Filed under: Trends, Convertibles, Sports/GTs, Saturn
Sky high? Saturn dealers gouging buyers of new roadster
Saturn dealers, famed for their 'no hassle, no haggle' pricing and ‘shiny, happy people’ image is under fire. For what may be the first time ever, the General Motors brand has a product in such demand that they are charging market premiums in addition to MSRP. The long-anticipated 2007 Sky roadster is just now arriving at dealerships to pent-up demand and early deposits, and dealers are taking advantage of the Sky's compelling package with markups.
According to an Orange County Register piece, some West Coast dealers are gouging consumers to the tune of $3,000 over the Sky’s $23,690 MSRP, angering many would-be buyers. For its part, Saturn’s general manager, Jill Lajdziak has responded by saying: “Retailers are free to set their own prices, but we highly encourage our retailers not to sell above the MSRP.” If that response is anything to go by, GM won’t be taking to task dealers over the issue.
The Sky joins its Pontiac Solstice twin, along with the Toyota Prius, and MINI Cooper as recent victims of dealer price gouging.
[Source: OC Register]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
7of7 11:14AM (3/19/2006)
Eh, car dealers suck, we already knew that. I hope this doesn't decrease the number of Sky (Skies?) being purchased because I really do like Saturn as a brand. That has something to do with my still running perfectly '93 SL2 that has 970k miles on it.
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james f. 11:29AM (3/19/2006)
Good job saturn dealers! Get only stupid people(no knock on the car)to buy your car for 8 months solid and then have long term business never come back. THAT'S the way to build market share. Just like ford with the retro thunderbird or pontiac with the aussie GTO.
The only time domestic dealers will learn not to suck, is when WAL*MART starts selling GM and Ford products.
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AJ Ballou 11:39AM (3/19/2006)
Didn't GM, in creating Saturn, emphasize that Saturn dealers would avoid this kind of price gouging by using set prices and eliminating haggling from the car-buying process? What has happened to the Saturn dealership experience?
This is more evidence that Saturn is redundant and should be axed. The Sky is a good-looking car, but could easily be a Chevy or Pontiac . . . oh, wait, it is a Pontiac.
When Saturn opened its Spring Hill, TN, plant, the division "promised" that all cars would be designed domestically and built at that plant, making a contract with its workers. Today, most new Saturns are predicted to be rebadged Opels, and will not be built in Tennessee.
GM, just kill Saturn now.
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joe 11:49AM (3/19/2006)
Wow, so these guys finally have a product the public is genuinely interested in buying and the dealership response is to gouge? If it wasn't Saturn doing this, it would probably be perceived as more acceptable, but I guess "no haggle" means take what ever we give you and like it...
Nice...
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DarkKnight67 11:50AM (3/19/2006)
That's what we get from the dumb ass dealers. People want to buy the product, but they're so money hungry they want to gouge them and drive people away. Just experienced the same thing when I went looking at a Corvette -- $5,000 tacked on the sticker. The salesman couldn't understand why I turned around and walked away.
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Dave 11:58AM (3/19/2006)
Price gouging? My what a unique strategy. Come on, this is the way of American car manfacturers and dealers. The dealers do it and the manufacturers allow it to happen. This is nothing new in the American market. Chrysler Corporation and their dealers gouged buyers to the tune of up to 100% of MSRP when the PT Cruiser first was released; and tacked on other "dealer associated costs" on top of that. In fact many Chrysler dealers would not allow a consumer test drive of the PT Cruiser unless the consumer agreed to by one...in writing. The only manufacturer, of the American big 3, who has not gouged consumers in the past few years is Ford Motor Company.
I'll wait for Hyundai to bring out the Talus.
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Emor8t 12:06PM (3/19/2006)
Number 5. One word... Mustang oh wait and another word... Thunderbird.
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anahit 12:08PM (3/19/2006)
Yes, when selling a very scarce item the seller should charge not what a willing buyer would pay, but instead should charge the price third-parties THINK the buyer should pay. Riight.
The buyer bought the Sky at price X. By definition the buyer thought the car was worth at least X. If the buyer thought the car were worth less, he wouldn't have bought it. It's axiomatic.
That means the Sky, to the buyer, was worth at least what the buyer paid. What other people think X should be is completely irrelevant to the concept of other people being "gouged".
If you think it's "gouging", don't buy it. Everyone places different values on different items, but let's not project our personal price preferences onto other people and claim indignation when they don't follow our wants. One person's "gouge" is another person's bargain.
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Tom Design 12:19PM (3/19/2006)
Oh big deal! It's a beautiful car and if limited in supply, worth $26,000, at least.
