Avondale Toyota outside Phoenix, Arizona has run with a One Price, One Person, no-haggle sales model for a decade, but as Automotive News reports, this retailing approach to new-car sales remains an outlier in the car-buying game.
As the industry publication notes, One Price, One Person seems simple enough, and in an age of "Web-savvy, smartphone-toting consumers," such a quick and relatively transparent approach to a new vehicle transaction would appear to hold great appeal for today's buyer. Here are the details of One Price, One Person:
- a single sales employee handles a customer's entire no-haggle vehicle transaction, from financing to extended warranties, add-ons and service contracts;
- no haggling; the posted price is the final price and the dealer guarantees it’s the best possible price;
- loan and lease rates are transparent and up front, with rates based on credit scores;
- sales people get a flat fee for whatever vehicle they sell, regardless of the make, model and transaction price; they can earn additional commissions for selling extras;
- the flat fee allows sales people to concentrate on finding the right vehicle for the customer, not pushing to up-sell to something more pricy that would also juice the sales commission.
Dealer Brian McCafferty tells Automotive News that this is a very good way to sell cars in the information age. Tech-savvy millennials, in particular, come to the dealership armed with information and lacking patience, he says. They know what they want, how much they are willing to pay, and they are anxious to get the deal done quickly and seamlessly.
When well-informed buyers arrives at what one might call a "traditional" dealership, he adds, they face a disconnect between what they've experience online and what they are living on the showroom floor – "they're faced with a person who speaks to them in a completely different language. It's very analog as opposed to digital."
So, does this make sense for you, the typical Canadian car buyer? Deals of the Week wants to know. Please send along your feedback (jcato@globeandmail.com). More importantly, please share what you'd like to see and experience the next time you purchase a new vehicle. Does One Price, One Person appeal to you? What else would you like to experience when buying a new ride in 2015? How can dealers and their manufacturers make this the best possible experience?
More importantly, what best practices have you experienced when purchasing a new vehicle? What has worked for you in terms of what dealers have done in your personal experience -- practices, procedures, showroom design and amenities, product displays, digital sales tools, product availability (including ordering and delivery procedures), service and follow-up? What has been good about your latest car purchase and ownership experience? And what might have made it even better?
Dealers and manufacturers, jump in, too. What works and what are you doing to improve what isn't working well enough in this information age?
Rest assured, we'll keep your responses anonymous or we'll ask for permission to specifically identify any person or organization. We'll protect your privacy.
But we earnestly want to dig into what has been, for 100 years, a contentious subject – buying a new vehicle. This is no small matter. Canadians bought 1.85 million new vehicles last year, and most analysts expect even more Canadians will buy something new this year. This is a big deal.
In the meantime, consider these four deals of the week: up to $4,000 or more off a BMW 328i xDrive sedan; as much as $11,000 in discounts on a Ram pickup; nearly $2,500 in sales sweeteners on a Mitsubishi Lancer sedan; and nearly $5,000 in factory and dealer incentives in play on an Infiniti QX70 SUV (sport-utility vehicle).
Now start filling my mailbox. But please, don't make this a gripe-fest. Let's focus on what is good and how to make anything and everything better. In short, please share answers and experiences that move the discussion forward.
Deals of the Week consulted with Unhaggle.com, Car Help Canada, carcostcanada.com, and other sources on these offers. As usual, pricing information here is subject to change and dealer discounts vary, so consult your dealer for all the final details, including expiry dates for all offers.
2015 BMW 3 Series 328i xDrive Sedan
- MSRP: $46,500
- Freight, dealer prep, air conditioning tax: $2,230
- Dealer discount (estimated): $2,220
- Factory discount: $2,000 (manufacturer incentive)
- Taxable subtotal: $44,510
- Total price with 13 per cent HST: $50,296.30
- Factory and dealer incentives can be combined with 2.9 per cent financing for 48 or 60 months, or a 3.9 per cent lease rate for 48 months.
2015 Ram 1500 SLT Crew Cab
- MSRP: $40,395
- Freight, dealer prep, fees and air conditioning tax: $1,830
- Dealer discount (estimated): $2,624
- Factory discount: $8,500 (manufacturer incentive)
- Taxable subtotal: $31,101
- Total price with 13 per cent HST: $35,144.13
- All incentives can be combined with 3.49 per cent financing for 48, 60, or 84 months.
2015 Mitsubishi Lancer SE AWC CVT
- MSRP: $22,998
- Freight, dealer prep, AC tax: $1,735
- Dealer discount (estimated): $686
- Factory discount: $1,000 (manufacturer incentive)
- Factory discount: $750 (loyalty incentive)
- Taxable subtotal: $22,297
- Total price with 13 per cent HST: $25,195.61
- A $600 factory incentive, the loyalty incentive and any dealer incentive can be combined with zero per cent financing for 48 or 60 months, or 1.99 per cent financing for 84 months. All incentives can be combined with a 0.9 per cent lease rate for 48 months, or a 2.9 per cent rate for 60 months.
2015 Infiniti QX70 Premium 4WD 7AT
- MSRP: $53,500
- Freight, PDI, AC tax: $2,130
- Dealer discount (estimated): $3,294
- Factory discount: $1,500 (manufacturer incentive)
- Taxable subtotal: $50,836
- Total price with 13 per cent HST: $57,444.68
- The factory incentive is not available with 2.9 per cent financing for 48 or 60 months, or a 2.9 per cent lease rate for 48 months.
and
. Calculations based on Ontario customers. Please note that while the information above is accurate at the time of publication, incentives are given at the discretion of individual dealers, and may be changed or discontinued at any time. Where noted, "dealer discounts" are negotiated with the customer on a case-by-case basis. Unhaggle Savings are actual discounts received by Unhaggle customers.
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