Quote:
Originally Posted by Tag
It doesn't make any sense for BMW to offer a fixed price if dealer MSRP is less. And yes, I do think if you cut out the middle man with their money-grubbing hands out of the purchase process you won't pay as much. Does that mean I think you'll be paying invoice? No, but I also don't believe for a second you'll be paying MSRP either. It'll probably fall somewhere in the middle.
Sometimes I think the loudest naysayers either work at stealerships or have a vested interest with them.
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No vested interest, but you need to understand how the business works: manufacturers need dealers to buy and floorplan cars because they act as a critical inventory buffer and source of regular cashflow. This allows the factory to operate at maximum efficiency and not have to start/stop based on individual consumer demand. Car gets loaded onto a truck and the dealership gets invoiced. Factory gets its cash.
Eliminate that, and there's a big shift in finance and production that has to occur. Not saying it can't be done, just that it's a lot more complex than folks think.
Next up, consider who pays for the delivery center real estate and staff. The dealership goes away and the financial burden has to fall on someone - that would be the manufacturer. Not saying it can't be done, but it's just not that simple.
Did the price of Apple products drop when Apple opened its own direct retail and online store? Nope.
You're paying for convenience. That comes at a higher cost.