Why do dealers hide prices?

[3drian]

Is it a common practice for dealers to not give up their prices easily?
I am thinking of upgrading my vehicle, and last night I visited a mitsu dealer, after probably 90 min of talking, meeting the manager, answering their questions, I was unable to get a price on the car I was looking at, or how much the would give me if I wanted to trade in my vehicle.

I was getting frustrated, they brought up 3 vehicles that would fit my budget and preference, and even offered a test drive that I declined, but no prices, I decided to just leave.

Then I drove by Subaru, and noticed that they do have big prices on all their vehicles which is nice. So it left me wondering, why would some dealers not show their prices?

[killramos]

They want to decide how much of a rube you are before they the pick your markup?

Most dealers i know list their inventory complete with price on their websites. Cant say i have ever shopped for a Mitsubishi though.

[3drian]

Originally posted by killramos
They want to decide how much of a rube you are before they the pick your markup?

Good point, I even checked other mitsu dealers website and none of them show prices, not even on kijiji, makes me a bit uneasy to deal with them.

[killramos]

http://www.mitsu.ca/new-inventory/index.htm

Somehow i am seeing a price next to each car...

[roopi]

It seems like dealers like to ask you what your ideal monthly payment is and then they try and work from there to maximize profit.

Act like you're buying the vehicle cash (even if you aren't). Once you have your price agreed upon for a cash deal either buy it cash or tell them you decided to finance.

[3drian]

Originally posted by killramos
http://www.mitsu.ca/new-inventory/index.htm

Somehow i am seeing a price next to each car...

Interesting, I am not in calgary so I did not check Platinum.
I guess I only checked the dealers they recommended since they are owned by the same person and according to them they could get me any car at those dealerships free of charge regardless the location.

[3drian]

Originally posted by roopi

Act like you're buying the vehicle cash (even if you aren't). Once you have your price agreed upon for a cash deal either buy it cash or tell them you decided to finance.

Thank you, I will try this next time

[ExtraSlow]

Always tell them you are paying cash, always negotiate the price inclusive of all fees, levy's and taxes.
Always get it in writing.

[spikerS]

psychological.


$49k sounds like a lot of money, so by not listing it, they can talk to you. They can then make that number sound a whole lot smaller by saying it is $299 a month! It all helps them make a sale.

Their whole tactic is to get you saying "yes" enough times or to get you making positive statements, so that when you get asked the big question "do you want to buy it" you are already used to saying yes.

[blitz]

Monthly price negotiations work really well on Mar-like people.

[94boosted]

That or know what your max monthly payment and longest term you feel comfortable with. If you're ok with $500/mo for 60 months. Tell them you're not willing to spend more than $450/mo and you'll end up settling somewhere around the 500 mark. Of course these numbers are for a car in the high twenties.

Edit here's an example.

Sticker Price of car: $27,999
Freight, PDI, Dealer Fees: $1500
Tax: $1475
Total:$30,974
@ 0.9% Interest & 60 months that works out to: $528/mo

Knowing that I would of walked in there saying $450/mo is all I'm willing to pay, they come back at 510, you go 475 blah, blah, good chance you'll settle at $500

[rx7boi]

Sorry, but that's far from being good advice.

You can simplify and bypass all of that bullshit by just negotiating the out-the-door price, with all fees included. Work out the math of how much you're paying for a car based on the final price. All the dealer cares about is how much money they make.

It is easy to lose track of numbers when you have to remember your monthly payments, interest rates, and terms and each time they change a number, the others may change as well.

Dealerships will try to wear you down, so why on earth would you even consider playing the game they want you to play where they have the opportunity to confuse you with a bunch of numbers?

They don't put prices up for a reason: knowledge is power.

The less you know, the more power they have.

[J.M.]

