mnkyboy

I have been in to the dealer twice already, and have spent a total of 4 hours with them. I am trying to buy a 2002 Protege 5, Vivid Yellow w/moonroof (which they will have to order from the factory). The dealer started at the $800 over MSRP (some stupid fees like paint protectant, carpet/upholstery protection, etc.) I got them down to $16,999, and they havent budged since. They want to charge me $289 fee for advertising,paperwork,etc etc. that isnt included in the $16,999. One other fee is about $150 bucks, and it is included in the $16,999. I tried to get them to budge with holdback money, since that will be pure profit (like I said earlier, I am ordering it from the factory), but they told me that they cant touch that money, since they have many cars on the lot for over 60 days, which holdback only helps them for 60 days and under. So holdback that is pure profit (like my case) helps them pay for the other cars that dont sell. The only other fees are the $100 or less fee of tax & title. I told them that I got a better quote (the $16,750) from another dealer, but that was over the phone, im not sure if they have a bunch of added fees and stuff. He even told me that if I could get the car for $16,750, I should go to that dealer (they said that it sounded like a great deal). The main reason that I dont want to go to the other dealer, is because its about 6 hours away. They also said that they dont understand why Im trying to get the car for so little, since they are only making about $500 off of the deal. I have 4 main questions:

1.) How can I get them to budge on the price? I would be satisfied if I can get the car for $16,750.

2.) Are most dealers this way about holdback? I have read several places that the only time you should bring holdback up is in my case, when you have a special order from the factory.

3.) Are these fees bogus? It sounds to me like some are, but again, how can I get around this?

4.) This dealer claims that the salesman get NO COMMISION, and only get paid a salary and customer satifaction bonuses. Has anyone ever heard of a dealer like this before? The dealer is called Royal Mazda, in Metairie, Louisiana. Dealer Link

filamqc

I work for a Mazda dealership as an Account Manager. I have one 5-spd vivid yellow Protege 5 in stock - moonroof, mats, alarm... I'll sell it to you for $500 over invoice - GUARANTEED. I'm located in Philadelphia, PA. Call me at (610)667-1000 if you're seriously interested. Good luck!

Regards,
Albert
Don Rosen Mazda

Smoothy

Yes those fees are bogus! The only fee (outside of tax/license of course) would MAYBE be like an administrative (paperwork, etc) fee of no higher than $150. And even those are pretty bogus. Dealers like that really suck, trying to sell you paint and carpet protection...whatever! They probably don't even give you a full tank of gas?!
There shuoldn't be any advertising fees, holdback, etc especially on a car you're ordering.
Since you've been there already, I would just call him and give him your bottom deal w/o tax/license and tell him that's it....he'll tell you you're stealing his kids food of their table (or some sob story) and just fire back at him how he's the one doing that to you, you're trying to give him numbers and a very satisfied customer for several years/cars to come.
If you haven't already, check out Car Buying Tips, this guy goes through all this in detail and may spark some ideas for you. It sounds like there aren't many dealers in your area and this one probably doesn't participate, but go to
Autoweb and punch in the can you want, it will send the request to any participating dealers and be very low. Mine was 1125 below sticker and 1000 below from two dealers in town.
Good luck man, let us know how it goes!

RACER X

well if it's only $289 holding the deal up, why evan worry about...is it worth an extra $ over 5yrs...that money translates into less than $5 a payment....is it worth the aggrevation?

i used to sell cars 5 yrs ago, and it was funny , both sides dealer's and buyer's would loose deals over the smallest amounts and it makes no sense...why waste more time when you can have the deal done and be driving your car down the road for $5.....