lkslittle (AT) REMOVEcomcastTHIS (DOT) net (ll)
wrote:

Reading this strikes me that the auto industry is one of a few, if not
the only, business that has to show how they arrive at a price. Can you
imagine Best Buy breaking down their price on a Maytag washer dryer
combo? Or Mickey D's telling you how they arrived at their price for a
Big Mac?

Are there any other businesses that have to show a breakdown of how
their pricing works?

Scott in Florida wrote:
Mark Warner, Democrat Governor of Virginia, actually started doing just
that. That's why Virginia has been voted the best managed state in the
Nation, and that's also why Mark Warner's approval ratings are hovering
around 80% -- even though he forced the Virginia Republican delegates
to RAISE TAXES.

Wolfgang wrote:
Exactly.


ravelation wrote:
That's a really poor example. When you get to the register
BB doesn't say, "My manager won't approve the deal unless
you pay a couple hundred more." And countless other tricks
that dealership _salesmen_ do.

One of our Toyotas was bought through a buying service
and the other through the dealer's internet manager.
Both were bought for a small amount over invoice.
No hassles or tricks whatsoever. It made buying
a pleasure instead of torture.

On Sun, 11 Dec 2005 08:14:53 -0800, ravelation (AT) webtv (DOT) net (ravelation)
wrote:
Are there any other businesses that will use any tactic (whether
legal or not) to extract as much money as possible out of each and
every transaction? And the salesman gets to keep a large chunk of
that money as added commission or bonus?

McDonalds knows the exact ingredients and quantities of ingredients
that are /supposed/ to be in a Big Mac, and can crunch the cost of
making it to the penny. Where the variables come in is how much the
franchisee is paying for supplies, labor, rent and utilities, and how
much he wants left over for that ski vacation. But that fixed final
price is right up there on the menu boards so you can compare.

I've seen restaurants a few blocks apart charging 50c to $1 more or
less than the competition for the same meal - which is why I go to the
Wendy's near my house where Ron D. Ross owns (and personally operates)
three stores and keeps the prices down...

Rather than the other local outlets owned by mega-conglomerates
(IIRC ours are run by Cambridge Foodservice Corp.) where they own
hundreds of stores and have to support corporate and regional offices
and staff - that will cost another $1 to $1.50 out the door for lunch.

A buck here, a buck there, suddenly you're talking serious money.

Best Buy sells certain Maytag models, they are all built the same.
You pay one price for a certain model washing machine, a bit more if
you want a special color, and they are easy to price compare because
every dealer in the county has the exact same model number. No
playing with options, the price variations are again from shipping,
local overhead, and how much profit they want to clear per unit - but
that's a fixed percentage that all customers pay equally.

Cars are all slightly different, so to arrive at an honest wholesale
price you have to get the prices of the options and add them all up.
Then you have hidden kickbacks for Flooring, Leasing and Financing,
the profit from Packs, faked up stuff like "Title and Documentation
Fees" where they take the DMV fee and double it for the secretarial
overhead.... Etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.

When there's that much room for fraud, yes, you want them to spell
it out how they arrived at the price. I don't begrudge their making
money, they have to turn a profit or go out of business - I just don't
want them earning all of it from me.

--<< Bruce >>--

--
Bruce L. Bergman, Woodland Hills (Los Angeles) CA - Desktop
Electrician for Westend Electric - CA726700
5737 Kanan Rd. #359, Agoura CA 91301 (818) 889-9545
Spamtrapped address: Remove the python and the invalid, and use a net.

Scott in Florida wrote:

Lets see -- since now I understand where your wealth comes from
(military welfare), allow me to explain.

See, some of us saved our money, invested it, and lived below our means
to accumulate our wealth.

Mark Warner promised not to raise taxes in his platform.

Once he assumed office, he realized that his Republican predecessors
lied about the deficit -- it was FIVE TIMES greater than they said it
was.

So he had no choice but to raise taxes. He also CUT taxes at the same
time.

Now, instead of having a $900,000,000 deficit, Virginia has a
multi-billion dollar surplus, a AAA bond rating, and the distinction of
being the best-managed economy in the Nation.

Only an idiotic Republican would say no new taxes in the face of an
unconstitutional budget deficit. Only a crook would lie about the
deficit.

Enter George "build them prisons" Allen.