Quote:
Originally Posted by Flavoade  A car dealership is a business... so expect it to be run like a business. They are trying to make money. You cannot expect them to give you a bunch of money for a used car that loses it's value very quickly. If they did that to all their trade-ins they would be out of business. If you do not like the way Cadillacs hold their value, maybe you should go buy an Acura. |
Here is an oversimplified version of how a car dealer arrives at how much he/she will give anyone for their used car:
Identify the total $$ of the line items listed below:
used car prep (running it through the dealer shop)
salesman commission
sales manager commission
dealership profit
certain amount of sand; customers almost never pay asking price
risk; believe it or not, some customers lie about the condition of their
"fine" car.
other??
Then the dealer takes that total amount and subtracts it from what the dealer expects the car to sell for. That is how any dealer would approach buying a vehicle.
The dealer can buy a car from a customer for xx amount, or the dealer can get online and buy a similar car from the auction, sometimes at a very attractive price.
I am not a dealer, but I have friends who are. This is what they tell me. It makes sense.