Is this an example of price fixing??

burke_emmet

I am currently in the process of purchasing a new car. I got a straight deal price of €30155 from a dealer in Galway which I was not impressed with. I then proceeded to get a price from all the same marques dealers in Dublin , I rang 5 seperate dealers and after much haggaling the same price to the penny of 30155 from all 5 dealers making six in all , all quoting the same price .

Is this price fixing?? or is this normal and I just have to deal with it.

Fey!

Is it a brand new car? I'm not sure how price fixing works, but the likes of FIAT use (or used to use) an open book pricing system where the cars and extras are advertised at a price determined by the distributor, and the dealers can't give any disounts even on a straight deal. It also means that if you trade in against a FIAT, it sounds like you're being offered less for your car by them than by other marque dealers.

Henry Ford III

Sounds a little dodgy ok.

Distributors and manufacturers will provide a recommended retail price, but I assume dealers can move on this if they wish?

colm_mcm

What was the list price including options of the car?

burke_emmet

Its for a new car , cash deal , no trade in but its my first time buying a new car and I thought I would be in a better position. It amounts to a 5% discount on list which is kinda low I would have thought

burke_emmet

They are knocking off 1700 euro

E92

What car is it? Maybe it would be cheaper to wait till July(definitely will be if it's a diesel the OP is interested in).

burke_emmet

Its a bio-fuel so that should give you a clue cause I dont want to get into trouble by naming names. But the VRT will go up in July thats why I am buying now

colm_mcm

Doesn't sound like price fixing, more that they're all buying them from the same distributor for the same amount, and all charging RRP. they'll give a standard % off for cash. simple.

I'm guessing a Volvo flexifuel....

E92

burke_emmet wrote: »

Its a bio-fuel so that should give you a clue cause I dont want to get into trouble by naming names. But the VRT will go up in July thats why I am buying now

There are 6 possibilities I can think of, it could be the Ford Focus FFV, the C-MAX FFV, a Mondeo FFV(though I don't have prices for these yet), the Volvo S40/V50 1.8F or a Saab 9-3 BioPower!

You are right to get the car now then of course!

burke_emmet

s40

colm_mcm

If you go in in person, you have a better chance of striking a deal for a lower figure, although, they're probably rightly holding their margin on these models.

corkandproud

I've looked at 5 Ford dealers in the south of the country, all gave me different prices, ranging from 6% to 10% discount on the rrp. All were quoting for a factory order so it wasn't as if they were trying to shift a showroom model.

Competition is alive and well in the south.

burke_emmet

I suppose the fact that it is a model that will be very popular right now and will not be so in july , they are making hay while the sun shines