Where Car Dealers Make their Money Now

Before the Internet came and ruined everything, it was possible for car dealers to average over $2500 in adjusted gross profit on the sale of a vehicle just in the "front end". "Adjusted" gross profit does not take into account dealer pack, another form of profit that the car dealer institutes to give a base profit for dealer costs. In other words, even in a "break even" deal, the dealership itself still made hundreds or even thousands that was used towards base expenses. The profit over that was truly profit.

In today's world, many car dealers do not average in the thousands on their "front end" profits. Some average less than $1000 profit on vehicles that cost $25,000 or more. One may ask how they can stay in business if they are making pennies on the dollar compared to the early 90s.

The answer lies in the "back end". First, the definitions: Front end is gross profit on the sale of the vehicle itself, regardless of the payment method. Back end gross refers to money made in the Finance and Insurance department through the sales of various products and through percentages made on the financing of the vehicle.

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Quality car dealers that treat their customers right include Toledo used cars

Another great one to consider when looking at Fords would be OC Ford

Those who buy imports can visit Houston Hyundai Dealers

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These products, which include warranties, gap insurance, credit life, and other various elements, are often high profit items. A dealer may sell an extended warranty for $1,999 but might only pay $600 for the contract itself. The rest is profit.

In financing, dealers have a "buy rate" and then they have the rate that they sign the customer with. The buy rate is how much the finance company charges. Anything over that is profit, and it can be very large.

For example, if a dealer has a buy rate of 4.3% and they sign a buyer up at 5.9%, the money earned through the extra 1.6% is given to the dealer. This is a very simplistic way of looking at it, but it gives you an idea of how the system works.

While front end grosses continue to go down, especially in the ultra-competitive new car market, back end grosses are getting higher. While I am not suggesting that this is a bad thing, it is the place where average consumers are still in the dark.

Dealers have to make money to survive. Despite common irrational feelings that people have towards dealers, they are still a service to us and they deserve the right to turn a profit. That doesn't mean that they have to make their profit off of YOU.

Shop around before you go to the dealer. It isn't just finding the best deal on a vehicle. It is important for people to have an idea of their best interest rate as well as the best prices on warranties or other services they may want to consider. Most of the times, these things can be negotiated in the F&I office.

Check with your bank or credit union to find out what rates they are offering. Check various online auto finance places. Know where you stand in regards to your credit so you can get the best rate you deserve. This does NOT mean applying for a bunch of car loans. Try to get an idea without having your credit pulled more than once or twice. If you can prepare ahead of time, order a credit report and take it with you to the bank or credit union. Ask for an honest assessment of what you can get and what to expect. The car dealer will normally be able to meet or beat any number you get from other sources, so knowing what they offer will give you a bargaining chip.

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There are a lot of dealers that treat their customer right, such as Los Angeles Nissan Dealers.

In Pennsylvania, Ford Dealers Carlisle sells standard cars, plus Roush Vehicles.

With the growing popularity of the economical SUV, being one of the Houston Jeep Patriot Dealers has advangates.
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The same holds true for warranties and other products. It is a little tougher, but can be done. When comparing online, it is important to make sure you are shopping "apples to apples" and not "apples to oranges". Look at it like choosing a health insurance plan. There are cheap plans, but they are just that: cheap. Find a good plan at a good price and be ready with the details when you go to the dealer. Again, they can usually beat anything that you bring in, but if you don't have the information, they won't volunteer a discount.

Smart shoppers know to compare everything, not just the cars they are buying. Knowledge is power, but more importantly, knowledge can save you a lot of money.

Car Buying Tips

Some Humorous Dealer Scams and Secrets

Whether they try to hook us with a "Push, Drag, or Pull" sale or guarantee to pay off our trade no matter how much we owe, car dealers often use less-than-honorable methods to get us to come down to their dealership.

This article talks about 10 of the best ones. I wanted to add a couple:

11) Special Inventory Sales - With this scam, an ad company advertises their "event" as something coming from someone else. "Trader Bob" or "Repo Harry" is in town with his traveling circus if cars that are, for some special reason, marked way down. They normally don't even mention the name of the dealership until the end, as it is a canned media production with the recipient dealer inserted at the tail.

