Discount!!

For some car buyers, I've noticed that it's a dealbreaker for them if they are not getting a "special deal." The truth is, that's how carbuying has been for years and years - you come in, haggle a bit, a get the "special" price you want, the salesman gets the sale, and everyone goes home happy.

However, the recent collapse of the auto industry has changed things. Buyers enter the dealerships with the same perception as always, but are being met with stony-faced salesman who are shrugging their shoulders, telling them "there's really nothing more we can do."

Buyers are assuming this is because we, the auto dealers, aren't cutting deals any more. That's just not true.

For new cars, we've already discounted them to cost - meaning we're barely making a dime on these things right now. This is for three reasons:

1) We have to sell them as cheap as we can just to get the product moving, since folks are just starting to have faith in the American auto industry again. More new, beautiful little Chevrolets on the road is a free advertisement to the other drivers, showing that Chevy is back and better than ever.

2.) The Internet has given the guy with the cheapest price the upper hand, because often folks can do all their shopping at home, comparing prices and such. To stay competitve, we must offer the cheapest price possible upfront, before you even enter the store.

3.) With the economy being in the state it has been in and everyone pinching pennies, we know that we just aren't going to get a lot of takers on a full price vehicle. So we go ahead and take off everything we can.

Now, with all of this price slashing on our front, you would think folks would be flocking to our doors, right? Well, unfortunately, it seems that some people look at a new 2010 Avalanche that has been marked down $8,000, and still want more of a discount. (Think about that - EIGHT THOUSAND DOLLARS. You could buy a whole other car just with the money you saved.)

You don't go up to the K-Mart clerk and ask them to cut the price on a bargain bin DVD, do you? Of course you don't, because you know you're already getting a good deal. For some reason, this still hasn't dawned on some new car buyers. Some of them don't want a fixed price on a car, even if the price is really, really good.

Now, a few years down the road when things start picking up (And they will! Believe in the economy! We'll all be alright; no need to panic and start buying heaps of gold, no matter what world-reknowned economist Glenn Beck says.), then you can start asking for discounts again. Or maybe not! Maybe this will become de rigueur for all new car dealers - offering you the lowest price possible, right upfront, no ifs ands or buts. I kind of hope for that option. While it might be fun to haggle, I really enjoy knowing exactly how much I will pay from the very beginning.

Any questions?