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      05-14-2022, 08:42 AM   #10
wtwo3
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Originally Posted by BGM-M3COMP View Post
Car salesmen do not work for free. So their battle of the negotiations are all dependent on how much commission they make. Why do we, as the customer, need to deal with that?

I would much rather pay, for example, 80k for an M3, and you will pay 80k for an M3, and everyone who wants an M3 will pay 80k, if it results in not having to deal with a 3rd party, which is what a dealer is. If i want an M3, i go on the BMW website and order it. Someone else, a small company who doesn't profit much from the work they put in, drives the car to your house and gives you a short test drive. You like the car, you sign papers for 80k. You don't, then that person leaves with the car. I assume there might be a small penalty if you decide you don't like the car but that cost will be no where near what you would pay, if you had to deal with all the haggling dealers do.

I can almost bet that if this became reality, you would see how much dealers make as a profit, if they car makers actually start selling directly to a customer.

Another example, we can probably get what we would pay 80k for an M3, perhaps 65k, because that gap in cost are all profits to the dealer and whomever else is involved in that 3rd party process.
You're assuming as a result of direct sales you'd now be paying what the dealer pays for the car. In reality I highly doubt the mfg would simply hand that cost savings to the consumer. Take a look at Tesla and the seemingly random and arbitrary price increases they implement multiple times a year. You're at the mercy of what the mfg wants to charge you and there's absolutely ZERO room for negotiation.

The bulk of dealer profit isn't from car sales. It's from service. This is why many smaller market dealers refuse to cater to out of state customers.

I also don't waste my time haggling with car sales people. When I was shopping around for my current cars, I had a deal in place well before I ever stepped foot into a dealership. I drafted up a simple email detailing exactly what I was looking for and what sort of discount I was expecting (based on market research at the time), and sent that email to about 20 dealers in the midwest. It was a simple yes/no question - do you agree to these terms? If not, let's not waste each other's time. If yes, let's talk on the phone and get a deal in place, sign some papers and get it done. The only time I ever step foot inside a dealership is if I want a test drive, or when it's time for me to pick up my new car.

I get this isn't typically how people buy cars. Conventional car buying involves going into a dealer, test driving, and then spending hours of frustration dealing with sales person BS all the while potentially walking out with nothing. But like I said, the dealer network is excellent if you're a savvy shopper. It's stress free and you're able to work out a better deal than most people if you know what you're doing. I'll take that any day of the week over direct sales where we're ALL getting ripped off the same amount.

On top of all that, if you establish a good relationship with a dealer/sales person, you both know what to expect each time you're shopping for a new car and it becomes even more convenient. There's pros and cons to each method. I get the pros of the direct sales method as it relates to convenience, and I get the cons of a dealer network because some dealers are the scum of the earth. But if you know what you're doing and can sniff out the BS, working with dealers IMO is a much better option.
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