"Old GM" Dealership Mindset

[steinravnik]

Originally Posted by adplusone

And if that statement is true, the Department of Justice boys will be filing those "Price Fixing" lawsuits.....

I have seen a price range of $ 50 on the same ipods...computers are even more price competitive.

I recently bought a new router at Best Buy, because it was $50 cheaper than Circuit City, and $10 cheaper than online.

Profit margins are slim on most computer products, the result of cut throat competition. That is why it appears that most prices are about the same. Most businesses have already cut computer product prices to rock bottom levels.

[78chevyman]

Originally Posted by CobaltSScrazy

I guess it depends on where you live, in Metro Detroit and the North East there are GM dealers a dime a dozen and if you can haggle them back and forth, good for you. The PROBLEM with vehicles is it is such a high cost thing and there is no standard. You could sell a Malibu LT for 21.9 or 23k at two difference dealerships for the EXACT same car, thats wrong, it should be against the law. When I buy an Ipod or a computer, its a standardized price no matter which best buy, circuit city, or apple store I end up going to.

My family gets the GM discount so fortunately I don't have to deal with any of that garbage haggling and dealerships screwing me over, if I didn't I'd probably buy a Saturn and if I was uber-rich I probably wouldn't care and just go to where my friends purchase theirs and ask for their car salesperson.

CobaltSS

I totally agree with you about standardize pricing!!! We have a mega-dealership down the road that gives like $10K-$12K off their Silverados...which is an inflated price to begin with because they add crap like brush guards and bed liners at inflated prices...then the drop the price down where they wanted you all along. We cannot compete...we just do GM Consumer Rebates and a little bit extra to earn their business. It sucks...people always want everything for nothing.

[pinyon]

The local dealer where I purchased an Avalanche last week (and other vehicles in the past) is a former Chevy Olds dealer that moved to their current location less than 20 years ago. I'm no insider and the information is second hand, but they are in the middle of a remodel that the salesman told me was to keep in line with what Chevrolet wanted and this dealer was already pretty modern. I know mind set can be tough to change, but this dealer was really spotlighting the Malibu on the floor even though they didn't have a lot to sell.

[stick076]

Too often people forget that GM does not own the dealers. Therefore, by cutting a brand or even cutting a model can have a huge effect on an individual dealer's bottom line.

In that regard, advertising for the GP makes perfect sense. A lot of people still like the GP too. It doesn't make sense to advertise something that you don't have or that people already want.

What I believe is hurting GM's image is these huge sales (or the illusion of one). Our local Chevy dealer (which I will never, EVER buy a car from) likes to have "Repo Joe" sales events with supposedly low prices. This type of sale or gimmick is what weakens the brand.

[gardnet1]

I see your point as they are advertising their "loss leaders" and not their "segment leaders". This results in the customer coming in looking for a monetary deal as opposed to paying a higher amount of money to buy a well designed segment leading vehicle.

If nissen gets an indorsement from bob and joes rally club, they are quick to harp on it.

GM should be doing the same; especially with some of the comparative comments about how the Malibu makes the new accurd and camri look so inadequate.

[shadams]

Well, I know its tough to swallow, but as much as dealers want GM to do well, the ones inside are trying to make a living for themselves, and if they are losing their butts on 08 GP's, thats what's going on the showroom floor. I can also tell you (as others already have) that the Enclave/Acadia's sell themselves and are flying off the lot. Someone also mentioned that through allocation we dont always get to choose what we stock. You have to make do with what you have...

Originally Posted by stick076

What I believe is hurting GM's image is these huge sales (or the illusion of one). Our local Chevy dealer (which I will never, EVER buy a car from) likes to have "Repo Joe" sales events with supposedly low prices. This type of sale or gimmick is what weakens the brand.

We call that the Circus. Our old GM had it were we had one of those bozo show's every month, and our new GM refuses to deal with them. They would send out fliers advertising $99 cars, yet they were all sold when people asked, and all kinds of various BS, such as repo's. The groups also came with their own salespeople and they generally targeted bad credit buyers with "Second Chance" financing. I wished we had a shower at our store because I felt so dirty when those guys were in town. Those sales po'ed all the sales people and made us look like a used car lot on the bad side of town...

[genjy]

Originally Posted by American_Muscle

i wouldnt mind an 08 grand prix. those super charged v6's are QUICK

Welcome to 2008. The 3800SC is gone.

