The problem I have with dealerships is that THEY MARK UP PART PRICES FROM MSRP!
First ran into it at a Mercedes dealership way back in the '80s. My local Hyundai dealer does it as well. About 20%. If I want to buy a part from the dealer I have to bring in a copy of the part catalog page with the MSRP so they go down to what the manufacturer tells them to charge.
R.
I know some dealerships do this, it's not uncommon but also consider they are selling to shops and other wholesalers for 25% off list, 30% off to body shops is the going rate these days too. You don't know what they need to turn a profit or even how much that profit is. It costs a lot of money to run a dealership.
Larger markups are more common at higher end dealerships like Mercedes and BMW because let's face it a luxury car is just that, a luxury. A car may be a necessity but a BMW is not, neither is a Hell Cat though many on here bemoaned some dealerships trying to make some extra money on a specialty car. I've said this before, I bought a 69 Valiant grille for my Scamp for $15. Not one single person was willing to sell me a shark tooth grille for $15.
I don't understand how people on here can judge what a reasonable amount of profit is to a dealership when they have no idea of their operating margins. I was a service manager for 12 years so I saw the financial statements every month for those years. You guys have no idea of what it takes to operate a dealership. I know several dealer principles personally, are they rich? Not really, Are they well off? Sure but they also invest their money in other ventures as well. If any dealer is getting super wealthy it's because they have several dealerships. They aren't making it off just one, especially the small town dealers.
I had my garage door at my house fixed last year, 14 rollers, 2 springs and about 2 hours of work, $750. Does that sound like it's too much money? Let's ask Stu. I'm going to have a plumber come out next week, clean the main drain (I have a clean out too) and two roof vents. I've been quoted $685, they will probably be there 2 maybe 3 hours tops. Is that too much profit?
CEO's of large corporations are pulling down 8 figure incomes, Michael Eisner the former CEO of Disney was making in excess of $40 million a year. Who is zooming who?
When I go to the grocery store they don't give me a discount, neither does the power company, the water company, the hardware store, the restaurant, the liquor store, the gas station or any one else for that matter.
