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2010 Blue Touring
- Thread starter Ferdball
- Start date
Blue is either one of the least popular colors or it experienced a huge run in popularity recently resulting it them being sold out. When we first started looking and decided on blue it seemed there were 3 on the lot, when it came time to buy I had to get one brought in out of state.
I got my GT for roughly $1000 under invoice + destination. Considering the hoops we jumped through to get it I'm sure if it had been sitting on the lot I may have been able to swing a hundred or two lower.
I got my GT for roughly $1000 under invoice + destination. Considering the hoops we jumped through to get it I'm sure if it had been sitting on the lot I may have been able to swing a hundred or two lower.
We ended up a few hundred under invoice before the rebates, which dragged us another $500 below. So you're not getting the lowest-possible price. But they can only get it below invoice by either (1) using rebates (which doesn't really count since those are direct from the factory to the consumer), or (2) cutting into their holdback. Frankly, though I'm pleased with the price we got, it's not reasonable to expect cars to be sold so close to invoice - it costs dealers a lot to market, store, and display cars, and the the holdback isn't much - usually 2-3% of the car's sticker price, and they only get all of it if they actually sell the car fairly quickly.
In a frank conversation with the finance manager after our deal was done, he said it's frustrating for them because they're selling $20k cars for a $400 profit - like I said, they're cutting a couple hundred into the holdback, and we didn't even haggle the price, that's the price they're selling them for. The problem is so much competition for so few sales, and all information is available to the consumers, which means they're being squeezed by an ever-larger percentage of their would-be customers.
We're all buying cars for 2% over what the dealers are actually paying these days - whereas 20 years ago that was more like 15% for imports and 20% or more for Detroit cars. It's those huge profits of days gone by that make us all despise car dealers so much - they held all the cards, they acted like they were doing you a favor while they walked away with thousands. But we've reached a point now where they're getting basically nothing from new car sales.
Of course, they still make a *LOT* of money on dealer financing when customers take that; "trade-ins" are pure profit since they give pennies on what they'll turn around and sell the car for, once one factors in the "one deal" method that most negotiate with (meaning they really raise the price of the new car and/or the cost of the financing to offset anything they're claiming to "give" you for your trade-in); and options typically cost them very little compared to what they're charging. Dealer service is pretty profitable at the inflated dealer prices, although even here their desire to be more competitive with independent shops is lowering their profits for all non-warranty work. Some dealerships up here are getting into collision services to boost profits. But customers like me, who come in without a trade-in, with pre-arranged external financing, buy no extras and do my own work, make them almost nothing.
So yeah, you're getting a decent price.
In a frank conversation with the finance manager after our deal was done, he said it's frustrating for them because they're selling $20k cars for a $400 profit - like I said, they're cutting a couple hundred into the holdback, and we didn't even haggle the price, that's the price they're selling them for. The problem is so much competition for so few sales, and all information is available to the consumers, which means they're being squeezed by an ever-larger percentage of their would-be customers.
We're all buying cars for 2% over what the dealers are actually paying these days - whereas 20 years ago that was more like 15% for imports and 20% or more for Detroit cars. It's those huge profits of days gone by that make us all despise car dealers so much - they held all the cards, they acted like they were doing you a favor while they walked away with thousands. But we've reached a point now where they're getting basically nothing from new car sales.
Of course, they still make a *LOT* of money on dealer financing when customers take that; "trade-ins" are pure profit since they give pennies on what they'll turn around and sell the car for, once one factors in the "one deal" method that most negotiate with (meaning they really raise the price of the new car and/or the cost of the financing to offset anything they're claiming to "give" you for your trade-in); and options typically cost them very little compared to what they're charging. Dealer service is pretty profitable at the inflated dealer prices, although even here their desire to be more competitive with independent shops is lowering their profits for all non-warranty work. Some dealerships up here are getting into collision services to boost profits. But customers like me, who come in without a trade-in, with pre-arranged external financing, buy no extras and do my own work, make them almost nothing.
So yeah, you're getting a decent price.
There are factory to dealer rebates/incentives on top of the holdback, they may be regional, but I believe in the northwest right now it's in the neighborhood of $2500+. Most of the dealers here that don't shoot for MSRP are advertising that they will take $1000 off their regular price or give you the special financing + $500 and are listing prices below invoice on sites like autotrader.(1) using rebates (which doesn't really count since those are direct from the factory to the consumer)
Heh, that's a point. Actually, the $500 rebate we got was a direct-to-dealer rebate that was unadvertised - there were no public rebates at the time - but due to some Minnesota truth-in-pricing requirements on the license paperwork, they told us about it. It's a good thing to keep in mind though, that of course the manufacturers do that from time to time. Which is good - it means the dealer can make something and/or offer "too good to be true" pricing.
