0% doesn't always mean 0%
- Thread starter kootch88
- Start date
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droptop
Gold Member
I found a GREAT calculator that will show you what the real cost is and if it is better to take the 0% or whatever discount that they are offering. If they are offering a free FEL, you just have to consider that the additional price you pay for the loader is your discount if you take the 0%.
Car Rebate Calculator
The only time I didn't need this was when I bought a new VW a couple of years ago, they offered 0% or no discount. Made my decision real easy.. take the free money!
Car Rebate Calculator
The only time I didn't need this was when I bought a new VW a couple of years ago, they offered 0% or no discount. Made my decision real easy.. take the free money!
As a customer, a sales pitch of any kind will make me walk faster than anything else. When I visit a dealership, I want to know the bottom dollar price before I hear anything else. No BS of any kind, or I'll leave so fast that the salesman won't know what hit him. When I bought my truck, many salesmen learned this fact the hard way.
DavesTractor
Elite Member
Define "bottom dollar price". Customers want options, and all manufacturers have financing options. So is the "bottom dollar price" the cash price? And if the options are explained, is that a BS sales pitch?
I ask these questions sincerely. As dealers we know you don't want smoke and mirrors, but since you don't have a label on your forehead saying "I'm a cash buyer", or "I only care about the monthly", or "I only buy with zero percent" we have the challenge of answering your pricing questions simply, yet explaining options.
Any input, not just from Massey WV is appreciated. I suspect it is a lot about the attitude of the salesman and the salesman having an honest approach.
MahindraDon
Bronze Member
Ya'll have got me smiling. I am a Mahindra dealer and I have voiced my opinion about this tactic. What it boils down to is that everybody else is doing it, so why don't we? Just like the bank that sends you checks that say 0% for a year on the front, then on the back they say 10% processing fee right off the bat. You really can't get something for nothing. I advise my customers to take the standard rate because you are never guaranteed to pay interest, but if you elect to pay the higher price you are guaranteed to pay more.
AchingBack
Veteran Member
In 2005 I went with the 0% loan from Agricredit. I had to pay a $225.00 administrative fee in order to get it. It felt like a bee sting that took a long time to go away. 
For me, the "bottom dollar price" is the price of the tractor, cash or otherwise. This business of having a different price for cash v/s financing is ridiculous. As for determining the price of the tractor, the dealer simply has to take what he has in it it and add his profit margin plus any other fees or expenses, without the need for all the haggling or guessing games that so many dealers like to play. If financing is involved, simply include the interest and/or fees up front because there is no need to hide the interest using 0% or other schemes and tricks.
I understand that the pricing of a tractor must take into account any options the buyer may want, it's just that personally I find the whole experience of having to visit dealerships to be increasingly bothersome when all I want to do is buy... whatever. All too often, I've encountered dealers that seemed to think I was stupid or that I hadn't done my homework.
For example, in my recent dump trailer search, I called the same local dealer 5 different times using 5 different phone numbers while changing my voice and speech patterns, just to see what kind of prices I would be quoted. Not surprisingly, I was quoted numbers that were all over the place, being told each time that it was their "bottom dollar price" which was obviously not true. I did the same thing when I bought my truck and the dealership that was the most consistent in their pricing (within reason) got the sale, having never known why I chose them over all the rest.
Just to be clear, I wasn't trying to single out DavesTractor by quoting his post, it just happened to be relevant to what I wanted to say. Having spoken to DavesTractor privately, I can honestly say that he seems to be much more straightforward and forthcoming than most dealerships I've encountered.
Hey Dave, As I see it, Don't call it 0% because it's not if you can get a cash discount. Calculate it out and be upfront what the real percent is. :2cents:
DavesTractor
Elite Member
Good input. It is nice to see what customers think is fair. We have to balance simplicity, by customers wanting options. Ironically, simplicity is perceived by many as fair and honest, where a complex set of options, even if clearly defined, are seen by some as a sales pitch.
I guess we could say "this is 0%, but when you calculate the loss of discounts, it actually comes to 2.79%, even though the contract wiill show 0%". I just made up the 2.79% number, but you get the drift. Seems reasonable, and I sort of like the idea. But then they ask, "what if I pay it off early" and that opens another discussion, since if you lose all discounts up front, you can't gain any of them back by paying off a 0% loan early.
Keep up the input if you all don't mind. I need to learn how to better sell ya'll tractors.
Just a couple of things. Most people on these forums are not, in my opinion, "typical" buyers, so we as a group do alot more research than probably most. I think it would be nice to have a dealer say "this tractor cost us x amount of dollars which includes prep, freight, set up etc. We need to get at least, lets say, $1,500 as profit. I know that dealers work to make a profit and stay in business, I can accept that. It is the whole hide the ball, smoke and mirrow bit that gets me. If a dealer shows me what they have in a unit and then what they need to get for profit, i feel that they are being up front and fair. That is why I allways ask for the "cost out the door" price first and then get the other prices. I can add and figure what the other options will cost me. When shopping lately I tell the dealer that I know the routiene and I want the cash price, regular finance rate price and the zero percent price. As soon as they know that I know the deal on the prices they seem toget a little more reasonable. Of course many people go right in and will pay the big price just to get the zero percent, just like paying msrp at a car dealership.