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Prices Paid: Buying & Leasing Experiences Mazda CX-9 Prices Paid and Buying Experience
2185 messages, Last post on Nov 25, 2009 at 8:40 PM
You are in the Prices Paid: Buying & Leasing Experiences Forum. Your Hosts are car_man & kyfdx
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Replying to: truth_speaker (Nov 08, 2008 10:49 am) Your post sounds like ' sour grapes' to me. The business model has changed, one must adapt or close the doors. This market is about information haves and have nots. As far as I know, no one from this forum held a gun to the head of the dealers on these $10K off transactions. I have yet to see a dealer make a post wanting to return the huge profit made on an uninformed buyer. I agree, $10K off or walk! |
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Replying to: truth_speaker (Nov 08, 2008 10:49 am) Oh yes, gap insurance, 5-year extended warranties on cars with 5-year factory warranties, $2-7K off on market value for your trade, $500 doc fees for 30 minutes worth of work, $400 "regional advertisement" fees, last minute disclosure of 6000 miles on the odo driven by the "owner's wife"...you got it...some terrible people out there  Last year I used my real phone number and real name to call up a dealer, told him about my trade ($22K on KBB,) and was asked to visit them (a 40 minute drive.) The CX-9 was listed MSRP and my trade quoted at $15K. The salesperson didn't even blink before giving me the two prices, but when I looked at the invoice and the quote on my trade, I believe they were trying to get up to $10K from the transaction I bought something else, which was totaled last September. I go back and get the same $40K CX-9 for $29K. Should I feel bad?
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Replying to: nastacio (Nov 08, 2008 7:21 pm) A true cost paid by the dealer to the manufacturer. last minute disclosure of 6000 miles on the odo driven by the "owner's wife"... Maybe one out of 50,000 transactions at best. |
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Replying to: aviboy97 (Nov 08, 2008 1:02 pm) This is an interesting comment: "Well, that's part of the Internet Sales business. There are those who don't feel comfortable talking face to face and feel they have the advantage over negotiations when they contact you that way. I agree, they are no prize, and they also tend to give you the worst customer satisfaction surveys. But, they are not the majority." This is a great tool for the buyer! It allows the buyer to efficiently filter a large number of dealers and deals (More/better choices). Before email, I used to do the same with a fax machine. This technique is must easier and faster. Some dealers have good business models to conduct this business this way, while others play the silly dealership games of a bygone era. Based on your comments, it sound like these customers will be the majority in the future (well the savvy ones anyway). There is no doubt that most dealerships do not like this trend. I do agree that these customers need to be fair on the customer satisfaction surveys. I do not always agree with your comments concerning prices, but I do appreciate your perspective.
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Replying to: seloo (Nov 09, 2008 6:18 am) It's a wonderful tool for the potential buyer, no doubt! It's usually the best way to get the lowest price. The downside to that is there usually lacks a personal relationship to internet deals. The dealer rarely hears back from people that place these inquires also. Why dealers don't like it is because it takes up a lot of time and resources just to get one sale and that sale usually is not very profitable. Leads are consistently followed up upon with about only 20-30% of all leads actually respond back to the dealer, and about only 12% are actually sold. 12 out of 100. There is a lot of wasted time there. But, you cannot discard any lead because any of them could lead to a sale. The Internet Sales aspect of the business is very very tough.
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Replying to: aviboy97 (Nov 09, 2008 2:39 pm) Thanks for your comments. Why dealers don't like it is because it takes up a lot of time and resources just to get one sale and that sale usually is not very profitable. I am not sure about the 'a lot of time' issue (please explain), emails are generally faster than other follow-up techniques (phone calls, personal visit, letter, etc...) with so much information available, the key is to get the buyer's attention with your first email reply. As for a personal relationship, well, it is important to some. When people move away from the business aspect of the deal to form a ' limited personal relationship' many tend to drift from their objective of saving money on the deal. I know a number of people in this business, but the bottom line is: I make a purchase decision based on price/value. 99% of the time, the car salesperson has no influence after the sale and in most cases add little value to the deal. I am not saying that they are not good people, some are great, but many are just working a temporary job moving cars for a commission. ***The real issue is profitability.***
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Replying to: aviboy97 (Nov 09, 2008 2:39 pm) In the end the biggest threat to the automotive industry are buyers who buy what they need rather than what they impulsively want. The business can succeed in such a market, but probably not as it is presently structured. And guess what's happening now...
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Replying to: seloo (Nov 09, 2008 4:04 pm) On average, a dealer will receive about 80-100 Internet leads per month. Sometimes more, sometimes less. The proper way is to follow up a lead is an initial email followed up with a phone call. If no response is received, a phone call and email are sent every other day for about a week. Then every three days from weeks 2-3. Then if there is still no response, or little interaction, a follow up once a week for 90 days when the lead legally expires after last contact with customer. That's a lot of time. Trust me. I make a purchase decision based on price/value. 99% of the time, the car salesperson has no influence after the sale and in most cases add little value to the deal A lot of people are that way, however, from the sales aspect, if you want to see repeat business or receive referrals, a personal relationship is needed to earn a living. In any business where there are salesmen, a personal / business relationship is needed. Whether it be a paper supply company like W.B Mason or a pharmacuticale company like Pfizer. Or how about small business like the dry cleaners. There are still a lot of people that buy based on customer service. That is why it is very important to establish a personal relationship. That is the only way not only survive in sales, but you can flourish. ***The real issue is profitability.*** Customer service and personal relationships are all about building sales and increasing profit. An added bonus is knowing you have a satisfied customer. It is really a good feeling when someone leaves in a new car and they are extremely happy, because you know you did your job the right way and they are going to send you people. Lets face it. We all go to work for one reason. To make money. Whatever company you work for sells something to someone, or provides some sort of service for a profit. The only way your company stays in business is to keep their customers satisfied.
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Replying to: aviboy97 (Nov 10, 2008 8:38 am) Thanks for your feedback. I wish you the best!
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Replying to: seloo (Nov 10, 2008 9:22 am) I'm guessing that in a few years most of the business a dealer will do will be generated via the Internet. That is the way the business is going. Good thing about Mazda is that the company recognized that a few years ago, and they have a great Internet Sales training and program support for dealers to be successful with Internet leads. They are very prepared for it. Why do you think they advertise on sites like Edmunds.com, a site that is used heavily by Internet shoppers? Pure genius on their part.
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