoping for but its not un-business friendly by any means.

Finally, its a business owner or executive's responsibility to manage their company profitably. Corporate pushes dealers to stock large volumes of inventory. Dealers try to sell as much as possible. If market forces mean that they get low margins, thats the way it is. Generally speaking, when making a product of any kind, a manufacturer has strict cost targets and based on the nature of the product they hope to drive enough customer value or demand to sell for a price much higher. If they can, they should. If they cant do it, they either:

- produced / stocked too much inventory or too many dealerships - think about why GM and Chrysler forced many dealers to close. Very sad but fair if you believe in a competitive market.
- did not create enough value in the product for the customer to pay that high price (DOUBTFUL that this is the case with the 370Z)
- too low of demand
- were not aggressive enough with the cost targets resulting in low profitability even at "high selling prices." All manufacturers focus on this- think about why they didn't give us oil coolers for instance. They were thinking the increase in cost of car by installing the cooler would not justify a higher selling price or more units sold for the average consumer. Only a few would pay more for this. How many of us have installed aftermarket coolers even given how much we all complain about oil temps? Very few. They were right from a business perspective for not including it.

The market dictates the price and they have to live with that or better find a way to manage the business. GM, Chrysler and even Toyota is dealing with that right now. The competitive market is also the reason why people living in places like New York, SF Bay Area or LA have to pay $1M + for an average looking house when people in the Midwest can get a gated estate for that price. I don't mean to come off strong, but this is just the way business works. For those dealers that can find a way to charge MSRP with no grief from the customer, more power to them.