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This seems to be the current practice. Went through similar last year when inquiring on a Telluride (also was just looking for a 3 row family/business workhorse)
Also encountered this as recent as last Friday. New LC500 coupe in dealer inventory, GTA dealer. Asked if it was available out of curiosity and SA calls back saying yes but there is a bidding war. I chuckled and asked what is the price at? (MSRP is in 127,000 territory) he responds saying "well not really a bidding war but the car will go to whoever is willing to buy all the add ons" and then proceeded to list the PPF/extended warranty and some other stuff that totaled about $8,000.00 on top. I laughed a bit and said well I guess that is how we do ADM in Canada. I then asked why hasn't it sold yet, if you have an offer from someone to pay for all those addons? What more is there to outbid? and that is when he asked to call me back. Calls back 5 minutes later asking if I planned to finance or lease. Said lease and he asked to call me back again. Such a different process now given the times, and not for me. Definitely was this specific dealer as I spoke to another that same day and it was totally different. Got an instant quote for MSRP+licensing+tax, nothing like the above.
I think the tide is already turning for a lot of cars, except for the really hot, specialty cars or brand new models. Dealers are still trying to pull the "it's a seller's market charade" but as fall sets in and people start paying their summer vacation bills things will significantly cool down. The economic news aren't good and let's face it, changing cars is often a luxury we can delay a while longer. People will also consider trading down should they need to change their cars. Even well heeled buyers will be more conservative with their purchases. Sometimes it's not about economic reality either but about perception. If the news are all bad, even if my business is doing very well, I'll be more hesitant with an expensive car. Maybe I'll wait or settle for a used model. I'm seeing prices coming down in the used Q7/Q8 market and I think other luxury cars will be impacted. Lots of 2019 leases returning to dealers right now. Dealers will be trying hard to make back the money they made on their overpriced trade too.
This is an interesting discussion. There is an obvious business logic (at least in the short term) to only selling highly-optioned cars. It can leave a bit of a sour taste though, if you want to place a legitimate order and are willing to wait your turn etc., to then realize the options are not so optional after all.
Where it gets distinctly bad is when dealership practices devolve onto tied selling or something close to it. Last night (actually) we were putting in an order for a new workhorse car. OK, it was a Kia, but not so cheap either. I was accepting the price, including some extra fees that the dealer had added in for things I did not really want (wheel locks, glass etching etc.) as they were not big numbers, and it is a seller’s market. Agreed to everything and placed the deposit and then we were handed over to the “Finance Manager” (even though we were intending to do a cash deal). What he then went through is the usual spiel where they offer various extended warranty and protection packages. All of which I don’t want as I prefer to do everything myself (even the undercoating 😊
But that was OK, we listened politely to the pitch, but THEN the finance manager says that our priority in getting a vehicle allocated would be significantly enhanced if we were also purchasing one of these extended warranty/protection packages, the higher level the package, the better. And if we didn’t get one, our wait time might be much longer (!!!)
I was very surprised.
With that, I just quietly said “I won’t be signing this”, got my deposit back and left. No temper tantrum or raised voice even, but I did tell the guy why I was pulling out. Probably they could care less, as they will sell every allocation they get anyway…
Absolutely you did the right thing by sticking to your principals.
For now the power is in the dealers however everything goes in cycles.
But when the power is in the purchasers side how many purchasers will go from dealer to dealer grinding down to the penny. And when they do that it is viewed as just good bargaining by the purchaser.
I have no affixational to any car dealers but just want to present both sides.
Well sometimes even the blind squirrel gets a nut ..... bought a very undesirable 1990 964 (the unwanted step child of air cooled Porsches) twenty years ago and over paid (CAD$45k) as I tend to do.
I should be able to sell it for a little more than my purchase price.
Thanks, dropped by another dealer and while they tell me that Porsche asks of dealers an AVERAGE of $20k per car in options, they say they don't mind lower optioned cars and will gladly sell one to me. They'll have my business in the future.
Placed my order on Friday with another dealer from Montreal. $11k in options on a Platinum that already has a lot of options baked in the base price is more than enough options for me. As I always say the best Porsches are the ones with the few right options. Local dealer has gotten arrogant and greedy and I will take my business elsewhere for the time being.
07-28-2022, 06:27 PM