Wow, $1000 under invoice. Nice.
So, the wife is concerned about stains on the cloth interior, so we settle on the GT 80 miles away. I ask the fleet dude for $700 off invoice, and he agrees. On our way up there, we have him put a hold on it. It turns out that it was already sold earlier in the day.
What about the interior? I can't find any details on if it is stain/liquid resistant. Is it anything to worry about?
So, the wife is concerned about stains on the cloth interior, so we settle on the GT 80 miles away. I ask the fleet dude for $700 off invoice, and he agrees. On our way up there, we have him put a hold on it. It turns out that it was already sold earlier in the day.
What about the interior? I can't find any details on if it is stain/liquid resistant. Is it anything to worry about?
That's the one thing my wife and I don't care for on our Copper Red Mica M5 is the sand interior. (She would have preferred the platinum grey color too) We can't complain since we got our Sport for $15,500 since it was the last Sport on the lot and it was going to be their loss leader in the Saturay paper. We did get the dealers oil change package for 3 years to get us through the warranty period. I usually do my own maintnance as well, but this being our first new car I just decided to have them throw that into the amount financed.
Even if you aren't going to get external financing, find out what's out there and what you qualify for. The first 3 financing options weren't something we could afford, even if they had good rates. We told them that a credit union would get us 5.5% over 72 or 84 months and they came back with 4.9%x72.
Even if you aren't going to get external financing, find out what's out there and what you qualify for. The first 3 financing options weren't something we could afford, even if they had good rates. We told them that a credit union would get us 5.5% over 72 or 84 months and they came back with 4.9%x72.
Man, dealers are still pretty slimy these days. Here's what I've been going through:
Escondido: We test drove one up there, but end up wanting a Stormy Blue one, which they didn't have. They said they found one in LA, and could get it down here as long as we bought it. We went home to think about it, and found that the next nearest dealer in Mission Valley has 2 Stormy Blue's with Tan cloth interior. So, they do exist in San Diego, but maybe they don't have a trade agreement with the other dealer. Hmmm...
Mission Valley: We go down there ready to buy, but get concerned when we see how light colored the cloth is. The sales guy, relatively new, says that all seats will stain eventually. We decide that we want the leather, so need to move up to Grand Touring.
Tustin: The mazdausa site ways that they have the only one within 250 miles, so we contact them to make a deal. They agree to $700 off, so we start our 90 mile drive. On the way up, we call to have them hold the car. It turns out that they sold it earlier in the day. Could have been an honest mistake, or potential Bait and Switch situation.
Again on mazdausa.com, we find a bunch of Blue GT's in the San Francisco area. We work out a deal for them to get one down here. When we talk financing, I mention the $500 off with 0.0% for 36 months financing. He says that I can't have that. Its either the $700 under invoice, or $500 off.
Sorry, just venting a little...
Escondido: We test drove one up there, but end up wanting a Stormy Blue one, which they didn't have. They said they found one in LA, and could get it down here as long as we bought it. We went home to think about it, and found that the next nearest dealer in Mission Valley has 2 Stormy Blue's with Tan cloth interior. So, they do exist in San Diego, but maybe they don't have a trade agreement with the other dealer. Hmmm...
Mission Valley: We go down there ready to buy, but get concerned when we see how light colored the cloth is. The sales guy, relatively new, says that all seats will stain eventually. We decide that we want the leather, so need to move up to Grand Touring.
Tustin: The mazdausa site ways that they have the only one within 250 miles, so we contact them to make a deal. They agree to $700 off, so we start our 90 mile drive. On the way up, we call to have them hold the car. It turns out that they sold it earlier in the day. Could have been an honest mistake, or potential Bait and Switch situation.
Again on mazdausa.com, we find a bunch of Blue GT's in the San Francisco area. We work out a deal for them to get one down here. When we talk financing, I mention the $500 off with 0.0% for 36 months financing. He says that I can't have that. Its either the $700 under invoice, or $500 off.
Sorry, just venting a little...
Okay, I'm talking with the 5th dealership, and this is the first one that has offered to install leather for $1299 and another $500 off for being a current Mazda owner. Why hasn't any other dealer offered either of these options to us?
The aftermarket leather is NTHSB (sp?) approved, and we can pick any color other than pink. Are there any disadvantages to this?
The aftermarket leather is NTHSB (sp?) approved, and we can pick any color other than pink. Are there any disadvantages to this?
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