I used to sell cars at Mechanicsville Dodge/Toyota/Honda in VA.

As far as new cars, our dealership really did not make that much money on them.

Literally the profit made off of them was under $500, which means the salesman got what is called a "flat" which means only $100.

Anytime you sold a car there, new or used you were guaranteed a flat.

The more you sold the car for (i.e. over what the dealer paid for it) is where you made money.

For instance a used 06 Hemi Charger they may have paid 20k for at a dealer auction with 10k miles on it. Well they have it sitting on the lot as a Program Car (which it was) for $27,995.

Let's say after some talk with a customer you get them to agree at $22,995 + taxes,title, tags, processing fee etc.

So you made the dealership $3000 in profit on that car. Well once you exceed the "flat" in terms of 20% of the profit, you get that amount.

So for this example, you just earned $600.

However if your 20% of the profit is less than $100 you still get $100 because thats just how it is.

New cars don't have much markup because they have to buy them from the factory.

The new 07 Caliber had a decent amount of hype and we couldn't even get them in until about 2 months after their release.

I think they marked it up about $300 above sticker. 20% of that is $60. So you would make $100 for selling that car.

This is why dealers will convince you to buy used over new, because they can make a lot more money on used cars.

It is also smarter to buy a car on the last working day of the month, when salesman are desperate to meet qoutas and hit bonuses.

I'm not sure if there will be MSRP mark up on new Camaro's due to so much hype, but I don't think it will be anywhere in the $5,000- $20,000 range as some people think.

 

We shall see...

If I had to guess, I'd guess you're wrong, at least for the first model year.

 

'05 Mustangs around here had 5-10k markup for a year on GTs.

 

yeah but what pony car competition was there at the time? if you didnt want to pay that what could you do? GTO, z350 or Vette? yeah but not if you wanted the pony car. I think hes right.

 

and why is this in the Camaro section?

 

So what happens if/when you talk a salesman down BELOW MSRP??? Or does that just not happen??

I paid sticker for my '02 when I bought it, but after the fact thought I maybe could have gotten a better "deal" if I wasn't so "keen" on buying the car (heck, I was 20, and willing to do just about anything to get ahold of those keys! ).

However, if/when I decide to buy a 5th-gen when they're released, is it even remotely possible to haggle them down BELOW the MSRP, or is that just a pipe-dream? (I mean, with ANY vehicle, not specifically the Camaro, which I realize MAY have dealership mark-ups initially). I really don't plan on letting emotion buy my next Camaro ... I'd prefer to be a little "smarter" about the purchase next time! But it helps to understand how their commission system works, to know that you're not screwing over the "poor salesman" if you work a good "deal" .

 

Oh yeah, you can get new below MSRP. Examples?

Last 2 cars we bought new were under MSRP. 2000 Sunfire we ordered @ $200 over invoice before any 2000's were even on the lot. 2004 Trailblazer we actually got a few hundred UNDER invoice (even before any rebates were figured in) when they started getting 2005's on the lot.

You can get new 2008 C6's for below MSRP if you shop around.

But as far as the 5th Gen? Personally, I think you'll probably be lucky to find one AT MSRP when it's first released. Who knows, if you're lucky you MIGHT find one below, but my guess is you'd have better luck the second year.

Personally I could give a cr@p about screwing the salesman. They'll (dealerships and salesmen) make money one way or another. There's PLENTY of suckers who pay MSRP, get screwed on their trade-in, AND decide to spring for the extended warranty, tire protection, scotchguard, undercoating, pay ridiculous interest rates, etc, etc.

Buying without emotion is the only way to do it. Otherwise you won't be able to just walk away and wait for a better deal. I know....I got screwed when I bought my 92 Z28 quite a while back as a divorce present for myself. After that I vowed "never again". We walked away from 2 dealerships when we got my wife's Sunfire and 4 when we got her Trailblazer. In fact, the first dealer we walked from is the one we finally bought the Trailblazer from.....they called back within 2 weeks of us walking with a MUCH better offer.

 

Where do you guys get the invoice price?

 

Told you I got screwed!

 

Here's one place:

http://www.cars.com/go/crp/index.jsp...A?aff=national

Pick the year, car & model then click "Research a car"

Then punch in your Zip and then "Build Your New Car"

Than you can then option it out as you want.

There's another site that escapes me right now that show the same AND also the "holdback" price. Maybe someone else knows it right off hand.

 

Yup, but you learned a very expensive/valuable lesson didn't you? I know I did!

But luckily for dealerships/salesmen, there's plenty of naive/uninformed (and sometimes just plain stupid) buyers out there who NEVER seem to catch on!

 

^ very true . And again (in my defense) ... I was really young, and WAY too excited about the thoughts of getting a brand new car (let alone that fact that it was a CAMARO!) to think/care about stepping back, taking a breather, waiting, or trying to "negotiate" a deal with the salesman. But at least I kept the car, instead of selling it a year later and LOSING tons and tons of money on it .

Next time will be different. If not, I guess there won't be a "next time". I'll wait and be the guy ready to buy someone's ~6 month "oops, I can't afford this" mistake!

 

yes you can get a car under MSRP depending on the situation.

usually at the end of the year when the 07's roll out and the 08's roll in.

also it depends on how many days a car has been on the lot.

if you have ever bough a used car and there are 5 of the same car their they will try and work the deal with you for the "oldest" car on the lot. i.e. the one that has been there for 150 days as opposed to the one they got in 2 weeks ago that has only been on the lot for 13 days.

 

If the dealer you worked for had you believing they were making less than $500 when they sold a car for MSRP and paid you a $100 commission the customer wasn't the only one getting fleeced.

 

Exactly what I was thinking.