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Dave 12:23PM (3/19/2006)
Number 6: FMC never gouged on the Mustang nor the Thunderbird...these cars were way over-priced to start with...and that's not gouging.
Gouging is selling a car with an MSRP of, say, $15,500 for $27,000. Like I stated, the dealers do it and the manufacturer allows it to happen. There is absolutely NO INTEGRITY for either.
ALL automobiles are over-priced by the manufacturer and it doesn't matter what company builds them.
Look at Acura or Lexus as examples...they are nothing more than an over-priced Honda or Nissan with a few minor cosmetic changes.
BUT Americans buy them for thousands more. I guess it pretty much boils down to the "gotta-have-it" mentality.
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WB233629 12:48PM (3/19/2006)
Dave take an economics course before you say there is no integrity for the dealer raising the price on a car when there is high demand for it. That's like saying you have no integrity for haggling the price down because you know that if you don't buy a car it will be on the lot for another three months. The idea that gouging is bad is insane, it's just supply and demand. If no one would buy the SKY at the higher prices then the dealers wouldn't charge more for it, but they are clearly selling. It's all just supply and demand, learn it.
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KC 12:50PM (3/19/2006)
Dave,
Lexus and Acura overpriced Toyotas and Nissans? First, Acura is a Honda brand.
Second, aside from the ES line (which is shared with the Camry), every other Lexus is rear-wheel drive. Toyota has no rear wheel drive cars. What Toyota is the equivalent to the IS, GS, LS, and SC?
Third, although some Acuras may have platforms shared with some of the Hondas, as a general rule the differences go far beyond "a few minor cosmetic changes."
I agree that people are paying a premium for the "luxury brand" but I think you are oversimplifying things a tad.
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Joshua Rose 12:57PM (3/19/2006)
Doesn't GM already have enough problems? And now this. Just don't understand how they can let this happen. They finally have a car that's selling, and they let Saturn screw things up and turn it into bad publicity.
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cowboy bob 1:08PM (3/19/2006)
Had the same thing happen to me five years ago when I went to buy a new Harley. The dealer now has 30 new bikes on the floor without buyers. I stopped in and the same guy who wanted $2000 over back then was ready to knock $1000 off sticker today. I told him he should have treated me better five years ago, because he could shove his bike deal up his.............
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joe 1:09PM (3/19/2006)
12, that was exactly what I was implying in my post. Yeah, lets lose BILLIONS a year and then bone the customers that do come in....
I understand it's a new model and that there may be a bottled up demand, but GM is not a company doing well in the US.
Why sour/spoil the experience for the people wanting to buy...
I'm sure someone will say "stop by the Mazda dealership and check out a Miata" but that isn't going to stop the bleeding at GM....
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Lee Willey 1:17PM (3/19/2006)
Maby we can get the president to make these overseas where all of our jobs have gone and save money by cheap labor and then import them back into the USA and just like others, price goes up and the saving that were made on cheap labor goes into a CEO's pocket for a bonus every year. It takes a chinese person that build the buick almost 27 years to make enough wages to buy on for himself.When brought back to the states the prices raise every year and not get more affordable because of the cheaper labor..We need to stop shopping at places that have no respect for the labor in the usa. If you stop buying foreign they will stop sending it over and we can build again in the usa. Simple , no interest for the item it disappears off the shelf and something else takes its place.Then this gouging and other pricing would stop..
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Emor8t 1:31PM (3/19/2006)
Hmm every FMC dealer i save tacked on 1k-5k for "exclusivty" charge or whatever bs. And although the car is in anoter league, the GT (not the mustang) I came into contact with had a 40K over sticker price.
KC is right too. there is no down grade to an IS 350.
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CH 1:35PM (3/19/2006)
Sorry, folks but this is not gouging. The Sky is not an essential item; no one is forced to buy it. Each buyer made a free choice to purchase at the asking price instead of buying one of the many other vehicles available, or waiting for increased supplies.
Gouging, for example, would be jacking up the prices of food and water in New Orleans immediately after Katrina.
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Smoove D 1:39PM (3/19/2006)
How exactly is this gouging? Sounds like the invisible hand of the market to me. Also, there are plenty of other substitutes (eg. Solstice, Miata, etc.).
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Jas 1:50PM (3/19/2006)
Why is everyone worried about how people choose to spend there own money.I also see that toyota was excused from anyone wrath of gouging.If you donnot want to get bent over try the internet.It is called a savy buyer.We buy a car or truck every two years and there is always someone making a comment. Last time i checked i went to work to earn i will spend how i choose.Ch you are right on the money!! Nice point!!
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