Price Check Is the Cheapest Price the Best Price?

[woodstock]

After reading numerous posts in this forum I'm beginning to think I need to revisit my approach to making a major purchase.
The first thing I do is research the stink out of the product until I am sure I know more than the person who is selling it. (I believe this takes the BS factor out of the picture.)
The next thing I do is fax a price request to at least four merchants. (I believe this takes the personality issues of the picture.)
Then I compare the quotes in the privacy of my home insuring apple to apples. (I believe this takes the intimidation factor out of the picture.)
Then I visit the merchant and talk to the as many staff as I can. (If their employees are happy I figure they stand a better chance of making and keeping me happy)
I make my purchasing decision based on the visit to the merchant and am will to pay a premium up to 5%/ If its higher I ask if he/she can help me out a little. Even if they don’t I will typically buy anyways.
The way I figure it, I would sooner give my money to someone I like, someone who made some money on the deal, someone who will be financial able to help me when I need help.
Am I paying too much and Is this the wrong approach?

Winnipeg, Manitoba

2001 BX2200 (23 hrs) All Kubota FEL,Tiller, box blade, blower w/elec shute, 60 mid mt deck, Ag tires.
Grey market B7000 w/Tiller (120 hrs)

 

[r0GuE]

Sounds like your method should work too.
I am restoring a house and I decided that with this house I wanted everything to be done "right". We had contractors come in and we told them what we didn't like about the job our contractors on the last house did (refinishing hardwood floors). Their quotes were higher but we still went with them. Of course as luck would have it, they were terrible (and still are not done to boot). So, paying more (even if the guy seems like he will be worth it) is not always a gaurentee you will get what you pay for.
Believe it or not (and some will have trouble with this one) I am totally mild mannered and pleasent with contractors (tractor dealers) etc. This is why I get real mad and vent here! /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif But I'm starting to realize that you don't get what you pay for, you get what you MAKE them give you before you pay for it. This is bussiness and we don't live in Mayberry. I wish it were as simple as finding an honest hard working person and shaking hands but I'm afraid it is really as simple as not paying anything (or VERY little) until you are totally satisfied (even if the guy thinks you are a jerk).


Rogue

 

[looch]

I agree with your post. It seems to me that pride in your work is a luxury that has been cast aside as a result of offering the lowest price. Too many people look at price as the make-or-break of a deal, and as a result businesses seem to be focussing there. The successful ones (business people) are those that can give the illusion that what they are giving you is what you want. Of course, there are exceptions and if you are lucky enough to find them, these are the people to do deal with.

 

[cowboydoc]

My own personal opinion is that I always go for the lowest price. Any dealer will do any warranty work. After the warranty is over I don't know how anyone can afford to have their vehicle or tractor fixed at one of the dealers anyway. The JD shop here charges $65 an hour for their shop rate and marks the prices on the parts up to the hilt. Any dealership I've ever been to does the same thing. I have a very good mechanic and after warranty is over he does all my work. His shop rate is $25 and hour and parts are 10% over his cost. That makes things reasonable. All the little stuff I do myself anyway as it takes more time to load up the tractor, haul it in, wait for work to be done, haul it home, etc. Perfect example was I needed a clutch in my massey. Dealer was almost $2000. Rick was a little over $500. What I can save in not being dealer loyal more than makes up for any lost dealer service and after the warranty is up I won't use the dealer anyway. Just one more small point. My wife's mountaineer I purchased from a dealer about 30 miles away for $4000 UNDER invoice price. They were great to deal with and she took it back their for service. Well after 30 years they sold out to the Jeep dealership. The Jeep dealership was terrible on service and jacked all their prices up to unreal amounts. So if I had been dealer loyal it would have cost me $4k or more and now they're not even under the same ownership.

 

[looch]

What I was trying to get across is that people or businesses that take pride in their work would give you the best deal they could without putting themselves in the hole. However, if I was able to get 4000$ off the invoice price of a vehicle I would definately go for it, but I certainly would not count on them being around long enough to provide me with after-sales service.

To me, there is a line to respect when bargaining for a large purchase. I don't blindly walk in, look at the price tag and start shelling out the cash. In the other extreme, I don't think it's fair or wise to play dealers against one another for the sake of a few hundred dollars. I think even the dealer you eventually do buy from would resent the fact that you put him through this.

You do your own service? Then I guess this doesn't really apply to you. But I can't beat 15$ for a 30 minute oil change (on my car) that has a warranty that will cover my whole engine if it isn't done properly. I can't say about tractor service, I haven't had mine long enough to require any. Maybe I'll change my tune when I get the 50hr service bill - something I definitely should have negotiated into my purchase.

