Vehicle Availability Fee!!?!

Anyone ever deal with Hollywood Toyota? They said they do not mark up and only charge the MSRP, but are asking for a fully refundable $1000 deposit. Otherwise the car you want will disappear before you get there to see it they say. They have orders from all over the US

 

With gas going over $3 a gallon (I bet it will be well over $4 in a month) get your Priuses any way you can In any case, I have a $500 on my Prius. As long as it is refundable, $1000 is ok by me. For every Prius they sell, I bet they have 5 people calling to say:"they want it and be right there" and never show up. If it's the car you want, put a deposit on it.

 

What dealer did you use?

 

$1,000 deposit is a bit steep for a car in this price range (local dealers ask for $500--and some don't take deposits). CA law is that auto deposits are fully refundable--unless you sign a contract specifying that's it's non-refundable.

 

Come on you all, If you are a owner you can't buy a yacht, two vacation homes and a country club membership for
MSRP.

 

Reality Check

OK guys.

I have an analogy for you.
I hope that my perspective doesn't cause you to feel as if I am defending huge markups, but look at things this way:

You are in construction. You have a HUGE job coming up - one you've waited a few years to have. To build your reputation, you've been doing small jobs at a break-even or at a loss for the last 8-10-12+ months, just to survive. You know the big break is coming. The HUGE construction job you're working up to is starting, breaking ground, coming May 29th.

May 15, you find out that this job, instead of paying $20.00 per hour, only pays $10.00 per hour. You've been working towards this, preparing, and it's a devastating blow to find out that you've literally lost $$ the past year and put your hopes on this event, only to find it's not what you expected financially. Matter of fact, it's not even close.

Please layer that analogy atop the Prius issue a tad.
We're (as dealerships) suffering a poor market with such a diverse array of losses in many ways. Folks don't buy enough new, and don't trade cars we need to have used. Lease returns stacking up at the auctions like planes coming in at LAX that are worth far less than their original residuals so folks are in shock when the next lease residual is RIGHT and corrected to adjust for the market in the next 3 years... payments are a lot higher than the last car's lease payments were... there are so many variables to this deep suffering most stores are in.

The fair haired boy for the Toyota stores was this new Prius. And, then the rug pulled out from under us is the mix of cars (way too many II's with a skinny little profit margin of about $900, and the III ain't much better, even with NAV. The IV and V are better but they still don't approach what the profit margin in a 2008 and back package 6 car. And, this IV and V are WAY more pricy at sticker.

Small dealers may have no choice but to improve their odds at more money per car. If they don't ask, they won't get. Or, they will ask for a moderate markup with additions and extras. Guys, some of these smaller stores are NOT doing this to be mean - they are doing this to stay in business and serve their clientele. They need the money and possibly are not making it on the rest of their product line because the deals are just not what they used to be. I can wholeheartedly attest to that. No one seems to feel that ANY profit on any car is fair anymore... and many of us who have been in this business for decades have already thought about what we might do for livelihood elsewhere, doing other things, rather than watch this entire industry go down in flames.

What will rise from the ashes? We have no idea... but I bet we won't like it as a consumer group and as a nation... because it will be a "point to the sticker and pay it" much like Scion is - that's where we're headed, I feel. Nothing we sell anymore has a wide enough profit margin to support the marble mausoleum dealerships that the company wanted everyone to upgrade to. Not everyone did, but those who did are probably struggling a little with their decisions to do so and the overhead it now saddles them with. Those may be the ones with the higher markups. Guys, it's not personal. It's business. You can vote with your wallet, because it's YOUR money in that wallet before you give it to the dealership who's got your car and the deal you like. But, think about how far you're going to have to drive for parts and service and questions and issues if that store folds and is not there anymore. At some point, there is also a clear value to supporting your local store. Might you have to kick in a few bucks? Maybe. Long term, it's not that bad unless the markup's way way more than you feel reasonable. I guess it depends on how many cars they get and can expect to receive vs. what they need to survive.

Anyway, wow, that was rather long winded for a weekday morning.
Back to work stuff!
Dianne

Dianne




Dianne

 

well gotta remember that the 2010's were slated to be more but the price was adjusted because of the insight, which is good for us. now how much it was adjusted on the upper end i am pretty sure was not a lot, but you cant charge a premium on the lower ones without going across the board on them. so it goes.

either they will sell them or they wont. i am sure they will find something that works for them

as far as deposits go, on both my 2 Prev Pri's which required a waiting period, i was required to put a $500 fully refundable deposit down. in both cases, my check was returned to me uncashed, so i have no issues with deposits, but then again, maybe i am lucky to live just down the street from the dealer i deal with

 

If that's how you feel, I suggest withdrawing entirely from the world of commerce. Enjoy your farming commune.

 

Re: Reality Check

Dianne. I think your best position on Chat is to distance yourself from the the markup gang and stay there. Someone might throw something at them and miss and hit you.

 

Re: Reality Check

Thank you defending the patently ludicrous position that dealerships should be permitted to freely transact commerce in order to create wealth and survive.

 

Re: Reality Check

Dianne, I think your Best position is to keep keeping your distance from the MARKUP GANG. Someone might throw something at them and miss and hit you. There are a lot of frustrated and angry people out there right now.

 

Re: Reality Check

According to Edmunds.com,
A Prius IV [1227] with SR Solar Roof Package in Blizzard Pearl [PC] carries an MSRP of $30,370 and a dealer invoice of $27,913. That's a dealer profit of $2,457. Here in Florida, the dealers charge a "Doc Fee" of $749. Thus a dealer profit of $3,206, before the dealer adds any other junk fees.

Every car I have bought in my lifetime, I have paid far less than $3,000 over Dealer Invoice.

My heart does not go out to you.

Prius_in_Paradise

 

Re: Reality Check

that would of course, be "relatively" speaking right??

obviously a $3000 markup on a $15,000 car is not the same as the same 3G on a $30,000 car.

 

Re: Reality Check

Of course. Though I'm certain a dealership must have some other expenses besides the cost of stock, such as, oh, say the lease/mortgage on the property, utilities, and payroll for all the employees?

And that's before the Uncle Sam collects his share.

In light of those other expenses, a gross profit margin of only 10% seems too low.

 

I appreciate the advice. I am only trying to explain why it's the practice of some stores to do this.

In CA, our doc fee is $55, so the venom of the Prius posted from the east coast ... and there's no "fluff" package we would add from the port or region.

I have worked for dealerships before that did markups. I know how it feels from both sides.

It's just perspective.

If you read what I wrote from an "in the trenches" standpoint and you're still angry or upset, then you have deeper issues I am unable to help with. I guess if anyone's close enough to me geographically to make sense of getting their Prius thru me, I am not one of the dealerships marking cars up. I'm happy and willing to make sure the car's equipped as you want, with whatever PPO's it needs to suit you. The only time this isn't possible is if the car's already here or in transit from the port because I won't be able to make changes to it then.

Di

 

I've never cared what they paste to the window. I decide how much to offer. Sometimes they accept my offer; sometimes I keep driving what I have. The markups are just ink on paper. Make an offer, use another dealer, buy something else, or go home. It's all good. Wish I had Dianne at my dealer.

 

Dianne thanks for the perspective. Some will not accept it, but i do.

I wish I still lived in Redondo so i could buy from you instead of waiting X? months for a IV solar here in Virginia.

 

What makes me so mad, is that some idiot will actually pay it! Then they win.

 

you are in kansas which is not far from Denver. I pick mine from Burt Toyota in Littleton Colo. They sold 15 the first three days the demo came in. Mine comes in Monday and BS markups.