I am probably about to say what few others have said before: The real "deal" behind no-haggle dealerships (CarMax, Saturn, etc,.) is no that their prices are so cheap, because they aren't. The "deal" is that they have put a price on a car, hired someone with very little experience in sales, and refuse to budge on anything. Not service, not price, not extra equipment, nothing. They are not going to go out of their way to please you, nor will they keep their word on anything. I bought a Nissan Xterra at CarMax. Not b/c the price was so cheap, b/c it sure wasn't. But I bought it because all the Nissan dealers wanted to sell was unpopular colors at sky high financing. I got lucky and found my red X at a CarMax in Greenville. Then, I had to pay to have it shipped 250 miles. What a dummy. I should have driven the miles!!!

It's hard to know if you're getting a decent price on a used car, even if you'e done your homework, because you can never know absolutely the car's repair and maintenance history. Detailers can make real pigs look pristine.

The only American new-car franchise that offers fixed-priced sales is Saturn. Not coincidentally, Saturn dealers have the highest realized profit margin of any dealers in the US (except the exotics such as Porche, Ferrari, etc.).

[This message has been edited by Tom_S (edited December 15, 2000).]

I agree. Who do you think "no haggle" really benefits? As much as I hate "the game" of car buying (or leasing), ultimately I feel more satisfied (however minimally) that I worked over the dealer and got a great deal.

Two years ago I looked at a Chevy Cavalier. The sticker was around $19-$20K. Whatever the exact price it was totally absurb for the car.

The dealer happened to be a "no haggle" one. When I balked at the price and offered him $2,000 less than sticker, he said no.

Amazingly, he would rather walk away from a (potential) deal than bargain a little on the price. How silly is that?

quote:

---

Originally posted by ashleynatlanta:
I am probably about to say what few others have said before: The real "deal" behind no-haggle dealerships (CarMax, Saturn, etc,.) is no that their prices are so cheap, because they aren't. The "deal" is that they have put a price on a car, hired someone with very little experience in sales, and refuse to budge on anything. Not service, not price, not extra equipment, nothing. They are not going to go out of their way to please you, nor will they keep their word on anything. I bought a Nissan Xterra at CarMax. Not b/c the price was so cheap, b/c it sure wasn't. But I bought it because all the Nissan dealers wanted to sell was unpopular colors at sky high financing. I got lucky and found my red X at a CarMax in Greenville. Then, I had to pay to have it shipped 250 miles. What a dummy. I should have driven the miles!!!

---

[This message has been edited by clearpixel (edited December 21, 2000).]

Youre absolutely right Ashley. I was gonna buy my X at John Elway Nissan in Denver and they have that no haglle BS. Probably because its really Wayne Huizenga's Auto Nation BS. They are flat on a price near MSRP and they dont move from it at all. Totally ridiculous. I went back to my moms house in NY and bought my X there and drove back to Denver. Since then anyone looking for a Nissan, Jeep, Ford or Honda I tell tehm to steer clear of Elway. Elway shouldnt sell his good name to such a sh*t box dealership. I guess a million a year to use your name goes a long way.

If they actually pay Elway a million a year (or anywhere close) for use of his name, they probably can't afford to haggle on car prices!

------------------
2001 SE 4X4
Alpine Green

A million a year is a safe estimate. It is probably a bit more. They pay Mickey Mantles wife like 500,000 a year to use his name on a stupid little restaurant in NY on Central Park South.