at least Tesla and other electric cars you pay upfront and done no BS involved

 

That's the reason I'm for direct online sales, you pay MSRP, but no dealer markups like ADM. When I bought my Polestar I knew exactly what I was paying out the door, no ADM, market adjustments, dealer add-ons etc. You pick your model, any options you want, skip the ones you don't want and place your order. Tesla's too expensive for you? At least you'll know configuring one online

 

That's an insane price! Wow!

 

I hate the entire concept of buying mfg direct for many reasons.
Topic already being discussed in another thread so won't go into it here.

As long as there are manufactured "chip shortages" & materials shortages & logistics issues- there will be gouging by dealers like this and mfgs reporting record profits too.
I think the EV vehicles sold mfg direct are over priced too.

 

Last week I received an email from an out of state Ford store that was contacted months ago about a new Maverick. It announced that the store now has one available. It was a used (7000 mile) based model offered for a mere 50% plus over its original base price of $24,000 at just $37,000.

The $1198 dealer fee quoted to the OP is the highest I've ever seen and steep even for the predatory dealers in Florida.

 

Amazing. I get it that it's a really good truck and highly desired but 50% is worse than even what the OP showed us!

I want one as well but never for that price

 

Everyone has their preferences, and i know you've heard the arguments, but hear me out one last time. Imagine you are buying a smartphone like a OnePlus. You go online, it's $800. You pick your color, you decide you don't want any accessories or protection plan ($30 for a case and $100 for two years extended protection). You check out and pick standard shipping which is free but can take up to 3 to 5 days. You don't want to finance it through whatever company they are using and use your credit card. With tax it's $850, you finalize and click on "Order Now" and the phone comes in 4 days later.

Now imagine OnePlus is now selling through a retail OnePlus dealership. You walk in, and the phone is $1000 MSRP. You want it in black, that's $20 extra. Well, they only have it bundled with a case, so that's an extra $50 with case. When you go to checkout, you are offered extended warranty for $150, and the sales person is really pushing this warranty. You say no, but he tells you how a customer just dropped their phone on the way out. Then you suddenly realize that there is an extra $50 added to the price...they used a special coating to enhance the black color that you already are paying $20 extra for. You pull out your cc to pay for it, and they tell you that your best option is to finance it through them, otherwise there is another $10 charge. You finally walk out the store with your new OnePlus at $1,140. My question is, why would anyone want to do this? MSRP is an added "middleman fee" in which the manufacturer gets exactly $0 from, which is why Ford's CEO is exploring moving sales direct to the customer

 

Hi amirza786.
I see your point but do you feel that Polestar passed on all that savings to you?
Cars will not get any cheaper buying dealer direct, the mfg's will soak up the profits instead and car prices will remain high IMO, just wait, you'll see.

I'm not sure what kind of work you do but I stick up for the people who need their jobs because I need my job.
If people think dealers are greedy ya'll don't want to know what the mfg's are lobbying for behind our backs.
Happy to continue in the other thread, don't want to take away from OP's topic.

PS- the dealer in the thread topic is flipping the car and while greedy, he is trying to make big money. If they would stop with the fake shortages this can't happen IMO.

 

Let me just say this...if I had bought my Polestar through a Dealership, I would have paid more money for it, as the dealership needs to get their cut. The manufacturer has their set price, any "upcharges" that you pay are for additions such as Performance Packs, upgraded seats, Software features etc, which are optional unless you buy a pre-configured model. Whatever money the manufacture gets is set, and it benefits them and allows them to innovate. Any extra money the dealership get benefits the dealership, and not the manufacturer.

I get that the dealerships provide jobs, but in the case of direct sales from the manufacture, those same people would still have jobs, they just would be different. You still need to have and maintain "Retail Spaces", repair facilities, customer service reps, delivery people, finance people etc.

Lastly I want to say that I acknowledge that not all dealerships are predatory like the one in this particular case. This particular dealership is, how do I put it, making dealerships everywhere look really, really bad

 

I don't know it matters if all the savings are passed on or not, Polestar and anyone else are in business to make a profit and any cost savings they can generate are as much a contributor to net profit as revenue. What matters is do you have a clear upfront price that you can rely on so that you can decide if that price works for you or not and make your decision accordingly.

The problem now is we have an MSRP, often an ADM which is either disclosed upfront on an in-stock car or sometimes added at delivery on ordered cars plus marked up charges for worthless add ons and bogus fees like those in the OP.