In reality, they are bringing in 5 or 10 extra cars and just putting balloons and red tags in the cars that the dealer already has on the lot.

12) Lenders on Hand - This is probably my personal favorite; it makes me giggle every time. Bankers and lending institutions are sending representatives from across the country to sit in a tiny room and sign off on your loan application. It's hilarious.

Technically, the lenders are always at hand. The internet, fax, and telephone makes it to where 95% or more of the lending institutions in the industry can approve or deny a loan in minutes. There are special finance companies that have to verify information and take longer, but for the most part, anyone with decent credit or better can get an answer while they wait, despite the fact that the dealer doesn't have to have a representative from Ford Motor Credit in the closet to stamp his approval on a contract.

Read the first 10 Dealer Scams.





Dealing with Car Dealers

The Worst Way to Buy a Car - A Brief Bad Experience

If it's too good to be true...

Anyone who reads this blog regularly knows that I've mentioned that line before and it never needs to be finished. Just heard of another "technique" that absolutely appalled me.

A friend goes to a dealer in a major east coast metro, drawn in by an ad that says "Drive home in a new (brand withheld so I don't get a lawsuit) today for $13,400!" The cars mentioned normally retail around $20,000.

Upon arriving at the dealership, he finds a friendly salesperson who confirms that it's not a scam and that the deal is real. "I'll own this car for under $14K," my friend asked.

The salesperson, perfectly trained to word it just right, says, "Yep, if you write me a check for $13,699 ($299 doc fee) it'll be in your driveway this afternoon."

You probably see where this is heading.

After a couple of test drives, the negotiations started. He opted for one with more than the basic options, which the salesperson said would be sold comparably but just a it higher than the one in the ad. No problems yet.

Finally, the negotiations. The first pencil comes back at $23K. My friend started to object, but the salesperson cut him off nicely and said that it was just a starting point and that they had to list MSRP for paperwork purposes. He crossed out the number, turned the worksheet over, and typed the following statement for my friend to sign:

"I will be the driver of this ________ for $15,384 cash or check."

My friend was relieved. He signed, called his wife, and waited for the finance department to call him back for the paperwork.

This is where it got ugly.

Versus going into the details of the 2 hour exchange that followed, let me give you the details of the scam and you can use your imagination to fill in the blanks. It's a single pay lease option. A consumer can "lease" a car for three years, paying only the price of the lease itself. At the end of the 3 years, they can either turn it back in, trade it in, pay off the balance, or finance the balance.

The single pay lease in itself is not a scam. For many, it's a great way to "hedge your bet" that the car will depreciate quickly. Most trade or replace a vehicle every 2-4 years anyway, so it's an easy way to pay for a car and not have to worry about trade values or anything like that later.

The scam is, of course, in the way the mesage was delivered hours after the exchange began. The ad is misleading. The salesperson was misleading. The negotiations were misleading. It wasn't until the final stage when the "trap was set" that the truth finally came out.

This is a bad practice, indicative of the techniques used in the 80s and 90s that gave the car business such a bad reputation. When investigating deals and specials on vehicle, remember, if it's too good to be true...

This article is sponsored by honest dealers and automotive companies such as New Hampshire Volvo Dealers, Toledo Dodge Chrysler Jeep, and Beaumont Chevrolet. People have choices when buying new and used cars. It's up to you to get the information necessary to make a good one.

Car Buying Tips

Before the Dealer, Try the Automotive Classifieds

In this competitive market, car dealers are starting to rely more and more on third party websites to generate leads. They need to be in front of the customers in any way they can, so having their inventories available on automotive websites is important.

The consumer can take advantage of this. There is, of course, the obvious benefit of being able to search through multiple inventories simultaneously, but there is one thing that people don't often know. Because internet departments are often fighting to justify their budgets, leads that come to them from automotive classified websites are often "worked harder" so they can have stronger statistics.

In other words, you may be able to work a slightly better deal going through these automotive portals than you would have had you gone straight to the dealer. Sound crazy? It absolutely isn't.

Try it. You'll probably be surprised.

Car Buying Guide