Price Gouging Dealers

[The_Beast_]

Allen Gwynn Chevrolet
1400 S. Brand Boulevard
Glendale, CA 91204
888-803-1155
http://www.lovemychevy.com/

5 Grand over MSRP. And NO DROP SHIP!

[VICTORY RED 1SS]

If someone is willing to pay your price there's nothing wrong with it. But I can't imagine anyone agreeing to over MSRP when so many are available at or below.

It would be great if all those thieves that call themselves dealerships get stuck holding all their inflated Camaro's because everyone should support the good dealers.

Good dealers should profit by selling volume.
The ironic part is that most of the good dealers are smaller dealers and may in fact outsell larger dealers on the Camaro because of this.Unfortunately GM chose to allocate based on sales and competitor market saturation. Maybe future allocations will be done differently as size of dealership really has no bearing on Camaro sales.

If I were a auto manufacturer I would slap heavy fines or vehicle limits on dealerships price gouging. MSRP should be an enforced maximum, and the bogus "documentation fee" way to boost prices should be eliminated.

The public's opinion of a car manufacterer is really based on the dealership experience, and as such, manufacturers of domestics really need to give their heads a shake and reel in the rights and obligations of dealerships.

Import dealerships are a good model for this as they have much stricter gidelines for dealers to follow, and if they don't, punishment is swift and severe irrespective of "how long the dealer has been in business" or "how big a dealer is". There is more respect for the manufacturer at the dealership level, and that is where the big three are lacking.

You don't see import dealers jacking their prices on special models. In fact some go to great lengths to prevent price gouging by individuals as well, I have seen an import dealer, (British leyland) for the intro of the "Mini" require a signed contract of first refusal on resale of your car when you buy it, at a specified price, thus effectively stopping secondary profits on the Mini.

When I worked at Nissan, Nissan sent customer satisfaction forms to customers to fill out and had questions and comment areas for feedback. We recived these back from Nissan and were rated on them as well as required to rectify any areas of dissatisfaction.

...Anyone stuck buying a Camaro over MSRP now really has only themselves to blame.
A very quick google search would reveal plenty of information regarding pricing on the Camaro, and the availability of Cars at MSRP.

As a matter of fact, prior to the availability being announced on the Camaro, I was preparing to buy my first Shelby.(a year or so ago) When I found out that dealers were charging over MSRP I chose not to buy it. (I will never pay an inflated price..ever.)
Now who benefits from that?...Ford loses a sale while GM gains one. This is a +2 in the sales figures for GM. It doesn't take long to figure out who the winners and losers are in this scenario.

Back when the first P.T. Cruisers came out the MSRP was 13800.00. My wife liked them and thought they were cute so I wanted to go and buy one for her. When I got to the dealership they wanted 23,000.00. I laughed and walked away. I would never buy another Chrysler product from that dealership.
When the big three are looking to reorganize to be more profitable, they need to take a hard look at their dealerships.

[littlecammi]

Originally Posted by VICTORY RED 1SS

You don't see import dealers jacking up their prices on special models. When I worked at Nissan, Nissan sent customer satisfaction forms to customers to fill out and had questions and comment areas for feedback. We recived these back from Nissan and were rated on them as well as required to rectify any areas of dissatisfaction.

Apparently import dealers do mark up specialty cars over MSRP:

Letter to the editor of AutoWeek: "I've followed the Nissan GT-R and told my local dealer that I was interested in one. I then received an e-mail saying they planned to sell them at $10,000 above sticker price. Why would anyone consider buying any Nissan if they allow dealerships to sell vehicles above market price? Because of this, I will never buy a Nissan." - Bruce Cameron, Augusta, Georgia

[BryGo]

Originally Posted by VICTORY RED 1SS

Back when the first P.T. Cruisers came out the MSRP was 13800.00. My wife liked them and thought they were cute so I wanted to go and buy one for her. When I got to the dealership they wanted 23,000.00. I laughed and walked away. I would never buy another Chrysler product from that dealership.
When the big three are looking to reorganize to be more profitable, they need to take a hard look at their dealerships.

I actually bought one of the first few PT Cruisers when it first came out. It was an impulse buy, and I paid the markup on the car. It was the only time I would ever do so. I kept trying to convince myself that the markup was worth the fact I had a huge negative equity on my trade. I believe I ended up paying 19,000 or so for that PT.

