Hail Sale?

[james_ls]

What dealerships are offering Hail-Sale items as I've heard on the radio and stuff??

I'm in the market for a new car...and was seeing what I could hook up with.

Lemme know what you've heard!!

[italianblaze]

Ive herd reedmans

[bluengoldsti]

I heard Reedmans is having one also. I would get an estimate on the damage first. I just got my car repaired from the hail damage and it cost $2300. Well, it cost my insurance company $2300. There were 78 dents on the hood, roof, and trunk. I don't know if the insurance company would pay for the repair on a newly bought car tho.

[grimm]

but if you can live with the dimples...or can do your own body work... go for it.

[goodfella732]

Originally Posted by bluengoldsti

I heard Reedmans is having one also. I would get an estimate on the damage first. I just got my car repaired from the hail damage and it cost $2300. Well, it cost my insurance company $2300. There were 78 dents on the hood, roof, and trunk. I don't know if the insurance company would pay for the repair on a newly bought car tho.

Im sure if you buy the car damaged then your insurance wont pick up the bill. I know my insurance company had me get my car inspected when I got my policy to check for any damage on the car prior to my policy starting.

[bluengoldsti]

Originally Posted by goodfella732

Im sure if you buy the car damaged then your insurance wont pick up the bill. I know my insurance company had me get my car inspected when I got my policy to check for any damage on the car prior to my policy starting.

That's what I was thinking. But like Grimm said, if you can live with it or repair it yourself, you'll probably save a lot of money.

[Jim Lewis]

Scam, plain and simple - I was in the car business for 12 years. Here's how it works -

Let's take your $2300 estimate/repair bill as an example.

Hail damage is present on a car you're looking at, and the dealership has a $2300 estimate to repair it. You don't know the amount of the estimate, and most consumers would estimate VERY low, not being versed in auto body knowledge.

The dealer offers you a $2,000 discount on the car, and you think - that's great! You may not realize that you could get a discount like that anyway, at any dealer, on an undamaged car...and of course, you should never let them set the price anyway - do your research, find the market value on the car through Edmunds or another source, and YOU control the negotiation..and by the way, stay AWAY from payment. If you need more info on that, PM me, I don't want to thread jack.

Back to the hail car you're looking at - what you're not taking into account is that the dealer's insurance company has given an estimate and CUT A CHECK to the dealer for the damage on that unit. They "discount" the car at roughly the same amount as the damage, looks like heroes, and NEVER discount the car....catch that? They never came off of MSRP.

So, you paid less than MSRP, in theory, but you really didn't - you now have a damaged car that your insurance won't repair; the dealer made ALL the money on the car, when in fact, you were entitled to THEIR insurance check on the car...bad deal all around.

[TROLL]

...unless they give you a bigger discount and it is in fact worth it. but definitely something to keep in mind depending on where the pricing falls.

[Intercooled T]

good tip Jim

[Jim Lewis]

"...unless they give you a bigger discount and it is in fact worth it. but definitely something to keep in mind depending on where the pricing falls."

Still...

If there's a $2300 discount for the damage, and an additional $2000 discount, let's say, for a total of $4300, you STILL have a car with $2300 in damage on it.

Why not get a $2000 discount on an undamaged car, and have a car without $2300 in damage? There is NO up side for the consumer in this at all - that's why dealers LOVE hail sales.

[grimm]

I agree that the dealer is always going to come out on top.. But they are going to come out on top whether you buy it damaged or not. thats their business to make money selling cars... But just because the dealer is making money doesn't mean you can't find a good deal? or save yourself a little cash. But like i said, only if you are willing to live with it, or fix it yourself...

[TROLL]

ok its their decision to not sell a car below a certain price (and make X profit on it) just like its your decision to not buy a car above a certain price. they only come out on top if you let them... a transaction involves 2 willing parties, and if you're not willing, there's no transaction.
i wasnt going to get into numbers, but thats really what it comes down to. i just said that depending on the discount who knows... if there's $2500 in damage and you're getting a $7500 discount, then maybe its worth it. wont know till you try...

