CarsDirect Help

[mcampo2501]

Can someone from the carsdirect team share with me how you arrive at your "target price"? Can you also share with me how you believe you are doing the public a service by sending people to see the Internet Director to get a price of $2000 under invoice, suggesting that there's another $1000 in rebate money, and making the customer feel like that's an example of an "average deal". I haven't seen numbers this far from reality in a long time! There's no scenario where I can get to these numbers. Why don't consumers trust dealers? Hmmmmm? Maybe because of this kind of @#$% right here! I have my people sending out quotes at anywhere from invoice to $500 over invoice on the car in question to simplify the process and operate from a position of transparency. Your sight suggests that we have the monopoly guy throwing hundred dollar bills around upstairs every time a car gets sold, and that invoice pricing is what the suckers pay. I can't even explain how mad this makes me. Yes, I am happy that sites like this exist, so that the customer has access to invoice pricing and we can come together with similar information, building trust in the dealership. But why arbitrarily throw out some truly ridiculous number and make the customer feel like if they don't pay somewhere near this price, they got screwed! Last I know, carsdirect didn't have access to my DMS, nor do they have access to any local dealers DMS, so I'd love to know how and why they would put this garbage out there. Third party leads? You guys sell third party leads? Oh, boy! I can't wait to start getting those leads. Oh, and I get to pay for them! You guys belong in jail!

{Deep Breath}

Sorry about that everyone. Had to get that off my chest...

 

[Jeff Kershner]

That's what we're here for Mike.

Be sure to thank the manufacturers for disclosing dealer pricing, invoicing and such as well.

 

[mcampo2501]

That's right! No one is absolved from this debacle. Cost me a deal and 2 hours of my day. I'll never get those hours back, nor will we be likely to ever see those customers again. Thankfully we close at 5 on Saturday. I'm calling it a day.

 

[bzweifel]

Can someone from the carsdirect team share with me how you arrive at your "target price"? Can you also share with me how you believe you are doing the public a service by sending people to see the Internet Director to get a price of $2000 under invoice, suggesting that there's another $1000 in rebate money,

YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO SAVE THE DEAL - I'VE RAN INTO THIS - READ

CarsDirect in the only guide that INCLUDES MANUFACTUR REBATE in the "target price". It's bullshit, I agree with you, but thats neither here nor there, just trying to help you since only you know the details of the deal. But if this is what happened, here is what you need to know:

[taken from CarsDirect.com -- America's favorite way to buy new cars and finance online! ]

What does the CarsDirect.com Target Price include?

• The 'base' price of the vehicle
• All options that you select
• Base Destination Charges — This is a charge that is added to the base price for every vehicle
• Any applicable rebates

What does the CarsDirect.com price NOT include?

• Local taxes, license fees and other local fees, such as dealer documentation fees, tire and battery disposal fees, and where applicable, finance charges — these fees are also excluded from Dealer Invoice and MSRP and would be excluded from most advertisements you might see.
• Occasional 'special qualification' rebates — i.e., for new college grads only; for customers trading in a specific type of car.

Ask your CarsDirect.com Vehicle Specialist for more information on 'special qualification' rebates.
What about those advertised Rebates, Special Manufacturer Financing or Leasing Programs? In most cases, you must choose between these programs OR a customer rebate or a special manufacturer-to-dealer incentive that are already included in your CarsDirect.com Target Price. So, your final price may go up if you take advantage of special manufacturer financing.

Good luck, my cell is 240-682-4770 if you need to know anything quickly or have questions. Just trying to help brother, I'm not defending carsdirect at all please don't take it that way. They shouldn't post the target price this way because a customer can walk into your showroom with a print out of the "Target price" that includes rebate already, but the print out doesn't state that fact, the clickable hyperlink states it, which is obviously not clickable on a f-ing piece of paper. Hopefully this is what happened and you actually can match or beat the target price with the rebate, that's what I went through and that's how I know this.