[windvale]

I live near Raleigh, North Carolina. The GM dealer nearest me is Rick Hendrick Chevrolet and Rick Hendrick Buick/Pontica/GMC.

When you visit either dealership, all you see is Corvettes and SUV's. In front of the dealership is a row of Corvettes. Inside the showroom is two cars - both Corvettes. In the lot in front of both dealerships are rows and rows of SUV's. That's all he's interested in selling. It really turns me off.

I went a couple of years ago and asked to see the new Impala - I was told by a salesman that he would have too drive me to a lot where they kept the cars. I left.

I realize they make more profit on an SUV or Corvette than they do on a car, but why does GM wonder why they're not selling cars in the same numbers that Toyota does ??? The GM dealers are not interested in building up the Malibu "brand"...they are interested in selling a 40K SUV. Period.

GM's needs to allign its goals with those of it's dealers. Maybe that means getting out of the car business...

[megeebee]

Originally Posted by nsap

The other night I was watching the ten o’clock news and a commercial for a local GM dealership came on. It was a nicely done one-minute spot; one that didn’t look like it was done on a tight budget. However what struck me is that they spent the whole minute talking about the 2008 Pontiac Grand Prix’s they had in stock. Wait a minute here. They were advertising their dealership around a car that; 1) is exiting production and 2) is, in comparison to most new GM sedans, uncompetitive. This same dealership has 2008 Chevrolet Malibu’s on their lot, a car that, mind you, is the North American Car of the Year. them and only discusses the now old Buick LaCrosse. Why waste money on advertisements for an old product?

In defense of the dealer, he probably has no trouble in selling the Malibus he's lucky enough to get. He has a large stock of Grand Prix's and LaCrosses that he needs to sell. If I were a dealer with a certain budget for advertising I would try to sell what is NOT moving. Why spend your advertising dollar exciting people about a product you can't get enough of anyway, even without advertising? No, you spend it to create interst in the inventory you DO have.

[ericmvest]

Originally Posted by HotCarNut

As a generalization, I will. A few good ones don't prove that the rest aren't terrible. The GM dealerships in my area are in drastic need of freshening, the sales staffs are (with a few exceptions) appallingly bad, extremely aggressive, and have zero product knowledge. I bought my '08 Acadia because I loved the vehicle, and the sales manager was great, but even he admitted that most of his sales guys were terrible and not very knowledgable.

An excellent General Motors dealer that is located in Southern Indiana is John Jones GM City in Salem, Corydon, and Scottsburg, Indiana. They handle Chevrolet, Pontiac, Buick, and Cadillac. Its a little bit a drive from Indianapolis, but in my opinion, it's worth a call to talk to them.
http://www.gmcity.com/

[VAs Finest]

as a marketing guy - not pushing your product like that is kind of a general rule if you're trying to position something as being "quality", or superior. the example used most of the time is that apple never discounts their ipods - the prices stay the same, no matter what store you're buying it at... whether they have excess inventory or not.

[FenwickHockey65]

Agreed. I haven't seen many dealers advertising their Malibus at all. It's kinda frustrating really.

[megeebee]

Originally Posted by FenwickHockey65

Agreed. I haven't seen many dealers advertising their Malibus at all. It's kinda frustrating really.

Like I wrote in my post, the dealer probably can't get enough Malibus to fill the orders they already have. Chevrolet's ads for the Malibu are very good, and they are everywhere. Why whip up even more demand for a vehicle that is probably sold before it gets there? They have a large inventory of 2 other vehicles that need to get sold. THESE are what you advertise. Not the item that's already sold.

[DuSpinnst]

Originally Posted by DealerGuyAtl

Great post! I too get a little sick of seeing the "arm chair experts" spout off about how stupid the Dealers are when they don't have a clue about what actually goes on in running a Dealership. If they understood "allocation" of hot selling vehicles and accepting the slow sellers so you can get a hot seller, then maybe they wouldn't be so critical.

I understand that, but the point is why don't dealers demand GM stops that practice.

You shouldn't have to sell 4 turds to get a piece of gold.

[DuSpinnst]

The entire idea that we have in the US for buying cars is stupid.

Why should a dealer keep a HUGE inventory of cars? American's need to be conditioned to accept a smaller selection of cars, and that they probably will have to order the one they want.

I know some people like to haggle, but seriously you can still haggle on a car you have to order. Especially if it qualifies as one of these turd vehicles.