Do people really negotiate monthly payments vs the total out the door price of the car? Seems like an easy way to get ripped off and end up paying way more haha

[FraserB]

Originally posted by rx7boi
Sorry, but that's far from being good advice.
You can simplify and bypass all of that bullshit by just negotiating the out-the-door price, with all fees included.

This is what I did. Figured how much I was willing to spend, drove the vehicle, gave them my price. Once they agreed to it (after I walked once and switched to a different sales guy), I let them figure out their end for the taxes etc...

Originally posted by J.M.
Do people really negotiate monthly payments vs the total out the door price of the car? Seems like an easy way to get ripped off and end up paying way more haha

PM Mar.

[94boosted]

Originally posted by rx7boi
Sorry, but that's far from being good advice.

You can simplify and bypass all of that bullshit by just negotiating the out-the-door price, with all fees included. Work out the math of how much you're paying for a car based on the final price. All the dealer cares about is how much money they make.

It is easy to lose track of numbers when you have to remember your monthly payments, interest rates, and terms and each time they change a number, the others may change as well.

Dealerships will try to wear you down, so why on earth would you even consider playing the game they want you to play where they have the opportunity to confuse you with a bunch of numbers?

They don't put prices up for a reason: knowledge is power.

The less you know, the more power they have.

I guess to each their own, it's worked great for me for years. If you're quick at math it's not hard to keep track of what's going on.

[Tik-Tok]

Originally posted by J.M.
Do people really negotiate monthly payments vs the total out the door price of the car? Seems like an easy way to get ripped off and end up paying way more haha

The only time I did a trade-in at a dealership, I kept talking about the price difference between the two, and they kept trying to change the subject to financing, and "we'll lower the price to $X, but will only give you $Y for your trade-in" etc.

I finally just had to tell them in a very firm manner that
A) This is the price difference I'm will to pay, end of story, I don't care how you juggle the numbers at your end, I'm only giving you a cheque for $Z dollars.
B) I would not be financing through them, period, end of story stop fucking suggesting it, and talking about monthly payments.
C) It better include everything, taxes, fees, and a two keys.

They finally realized I wasn't a Mar and we proceeded with the deal.

[HiTempguy1]

Its all about psychology. They get your foot in the door, you are that much closer to buying a vehicle. Obviously you want a vehicle, and obviously if your foot is in the door, they have a vehicle you want.

Its no different than houses. It blows my mind how nonchalant people are about buying the most expensive purchase in their lives.

[3drian]

I think the mistake I made was not figuring out exactly what I wanted and what my top number was before stepping into the dealership. I now have a better Idea of how much I am willing to spend, I am not sure if they will contact me again, I hope they do since I am curious to know how much they will be willing to give me for my vehicle as a trade in.

[rx7boi]

Originally posted by 94boosted


I guess to each their own, it's worked great for me for years. If you're quick at math it's not hard to keep track of what's going on.

For sure, and I respect if that works for you

Just that even the best of us can have trouble keeping up with dealership tactics so I always opt for the OTD price only.

[rx7boi]

Originally posted by 3drian
I think the mistake I made was not figuring out exactly what I wanted and what my top number was before stepping into the dealership. I now have a better Idea of how much I am willing to spend, I am not sure if they will contact me again, I hope they do since I am curious to know how much they will be willing to give me for my vehicle as a trade in.

FYI, I am not sure if you have looked at what the invoice price for your vehicle is yet.

The story doesn't end with the invoice pricing (unless you're okay with that and don't want to save more money). Everyone can get their hands on invoice pricing nowadays and they'll go in thinking they have an ace in their hands.

Dealerships make money on alot of things, so whatever they don't make money on is money in your pocket. Don't worry about being "cheap."

You'll know where the dealership draws a line on how much they're willing to give up to make a sale.

Things they make money on:
- The car they're selling you
- The car you're trading to them
- Dealer manufacturer holdbacks
- Bonuses for selling a certain amount of cars per month/quarter/annum
- Financing
- Extended service plans
- Hoping you return to them for services