[richie]

I'm a new owner of a 9-2x and I'm enjoying it more and more everyday.

I was not familiar with SAAB and it's car until the GM Employee discounts were advertised to drum up sales. Long story short, I purchased the car the weekend I firsted looked at the 9-2x. Upon closing the deal, I noticed that the pricing on the "disclosure" statement was not the "Employee Discount" pricing but it was the FULL MSRP with $6000 Rebate after the sale tax was calculated on the MSRP.

SAAB's Website: MSRP $27,645
$6000 Rebate vs. Employee Discount doesn't add up to me.
$27,645-$6,000 = $21.645 and the Employee Discount is advertised price is $19,425

My questions:

Is this how the program is handled or was I a victim of "bait and switch" with regards to pricing?

How did the dealership handle your "employee discount" transactions?

If this was "bait and switch" is there any remedy from SAAB/GM? (I called SAAB's customer service and they said all pricing is handled by dealer and not by SAAB.

Richie

 

[bgroff]

When did you buy your car? If it was before the beginning of June, the Employee pricing deal was not in effect. If it was during June or July, then you definitely got the ripoff.

 

[richie]

I bought it end of June from Diritos Brothers in Walnut Creek. Definitely during the promotion. The Sale manager/financing Manager who drafted the paper-work said that this is how it is done because the State of California requires that rebates are taken after total price so that State can gets its fair share of sales tax. I checked with the State BOE and they confirmed that the rebates are computed after sales tax.

I tried pushing the issue with the dealer differences of "Discount" vs. "Rebate" but she got defensive as if she was right and the States to be blame for this. I didn't want to push it too hard since 9-2x appear to be seller's market. I didn't want to miss chance snce the previous four cars were sold as I stood in line. I figured I could investigate it afterwards.

I'm beginning to feel that I got ripped-off too. :x

 

[richie]

One other note. I do remember that the Oakland Subaru/SAAB dealer mentioning that it was $6000 rebate. (Side note: they are very unprofessional there; typical car dealer). I just figured that the Oakland dealer was misinformed or they wanted to downplay the promotion since they were out of 9-2x's and had a bunch of WRX's.

 

[bgroff]

The dealer is correct, the rebate is usually taken off of the final negotiated price after sales tax. However, the final negotiated price should have been the Employee pricing. If you payed MSRP plus tax minus rebate, you definitely got ripped off. The 9-2x is only a hot selling car right now due to Employee pricing and rebates. The things sat on dealer lots and at port for nearly a year!

 

[richie]

Is there any way of getting this corrected or referred to SAAB/GM for a solution?

I understand that the dealer may have been mis-informed or made a mistake but I don't like that thought of getting screwed.

 

[richie]

I would like to point out that Dirito Brothers dealership was satisfying overall. It was just an issue with pricing. That why I think it may have been an oversight.

 

[edmosis]

employee discount etc. . .

Do you have your "bill of sale" handy. Perhaps you should look at that. if you didn't get a "bill of sale," go back and get it. it's a legally binding contract between the seller and buyer. your "bill of sale" will give you more input since most of us here on the forum do not see all the details.

just a thought. . .

 

[miscreant]

I'm a new owner of a 9-2x and I'm enjoying it more and more everyday.

I was not familiar with SAAB and it's car until the GM Employee discounts were advertised to drum up sales. Long story short, I purchased the car the weekend I firsted looked at the 9-2x. Upon closing the deal, I noticed that the pricing on the "disclosure" statement was not the "Employee Discount" pricing but it was the FULL MSRP with $6000 Rebate after the sale tax was calculated on the MSRP.

SAAB's Website: MSRP $27,645
$6000 Rebate vs. Employee Discount doesn't add up to me.
$27,645-$6,000 = $21.645 and the Employee Discount is advertised price is $19,425

My questions:

Is this how the program is handled or was I a victim of "bait and switch" with regards to pricing?

How did the dealership handle your "employee discount" transactions?

