[findthisfunny]

What is "Marketing Cost/Fee" markup?

Hello,
A friend of mine is trying to purchase a 05 9-3 Linear using the GM in the Driveway deal and was quoted the invoice price plus a "Marketing Fee". Does anyone know what this "Marketing fee/cost" is and is it a justifiable markup for the car? Thanks for any help.

 

[Rob in Atlanta]

With incentives you can typically get pricing below invoice. I'm not sure what the current incentives are, but they were approximately $3,500 in April. Drop the price down to invoice, deduct the incentives and then add in some dealer profit and maybe the marketing fee and you've got a decent deal.

 

[findthisfunny]

Thanks for the info Rob. The quote was for the invoice price + marketing support costs without the incentives factored in. I believe the incentives for May adds up to $4000 according to a thread a few days ago.

This one place Graham Saab of Santa Barbara is the worst dealer I've heard of. First they don't know anything about the 9-3s, then they quoted me a price which they claim is the GMS price but when I looked up the price on edmunds, it was $500 over invoice. Then when we tried to explain that the GMS price should be the invoice price they said if the cost is that much a factor, then the 9-3 is not the car my friend should be looking at. What kind of dealer turns customers away like that?

I did a search for Graham Saab on this board and someone else had a bad experience with them too.

http://www.saabcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=46455&highlight=Graham+saab
(last post on page 1). So avoid Graham Saab of Santa Barbara place like the plague.

Sorry for the rant, but a dealership experience should not be like that.

 

[wolverinewizard]

GMS price is actually below invoice; it gets rid of the dealer holdback. I got my '04 linear, auto, sunroof, premium pckg MSRP around 31k. Using GMS, then 3000 in incentives, the total was around 25k.

Edit: If you're in Santa Barbra, might as well make a trip to LA. I used Saab of Santa Monica (sales person Brian Abbey) and he really knew what he was talking about.

 

[findthisfunny]

GMS price is actually below invoice; it gets rid of the dealer holdback. I got my '04 linear, auto, sunroof, premium pckg MSRP around 31k. Using GMS, then 3000 in incentives, the total was around 25k.

Edit: If you're in Santa Barbra, might as well make a trip to LA. I used Saab of Santa Monica (sales person Brian Abbey) and he really knew what he was talking about.

My friend lives in Santa Barbara. I ended up telling her to walk away from that dealer because their numbers were not adding up. They insisted that their $30.5K quote was below invoice and was the GMS price for an '05 Linear w/ auto, sunroof, premium, and heated seats, not including the incentives. But according to edmunds, the invoice is suppose to be $30k flat.

She just called me and said she ended up going to a dealer in Lompoc and got a demo w/ 3k miles '04 Linear with the same options for about $22k after the incentives.

Thanks for all your help.

 

[ImolaDetail]

When purchasing using the GM Employee Discount or Supplier Discount you can log on to the website for that specific program. The site will contain the numbers you need to make a decision. Also, ask the dealer to print out the invoice which will show the Invoice, GMS, Price, and MSRP. I purchased my vehicle through the GM Employee program using a family member's discount. The family member is a Sales and Warranty Dealer Auditor for GM. When the dealership is audited, the employee sales program is in scope. They do review to determine that the dealership is abiding by the program's rules.

 

[Guest]

My friend lives in Santa Barbara. I ended up telling her to walk away from that dealer because their numbers were not adding up. They insisted that their $30.5K quote was below invoice and was the GMS price for an '05 Linear w/ auto, sunroof, premium, and heated seats, not including the incentives. But according to edmunds, the invoice is suppose to be $30k flat.

She just called me and said she ended up going to a dealer in Lompoc and got a demo w/ 3k miles '04 Linear with the same options for about $22k after the incentives.

Thanks for all your help.

Tell your friend congrats and say that Tor's Saab in Lompoc is one of the best Saab dealers ever. Plus she'll be happy with the 9-3. Graham Saab is one of the worst on the other hand, don't even get me started on them. They were bad as a Chevy and Cadillac dealer, and they're worse as a Saab dealer. It makes the drive either north to Lompoc or south to Thousand Oaks/LA worth it, IMHO.