Why does buying cars in 2021 still suck?

[98TLS]

Originally Posted by Poetic Justice

This seems to be acceptable in all industries except car sales and real estate sales.



Umm.. what?

Not to make money but show a profit?



I have feelings too, y'know!

To be fair though, to give you a real world idea of what you're suggesting. A car salesman, for instance, usually gets a basic commission of around $100-$200 and then around 10% on top if there is a real profit in the car (which, particularly for NEW vehicles, is not as consistent as you may think.) So the "screw whatever they can" results in possibly an extra $50 here and there. Not hundreds, not thousands.

Also; most salespeople are rewarded bonuses for volume - say at 15 vehicles per month or 20 or whatever it may be dependant on the dealership they work for and how many vehicles they sell etc. So then, it becomes about getting as many cars sold, not so much about the profit.

For every person who "screws people", there's probably another who gives away profit because they're weak salespeople and is more interested in getting to their sales volume target.




And yet, if you were in a similar situation, say it any other product where you had an opportunity to buy something and then profit it from it, you would sleep perfectly, wouldn't you?

Hypothetically, you noticed a piece of furniture on facebook market place. You think to yourself, "I could buy that, apply some paint and what not and then turn it over for a profit". You apply the paint and then you apply a 200% markup and sell it. But you're not a scumbag, are you?

Lastly; the buying public are always so hellbent on declaring "I never pay asking price, I always get a discount!" but never think to consider that stance when judging others about their asking price..

Some things never change eh,spent 7 years or so selling cars many many moons ago,5 years at a Toyota dealership then two at a Ford,enjoyed it and made good coin,back then it was a retainer of $250 weekly plus $200 a car fwiw.The upside to working at Franchised dealerships (for me anyway) was you were not flogging dead horses ie the stock was good cars,pretty hard to put someone wrong buying late model stuff.