>From my understanding this is how it works. The invoice is the dealer's
version of the sticker price from the manufacturer. In addition to the
advertised rebates and depending on the vehicle there are various "factory
to dealer incentives" available that you do not see. These could be
percent or dollar discounts based on the invoice price. That's how they
can sometime sell you a car for under the invoice price. You can usually
find out these items on the WEB if you look in the right spots. The last
thing is the "dealer holdback". Ninety days after the sale the factory
sends the dealer a check. The amount is a percentage of the MSRP, usually
2.5 - 3 % depending on the manufacturer. In addition to the stuff listed
above there are other credits and benefits to the dealer based on quotas
and allocations. This is why the last day of the month is the best day to
buy a car. I've yet to figure out how to find out what those are.
So to get the "real" price the dealer pays, take the Invoice price (the one
published on the WEB not the one the dealer shows you that can be faked)
subtract buyer incentives, subtract dealer incentives and subtract the
dealer hold back. It won't be exact but it will be close. Oh and don't
forget to add the destination charge. The dealer actually does have to pay
that. Many car dealerships add a dealer handling charge after you
negotiate everything else. I think this is a fee to wash the car and move
it around the lot. Look around the showroom and you will see signs
warning you. In my case it was $249. Interestingly enough in some states,
such as Colorado, if they charge one person the dealer handling charge
they must charge everyone. So instead of knocking off the handling charge
they discounted the price of the vehicle another $249 and then charged me
the handling charge.
As far as I know that's how it works.
Herb
"Robert Duquette" <RobertDuquette@Sympatico.ca> on 09/21/99 10:23:14 PM
Please respond to "Robert Duquette" <RobertDuquette@Sympatico.ca>
To: "Spridgets" <spridgets@autox.team.net>
cc: (bcc: Herb Goede/AMS/AMSINC)
Subject: Re: MSRP (no LBC content)
Someone told me that "dealer invoices" are later discounted and so they
have
become a ploy to deceive the buyer. Or, in other words, the dealer only
pays a percent of the "dealer invoice", but it is a piece of paper that can
be used to show how little the markup is.
-----Original Message-----
>for $1200 over dealer invoice.
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