If this was "bait and switch" is there any remedy from SAAB/GM? (I called SAAB's customer service and they said all pricing is handled by dealer and not by SAAB.

Richie

Questions:

So you bought a base Aero with 5sp, no other option, right?

What was your final price?

Do you have the sales contract/buyers order? What does it say?

I would imagine that what you are seeing is the MSRP as the top price, then the GM discount is below that, then the $6000 rebate?

 

[richie]

edmosis, very good suggestion on reviewing the sales contract.

I believe the dealer worked backwards from the employee discounted price. They added the $6000 to the discounted price. ..."And Thennn" they added the sales tax. ..."And Thenn" the added the Public Official fees. ..."And Thennn" the removed the $6000. ..."And Thennn" "No 'and then'!"

Summary:
Employee Discounted Price (EDP) > Add $6000 > Add Sales tax based on the EDP+$6k > Add Public Official fees > Minus $6000 > equals Grand Total

Now I know I got ripped off by about $500 because of wording, discount vs. rebate.
If the dealer charged me for the "Employee Discounted Price" initially, sales tax would have been computed at $19,425 (based on SAAB website). Instead, Sales tax was computed on $25,425 (which is still lower than sticker). Please note: these numbers are not what I paid but are examples of based on the based Aero 5SPD.

Now I know I saved more than $6k off the sticker (about $8000) but $500 is still $500. That a month payment or the cost of a clear bra install. I could get my windows tinted or get Cobbs AP. Or buy a gift for my girl.

How did other new SAAB owners recieve their "Employee Discount"?

 

[miscreant]

edmosis, very good suggestion on reviewing the sales contract.

I believe the dealer worked backwards from the employee discounted price. They added the $6000 to the discounted price. ..."And Thennn" they added the sales tax. ..."And Thenn" the added the Public Official fees. ..."And Thennn" the removed the $6000. ..."And Thennn" "No 'and then'!"

Summary:
Employee Discounted Price (EDP) > Add $6000 > Add Sales tax based on the EDP+$6k > Add Public Official fees > Minus $6000 > equals Grand Total

Now I know I got ripped off by about $500 because of wording, discount vs. rebate.
If the dealer charged me for the "Employee Discounted Price" initially, sales tax would have been computed at $19,425 (based on SAAB website). Instead, Sales tax was computed on $25,425 (which is still lower than sticker). Please note: these numbers are not what I paid but are examples of based on the based Aero 5SPD.

Now I know I saved more than $6k off the sticker (about $8000) but $500 is still $500. That a month payment or the cost of a clear bra install. I could get my windows tinted or get Cobbs AP. Or buy a gift for my girl.

How did other new SAAB owners recieve their "Employee Discount"?

No, that sounds right. You pay taxes on the price BEFORE $6000 rebate, which is the $25,425 ($25,425 - $6000 = $19425). $25,425 is the employee discount price, which you pay tax on, then you get $6000 rebate, which is your final financed price. Some states tax before rebate, some tax after, some tax including trade equity, some tax before. It's all depends.

 

[edmosis]

one thing that makes it difficult to know is that we, or at least some of us, do not know the dealer's invoice price of the car. some dealers disclose it to consumers, some don't. the dealer's invoice price is lower than the msrp and the "gm employee price" should be taken out from the invoice price, not the msrp. perhaps this is the reason it is difficult to comprehend. . .

i hope you feel better about your buy, but don't let it keep you from enjoying your brand new 92x!!

 

[miscreant]

one thing that makes it difficult to know is that we, or at least some of us, do not know the dealer's invoice price of the car. some dealers disclose it to consumers, some don't. the dealer's invoice price is lower than the msrp and the "gm employee price" should be taken out from the invoice price, not the msrp. perhaps this is the reason it is difficult to comprehend. . .

i hope you feel better about your buy, but don't let it keep you from enjoying your brand new 92x!!