In the case of a vehicle like the Bronco there have been an enormous amount of cases where cars were ordered, delivered 12 to 18 months after the order, and dealers hitting the buyer with previously undisclosed ADM when they come to pick it up. Never mind the usual bogus add ons.

Would you rather that, or would you rather buy direct for a clear, fully disclosed and unambiguous MSRP plus unavoidable fees and taxes? That's really the debate. Sure, MSRP is nebulous and can be whatever they want it to be, but it gives you a solid foundation on whether it's a price you are willing to pay or not.

 

This is actually where I should have started, but you said it much better than I could have! To summarize, in a buy direct from the manufacture model, you see exactly what you are going to pay for the vehicle ahead of time, whereas in a dealership model, not only do you have to deal with sometimes aggressive salesperson, but final price you see doesn't happen until you are sitting with the finance person. I would say most people just proceed because of all the frustration from all the time they invested in getting to this point

 

Great points everyone!
I will always stick up for capitalism and jobs vs the aternative of everyone is forced to buy mfg direct(monopolies), they already have too much control but I don't look down on anyone who chooses otherwise.

However, can see no problem as it is right now with a few mfgs selling direct in special circumstances BUT NOT ALL.
I'm very careful and skeptical about trading an evil for a far worse evil and buying a car right now is the absolute worst time due to high demand vs low supply.

PS- I have bought new cars and I've never paid a penny over MSRP. Like the saying goes, "Just say no". lol

PS again lol- that's all I have on that, sitting back to see what ya'll think about things.

 

No chance would any savings be passed on. The greedy corporations will keep it.....plus they make Polestars in China too

Bought lots of cars over the decades. Never have I paid MSRP... I always get a discount. (or I won't buy a new car)

 

It's actually backwards...Car Dealerships wield power over the manufactures aided by the courts and some states in their pockets, not the other way around. Just do a little a research on it. There is nothing Capitalistic about dealerships except their greed, that's why I will celebrate the day they are gone

 

Does this meet your requirements?

Polestar 3 electric performance SUV to be manufactured in the USA

Polestar, the premium electric car brand from Sweden, announces today its first all-electric SUV will be manufactured in the United States.
The forthcoming Polestar 3, an aerodynamic electric performance SUV, will be manufactured alongside new Volvo vehicles at the Volvo Cars production centre in Ridgeville, South Carolina. Polestar vehicles built in South Carolina will be for sale in the United States.
The move transforms Polestar into a truly global brand with an industrial capacity in the two largest single markets for electric vehicles in the world – the USA and China – alongside its headquarters and established sales and distribution capabilities in Europe.
“Polestar 3 will be built in America, for our American customers,” says Thomas Ingenlath, Polestar’s Chief Executive Officer. “I remember the great response when I first shared Polestar’s vision here in the USA and I am proud that our first SUV will be manufactured in South Carolina. From now on, the USA is no longer an export market but a home market.”
The manufacturing announcement also underlines Polestar’s commitment to the American retail market, which is undergoing a period of rapid expansion. Polestar will open around 25 retail ‘Spaces’ across the country in 2021. The Spaces offer customer conveniences such as home test drives, free pick-up and delivery servicing, and mobile service for consumers in markets still awaiting the opening of a Polestar Space.
Polestar was launched in 2017 by Volvo Cars and Geely Holding. The Ridgeville plant was opened in 2018 by Volvo Cars. Polestar’s ability to share a production facility with Volvo Cars highlights the significant industrial and financial synergies it generates as result of its ownership structure.
“Production in the USA reduces delivery times as well as the environmental impact associated with shipping vehicles around the world. It will even have a positive impact on the price of Polestar 3,” says Dennis Nobelius, Chief Operating Officer at Polestar. “All of this makes the brand even more competitive in the critical American sales market.”
Polestar 3 will debut the new generation of electric vehicle architecture from Volvo Car Group, which has been designed from scratch for full electrification. The aerodynamic electric performance SUV will feature industry-leading connectivity features based on Google’s native Android Automotive OS infotainment system, as well as high-end, safety-focused autonomous driving features. Production of Polestar 3 is expected to begin globally in 2022. Full product details will be made available at a later date.
The news of the expansion of Polestar’s manufacturing footprint follows the recent announcement that the company raised USD 550 million from a group of long-term external investors in April. The company has confirmed that it will explore potential future funding opportunities.