 

[ejb]

I think it is better to worry about getting a fair price instead of the lowest price. A lot of things factor in, how nice are the people/dealers, how far away are they, how long have they been in business etc etc. Price is only one consideration, and you have to draw the line someplace. In my case I plunked down close to $40K on equipment when I bought, if I had found someone an hour away for $300 less, would it be worth it? Some people think so, others don't. How much is your time worth? Would you rather pay a little more to someone you like or rock bottom price to someone you don't?


Find a price that you are comforatable with and don't worry about if someone else paid 1/2 of 1% less than you, in the long run it doesn't matter....

 

[TheBigO]

IMHO I believe pitting dealer against dealer is fair. If someone went in with no knowledge of the product they were buying and was quoted list price and agree to pay for it, that dealer would be laughing the whole way to the bank. These dealers are going to get the biggest price for their product they can. So we as consumers have to do what we can to get the lowest price possible. Other factors do come into play tho. The quallity of service they offer, friendliness and willingness to help with your purchase, reputation and the one biggest thing I look for is HONESTY.

The dealer I visited today quoted me a price that was $500 more than he quoted me over the phone not 2 days before for the same exact tractor. He is the owner and got the quotes from him both times.

I have been getting quotes from 6 different dealers and calling the others letting them know how much the lowest quote is and who quoted it. If they can`t beat it, I ask what their bottom line is and make note of it. I also will visit each dealer. When I get the lowest quote from each, I will decide whom to buy from based on price, the factors listed above and other things learned from visiting these dealers.

I know these people make their living selling tractors. Believe me, They are not going to take a loss. They will only go as low as they feel comfortable. Without guilt, they would take me to the cleaners if I allow them.

Is the cheapest price the best price?
Not necessarilly, but for me, it is the biggest part of any major purchase I will ever make.

Steve

Isn`t` the free enterprise system great!?

 

[JonLeonard]

Seeing as how I havent bought a tractor yet, but have bought lots of cars, I plan to take a similar approach.

Last time I bought a car, I went to every dealer in the area (about 50 miles) and got their prices, talked to salemen, etc. Then I went home, got on the web and used edmunds.com to determine what the price of the car I buy "should" be. After that, I start through the dealers again, confirm the price they gave me, and then say something like, "according to my research, your price is a little high". You can tell from their reaction if they are going to deal with you or not.

By the way, I always answer no to the question "If we get you this price, will you buy today?". I always tell them, I want your best price so I can consider it and compare it to other dealers best price.

I agree it is a matter of the amount...if I can get 2 dealers within 100-150 dollars of each other, then I will pick the one I feel to be the best. But FIRST the dealer has to be willing to deal to get into contention for my dollars.

I buy from the dealer who seems to have the most going for them, price, service, nice people to work with, etc. My money it too precious to pay more than a percent or so more than another dealer will sell the exact same item. So I dont look for a "fair" price, I need to do the most with the least that I possibly can, and I think ALOT of consumers are in exactly the same position.

 

[cowboydoc]

Paul,
Don't take offense I wasn't necessarily disagreeing with your approach. Just for me I said what works and what was important to me. I wasn't necessarily responding to your post. For alot of people the service after the sale is the most important issue but for me price is #1. In the case of the mountaineer she was looking at one at the local dealership. I said ok and went and looked at it. I had already looked it up on the internet and so I knew the invoice price. They were selling at invoice but what they didn't tell you was that there was a $2500 customer rebate and a $1500 dealer rebate. So really they were selling for $4k over invoice. I told him that and he said no you're getting it at invoice. He wouldn't agree to even the customer rebate. Anyway I called another dealer and said look here's the deal. I said if you want to sell for invoice and give us the rebates I'll be over to pick out a color. He said he'd call me back. He called an hour later and said we could have the customer but not the dealer rebate. I said then it's really not at invoice. He said wait a minute. He came back and said ok we have a deal. I went over and my wife picked out a color and drove it home.

Big O and Jon,
I agree with you guys totally on your approach.

 

[r0GuE]

You need to negotiate prices, thats the bottom line. Then you factor the amount of faith you will have in the dealership afterwards. You can't go looking for freinds by paying more money. They will forget how much you paid when you come back 9 weeks later with a problem. But they will be the same dealership. Quite frankly, I live in an area with alot of dealers, I want a good price and I demand to be treated right. I succeded quite easily. I didn't have any dealers give me a hard time. I gave them a shot (at a double sale, with the promise of 2 units for service parts and implements). One dealer won. If a few hundred shouldn't sway you, why bother pricing it out. At least in my case, thats all they varied.

Rogue