More dealer shenanigans.

In the never ending saga of things dealers do to scam more money out of the poor unsuspecting public I give you the latest installment courtesy of the local Kia dealership. Now keep in mind we are talking about a Kia Soul here not some limited edition Corvette or Miata..........nooooo just your run of the mill mid level Soul. Disregarding the fact that it's already loaded up with every worthless dealer installed option like locking lug nuts, bumper applique, chrome sills etc that adds $1000 to the sticker price there is an additional sheet on the window listing an item lovingly called The Tire and Wheel Warranty package. This consists of Fabric Protection (wheel and tire?), a Touch Up Paint Pen, Mud Flaps and a Pin Stripe. Not stripes, just one pin stripe on the back. I kid you not. They actually have it listed out exactly like that. As wonderful as this all sounds and we would all give anything to have these items (internet sarcasm at work here) it still seems at bit steep at................drum roll please................$2995.00. Yes, that's right kids 3K. We now have a vehicle that originally stickers at $ 16,300 with a price of 21K before taxes and what ever else they charge for paper work and misc. use of chairs and writing utensils. So Kia now holds the award for the dumbest reason for charging extra money for nothing previously held by Toyota when the MR2 Spyder came out and the dealer had a sticker listing an extra charge of $ 2500 for a "Market Re-adjustment Assessment Fee" and we all know how well that model did.

Dealers.........they have no soul. No pun intended.

Soul is about the hottest thing on 4 wheels right now. My local dealer has $1000 "markup" plus $1500 worth of useless crap added on.

Such is the market system wherein dealers are free to ask whatever they want to for a car. If the car is a hot seller, people will pay.

well, the stripe is sure to add about 30 wheel horsepower. Sounds like a pretty good deal all that extra power for under $3k.

If numbers seen on the road is any indication, other posters are correct...the Soul is a hot item. I can't say if my local dealers are pulling this same "sales enhancement" stunt, (there are now 3 in my area, tho I think at least 2 dealerships are owned by one person) but at least you have other choices for wheels besides the Soul.

It's too bad, as Kia has some decent cars, FINALLY, even if you have to get the "low buck" models if you want a manual transmission.

I remember when the PR Cruiser first came out it was super hot. I saw one at the dealer, waiting for delivery. That's the key here, it was sold and was minutes from making it's debut in the ghetto.
Ok, it was a black PT Cruiser, automatic. It had pin stripes, chrome on the bottom of the doors (effectively a 6" tall stripe of chrome front to back), a continental spare tire, simulated convertible top, chrome sill plated, Katskin leather, chrome grille, curb feelers ON BOTH SIDES and lots of other stuff I didn't see and can't remember. Ok, so this was a car that wasn't pushing too much above 20K fully loaded. The sticker price was......wait for it.....$42,000!!!!
Now, this isn't quite an instance of price gouging because the guy actually wanted this crap but man, can you believe that?

While I doubt that the dealer markups were the death of the MR2 spider (I think it was the lack of a place to even store a pair of clean undies) it is pretty disgusting that the Kia dealers are pulling this kind of BS.

And they wonder why car dealers and salesmen have such a terrible rep

Didn't Mazda do this with the Miata back in 1989?

And the RX7 when it came out. My dad wanted one, but refused to pay more than sticker for it.

mtn wrote: Didn't Mazda do this with the Miata back in 1989?

MAZDA didn't. Individual dealers did.

The one I remember was when the WRX came out in '02, the local Subaru dealership had one that had a $5k "dealer adjustment". It sold in two days.

I wonder how bad the dealer gouging is going to be with the Toybaru....

The North Charleston Ford dealer tacked a $25K 'market adjustment' onto their one and only Ford GT. It sold within 36 hours for full asking price.

As a dealership employee I may come off as a bit of a homer for this but... those "Tire and Wheel warranties" can be quite the blessing. Basically they are insurance policies for your tires and wheels. We had a man buy a CTS-V wagon for his wife in November... things did not end up going well within a week. You see that vehicle is not what I would consider the best choice for wet and snowy roads... after three new tires and two wheels the husband decided he would drive the car and she would get the A8. He proceeded to dump it into a curb within a month. Five tires and four wheels is their current count and their auto insurance hasn't moved up a penny.

As far as market adjustments... hate the idea.

I can see that being a good thing.. and it might be a good thing for the Toybaru too.. I can see those getting put into kerbs, hedges, and off road quite a bit as people get used to RWD when they are used to FWD and AWD.

Sadly, have to remember we have a generation or two who have NEVER driven a RWD vehicle

^Good point. Most of my friends don't even understand or realize that there is a difference, everything is front wheel drive down here. I rarely even see AWD cars.

mtn wrote: Didn't Mazda do this with the Miata back in 1989?

Hell yes. I lived though this. I finally walked into a dealer in Florida and put a check on his desk for the list price and told him that it was the only check I owned.

He told me to forget about it.

Went back to where I was staying and got a call two hours latter saying that I could get the car for the amount I offered.

