So why doesn’t the Almighty Free Market sup[/sup] iron out the differences by sending a Boise resident to find the cheapest price in DC ? Any additional expense is bound to be covered by $3000 savings.
Disclaimer: although English, my father once had a — temporary — job driving expensive cars for delivery from one side of the American continent to the other ( presumably for rich people ). He enjoyed it.
Yes I live in New Zealand. Currency fluctuations do make a difference in import prices but not usually on a daily basis.
But those ads are produced weeks or months in advance. So it wouldn’t suprise me if the American ad producers didn’t specify prices. But I have to wonder why New Zealand dealers of American cars don’t tag the ads with, say, a narrator adding a special deal at a particular dealership.
Also, in your experience are ads from non-American cars different? For instance, do Japanese or Korean car makers put in specific prices?
It does. There is an entire industry shipping cars from cheaper markets to more expensive markets, not just luxury cars either. I live in an area with a more expensive market and several friends have bought cars off E-bay and either flown back/driven home or had the car shipped to them. They still saved thousands.
Ahhh. Did he ever drive a brown Rolls-Royce from NYC to LA… through a sandstorm? 
I believe they’d also moved away from the fixed-price model, at least for some, um, models. When even GM can’t make it work, it gives you an idea of the scale of the problem.
OTOH, GM is probably the worst offender by far in their pricing structure and games. At least, they used to be. In my mid-20s or so when I spent a lot of time lusting for new cars, I found it easy to price out a Ford or Toyota or Nissan or Volvo… and GM’s absolutely bewildering welter of criss-crossing packages and dependencies and options made it nearly impossible.
Interesting idea, but I just don’t think that there would be a significant change in demand in DC, New York, or Chicago for new cars based on them being $2,500 less than cities where customers don’t live. The difference is $50 a month based on a five year loan – I just can’t see people saying to themselves, “I’m not willing to pay $280 a month for a car, I can just take the subway! But I would reconsider if that cost were only $230 per month…”
I think your assumption that the prices listed online are close to what the cars actually sell for is flawed.
There are some dealers who have largely abandoned the horse trading model and do list close to their lowest selling price online, figuring that they can make it up in volume with out-of-town buyers. Those dealers are still in the minority though, and so a price listed online shouldn’t be thought to be any more “final” than one listed on a newspaper ad or banner.
Probably what mostly explains the regional variation in listed prices is that dealers in big urban areas with other big urban areas nearby are more concerned about getting people in the door than necessarily squeezing every penny out of them. So for example, that Washington DC dealer is going to list pretty close to their bottom-line price so people don’t just go to Baltimore or wherever the cars are being advertised for less. Whereas if you’re the Honda dealer in Boise or Wichita, you’re pretty sure if someone is looking for a Civic they’re at least going to stop in before making a huge long drive to some volume dealer somewhere else.
Moving the car price discussion over here in hopes of illuminating the issue further.
Thinking of a major purchase in terms of the payment amount is one of the worst single mistakes a consumer can make.
It’s a factor, certainly - but it should only apply in a narrow sense to a buying choice.
As a former car salesman I’ll say that definitely helped. If it’s the end of the month, one of two things is true. Either the manager has not yet reached his quota, in which case he really needs to sell you that car and will be willing to make let profit, and thus lessen the chances of getting in trouble with the general sales manager; or he has already met his quota, in which case every sale he makes adds to the bonus he’s getting that month.
You were also wise to get the loan through your credit union. The dealership’s finance manager is not your friend. Hell, he’s not even the salesman’s friend.
Toyota is easy because they don’t offer any options 
seriously, build out a Corolla or a Camry. The options list is incredibly sparse. If you want optional equipment you pretty much have to go up one or two trim levels.
Maybe the car companies hedge in advance? Very few dealers here advertise on TV. So any such deals would only be on other media. And including a price is standard regardless of country of origin. Unless the ad is designed as a concept rather than a straight here it is type of thing. See the examples I linked in the OP.
Many makers have gone to a sparse options list. Even GM, who used to have 3- and 4-page option lists for every model (“Oh, you wanted SWITCHES for those power windows? Package Q-43.”) has simplified it a bit.
I was speaking of ca. 1990, and I don’t recall many no-option brands in that era.
I understand why it’s not great (economies of scale in mass production) but I really liked the old way better. Back in the early 00s, it seemed like I could get the one or two options I wanted on a car. Now if I want this one thing I have to add $1500+ to the cost and go up two trim levels and add features I don’t want.
But your monthly payments only go up by ten bucks and you get that sweet sport badge! Totally worth it.
The only time the guy was of any value was when somebody came in whose credit rating was iffy. The finance manager was adept at shopping the loan around to places that charged hefty interest rates, as high as 30%. It could mean the difference between commission and zero for the salesman.
I’ve never had a problem getting decent financing through the finance manager / dealership. My wife bought a used car last night with a 2.46% rate. My credit union offered 2.5% on 60-month loans. YMMV and I guess credit score is a factor as well.
I’ll grant that.
They don’t give the price because they don’t want you thinking you can’t afford the car and staying home, they want you down at the dealership so they can put you in a car you can afford, or that they can fool you into thinking you can afford. It’s a lot easier to hard sell someone who’s already in your office.