 

[mcampo2501]

Blake,

I can't thank you enough for even having the interest to try and help out here. I really do love this community. Anyway, Mercedes-Benz doesn't rebate. There are programs that certain people qualify for on certain cars from month to month, but every "rebate" for us is like your college grad rebate at Toyota. Not everyone qualifies. The biggest rebate that exists is the USAA rebate, which is $1500 for USAA members at a nationally negotiated price of $250 over invoice, which nets out at $1250 under. What's really troubling, is that there is no mention of the advertising fees in CarsDirect disclaimer. Their invoice price was off by $700 and it only added to the slew of inconsistancies. What's interesteding is that if you ad this $700 to the 1250 you actually get within $50 of their "target price". Unbelieveable that you have to be a USAA member to accomplish this, and that is not anywhere in print.

The extremely good and unexpected news here, was the email I personally recieved about 30 minutes ago saying they'd take the car at invoice if we put another 500 in the trade. Used car manager stepped up and we made the deal. Not sure how the survey will turn out but it beats a kick in teeth. Thanks again for chiming in.

CarsDirect...I'm still waiting for your response...

 

[bzweifel]

You're welcome! That's what we are all here for right?

I didn't know about the lack of rebate situation, the E550 that I clicked on carsdirect has the $2000 Mercedes-Benz Loyalty Program included in the target price
[Listed at the end of this post]. I was in a rush to let you know asap [before the customers got home] so I just assumed every Benz has the two grand included. Awesome that you made the deal anyways!

Mercedes-Benz Loyalty Program DescriptionClose Mercedes-Benz Loyalty Program Hurry! Offer Expires 05/31/12 Valid to current Mercedes-Benz owners financing through Mercedes-Benz Financial Services. Please check with your CarsDirect Vehicle Specialist or VIP Dealer Partner for complete details. Customer Rebate: Customers must take delivery of this vehicle prior to the expiration date to be eligible for this manufacturer rebate. This rebate may not be available on special factory orders or used in conjunction with special manufacturer financing or leasing programs. Other special financing programs may be available. Please ask your CarsDirect Vehicle Specialist or VIP Dealer Partner for details. Hurry! Offer Expires 05/31/12 Valid to current Mercedes-Benz owners financing through Mercedes-Benz Financial Services. Please check with your CarsDirect Vehicle Specialist or VIP Dealer Partner for complete details.

($2,000)

 

[mcampo2501]

I was on a C-Class and the loyalty is only good for $1000 if you have an active MBF loan and you plan to get another one. Do a C300 and check that you want to use the loyalty rebate. It gives you an invoice price and target price that is $700 light and about 2300 from there. If you add the rebate back in, which is horrible that you should have to do, you're still $2000 under. Am I crazy or is that how it reads...

 

[bzweifel]

I was on a C-Class and the loyalty is only good for $1000 if you have an active MBF loan and you plan to get another one. Do a C300 and check that you want to use the loyalty rebate. It gives you an invoice price and target price that is $700 light and about 2300 from there. If you add the rebate back in, which is horrible that you should have to do, you're still $2000 under. Am I crazy or is that how it reads...

You have everything right except the 700 light...You need to click a color on the car. It's a $670 option; I’m guessing that's what you're missing. So the target price after adding the rebate back in "only" $1300 under, not $2000. With the rebate check the Target price is $2300 under.

Just so we are on the same page, they are saying you should sell this for $1300 under if the customer doesn't get the loyalty rebate...If I was you though, I would use what you told me about the USAA rebate to bump this to Invoice.
Here is what I would personally tell the customers if I was in your shoes:
"Folks, Mercedes-Benz respects members of the US Armed forces and their family. Saying "thank you for your service" is not enough for us to sleep at night, that's why we provide $1500 cash off to any USAA member. Carsdirect.com and sites like them pull their sales data from actual car transactions. Their target price reflects the best deals they see customers getting on C-Class's that are actually being sold. Their target price is at this number because they are very knowledgeable about this data, and they are correct that this is the best deal that is available right now because of the pre negotiated USAA pricing and $1500 member cash. What carsdirect is not informed of is that this is only available to USAA members. Now folks don't be upset at carsdirect, in order to comply with privacy laws , the data that they see must be stripped of buyer information and "anonymized". They wouldn't know why these cars can be sold at this price unless they asked us, which I wish they had."

