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etifosi
etifosi SuperDork
7/19/17 4:34 p.m.

Sine I'm a wonk, I must point out that only the manufacturer can offer a "warranty", aftermarket offerings are actually a "service contract". Not to whiz on your thread, but how could rehabbing a car, offering roadside assistance, and backing a mechanical promise of sorts for a year possibly be financially feasible?

Spiritus_Spatium
Spiritus_Spatium New Reader
7/19/17 5:29 p.m.

In reply to etifosi:

Easy, make sure not to sell cars that are know for failing. This way you reduce the chances of having to fix an old Renault 5 every other day haha

Spiritus_Spatium
Spiritus_Spatium New Reader
7/19/17 5:31 p.m.

In reply to rslifkin:

With all due respect, I never understood that kind of thinking. Me and my parents have to price everything super expensive at our furniture store because people just won't buy cheaper.

We sell a chair for a $1000 with 20% off and they buy it, we try to price it at $700 no discount since the beginning and the customers just won't buy it because we don't want to lower the price

Spiritus_Spatium
Spiritus_Spatium New Reader
7/19/17 5:46 p.m.

In reply to etifosi:

Yours are all valid questions man. I'll point the over simplified "process" a faulty car would go trough.

Find a car in good shape from a grand ma or something. Is it known to be reliable or has common problems sorted out on the forums?

Buy it and fix common problems, detail, get new tyres.

Sell.

Car breaks down.

Use ramp truck or trailer to tow it back to the shop, offer a loaner while you fix it.

Give car back to hopefully satisfied customer.

This would probably be a city business, not a country sized operation. I think we have all different views. Here in Mexico it's not that common to wrench on your car, people take them to usually shady mechanics who overcharge for they work :/

rslifkin
rslifkin SuperDork
7/19/17 6:40 p.m.

In reply to Spiritus_Spatium:

Cars aren't quite as much of a fixed quantity as furniture though.

New cars are more so, but the dealers that don't negotiate much usually settle at a higher price with more margin than what the others can be talked down to (because the others make their big profits on lazy negotiators).

With used cars, there's much more likely to be a disconnect between what the seller thinks it's worth and what the buyer is willing to pay for it, especially after the buyer has looked it over carefully. And not every buyer will place the same value on a given car. So if the price is fixed, I better really like that price or I'm walking away.

The concept that prices are fixed and you can't negotiate is really an American thing. In lots of parts of the world, prices can be negotiated a bit on lots of items, even groceries. Because of this, Americans are lazy. And then you get places like Carmax where people will happily pay extra just to not have to haggle...

Spiritus_Spatium
Spiritus_Spatium New Reader
7/20/17 11:52 a.m.

In reply to rslifkin:

Yeah, but what I meant is that still people haggle a LOT. They want 20% discount minimum on their furniture. It's absurd because we have tried to put lower prices with less discount and they just don't buy. They would rather buy a $1000 with 20% off than a fixed $700 :(

iceracer
iceracer UltimaDork
7/20/17 5:29 p.m.

Most use car lots make their money from the " pay here" financing at a hefty interest rate.

Also, extra profit from reselling a reposessed car.

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