Looking at Kelly Blue Book, the difference between the MSRP on the sticker and dealer invoice on a Stinger is about $3,000 depending on the model. That of course does NOT include all the other "under the table" kickbacks for quotas, dealer incentives and several other programs that they receive. In addition, if you have a trade-in, those are the big profit items, so you need to know the Blue Book trade-in value of your trade-in as well to tell if you're getting a fair deal or paying thousands too much.



So from my research, it's a matter of demand on the Stinger, where other little competitive Kia grocery haulers are more fairly priced. I know dealers have a lot of overhead with their big fancy showrooms, and car lots full of vehicles on which they are paying monthly floor plan interest to the factory. But to sell me a car takes maybe 15 minutes of their time to simply shoot me a quotation on a factory order on which they will receive immediate cash and pay no floor plan interest. Is it fair for them to be making maybe $5,000 profit for 15 minutes of their time? Yes, I know they have a huge overhead and a fair profit is fair.



Another real issue I have is that as a business owner, I always dealt directly with the sales manager. You also used to be able to do that online when getting a price quote or just pick up the phone. But today you can't get to the sales manager, you MUST go through a salesman. So I walk in with my car spec'd out and ask to see the sales manager. "I can help you with that" says the salesman. I hand him/her the spec sheet, he looks at it for a second, and carries it directly to the sales manager, then "earns" his commission as a messenger boy between the SM and myself. I don't NEED a salesman. I know exactly what I want, I've spec'd it out. I don't want to drive the car or spend the salesperson's time. All I need is a quote. The salesman can't give me a quote without the SM approval. Why am I paying a middleman who is doing nothing? The car business seems to think that they aren't earning their profits unless they engage you in a one-hour game of "let's make a deal." Whatever happened to the Saturn philosophy of one price, no haggling?



I'm getting close to just keeping the G8 GT and waiting until they aren't quite so proud of their new car or go find something else. Very frustrating ....