ATV Selection

[10mmLife]

Every dealer I checked in N texas took the $400-500 off the final price of the atv when I told them I wouldnt buy with it on there and paying cash.

Most dealers especially car dealers have zero care about screwing the customer with inflated prices & add on packages.

Dealers don't care if you can afford what they push on people after they sign the paperwork they just want to get the most cash as possible, so for that reason alone I don't feel guilty about negotiating a reasonable price before I buy something especially when the added fees aren't mentioned upfront.

They should either include these fees on the advertised price or be ready to negotiate.

 

[Peglegjoe]

You know how much margin is in an ATV?

About $800 on the big boys; maybe $150 on the entry-level stuff. Remember - dealers have to BUY the machines, in order to sell them. They don't magically appear in the showroom - there is a cost line involved.

If you want to gripe about advertised pricing, call the manufacturers. "MSRP" means Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price.

I guess - like you and I - dealers prefer to get paid for the work they do. Funny, that. If you can do better, buy some land, buy some permits, do some design work, build a building, outfit the building (electric, displays, service tools, security systems, point-of-sale systems, electronics), stock the building (inventory, staffing, major units, clothing, accessories), staff the building (front office staff, accounting staff, trained salespeople, trained managers, trained technicians, cleaning and maintenance crews), pay the bills (electric, water, sewer, security monitoring, phone/network, staff training, system updates), prep the exterior (facilities maintenance, gardening, pave the parking lot, maintain the exterior, keep the lot plowed in winter), get contracts with a manufacturer or three guaranteeing you will promote and move their product for them... and then you can figure out the best way to cover all that overhead.

A small dealership has about 50 staff members (total). Figure $20/hour average, for each one. That's $1,000/hour just in payroll. $40k a week, minimum (more like $60-80k considering the amount of hours worked). That doesn't count any of that other stuff - that's just to pay people to be in the building.

But you're right - if the dealer has the audacity to try and make a couple hundred dollars' profit...they're evil. Yup.

 

[KillerFord1977]

You know how much margin is in an ATV?

About $800 on the big boys; maybe $150 on the entry-level stuff. Remember - dealers have to BUY the machines, in order to sell them. They don't magically appear in the showroom - there is a cost line involved.

If you want to gripe about advertised pricing, call the manufacturers. "MSRP" means Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price.

I guess - like you and I - dealers prefer to get paid for the work they do. Funny, that. If you can do better, buy some land, buy some permits, do some design work, build a building, outfit the building (electric, displays, service tools, security systems, point-of-sale systems, electronics), stock the building (inventory, staffing, major units, clothing, accessories), staff the building (front office staff, accounting staff, trained salespeople, trained managers, trained technicians, cleaning and maintenance crews), pay the bills (electric, water, sewer, security monitoring, phone/network, staff training, system updates), prep the exterior (facilities maintenance, gardening, pave the parking lot, maintain the exterior, keep the lot plowed in winter), get contracts with a manufacturer or three guaranteeing you will promote and move their product for them... and then you can figure out the best way to cover all that overhead.

A small dealership has about 50 staff members (total). Figure $20/hour average, for each one. That's $1,000/hour just in payroll. $40k a week, minimum (more like $60-80k considering the amount of hours worked). That doesn't count any of that other stuff - that's just to pay people to be in the building.

But you're right - if the dealer has the audacity to try and make a couple hundred dollars' profit...they're evil. Yup.

Every biz has costs involved. How you portray those costs to the customer is another thing. Shipping is involved from my beer, to someone else’s atv’s, to another's pair of jeans. Margins are thin on beer, but we dont advertise carton and packaging fees and my labor to stock a grocery shelf now do we.

 

[10mmLife]

You know how much margin is in an ATV?

About $800 on the big boys; maybe $150 on the entry-level stuff. Remember - dealers have to BUY the machines, in order to sell them. They don't magically appear in the showroom - there is a cost line involved.

If you want to gripe about advertised pricing, call the manufacturers. "MSRP" means Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price.

I guess - like you and I - dealers prefer to get paid for the work they do. Funny, that. If you can do better, buy some land, buy some permits, do some design work, build a building, outfit the building (electric, displays, service tools, security systems, point-of-sale systems, electronics), stock the building (inventory, staffing, major units, clothing, accessories), staff the building (front office staff, accounting staff, trained salespeople, trained managers, trained technicians, cleaning and maintenance crews), pay the bills (electric, water, sewer, security monitoring, phone/network, staff training, system updates), prep the exterior (facilities maintenance, gardening, pave the parking lot, maintain the exterior, keep the lot plowed in winter), get contracts with a manufacturer or three guaranteeing you will promote and move their product for them... and then you can figure out the best way to cover all that overhead.

A small dealership has about 50 staff members (total). Figure $20/hour average, for each one. That's $1,000/hour just in payroll. $40k a week, minimum (more like $60-80k considering the amount of hours worked). That doesn't count any of that other stuff - that's just to pay people to be in the building.

But you're right - if the dealer has the audacity to try and make a couple hundred dollars' profit...they're evil. Yup.

I don't have a problem with anyone making a profit off what they are selling but in a free capitalist country we as customer have the right to choose where we buy our products from and the dealer also has the right to refuse service.

My problem is when the advertised price is full MSRP and then they tack on the additional cost after you show interest. At two of dealerships I visited the additional cost is not list anywhere so for all I know they pull these extra costs (roughly $1200 in this case) out of there azzes.

If you feel the need to twist the argument to make anyone who is looking to get an honest up front price as being an azzhole then you my friend have no understanding of fair market.

With all this being said I do appreciate your knowledge on the subject of ATV's and have a good day...

 

[Peglegjoe]

Nope, that's rolled into the price. It's how the manufacturer has chosen to structure their advertising and their product pricing.

Manufacturers have chosen to advertise the lowest price possible, without those charges included. So, they can advertise a "$7995" Honda Fourtrax EPS...instead of an "$8995" or "$9495" Honda Fourtrax EPS.

End result is the same - which would you be more likely to go and buy?

Again - holler at the manufacturer, not the dealer. They've chosen how they want their product advertised, and how their margin structure is built, just like the cola companies choose how they want their product advertised and have their margins structured.

Apologies for coming off strongly on the subject, but I worked for dealerships for 15 years and I got so sick of hearing how "you're crooked" and "you're full of " from people who had zero idea what they were talking about. The dealer I worked for, had prep and setup charges. A dealer in another town...didn't. Ours were set up by trained techs. Theirs were set up by part-time lot jockeys at minimum wage. Ours were kept in a nice showroom, or the warehouse; theirs were kept in an old barn, or on a dirty gravel parking lot. Price-buyers would go see the other guy...once. Then, when their units fell apart from crappy prep, they'd come buy from me (just like I predicted they would, when they called and told me "we got this better price at the other place", and I explained the difference).

It is free market, you're right. And you do get what you pay for.