Chevrolet Volt: Let the Gouging Begin!

[n2doc]

By Chuck Squatriglia August 6, 2010


If you thought $41,000 was a lot to pay for a Chevrolet Volt, what would you think of $61,000?

That’s how much one Southern California dealership wants, according to Edmunds.com. The site emailed an unnamed dealership to inquire about getting a Volt and was told that demand is so high it is asking $20,000 over MSRP.

Some 600 dealers have signed up to sell the Chevrolet Volt when it is offered in seven markets — California, New York, Michigan, Connecticut, Texas, New Jersey, and the Washington, D.C. area — later this year. General Motors is barred by law from telling dealers what to charge for the car, but it is urging them to stick to the manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $41,000. That comes to $33,500 after the $7,500 federal EV tax credit.

It appears not all of them are doing that.

Sixty percent of the 1,312 people who responded to an an online poll by the fanboy site GM-Volt.com said dealers told them to expect a markup. Thirty-seven percent said they were told to expect a $10,000 premium. The poll is hardly scientific, but it jibes with what The New York Times found when it called around. It quotes a dealer in Washington, D.C., who said, “the consensus has settled around $50,000 for the base model, up to $53,000 with the higher equipment level.



Read More http://www.wired.com/autopia/2010/08/chevrolet-volt-gouging-begin/

[FSogol]

1. The Chevy Volt: When you absolutely, positively have to prove you are greener than the next guy....

:shrug:

[hobbit709]

2. Even $41,000 is WAY beyond my budget

[Lance_Boyle]

6. Ah, but if you had $31K to spend, CA and the Feds would subsidize the rest!

Ain't it nice that those of us not in the market for the latest greenery get to help foot the bill for those who are?

[hobbit709]

10. I got about 200 bucks.

Guess I'll have to keep driving my 1992 Toyota pickup-which gets 31 mpg even with the camper top.

[Touchdown]

27. Well, now it would be $41K, since the dealers are taking their cut.

I hate dealers!

[X_Digger]

7. *nod* I paid $16k for my truck in 2006.

Base model + AC. I did the work myself and added stereo, gps, electronic door locks, windows, alarm, spray-in bed liner, tonneau cover.

[jpak]

3. How to kill a golden goose

yup

[walldude]

4. Just goes to show they can even turn being green into a money making scam..

Greed is going to do this country in.

[Lance_Boyle]

5. Why, again, are we subsidizing this nonsense with both Federal and State tax dollars?

The early adopter fools can be parted from their money - at $20K over MSRP. But why on Earth should Federal and State taxpayers be subsidizing their foolishness???

[Kolesar]

17. Because of smog in the big metropolitan areas...eom

[Lance_Boyle]

18. More like the smUg. n/t

[Radical Activist]

26. You didn't notice the BP gulf gusher, climate change, or war in Iraq?

Maybe we should keep giving tax breaks for SUVs instead?

[rustydog]

8. Capitalism, supply and demand, greed fits in there somewhere too

:grr:

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

9. But with the customary "No interest for 2 Years," right?

And the 10,000 hour battery warranty?
And a drive train warranty?
And the "At least I Was Fucked By A Local Dealer" surety?

[TheCowsCameHome]

13. Haha. At least it wasn't a screwing by complete strangers.

[NNN0LHI]

11. Same thing happened when the PT Cruiser came out

Anything new.

Don

[TheCowsCameHome]

12. Forget it.

Talk about alienating consumers. Sheesh.

[DainBramaged]

14. It helps make up for all of the $100 over cost deals you folks insist on

:eyes:


Dealer can't make a profit, must give away cars to greedy customers, while same greedy customers will pay 100% markup on clothes, food, electronics.

[tammywammy]

15. There's no need to add an additional $20k

That's straight up gouging.

[TheCowsCameHome]

16. Maybe it includes 12 months of complimentary car washes.

:rofl:

[DainBramaged]

19. (sigh) do you honestly think anyone with half a brain will pay that?

We average (gross) on New cars about $183 INCLUDING holdback and rebates because of the competitiveness of our marketplace. Aren't we allowed to make a profit of m0re than one half of one percent on a $30000 vehicle (example)????

[LanternWaste]

29. I'm sure you're allowed to do anything...

I'm sure you're allowed to do anything that your market will allow you to do.

[Obamanaut]

31. I'm sure many with half a brain will pay it. Probably the ones who absolutely

insist on a vehicle made in the US and look at everyone else with disdain.

[PBS Poll-435]

33. Even WFR, local market incentives and delivery allowance?

What about all the free warranty claims for PDI?



If you are only making $183 per car after all of the holdbacks...



Yikes.

[tammywammy]

41. What are the current Chevy incentives based on volume?

What are you making on finance charges? Selling extended warranties? Window tint? How about etch? What do you get back for PDI?

If they're only making $183 per new car including holdback, then your dealer isn't doing very well.

Edited to add: even if no one pays it, it makes the dealer look sleazy.

[DainBramaged]

45. (sigh) NONE of the 'extras' you list are givens, and are not posted to the car's profit

Some of you folks just don't understand how dealerships operate.

First, the age of 'selling' finance in NJ ended YEARS ago. Second, freight and PDI are on the window sticker and the invoice we wound up showing most customers because they refuse to buy a car allowing a dealer a profit. Third, we don't sell etch (rip off and people know it) or tint (cops LOVE to stop fully tinted cars in NJ, you're only allowed a 40% maximum on the rear seat windows back).


Fourth, we've been in business 80 years. We earn money on used cars, service, parts and the body shop. The cars are the printers, the rest of the services are the cartridges.