Went back the next day to pick up my car and they started me right at the top and old me maybe the boss would cut me some slack, so "Let me see what I can do for you"

Ironically, the pinstripe guy was on the lot and doing all the cars. I said that if the car had a pinstripe I did not want it.

I got the car and a perpetual dislike of new car dealers for list price.

The real funny thing is I am just now buying another new car!

In reply to Tom Suddard:

Most people never will and never have understood the difference between FWD and RWD. You could ask a bunch of 50 yr. olds and they wouldn't know any more than your friends do.

Anyway...

Yeah, it sucks when dealers jack up the price, but if the market will bear it I don't really think it's immoral.

Now, if you put some kind of deposit down and they tried to jack the price up on you you might be able to take someone to court. Or at least get a lawyer to write a scary enough letter that they sell you the car at sticker.

After the last couple years (financial apocalypse, nuclear earthquake/tsunami, unintended acceleration fairy tales) some of these dealers could probably use the extra cash they're going to squeeze out of the impatient.

Curmudgeon wrote: The North Charleston Ford dealer tacked a $25K 'market adjustment' onto their one and only Ford GT. It sold within 36 hours for full asking price.

Hell, I thought they were adjusting them more than that. I think the one the dealer I worked at put a $50K addendum on theirs. People bought them, so I don't see what wrong with that. Not every dealer got one either.

ShadowSix wrote: In reply to Tom Suddard: Most people never will and never have understood the difference between FWD and RWD. You could ask a bunch of 50 yr. olds and they wouldn't know any more than your friends do.

that may be true.. but my mom, who grew up in the Upper Penninsula of Michigan knows how to drive a RWD car in snow. I remember watching her successfully countersteer her old grand marquis around a corner in the snow.. I was impressed

I work for a dealer that will not sell any car above MSRP. We sell ZR1s, Z06s, Buick GS, ZL1s and other waiting list vehicles at MSRP. Just sold a ZL1, that guy was offered 20K profit to flip the car. The dealer has been in business for over 40 years. Has an absolutely huge inventory, payroll and facilities. He donates to every charity in the world. He is honorable in his business dealings to the point of honoring warranties on defunct brands.Regardless of profit we fully detail and fill with fuel every vehicle. In my experience the customer is honorable and straightforward in our dealings maybe 20% of the time. Do I demand an accounting of how much my GRM magazine cost? Then offer less? And be rude? And demand exceptional service? Miss appointments? How would that work out in your business? Sure some dealers suck. But most have huge investments in their communities and are honorable business people. Look for a dealer that is individually or family owned. And don't pay over MSRP. Walk in at the end of the month. Sit down with a Manager and make a reasonable offer. You should do fine.

Feedyurhed wrote: In the never ending saga of things dealers do to scam more money out of the poor unsuspecting public I give you the latest installment courtesy of the local Kia dealership...

Ever read through the option sheets on a new Porsche? I kid you not - I was able to option up a $49,500 base level Boxster to $106,000 with things like electronics upgrades and custom leather / paint colors. The Porsche dealer fees are just icing on top of that.

Anti-stance wrote:

Curmudgeon wrote: The North Charleston Ford dealer tacked a $25K 'market adjustment' onto their one and only Ford GT. It sold within 36 hours for full asking price.

Hell, I thought they were adjusting them more than that. I think the one the dealer I worked at put a $50K addendum on theirs. People bought them, so I don't see what wrong with that. Not every dealer got one either.

i saw a Ford GT at a small dealer that was marked up to $230k.. and it sold..

nderwater wrote:

Feedyurhed wrote: In the never ending saga of things dealers do to scam more money out of the poor unsuspecting public I give you the latest installment courtesy of the local Kia dealership...

Ever read through the option sheets on a new Porsche? I kid you not - I was able to option up a $49,500 base level Boxster to $106,000 with things like electronics upgrades and custom leather / paint colors. The Porsche dealer fees are just icing on top of that.

yea... I did the same with a cayman just for fun.

OK, but in fairness to Porsche, how much would it cost you to buy one and then get it custom painted and interiored (word?) - upholstered - to factory grade after the fact?

Datsun dealers did the same thing with the first 240Z.

Honda dealers did the same thing with the first 4 dr Accord. Not only were they pimped up with eveything you throw at them, they had $1,000+ ADM (additional dealer markup) right there on the dealer sticker. This was back in the day of the Techtor fabric treatment.

Well, he's never done this before. But seeing as it's special circumstances and all, he says I can knock a hundred dollars off that Trucoat.

Irate customer: One hundred?... You lied to me, Mr Lundegaard. You're a bald-faced liar. A... berkeleying liar! Where's my goddamn check book?

I always laughed at the dealers that had the Ford GT's marked up for "Market Adjustment" from $150k to $250k.

Our dealership marked up a GT500 $5k for market adjustment and had a guy come in and cut a check for it. That was my old GM though, my new GM said he's not doing that crap. We got a Black Raptor in that's $50k and he said that's what it'll go for. Got a Boss 302 coming in next month I think, no rediculous markup on it either.