I ended up customizing it into a Panel Delivery, since Chrysler had promised one and never fulfilled and the HHR panel was still five to six years away. By the time I had finished customizing it and paid it off, I was in the car about 38,000. I sold it this last year for 11,000.

Point of the story: I will NEVER, under ANY circumstance, pay above MSRP again.

[Finishline7860]

Guys....Corvette business is bad so can you blame the dealer for wanting to make it up on the few Camaros he will get?

Couple of things: Order early VS. wait for that extra car on the lot----By ordering early you can take advantage of the initial price schedules...GM can raise the price of the car to the dealer on a regular basis---It is very common these days for them to do this MORE than once in a model year....

Ever go on the lot..look at the same cars and see different base prices? There is your proof---just go look at a guy who has lots of Malibus and you will understand.

[littlecammi]

Originally Posted by BryGo

I bought one of the first few PT Cruisers when it first came out.
I ended up customizing it into a Panel Delivery.

Nice headlights on that orange and silver PT Cruiser panel delivery.

[BryGo]

Originally Posted by littlecammi

Nice headlights on that orange and silver PT Cruiser panel delivery.

I have a pic of the finished product here somewhere.

[john4942]

Pre Ordered my 2010 Camaro with the understanding that all dealers are charging $5000 above MSRP. Further research after the order was made. No other dealer in the Denver area is charging above MSRP. DON'T PURCHASE FROM BURT CHEVROLET

[detroitboy]

Originally Posted by rray200

Where I live up here in Canada, every single Ford dealer in town will try to charge you over MSRP on a Mustang GT. This was back in September. Mind you, Mustangs where I live are in short supply and few dealers have more than 3 of them on their lots. So supply is an issue where I live. Maybe different where you're at.

My local Ford dealer just lowered the price of his leftover 2007 mustang GT convertibles by another $1000 last week. He is now down to $22,700 and still had 7 left last I heard. I'd say its worth the price of a flight and a drive home to Ottowa....Russ Milne Ford in Clinton Twp Michigan or Macomb Twp....not sure which side of the road the township borders are.

And no...I'm not a proponent of this dealer. Personally I think he is an asshole and would never deal with him if I could avoid it. His sales staff is uneducated (not all of them I'm sure), and his management staff is arrogant. But he is a large dealer and does have the cars leftover that a board member is talking about.

[mmarcum]

Not sure if this qualifies as 'price gouging', but I contacted a local dealer here in East TN via email asking about the Camaro, and got this reply:

Production for the Camaro will actually start the second week of February and we should see them 6 to 8 weeks after. You can stop by the dealership anytime to place a order for the 2SS RS package Camaro. There is a $1,000.00 deposit which is non-refundable but can go towards the price of the vehicle. Prices, depending on the model, range from $25 to $45,000.00.

At the very least, it seems they are not knowledgeable about the Camaro, both pricing and production dates.

This is:

Grindstaff of Elizabethton
2224 W. Elk Avenue
Elizabethton, TN 37643
(423) 342-4759

[The_Beast_]

^^^ Thats a rip off. No camaro will reach 45 grand. and they start below 25. Your Dealer IS AN IDIOT. to quote Blur.

[krzyredhead]

So far, in Michigan, my dealer is sticking with MSRP. I've also heard some mumblings that GM might not allow employee pricing. Would anyone have any insight on this?

[krzyredhead]

Oh, just a comment on a price gouging experience of my own: I bought a 2007 SKY back in 2006 at MSRP from a Saturn dealer in Clarkston. For various reasons, I sold it a few months later to a buyer who flew up from Florida and drove the car back. The Florida dealers were adding $10,000 to MSRP. It's unfortunate, but it worked out for both our benefit.....she got her car and paid me what I purchased it for at MSRP.

[Sterling]

I was playing with the Camaro builder on cars.com and decided to get a quote from some dealers in the area. I built a 2SS/RS. A guy from Colonial South Chevrolet in North Dartmouth, MA called me and told me that he could get me that car for about $45,000. I couldn't help but laugh at him. He told me that it was only $4000 over MSRP. I laughed again. He also informed me that the car has push button start and that the RS package comes with the duck tail spoiler and ground effects. I can't believe how uninformed these dealers are. They are just spouting off stuff that is totally wrong. I didn't even try to get this information from him because I knew the truth and I set him straight on what he told me. I told him that he could call me back when they get real on the prices or if they get one on the lot that I can go look at. I really doubt that I will do business with them, but they are the closest dealer to me and I wouldn't mind checking out the lot car if they get one.