So much for your (and so many others) knowledge.


Have a nice evening. My day is over.

[tammywammy]

48. Yes, my knowledge comes from working in a dealer for years

Plus my education in Northwood University's automotive management area. You know Northwood right? The only university NADA approved to teach automotive management. The highly respected university in the car world. Yeah, I don't know shit about dealers and how they operate.

[DainBramaged]

49. One, instead of responding to the answers to your questions

you tried to impress me with your 'knowledge'.

It doesn't take schoolin to rip customers off, and Texas isn't NJ. Here the laws favor the consumer not the dealer (unlike Texas). We've been in business for 80 years, we make a profit, sell to fourth and fifth generation customers, and treat even folks like yourself who think they know it all the same as we treat the dummies. Everybody gets a fair deal, and if you don't like the deal, go down the road, there's literally one dealer every square mile for 75 miles and you'll find someone who would be impressed with your degree. I've been in the auto business (with a few breaks in between) since 1966. And I too have a couple of degrees but not from schools that NADA (the auto group that does NOTHING for their dealers) approves of (or so you say). And since I'm responsible for cross-checking and then sending the financials up to GM every month, I have more than a clue.


Now I am done with you. You don't like my answers, put me on ignore. I just don't care what you think.

[tammywammy]

50. You're the one that keeps bringing up knowledge.

I didn't.

And I don't put anyone on ignore, but since you're a fan I trust you'll take your own advice.

[Touchdown]

30. Electronics mark up is an average of 13%

When Wal Mart and Best Buy start selling cars, then you can talk like there's an equivalent. Until then, that is a load of shit!

[DainBramaged]

32. And the 'experts' chime in (those who have little tiny cubicles or live in basements)

thank god for ignore.

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[PBS Poll-435]

34. Is that "ignore" or Ignore?

:cry:

[tammywammy]

42. I may have been a cube rat

But that doesn't mean I didn't know what was going on all those years that I worked at a dealership, you know those cube rats that take care of all those invoices and ROs. :eyes:

[PBS Poll-435]

43. Sounds like they need some fresh New Car Sales Managers

Either they can't pencil a deal or they are just giving them away...

[tammywammy]

44. And finance managers n/t

[DainBramaged]

46. When, in the 50's?

:rofl:


And I STILL don't see ignored people (or other words I like to call them) who try to be experts at all things DU.

[PBS Poll-435]

47. Unless you are Dealer Principal, GM, Controller or Office Manager...

I don't think you know as much as you think you do about how "dealerships operate".

[TheWraith]

20. GM should threaten to cut off shipments to dealers found to be price gouging. nt

[Johonny]

21. this isn't new. The Prius was going for 10-15 K over sticker in SoCal too

In SoCal the demand for these type of vehicles are high and the manufacturing process is still producing too low a volume.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

22. Make hay while they're scarce

Some rich people will gladly pay 20k over list, just to be the first at their country club to own one.

If demand is there, if production rates improve, if some sort of fast-charging infrastructure magically appears, then the price will fall to more competitive levels.

This is not yet a car for the rest of us.

:hi:

[DainBramaged]

37. 10000 divided by approximately 3500 Chevy dealers (many with multiple franchises), you do the math

About 3 each and MANY MANY of the dealers won't take them because of the investment REQUIRED by GM in training and new specialized tools to fix them AND to be certified to fix them.


And people bitch about the profit a dealer makes. I worked for a couple of japanese electronics makers in the 90's. We sold to WalMart and all of the big guys including Best. Wal Mart had a MINIMUM gross of 24% back then. So when you buy your TV or DVD player, KNOW that they aren't about to shave their gross for You the customer. And just try bargaining with them.


Anyone else who claims intimate knowledge is bullshitting you.

[Stevenmarc]

23. That's the price you pay to be first on the block

The moment a lot of people start walking away from the deal the premium will disappear

[flvegan]

24. In 1990, the $50k Corvette ZR1 often sold for $100k.

Being first carries a premium.

[DainBramaged]

39. You (and I) are wasting our time

the people in this thread don't care it's a GM CAR, and that's reason enough to slam it. Besides, the usual suspects are tryiong to make hay while the plug is out (pun) I'm sure you can see that.


PS

Drove a Mspeed last week. 2007 version. HUGE miles on it and beat to death by the owner (traded for one of our last Turbo Cobalts). Fun car, I am sure it would have been more fun if I didn't have to be concerned about the bad half-shaft (too many stop light launches) or check engine light, or slipping clutch, but that isn't the car's fault...

[jpljr77]

25. Meh, the Nissan Leaf is better anyway. n/t

[DainBramaged]

38. Right, where are you going to plug it in on the expressway when you are stuck in traffic

Another expert.

[Radical Activist]

28. "But we produce gas guzzlers because that's what the market demands!"

More proof that GM lobbyists and execs were lying their asses off for years when they fought mileage standards. They finally produce a car environmentalists have been demanding for years and they can't keep them on the lot. No, market demands were not being met by GM's gas-guzzling strategy.

[DainBramaged]

40. The single largest problem is the mindset created by japanese marketing

as you are seeing in this thread, the anti-GM sentiment is strong on the DU Obi Wan.

[madmom]

35. Ah but the high price of cars is because of over paid union workers!

[doc03]

36. I wouldn't pay a $20,000 premium on any f----g vehicle

GM makes especially the first year out. You never make up the premium you pay for a Prius or any other hybrid unless the gas goes way past $4.00 a gallon.