Actually, this is not true. The Invoice price has no bearing on the GMS price in terms of the consumer. The GMS price is a set price on the invoice - the GMS employee discount is not a "discount" in terms of money, it's a set price below invoice. So it's not computed as a rebate or money incentive, and does not "come off of" MSRP or Invoice.

 

[edmosis]

Actually, this is not true. The Invoice price has no bearing on the GMS price in terms of the consumer. The GMS price is a set price on the invoice - the GMS employee discount is not a "discount" in terms of money, it's a set price below invoice. So it's not computed as a rebate or money incentive, and does not "come off of" MSRP or Invoice.

yes, i know it's not a discount or incentive - i don't think i mentioned that it was. it's a certain percantage taken out from the invoice price for employees. . . correct me if i'm wrong. since we're not disclosed the invoice price - we don't know how much the employee discount is. . . unless you go through the internet family pricing plan, but that's a little mis leading to me since it doesn't reflect an invoice price, but instead it only reflects the msrp. since i'm not a gm employee or do not know of any - this is pure speculation on my part - please correct me if i'm wrong so i can understand better. . . i'm not trying to say who's right or wrong, just simply attempting to understand.

if this is true, the final taxable price for the car should be the sale price = price of the car with the gm employee price deducted from the invoice price, not the msrp. from my calculations, if i can remember correctly, gm employees save close to 3% of the invoice price of any gm vehicle. i may be wrong, but this is all i have to go off of from what i investigated.

 

[bgroff]

Having bought two cars at GM supplier pricing, I can tell you how it works. Each car has an printed invoice with msrp pricing and "invoice" pricing. At the bottom of that sheet is the GMS (employee) and supplier pricing. If you are buying at employee pricing, you pay the GMS price listed. There is no negotiation. If you are buying at supplier pricing, you pay the supplier price listed. If the dealer you are working with is at all reputable, they will be more than willing to produce the invoice sheet on demand.

The taxable amount of a vehicle (at least in my state, which sounds like CA) is the sales price. If you are buying at employee pricing, that is the sales price. Sales tax is based on the sales price, and then rebates are deducted.

Hope that helps.

yes, i know it's not a discount or incentive - i don't think i mentioned that it was. it's a certain percantage taken out from the invoice price for employees. . . correct me if i'm wrong. since we're not disclosed the invoice price - we don't know how much the employee discount is. . . unless you go through the internet family pricing plan, but that's a little mis leading to me since it doesn't reflect an invoice price, but instead taken from msrp. since i'm not a gm employee or do not know of any - this is pure speculation on my part - please correct me if i'm wrong so i can understand better. . . i'm not trying to say who's right or wrong, just simply attempting to understand.

if this is true, the final taxable price for the car should be the sale price = price of the car with the gm employee price deducted from the invoice price, not the msrp.

 

[miscreant]

yes, i know it's not a discount or incentive - i don't think i mentioned that it was. it's a certain percantage taken out from the invoice price for employees. . . correct me if i'm wrong. since we're not disclosed the invoice price - we don't know how much the employee discount is. . . unless you go through the internet family pricing plan, but that's a little mis leading to me since it doesn't reflect an invoice price, but instead it only reflects the msrp. since i'm not a gm employee or do not know of any - this is pure speculation on my part - please correct me if i'm wrong so i can understand better. . . i'm not trying to say who's right or wrong, just simply attempting to understand.

if this is true, the final taxable price for the car should be the sale price = price of the car with the gm employee price deducted from the invoice price, not the msrp. from my calculations, if i can remember correctly, gm employees save close to 3% of the invoice price of any gm vehicle. i may be wrong, but this is all i have to go off of from what i investigated.

Yes, closer, but don't try to think of the GMS deal as a discount. It's simply a preset price, listed on the invoice. It is actually based on either invoice minus destination or MSRP minus destination, because both are proportional. It's either xx% off MSRP-dest or xx% off Invoice-dest, either way computes to a set number on the invoice. Now, theoretically you are at a disadvantage if you can't see the invoice, but dealers are REQUIRED to sell the vehicle at that price, period. They stand getting auditted and seriously scolded if they don't have that price perfect.

