Dealer fees

That is absurd. This potential to get screwed has been in the forefront of my mind for a while. I need to sell a very nice car before I have the money for an Elise. I am not going to sell it unless I get absolute top dollar because there is always the chance that I will sell and ultimately not be able to buy an Elise because of dealer B.S. I can live with that outcome if I get what I think is a great price on the car I'm selling, but I'll be damned if I'm going to do a quick sale on something I like with the potential looming to get bent over into an ankle grabbing position.

I'm sort of glad my # is in the 80s. I'll have time to see how badly the dealer is treating people. I could never enjoy the car is I knew I got royally screwed on the transaction. The dealer can find another sucker.

In the end, you have to hold Lotus accountable. They should step in and forbid their dealers from doing this stuff. After all, the point of the Elise in the U.S. is to reestablish Lotus and create a new customer base. The point is not to piss people off and alienate true sports car buyers.

Maybe I'll have to add $2500 in prep fees if & when I sell my E30 M3! "Hey, I washed it for you and maintained it for years. That's worth an extra $2500, right?"

I wouldn't put up with it either. And I'm not getting back on another list if it happens. I give one chance. Buying a car at MSRP and having a deposit down for 9 months shouldn't be a complicated ordeal. When the car comes in, you should get it at MSRP -- no funny business. If it's meant to be that I get a Lotus Elise, then it'll work out.

I have someone seriously looking at my M3 for $25k! I'm not budging on price. If it's meant to be, it'll happen. Time is on my side. If and when that sells, I'll turn my attention to the Elise.

If the dealer then sells me an Elise at MSRP without ridiculous add-on costs, I'll buy one. If not, I'll run down to the Honda dealer and get myself a new S2000 with hardtop for $34,080 (tax & tags & hardtop included). If I end up with the S2000, I'll make it my only car and sell the S4 too. I'll then turn my attention to spending the money I saved on a new home (with more garage space) before kids enter the picture.

I've basically worked out contingency plans and I am letting others dictate what I will ultimately do. I think this is the best way to operate. Others either meet my terms or I just won't do business with them. No car is worth letting someone else take advantage of you.

I'm not a complete fatalist, but I do think that some things happen for a reason. Besides, in the BIG PICTURE this car is unimportant. I'd rather do without it than think about how the dealer screwed me every time I look at it.

zvezdah1 said:

fitfan,
would I pay a couple hundred extra to get the elise sooner, absof***inlutely in a heart beat. Since I'm #2 prob won't happen tho.

Chris

Click to expand...

From a capitalistic perspective, an object is worth what the buyer is willing to pay. Since there are so many people here who are quite happy to admit what a bargain the Elise is at $45K, it should not be too surprising that for some people, the Elise is worth more than that.

MSRP has very little to do with what the car is worth (especially when the demand greatly outweighs the supply), it is simply what the manufacturer suggests that the car be sold for.

That being said, I do agree that it is unethical for a dealer to say that they will be selling the car at MSRP and then renege when they decide that there are people who will be willing to pay more than MSRP to get the car.

The dealer who is up front with the customer and says that he is charging $XXXX over MSRP, because that is what the market will bear, is much more ethical than the one who promises MSRP and then adds all kinds of dealer options and prep fees. The buyer can go to which ever dealer he wants, although it might mean a longer waiting list at the dealer who is selling the car for MSRP. Again, we are back to the basic tenet that an object is worth what the buyer is willing to pay. The dealer adding a "market adjustment" might find that he overestimated the demand and will then start reducing his "adjustment" until he finds what the market will truely bear, but as long as there are people with a lot of money who must have this car then the dealers will be able to ask more for it.