"Sitting in the showroom" is the operative aspect of your message. No one is forced to buy... at any price.

 

Let them ask what they want - I can wait until the feeding frenzy dies down.

 

One of the dealers in Northern Virginia has a loaded 3LT Z51 on the floor with a $30,000 additional dealer markup.

 

Prime example

 

I'm telling you guys. It's not just Corvettes. It's all models and brands across the world. This is a crazy time for the auto industry. https://myfox8.com/news/why-car-pric...l-for-a-while/

 

Yelp Shelby GT500’s are selling for huge markups too. It’s all supply and demand. I bought a Jeep Wrangler 2 years ago and just sold it for a nice profit (more than I paid) with 17K miles. I got it for 8% under invoice when I bought it and the best deal I could get on a new Rubicon 4xe was 4% under invoice and I had to work hard to get it and order it.

Crazy times, but I don’t see it getting better anytime soon. Lots of supply chain issues continue and the economy will only get stronger over the next year globally.

 

It is really pretty simple...it is called a market....the value of anything is what someone is willing to pay for it at a point in time.....be that a C8 or a bitcoin or a tulip.....or a apple......nothing new....

 

You have a lot of patience -

 

I was offered 7k more than I paid for my 2020 Ram Power Wagon last year. All cars are selling at premium prices right now

 

Most people wholesale their cars to dealerships. So they compare the retail price they paid versus the wholesale price the Dealer gives them. I've only owned two Vettes, but in each case I sold them myself. The price I asked was about 8% less than what dealers were asking for nearly identical cars. In one case I sold my Vette in five days and in the other in about three weeks. My anecdotal experience is that Vettes hold their value quite well. Of course if I sold my cars to Dealers, I probably wouldn't have been so happy.

BTW in each case I kept all my service records, and showed them to potential buyers. Proof of a well maintained car is a great selling point. Used car buyers want to buy well maintained cars.

 

^^^
Excellent strategy. I’ve bought all my Vettes used private party and sold them the same. Makes the Vette experience almost economical.

There’s something different going on now, though, at least for manual C7’s. Seems there’s a small group of folks willing to pay top dollar for nice used C7’s. But, I suspect, they’re happier to do so through a dealer. I was offered outrageous prices for mine from a couple local dealers; but trying to sell it on the market at only a slightly higher price has generated no interest. Now I know the dealers are not being charitable. I think they are really serving a useful purpose in this weird market...

 

My brother, who lives in the Villages in Florida, said he saw a used C8 in the local Chevy dealer's showroom the other day. The price on it was $120K. Sales guy he deals with said they already sold it so I guess the demand is there for those who can't get or find a new one.

 

eBay auction of a base C8 1LT, 600 miles, no extras not even painted calipers: actual bidding is $90,100 still going...
Thats a 50% mark-up! $30k

 

There is no question that private party sale can net you more money than trade in. Keep in mind hat dealerships have a little more expense involved in turning a car from trade in to retail. When we take a car in, regardless of how pristine it may be, there is a $1,200 service charge that the service dept. charges the sales dept, which is added to the cost of the car, and that's if nothing other than state safety and emission, inspection and fluid change is required. That does not include the detailing charge added as dealers have third party companies that do the detailing, about $200 per car, regardless of condition. Add that on trade value, you save sales tax on the new car, which is an amount that needs to be considered.

Then, the dealership handles all of the title work, payoff of the trade, if there is one. Then of course there is the actual process involved for someone to sell the car privately. Listing it, doing the little things that the dealer would do, which many many may not consider when they think "I can get more if I sell it myself". Then there is answering the calls, answering the silly questions, the 'virtual' tire kickers, not to mention the in person 'tire kicker' that will waste your whole Saturday, then try to lowball you saying they found a car cheaper, yada yada. Oh, and the fact that this person, a complete stranger, is coming to your home?

So, in the end, trading is just an easier way to go for many. Considering how many people "don't have the time to buy a car", they really don't have the time to sell one for sure.

 

That $1200 charge would in the language of the industry would be called a "pack" and has nothing to do with reality. A simple profit source for the dealer to not pay commissions on.

 

There is a lot of Corvettes out there which are a bargain might be used but great deals, who would waste there money and over pa y unless you are rich!

 

One of several profit sources, actually.

1. Documentation Fees (used to be called, "dealer prep", until the buying public caught on that the dealers are paid PDI fees by the manufacturer (Profit goes straight to the dealer. The salesmen does not get any commission on this).
2. Dealer pre-applied "options" reflected on the "bump" sticker (paint sealant, upholstery guard, etc). Dealer pays next to nothing for any of this. Salesman does not get a commission on this either)
3. Dealer "hold back", direct from the manufacturer. lots of info on this look it up. Usually 2-3% and in most cases, the salesman does not get a commission on this either.
4. Financing kick-backs (again, salesman does not benefit)
5. "Added profit" bump sticker (at least the dealer is being honest when he rips you off in this way (salesman DOES usually benefit from this, as commissions are based on "tissue" (invoice" against selling price)

These charges can and do add THOUSANDS to the bottom line of even a relatively obscure automobile. I know there's more, but I have not been in the car sales business since the late 1970s, and my memory is not what it once was....

 

With your experience of once selling cars forty plus years ago, I am sure you have a whole list of factoids you can use to enlighten us about the industry. Things like the average new car store now represents more than an eleven-million dollar investment in the community and that auto dealers are the largest collectors of sales tax. Or, the reality that the auto industry supports almost 5% of all U.S. jobs.

Then, there is the pesky fact that the whole dealership industry operates on less than 3% net before taxes of total sales. One of the lowest profit margins of any retail industry in the U.S. It certainly makes you wonder where, with all the nefarious ways they take advantage of the public's pocketbook, all that money goes!

 

Sounds like the profit margin on an airline, which ranges between 10% in good years and negative numbers during economic downturns. It has been published that the cumulative net profit of the airline industry since the 1930s is hovering around 0.

 

Not one word you posted conflicts with the truths shared by lie2me. But its interesting. Just like the weather.