Final sale price is not any GMS thing deducted from anything, it's the GMS price - the GMS price isn't a monetary discount, so it can't be deducted. The price already exists on the invoice of the car precaculated by GM.

As Saab shoppers we are at a disadvantage in that all the other GM vehicles can be built on GMBuypower and you can get the exact GMS price on it at the summary page. With the Saab website, you can only get base GMS. Though it has been posted many times here what the other items cost GMS price wise.

 

[edmosis]

thanks. . . i can understand more clearly now - i'm more used to the ford "a-plan" pricing. the ford's "a-plan" is always a percentage deducted below the invoice price of a ford car. . . so i guess i was assuming the same/or similar with gm's program. i'm not at all skeptical that i was tricked, or any sort similar - i'll always be confident that i got a great buy for such a great car and the purchase makes sense to me.

 

[richie]

I definitely enjoy my car and I bought it because of this "great" promotion, GM Employee Discount Pricing. I don't know how dealer invoice price or other pricing plays apart of the "GM Employee Disount Pricing".

But... the exact Discounted price can be found on the saabusa.com website. Just click on where it saids "Employee Discount for Everyone" and select the model and style. Obviously, the car I had bought came with the cold package; but if we were to go in to the SAAB dealership to buy an in-stock Base AERO 5SPD with website pricing of $19.425 (inc. Dest. i think), the dealer will not write up the website-quoted $19.425 on the sales contract. He would probably writeup $25,425 which is $19,425 + $6,000. Now $25,425 is still less than MSRP of $27,645 (definitely includes Dest); no complaints here. But the Sales tax in California is based on this $25,425 and not on 19,425. Once tax is applied then the rebate is finally reduces the price by $6000.

I think it crazy, wrong, and deceptive to call it a "Discount" when in reality it's a "Rebate". I've always thought discounts were taken off before the tax iss applied and Rebates were taken off after the tax is applied. This difference is about $495.

 

[jcinxtc5]

It's not that complex. The GM Employee Discount promotion is actually provided in 2 parts: Employee Discount & GMAC Rebate to Dealer. These 2 adjustments equals the total discount listed on the GM website.

In my example with a 92-x Linear with Auto and Cold Package:

- Base Price: $ 23685
- Options: $ 1850
-------------------------------
Total Price: $25535

Less Employee Disc: $1998
Less GMAC Rebate: $5000
-------------------------------
Final Price: $18537 (Plus title, tags, etc.)

I believie destination was included in the base price. Since there's no sales tax in my state the way it was calculated was straight forward.

On GM's website, the Linear discounted price is $16821. If you add the $1850 in options on top of that, it comes to $18641 which is actually slightly more than I paid.

 

[miscreant]

It's not that complex. The GM Employee Discount promotion is actually provided in 2 parts: Employee Discount & GMAC Rebate to Dealer. These 2 adjustments equals the total discount listed on the GM website.

In my example with a 92-x Linear with Auto and Cold Package:

- Base Price: $ 23685
- Options: $ 1850
-------------------------------
Total Price: $25535

Less Employee Disc: $1998
Less GMAC Rebate: $5000
-------------------------------
Final Price: $18537 (Plus title, tags, etc.)

I believie destination was included in the base price. Since there's no sales tax in my state the way it was calculated was straight forward.

On GM's website, the Linear discounted price is $16821. If you add the $1850 in options on top of that, it comes to $18641 which is actually slightly more than I paid.

That's a great way to depict it, but again we're showing the GMS thing as a monetary discount, and it's not - it's a specific price, and that's what keeps confusing everyone for tax purposes. Because it's a price, not a rebate, not a monetary discount, it's before tax computation. Whether the rebate is before or after tax is dependent on your state and how they calculate taxes.