b4i4getit

I see ads from time to time where a dealer is saying he will sell a car for 1000 dollars under invoice. I have even seen this on a Z06. How can a dealer sell for under his cost and stay in business ?

JoesC5

The so-called "invoice" normally doesn't reflect the true cost of the car. Dealers "invoice" will have a bunch of adders that they get credit on later on. Also dealers have a 3% "holdback" that they get that is not reflected in the "invoice" cost. At times, the manufacturer gives their dealers special cash back incentives that the public does not know about.

I doubt if many car dealers really know what their true cost of a vehicle is until their accountants start doing their taxes.

AORoads

just because of some of the above and the fact that at any given point in time, there are a lot of numbers (dollars) at dealers. and they (usually only a couple of people) know what the real number is to make a profit. on each car. much like an airline knows that every seat in any given flight can, and does have a different figure on it.

mack morrow jr

Best short explanation I have ever heard and right on target. If you have never been in the car buisness it is difficult to know this.

NORTY

"Holdback" is generally a guarded secret.

z06Bigbird

Make it up in volume??? lol

Fine print: Dealer keeps any and all customer rebates.

corvetteguy07

below cost is an outright lie! they get kickbacks.I personally think dealers are liers all around

not08crmanymore

Yea because dealers are not allowed to make a profit because all those cars sitting on the lot out there do so at no cost month after month and the local electric company does not charge them for the lights and everybody works there for free because they are just that kind of people and don't need to eat or pay bills like the rest of us.

cclive

Some dealers even have books of falsified invoices for their inventory of cars that they can show you....it has always amazed me that such a large industry operates in such a nutty way.

corvetteguy07

profit is ok,but screwing everybody with lies while doing it is not.I would rather give someone my money if he outright says" Can only sell for this price because we need to pay our bills-then tell me below invoice is just a gimmic"
In 70's 80's 90's car dealers were considered scum of the earth because it seemed they couldn't do business fairly! Govn't needed to enact fair business practices on them such as disclosing all lease charges etc.
When a recent survey was done by consumer reports they were hated more than door to door vacuum salesmen "THATS LOW"
I have a family member who is used car manager and always brags how he " Makes the cash" by talking nice and then opens there wallet!

Jet Streaming

Usually 8 to 10 thousand off of sticker is dead invoice depending on the model. The ZR1 has even more room in it. Holdback is about 3% of dead invoice and is kicked back to the dealer at the end of the year not at the time of sale. Average holdback on a C6 is between $1600 and $2000.

Dif

Best thing that ever happened to me was joining this Forum and asking questions before buying my 09.
Everyone referred me to one of the Forum Dealers near my location.
Best buying experience ever for a new vehicle.
No BS, no Haggling, no " let me talked to the Manager" blah blah blah, ..
Just rock bottom price with every discount imaginable and out the door I went with my new Vette

JoesC5

Holdback is based on the cars MSRP. Car with a window sticker of $60,000 will have a holdback of $1,800.

not08crmanymore

...and well deserved back then.Today however with all the KBB and EDMUNDS type info out here anybody who gets "screwed" on a deal probably deserves it!Dealer profit has been reduced a ton because of the internet info.HOLDBACK is not profit,it's to help the dealer pay the floor plan to the bank every month and sometimes make a deal happen.50 grand a month in some cases to keep those cars out there is no chicken feed!

Red07C6

I do not know if it is still true,but a few years ago I was at a dealer of another car company(major 4),but I found a blank window sticker in the vehicle.I grilled the salesmen about it and he said to me that the dealer was allowed to print the sticker with MSRP and option prices "within a resonable percent of the companys advertised prices"(up to 5% over).The adverage U.S. car has 3K + holdback below invoice.

RLSebring

10 people can go into a dealership and all buy an exact same car. They would all leave paying different prices based on their purchasing ability/desire.

I have friends that will pay full sticker just to avoid all the haggling. Others like myself make a sport of buying a car for the absolute best deal.

Dealer is there is to make the most they can on a deal. They already have the worst reputation so they take advantage of it...

MARSC6

I know of one time when a dealer really did sell cars below their cost. It was the end of the year and they were close to a sales goal.

RLJ676

Talking new cars, you can usually get a decent feel for what they really have in it and come close. This is why you will get jack squat for trade on a new car if you are trying to get it for "invoice" or similar.

On used cars, it's very hard to say what they really have in a car, based on if it was a trade, off auction, etc. If it comes in a string of used for used trades I wonder if they really know what they have in it.

Overall, they will generally try to screw you up and down. They will offer low trade or below while expecting retail.....which is usually an 8K gap. Figure they got their car for below low trade and you see how they make all the profit on used. I find most "new car" dealerships are really only in that game to have a more reputable appearing used side of the house (and the warranty work)!

oldHoward

Hi, Banks finance cars for the dealers and may actually be able to tell you the true cost. Recently I looked at a cts which was about 49K. A local bank said the dealer had about 42K in the car. The dealer may also get more incentives like advertising budgets, 30-60 -90 days sale monies to move cars.

Bucknut2006

The deals you see advertised aren't much off the employee pricing.