Like other retail businesses, new car dealerships buy cars at wholesale prices, then they sell to the public at higher prices (retail) to make a profit. So they buy at the new car invoice price, then try to sell at the sticker price for maximum profits. But smart shoppers know how this works, so before they negotiate with dealers, they make sure they have the new car invoice prices. Although it may seem like a mystical figure to most, it could be uncovered. When a client does some comparison shopping they will see that there is a often a big difference between dealerships’ asking and selling prices. Because this difference exists, one must search for the wholesale cost in order to save money. To begin with, every dealer pays the same amount to the manufacturer for the same vehicle. The numbers change with the added charges and fees that are tacked on to each dealer, like delivery fees and transportation charges, all of which increase the invoice price. However, this number is the same regardless of the location of the dealer. This figure is just tacked on to the individual cost of the vehicle that is passed on to the consumer. Where things change from one dealer to the next is the financing that dealers take out directly from the manufacturer to pay for their vehicle purchases. They must pay interest on this financing.
The longer a car remains on the lot, the more money that car will cost the dealer. These loans are known as floorplans in the business. In addition to floorplans there are other charges known as holdback. But holdback is not a real expense, since the dealer receives the holdback amount as a rebate from the manufacturer after the sale. Advertising on a regional or individual basis could also be a factor in increasing the wholesale cost which will affect the consumer at the point of purchase. That being said, it is time to do some calculations and discover one or more ways to end up with a new car but at a discounted price below wholesale. One way to do that is through taking advantage of slow car sales where there is a buildup of inventory on a lot. It certainly is not the ideal situation, for both the dealers and the automobile manufacturing company. If there is an abundance of inventory on a lot, the dealer simply won’t order more vehicles. So the manufacturers usually step in to provide incentives in order to push more sales. These incentives come in a variety of ways, such as rebates, interest free loans, reduced lease rates and other deals under this umbrella. The smart consumer will jump at the opportunity when it arises, but they must be prepared to do so when these special programs are available because they may not last long. They are created and offered only to entice buyers when new car sales are slow, and when these programs are not available, buyers are usually unable to purchase below the invoice price.