Short-Throw Shifter: Car Prices and Stuffs

"Welcome to McDonalds, how can I help you?"
"Yeah, where do you get your food from?"
"Uh, I'm sorry?"
"How much do you pay for your food? I bet you only pay 50 cents for your Big Macs, so I'll give you 60 cents, final offer."

At this point the poor 16 year old is probably laughing their head off at the ridiculous customer. Who on Earth would barter for a hamburger? What about a pair of jeans, a movie rental, or a carbonated beverage from a gas station? Yet, as ludicrous as these ideas sound, why then is it acceptable to negotiate the price of a car? I mean, seriously, how did this "tradition" come to be?

I have people ask me all the time where we buy our cars, how much we pay for them, and my favorite, "what's the lowest you'll go," to which I respond, "The lowest I'll go is the highest you'll pay." A stupid question merits an equally stupid answer. But really, why is the car industry the only industry where price is questioned?

Let's take a 44oz carbonated beverage, self serve, at any American gas station. You'll probably pay anywhere from $0.99 to $1.49, and even as high as two to four dollars at restaurants and movie theaters. But just how much do the materials cost? Ten cents for the cup, a nickel for the lid, a penny for the straw, and on the generous side, another five cents for the beverage itself. Our grand total comes to around $0.21, yet we pay more than 566% of what the materials are actually worth! For a movie theater soda, the percentage skyrockets to 1,900%! What a markup!

So why is it ok for soda servers to make insane amounts of profit while, at the same time, there is a double standard against car sales? Set aside, for a moment, the fact that many car salesmen are sleazy and dishonest. Let's take an average car being sold for $16,000. Typically, the dealer will have purchased this car for around $12,000, not counting for shipping fees, insurance, new tires, paint, advertising, window stickers, parts, and man hours needed for repairs. The price which the dealer paid can, and does, rise quickly. Once the car is sold, there is commission to the salesperson, which in some cases can be around 30% of the profit from the car, meaning that little is left for the dealer. Imagine if cars were sold with the same philosophy as a 44oz soda. If so, a $13,000 car would be sold for $7.4 million dollars.

I suppose car prices could be worse.

Instead of giving your car salesman a hard time, next time you go to a gas station, throw down a quarter for your 44oz and tell him to keep the change. Let them know how you feel about inflated soda prices. Besides, cars don't sell as well as soda.

So next time you're out car shopping, don't ask the question "how low can you go," or "what's the best price you can do," especially if you already know that the car is a good deal. Some people barter just for the sake of it, without realizing that the car they're buying as already an awesome deal compared to others out there. Besides, is it really too much to ask that the sticker price on a windshield be the final price, the actual price, the ONLY price?

I don't know, you tell me.

Thanks for reading.
-Biggs