[Jim Lewis]

They're not going to drop $5k on a unit unless there's $5k in markup to drop - average markup from invoice to MSRP is 10-13%, depending on the manufacturer, and the cheaper you go (in the car), the less markup. For instance, most $12-15k imports have less than $1000 between invoice and MSRP.

Subarus are typically only 8-9%. You're not getting a $5000 discount on something with only $2000 worth of markup to begin with and no rebates.

[TROLL]

except the fact that they just got cut a nice sized check for each damaged car so who says they wouldnt go below invoice? they sell perfect cars at invoice, so why not a damaged one that they already got paid insurance money on? this is all futile though, we're going back and forth on numbers that we have no clue about so there's really no point.
i was just saying it doesn't hurt to go take a look and see if its worth it or not.

[Jim Lewis]

I agree, make your offer and hope for the best.

To use your idea, though, you're talking about wanting a car below invoice after the dealer has been cut a check - that's just asking for what you should get anyway, and doesn't require anything special. Why not get the car at invoice without damage, instead of simply offsetting the damage with a discount? You're getting a damaged car that would take the amount that was discounted to make it right...

That's the same as having them knock off $500 on a used car because it needs tires...then you have to pay $500 for tires.

Only in this scenario, you either pay to have the hail damage repaired, or live with the damage. Who wants to have a hail damaged $20-30k car? Not me. If I'm dropping a buttload of money every month for a car, it should be perfect when I buy it.

Hail sales don't help anyone but the dealer. And before we debate this further, take a look at where I'm getting my info, please. I'm trying to help members of the forum by passing on experience from buying and selling (as a fleet manager/sales manager) over 28,000 vehicles, and being an expert witness in over 8,100 automotive legal cases.

I'm not just here to throw info out to cause an argument.

www.automotiveexpertwitness.com

[K-Rex]

Don't forget, Reedman's has (or did when I worked there) its own gigantic body shop. I know it will still cost them some money to fix cars, but not much. They are not going to give you a big deal, because they can just fix it.

[grimm]

but taking $500 off because it needs new tires and you already have a set means you save $500... so again it is a good deal if you can fix it yourself, and or don't mind the damage. I mean if you already own a paintless dent remover, or can rent one for $100 then hell, why not try and save as much money as you can on a new vehicle. THis is a forum of enthusiasts and tuners, so most likely people on here can out source any work they might need for less then a shop. Again, it's obivous a dealer is not ever going to "loose" money on a sale of a car, but that doesn;t mean the consumer is getting ripped off, there are way too many personal preferences and scenarios out there fro anyone to boldly say it's not a good deal.

alot of people want to have a 2nd car as a DD. why not get a brand new car with some minor dents that you can get worked out over time, instead of buying a used car? again... if the price is right... just trying to point out there are other sides to this.... obviously Hail sales happen and make money for a reason.

[Jim Lewis]

On the $500 discount for tires, the point is that you still have to supply the tires, whether you buy them, have them laying in your shed, or your dad owns a tire store. Either way, you're not getting something for nothing, it's just a trade off.

Same with hail damage. You either fix it or live with it, but there's no way you're getting a perfect car for a better price - it's a trade off, and the dealer always makes out on these things, even more than a regular transaction.

[TROLL]

yeah, you surely have more personal experience with this type of thing than i do, just providing a counter point.

[Jim Lewis]

And I agree with you completely. Always walk in and have a number in mind and make an offer, and see if it works.

The only thing is that most sales closers and managers are trained and programmed to get you off the concept of initial price and discounts and onto monthly payment, then work you from there. Once you're on payment and concentrating over negotiating $20 here and there...you're done.

That's why I always advise people to do research ahead of time, avoid potential traps like these hail sales or "inventory reduction sales", and just understand what you can afford, payment wise, and where that leaves you with a total purchase price based on what you can afford.

On sales other than hail sales, like the aforementioned "inventory reduction sales" or "factory-authorized clearance"...PLEASE listen to the wording in these ridiculous ads.

I heard one recently where Ford had given "special authorization" for a complete inventory reduction.....ok, since WHEN does a dealer need special permission to sell cars?? That's what they do, and the manufacturer actually punishes and inflicts penalties on them if they DON'T sell allotted numbers of units. It's just funny how automobile advertising works, and how silly most of it is...