not like many people would find this as interesting as i do, but if anyone is bored, http://digitalcommons.law.yale.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3732&context=fss_papers
I just think the system could be revamped to be more efficient for all involved.
the only way it can happen is to remove a huge portion of the workforce, break billions of dollars worth of contracts and pass that final bill on to the final consumer. so while it would be nice if it could just change, it's unfortunately, just not possible. it would take decades of small changes i think to make it truly get better. i try to do little changes constantly, but i see no light at the end of a tunnel.
re the article - really neat that you were able to pull that up! I don't have time to read it now, but I did go through the abstract and intro and find it very interesting!!
re the revamp, I agree with you (and said so before - I don't want to kill our economy by shattering jobs just so we can have stable prices for vehicles). I want there to be some efficiency gains, but not at the expense of people's livelihoods. I thank you for making little changes
The sales person makes "only 250". Problem is I the consumer am paying that 250 but don't get anywhere close to 250 in value.
I disagree, respectfully. While I do agree in theory that the value-added may not approach $250, there is no requirement for linearity. $250 may be the minimum amount that a dealership can charge to stay afloat. Vehicle sales are typically slow - you're not moving hundreds of cars per day. Tooscoops may be better able to shed some light on typical sale numbers, but if 1,000 vehicles are moved per month (which I bet it's a lower #), then that's $250,000 earned per month - seems like a lot of money, no? ...except rent itself will be in the $30-40,000 range per month, salaries are more, building maintenance, etc. ...and that all assumes that $250 is pure profit, net of all expenses involved in the transaction. I would think more realistically, <200 vehicles are moved per month (~6 per day, on average), and only $100 of the admin fees are profits, so maybe $20,000 per month? At that rate, dealerships would be operating at a huge loss (assuming profits come solely from admin fees - which they don't).
Any way, it's all to say that business is business. Economies of scale must be realized and fairness is not even remotely part of the equation.
I do wish, however, that many salespersons could be educated as to what "lost hours of work" are. In particular, I can provide the experience we had with buying our Corolla in a very summarized way:
*walks into dealership*
Hi, we're looking at a Corolla. We've test driven all the competitor's we're interested in, and have decided on the 2010 Corolla CE with Enhanced Convenience Package. We're here to make a purchase today, if the price is right.
the response? MSRP is $19,500. Then you add tire tax, etc.
...and what kind of discount can you offer?
"MSRP is $19,500. So, the price would be $19,500, plus tire tax, etc."
...we want $600 off MSRP.
"MSRP is $19,500. So the price would be $19,500, plus..."
Moral of the story? We got up and walked out, went to a dealership further from our house, found Phillip, the most magnificent of all sales persons I've ever dealt with (save and except for tooscoops, of course
), and banged out a deal in 20 mins ($450 off, plus a trunk liner thrown in, plus all the other sh!t about the ECP and rustproofing I dare not discuss again here).
The sad part is, the conversation I refer to herein happened at 3 different dealerships before we found Phillip. 3. Not one bad salesperson, but 3. Idiots like that are the reason why people hate car dealerships.