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It is always fascinating how different car sales are in the US when compared to Europe. In Europe, for new cars at least, dealer sell production slots. You conf

by hef19898 4y ago

It is always fascinating how different car sales are in the US when compared to Europe. In Europe, for new cars at least, dealer sell production slots. You configure your car, the dealer gets a delivery date from the OEM, you get yoyr car at that date or pick it up at the factory. Pre configured cars are either exposition cars, cars registered for a day to move OEM inventory, or dealer inventory, not sold like above. Or they are 6-12 months old and coming from various short term leasing and rental services. This approach makes planning for OEMs a lot easier as well. Oh, and you always pay whatever the ticlet price is,inus negotiated disclunts. Nothing like list price plus, just because the dealer feels like it.

brianwawok 4y ago
You don't have strong networks of dealers paying money to the government to have a monopoly err protect the consumers?
nradov 4y ago
Some US franchised dealers will order a car for you, but you'll usually pay full MSRP with little room to negotiate. Porsche, for example, does a large fraction of their sales that way. But custom ordering for many cheaper mainstream brands has become kind of pointless. The manufacturers no longer allow picking and choosing individual options and instead roll everything into a couple of large option packages. So, if you want the good sound system then you have to pay for the sunroof as well even if you don't want it. Many US consumers expect to buy a vehicle off the lot and drive it away that day. Part of that is cultural. But many customers come in to buy because their old car was just wrecked or broken down, so they can't afford to wait months for a replacement.
- rootusrootus 4y ago
  > Some US franchised dealers will order a car for you, but you'll usually pay full MSRP with little room to negotiate. That has not been my experience at all. I frequently order my new cars when I'm buying a domestic brand. I pay invoice or less. (I did not buy a car during the pandemic mess). The dealer has a guaranteed sale with minimal overhead. I haven't yet had one tell me to go away.
steveBK123 4y ago
Some early 1900s cartel issues that were overcorrected with regulation that has now turned into regulatory capture by large dealer network owners.
rootusrootus 4y ago
> how different car sales are in the US when compared to Europe It is not consistent in the US. You can order a car from any of the domestic manufacturers (or European ones, AFAIK). You take what you can get from the Asian manufacturers, when it shows up.

brianwawok 4y ago

You don't have strong networks of dealers paying money to the government to have a monopoly err protect the consumers?

nradov 4y ago

Some US franchised dealers will order a car for you, but you'll usually pay full MSRP with little room to negotiate. Porsche, for example, does a large fraction of their sales that way. But custom ordering for many cheaper mainstream brands has become kind of pointless. The manufacturers no longer allow picking and choosing individual options and instead roll everything into a couple of large option packages. So, if you want the good sound system then you have to pay for the sunroof as well even if you don't want it. Many US consumers expect to buy a vehicle off the lot and drive it away that day. Part of that is cultural. But many customers come in to buy because their old car was just wrecked or broken down, so they can't afford to wait months for a replacement.

rootusrootus 4y ago
> Some US franchised dealers will order a car for you, but you'll usually pay full MSRP with little room to negotiate. That has not been my experience at all. I frequently order my new cars when I'm buying a domestic brand. I pay invoice or less. (I did not buy a car during the pandemic mess). The dealer has a guaranteed sale with minimal overhead. I haven't yet had one tell me to go away.

steveBK123 4y ago

Some early 1900s cartel issues that were overcorrected with regulation that has now turned into regulatory capture by large dealer network owners.

rootusrootus 4y ago

> how different car sales are in the US when compared to Europe It is not consistent in the US. You can order a car from any of the domestic manufacturers (or European ones, AFAIK). You take what you can get from the Asian manufacturers, when it shows up.