Whats a fair dealer profit margin ??

it has carried over from from the horse & carriage sales practices from way back in the day.

 

Probably because unions don't have 'em pinned against the ropes and bleeding from the vein. Aren't unions (in addition to poor quality/innovation) the main reason why the US auto industry can't compare with overseas auto companies?

I'm not a union member currently (military), and once I leave the service I will never join one. If you fear your employer enough to hire an arbitrator (i.e. union) to "fight" for you, why are you working for that employer?

 

I don't know if Toyota is the same way (would assume so), but Chevy makes over $10,000 profit on a fully loaded silverado 1500 if sold at asking price. A car only makes about $1000. That's why they put a lot of effort into up-selling the truck trims.

(My family used to sell GM products)

 

Yup, my point exactly. If both parties are happy then it's a good deal to them.

 

Your sig GIF is a subliminal threadjack. Can't focus on thread topic when seeing it because I just know if he flicks that car just the right way those tits are gonna bust out and make the scene.

 

It does happen later in the video

 

And TMs hold back is 2%????

Question for you....

How many profit centers does a typical dealership have and what do you estimate the margins are for each center?

I can think of:
1.) new car/truck sales,
2.) used car/truck sales,
3.) F & I,
4.) service,
5.) parts,
6.) rental,
and...

I'm 100% for capitalism so it's not bad it's just your post made me question....

 

I'm assuming your union tangent refers to the plant assembly worker unions like the UAW. Which does not have a direct impact on dealer profit, which are independently owned and operated sales operation franchises.

 

Are you saying their is price collusion amongst the NW toyota dealers?

 

As a customer you have to be reasonable going into the dealership. You have to understand that they have overhead and are in business to make a meaningful profit - otherwise they can't stay in business. The heartburn with buying a new vehicle comes from the trickery, false numbers, good cop/bad cop salesmen pitch, bouncing you from salesman to supervisor to manager and back to salesman, bogus fees, etc. If salesmen/dealerships were fully honest with me from the start, then I'd be more willing to pay a higher price. When I walk into the dealer and state that I'll be hitting all of the Toyota dealerships in the area for quotes on the same exact truck/features, and that I will buy from whoever gives me the lowest price, I expect their lowest price up front the first time.

When I bought my current truck new I used the tactic above. Once I made my purchase from the cheapest dealer, the first dealer I visited called me back several days later wanting to deal . . . I informed them that I bought from someone else. The first dealer immediately got all pissy w/ me on the phone. I stopped them and simply stated "when I asked for your best price up front, that's what I expected. You lost my business because of price and dishonesty."

 

So I take it you're a union member, then? And you're correct - the unions do not have a direct impact on dealer profit. However, if a manufacturer is receiving gov't bailouts through taxpayer money and is in risk of closing up shop altogether, I would think that many would-be buyers shy away and opt for a stronger competitor. And this, therefore, reduces dealer profit/sales.

 

Ding, ding, ding we have a winner. Very little profit made in new car sales. Majority if not all of a dealer's overhead is covered by service, parts and used vehicles.

 

Anti-Trust what...I'm sure he's not & wouldn't know if they were unless he's an owner.

 

There are so many variables at play here, it's not nearly as simple as most of you guys are making it or as the OP is implying. Dealers make lots of money on lots of other things outside of the vehicle purchase price. Salesman make bonuses for hitting quotas, so they don't just make so much per sale.

Dealers get bonuses from Toyota for hitting monthly quotas, same as salesmen get bonuses from dealers for hitting their quotas. So if your lucky enough to be the customer who can put a dealer over their quota, on the last day of the month and it's getting towards the end of the day, they just might leave a Tacoma go for hardly any profit at all just to meet their quota and receive a big dealership bonus. The bottom price a dealer will give is usually all relative to how well the dealership is doing at that particular time and how close to their bonus they are.

You can hardly compare the profit margin of a dealership selling new vehicles to the profit margin of a department store selling a fridge! It's apples and oranges, the two businesses are nothing alike.

 

I'm very interested in this thread! I used to work at Nissan, and now work at Chrysler/Dodge/Ram/Jeep/Fiat. a lot of misconception on the forum about what dealers make IMO.

 

Not at ALL..... I am saying that 28k for that truck probably didnt happen ANYWHERE. Just knowing that Tacomas dont sell for 4k under MSRP in anyplace.. at anytime... at any dealership.... pretty simple.

There are lots of misconceptions on margins... its not near as big as some imply. Back to the point on 10k + profit on a Chevy 1500... no person ever paid full sticker on a chevy or dodge .... 40k + for a silverado ??? not real. 31k for a Tacoma.. very real.

The "only" thing here that would even suggest collusion are a couple of probably not real low prices being thrown around.

 

I got my 13 DCLB for a price that you would think I would never get. Different regions are different...and peoples circumstances are different. I may know someone that someone else doesn't. I may have bartered with someone to give me a vehicle at cost....

 

Offroad double cab can't happen ANYWHERE for 28k?

hmmm
also included in price is tow package

 

I'm in auto sales too, they won't believe us when we say we make a few hundred dollars on an entry level car....

 

and this...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9hxyuvf_oI