What ways could dealers be more transparent, IDEAS anyone?
- Thread starter Jeff Kershner
- Start date
There is no such thing as status quo in auto retail. Everyone gets swept up in the tide at some point. Then there are those who chase every shiny new object. If you want to refer to negotiation as status quo and accuse me for defending it, you are wrong on a variety of levels. First, pretending not to negotiate is just another way to negotiate. And until you change things at the FTC, ours will remain a business of negotiation. You choose the approach you want to take. If you want to be the ultimate in transparency, we'd like to see you try that on your own nickel and report back to us with the results. If you want to try "relative transparency," go for it. Just call it what it is. And if you figure out that your competitors are using your strategy against you, and you decide to take a different route, I'm sure you'll tell us, right? But don't tell us that all of these people are abandoning negotiation, because they're not.
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- Sep 7, 2015
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- Derek
To be clear, I'm from Ontario and we have this lovely thing called OMVIC.
They're an entire department dedicated to consumers not getting ripped off by car dealers.
They fine dealers for incorrect pricing, not showing all-in prices, not doing paperwork properly, etc.
So I think the whole matter is a bit different on my home turf - if you advertise a price you have to sell for that price and all the prices are compared on AutoTrader, etc so those that want to play the price game can do so relatively well with confidence because when they arrive at the dealer with the print out of the price they liked, the dealer has to sell for that price. The dealer can always go lower, but we don't have any dealers falsely advertising low prices and then inflating them upon customer arrival.
They're an entire department dedicated to consumers not getting ripped off by car dealers.
They fine dealers for incorrect pricing, not showing all-in prices, not doing paperwork properly, etc.
So I think the whole matter is a bit different on my home turf - if you advertise a price you have to sell for that price and all the prices are compared on AutoTrader, etc so those that want to play the price game can do so relatively well with confidence because when they arrive at the dealer with the print out of the price they liked, the dealer has to sell for that price. The dealer can always go lower, but we don't have any dealers falsely advertising low prices and then inflating them upon customer arrival.
- Sep 7, 2015
- 24
- 6
- First Name
- Derek
- Apr 29, 2011
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- Chris
If you price your vehicles competitively with the rest of your market - shouldn't the negotiation process become less important?
- Sep 7, 2015
- 24
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- Derek
Yall are so civilized. I just love kanucks! What we have here in Colorado is a dealer board that closely scrutinizes dealerships, advertising, pricing etc. They have the ability to shut a dealer down immediately without a "trial" The board consist of elected officials (a public official, retired/dealers and 2 "non auto" members)
- Sep 7, 2015
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- Derek
Personally, I think this is a very good thing!!!! BUT we need a definition of "ripped off," a common euphemism that could mean a variety of things based on different perceptions.
Which vehicles, new or used, are you pricing? The preowned business is now completely different from the new business.