If that works you have a $200 over invoice deal.

Hope that helps brother.

 

[bzweifel]

Just so I’m not misunderstood, I want to explain myself.
I do not see this “close” as deceiving because I truly believe this is what is happening based on the numbers and information that Mike has provided me with. I do not sell Mercedes. I do not know Mike’s market. I only know the information that Mike has provided us with. Here was how I came to these conclusions. This close is based on Mike telling me the following:

-“ I haven't seen numbers this far from reality in a long time! There's no scenario where I can get to these numbers.”

This leads me to believe that no competition will offer a price close to the “target price”

"I have my people sending out quotes at anywhere from invoice to $500 over invoice on the car in question to simplify the process and operate from a position of transparency.”

This lead me to believe that invoice to $500 over is considered as a good deal to customers in Mike’s market.

“ The biggest rebate that exists is the USAA rebate, which is $1500 for USAA members at a nationally negotiated price of $250 over invoice, which nets out at $1250 under.”

“ So the [cars direct] target price after adding the rebate back in "only" $1300 under”

Coincidence?

“in order to comply with privacy laws , the data that they see must be stripped of buyer information and "anonymized". They wouldn't know why these cars can be sold at this price unless they asked us, which I wish they had."

This is a true statement to my knowledge. Cardirect wouldn’t know why customers received a price this low, but it would be the ideal “target price”


So after deciphering all of the information, I feel not only is my “close” that I offered a great way to inform the customer, but also the most if not only reasoning behind the carsdirect low target price. I would be 100% okay with using this rational explanation on my own Mother. I would not use this if I knew in my heart that the dealer down the street was selling C-330’s for $1300 under invoice regardless of USAA membership or not. I do not mislead customers. I do not add freight to quoted prices. I pride myself on my integrity and do not want to be misunderstood as trying to add more gross to a deal by ways of deception.

 

[mcampo2501]

Blake,
I understand where you're going and I would agree that nothing you said is misleading or untrue. The fact of the matter is that we don't sell cars for less than invoice, nor does any Benz dealer in our market. This deal was ready to blow up over $1000. If it made any sense to sell the car for less than invoice, or we felt like the customer could have gotten the "carsdirect" target price at any other dealer, we would have certainly not let them leave. Their coming back and completing the purchase was either a failed attempt to do just that, or the realization that we were not trying to deceive them at any point in our negotiation. I offered to give them the phone number and address of every MB dealer in a 200 mile radius of our store, and told them I wouldn't blame them a bit for taking that deal elsewhere.
Still, the troubling thing about this is less what one could/should say to deflect a CarsDirect "target price", but more how they arrive at the number. They describe this price as follows. "The CarsDirect.com Target Price reflects a typical, negotiated price (before taxes and other customary fees and charges) generally found in your area for the vehicle that you selected." The key work here is typical. The deal they produced is not typical, or even realistic, in this area. It would have to represent the absolute best deal anyone ever got, and it would have certainly included the USAA rebate. Also the paint is included in the price. It turns out the $700 is our regional advertising costs that get invoiced to us after the vehicle hits the ground. So according to carsdirect, the TYPICAL C300 is sold at $500 below invoice in this area and most people that live here are also eligible for USAA incentives. Neither of these statements are true.
I'm not arguing with you, as I totally appreciate your help and suggestions. I would certainly use your logic to try and explain this mess to a customer so that we don't look like crooks. My problem is that if this incorrect information wasn't out there, we wouldn't have to come up with ways to explain how they came up with it. It just gives the customers another reason not to trust us, when it's carsdirect that is printing the lies. I can't believe there is not a way to shut this sort of thing down.