At this dealership I'm at everything is marked up $4,000. Some people just up and leave saying "I don't even pay MSRP for a vehicle!!"........I tell them that is a very aggressive offer, but let's first drive the vehicle and make sure you like it and we can discuss price later. That's when they give me a funny look and say "I'm outta here!"......what is a good way to deal with the mark-up?
How do you defend a mark-up sticker?
- Thread starter MauricioVincenzo
- Start date
When you say marked up $4K do you mean every new car has a side sticker adding the money to the sticker price? Or are you talking used? I looked on your website and the prices there match the sticker price.
- Dec 30, 2009
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- Yago
Mauricio,
I don't know that there is any positive feedback that anyone can give you about this.
Mark ups are defensible on unique units (GT500, Viper launch edition, etc) or vehicles (with moderation) that have extra options added.
Some brands like Range Rover that deal with very limited stock in some models take this even for granted. Some dealers in extreme special finance markets may actually have to do it do deal with the buy feeds from the financial institution.
But if you are in a Ford dealer, with plenty of Ford dealers and inventory to go around, and you are not 10% in spifi, I don't know what to tell you...
I don't know that there is any positive feedback that anyone can give you about this.
Mark ups are defensible on unique units (GT500, Viper launch edition, etc) or vehicles (with moderation) that have extra options added.
Some brands like Range Rover that deal with very limited stock in some models take this even for granted. Some dealers in extreme special finance markets may actually have to do it do deal with the buy feeds from the financial institution.
But if you are in a Ford dealer, with plenty of Ford dealers and inventory to go around, and you are not 10% in spifi, I don't know what to tell you...
- Jul 28, 2013
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- Abby
That's definitely a difficult one, especially if your competitors in the area are selling at invoice. This is what I went through nearly two years ago for new cars and trucks. The owner of my dealership finally gave the okay to reduce our prices to invoice as the other dealers in our area were doing. Have you checked what your competitors are doing? If they are selling at MSRP too, then you can always tell your customers that your prices are marked the way they are due to supply and demand in your local area. That was the only thing I could come up with back when I had to deal with this issue. I also offered a $250 coupon which was an incentive for some. For more hard-headed customers, I would tell them that I would double the coupon if they purchased that day.
Yes, everything is marked up $3,995.00 over MSRP. There is an additional sticker next to the MSRP. What I usually tell people is "Well, Mr. Customer, everybody knows you can go to Texas or Louisiana and buy a mansion for $200,000, but this is Northern California and as I'm sure you realize, everything is more expensive here. If we sold everything at MSRP we wouldn't be able to stay in business, this mark-up just gives us a little something to sink our teeth into, but the good news is, that's where the wiggle room is!"....I say that last part about the wiggle room to get them off the subject and lead them to believe they can get it for less than that. Then I go on about driving the vehicle first and liking it and then we can go from there.
You are saying if yall sold all units at MSRP you could not stay in business???? Wow not sure how to even respond to that.
Since most customers find you first online, just imagine what your traffic COULD be (without the $3,995.00 to slow folks down).
We do the same thing at my dealership. Everything here is marked up 3999 over MSRP, then they add the accessories and pinstripes.
What I usually go with is saying "Thats our asking price for the car" very matter of factly. Depending on their reaction/facial expression, and guessing as best as I can, I continue with something like "Don't you worry about that though, let's go find the car you want, because this number doesn't matter if you don't like it, right?" or "If price didnt matter... Is this the car you're taking home today? Then I'm sure my manager will make you a great deal on your terms, not his, yours. I'll make sure of it."
It's tough defending something marked up that much when anyone can pull up another dealers price on their phone, but this usually works for me. Hope it helps!
What I usually go with is saying "Thats our asking price for the car" very matter of factly. Depending on their reaction/facial expression, and guessing as best as I can, I continue with something like "Don't you worry about that though, let's go find the car you want, because this number doesn't matter if you don't like it, right?" or "If price didnt matter... Is this the car you're taking home today? Then I'm sure my manager will make you a great deal on your terms, not his, yours. I'll make sure of it."
It's tough defending something marked up that much when anyone can pull up another dealers price on their phone, but this usually works for me. Hope it helps!
- May 1, 2006
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