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I’m pretty sure most of the car subreddits are managed by dealership employees who benefit from markups via increased commissions. The fact that they make refer

I’m pretty sure most of the car subreddits are managed by dealership employees who benefit from markups via increased commissions. The fact that they make reference to complaining about price markups as economic illiteracy increases my confidence in this hypothesis. I’m tempted to go make a post about rent seeking, deadweight loss and price collusion in oligopolistic conditions but somehow I feel my economic literacy will be found wanting.

OGWhales 3y ago
/r/whatCarShouldIBuy is a pretty decent sub. Comparing answers there to /r/askCarSales is pretty funny, such different advice.
- seattle_spring 3y ago
  I posted a very bad dealership experience I had to both /r/Kia and /r/askcarsales. The Kia thread had more than a hundred comments, 99% supporting me and my decision to shop elsewhere. The /r/askcarsales commenters immediately started making up scenarios in favor of the dealerships, assuming I was mean, condescending, arrogant; basically all of the characteristics the salesman actually demonstrated, they tried to pin on me.
gottorf 3y ago
> complaining about price markups as economic illiteracy I mean, I hate dealer markups as much as the next person, but it is true. It's just supply and demand. Dealers wouldn't charge crazy markups if enough car buyers weren't out there paying them; and like another commenter said, in these supply-limited conditions, if price wasn't able to rise to a market-clearing level, you'd have shortages instead, and people would complain about that. > rent seeking, deadweight loss and price collusion in oligopolistic conditions Can the car market, both at the manufacturer level and the dealer level, really be described as an oligopolistic one, outside of isolated examples (e.g. you live in Elko, NV and there's only one Ford dealer within 100 miles)?
- spacemadness 3y ago
  I don’t know if it’s a complaint, more being awe struck by others irrational behavior and how far they’ll go by overpaying. Censoring that observation is a little weird and does seem to favor the dealers grip on a subreddit.

OGWhales 3y ago

/r/whatCarShouldIBuy is a pretty decent sub. Comparing answers there to /r/askCarSales is pretty funny, such different advice.

seattle_spring 3y ago
I posted a very bad dealership experience I had to both /r/Kia and /r/askcarsales. The Kia thread had more than a hundred comments, 99% supporting me and my decision to shop elsewhere. The /r/askcarsales commenters immediately started making up scenarios in favor of the dealerships, assuming I was mean, condescending, arrogant; basically all of the characteristics the salesman actually demonstrated, they tried to pin on me.

gottorf 3y ago

> complaining about price markups as economic illiteracy I mean, I hate dealer markups as much as the next person, but it is true. It's just supply and demand. Dealers wouldn't charge crazy markups if enough car buyers weren't out there paying them; and like another commenter said, in these supply-limited conditions, if price wasn't able to rise to a market-clearing level, you'd have shortages instead, and people would complain about that. > rent seeking, deadweight loss and price collusion in oligopolistic conditions Can the car market, both at the manufacturer level and the dealer level, really be described as an oligopolistic one, outside of isolated examples (e.g. you live in Elko, NV and there's only one Ford dealer within 100 miles)?

spacemadness 3y ago
I don’t know if it’s a complaint, more being awe struck by others irrational behavior and how far they’ll go by overpaying. Censoring that observation is a little weird and does seem to favor the dealers grip on a subreddit.