Dave Kelsen wrote:
> I always got a laugh out of this; Saturn actually marketed this 'no
> haggle' approach as a benefit to the customer. I pointed out to more
> than one Saturn owner that anyone -- *anyone* -- could go in to any
> dealer's showroom and buy a car for the amount listed on the sticker,
> anywhere. Refusing to deal with the customer may have been a good thing
> for Saturn, but it certainly was not a customer benefit.

well, *Supposedly* they were priced "more fairly".

toyota's scion brand uses the same philosophy, called "pure pricing".
what you pay is whats on the sticker, and theyre all basically the same
price. no "trim levels", no packages. all have the same standard
equipment, including A/C, pioneer MP3/CD, power windows/locks. the big
price diff is between the standard and automatic. a scion xA costs less
now than my civic CX hatch did new, in 1998. so id say you get a decent
deal for the price.

last time i checked, the difference between MSRP and "invoice" was $600.
that doesnt include holdback, which may not be applicable. not a lot of
"dickering" room when youre dealing with $600. they apparently arent
hurting for sales, since they arent included in the "costco auto buyers
program" near me.

GM is supposed to follow the same type of model, in lieu of its
"employee pricing" deal, which led to record sales while it ran.

sounds interesting- a midrange extended cab sierra pickup for less than
a tacoma, ram, or f150. theyll likely do well.