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[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

..............screw you at both ends of the deal.

Firstly, they charge you a couple of thousand quid more than you'd pay for the same car privately. ....Then they offer you a couple of thousand quid less than you could get for your car, should you sell it privately.

I always buy and sell privately.

However, if you have limitless funds like some here at OOF, being screwed at both ends by the dealer is more convenient.

[Kate]

I always buy on the oof. Can't go wrong here!

[mantahatch]

Last trade in I did was the Volvo for the Astra. Main dealer gave £2495 for the Volvo and I saw it couple of weeks later on used car dealers lot for £2995.
I offered the Volvo on the Volvo forum for any offer over £2495. I did not get one reply. Considering the Volvo was the desirable 200bhp T4 model with low mileage FSH and just had cambelt and rollers done at Volvo specialist I was not to disapointed in the end.

Did I pay over the odds for the wifes Astra ? I wanted a mk5 with auto box. There was quite a choice at the time as many ex company cars about, problem being most where poverty spec weasils. The last car I was looking for. So went to dealer and told them what I was looking for. It took them about 2 weeks but came up trumps with the right engine, gearbox, colour and spec. Saved me a lot of time of wasted journeys to look at rubbish cars for big money.

That said I seem to have one of the best Vauxhall dealers around virtually on my doorstep. Amd it probably helps that I am on first name terms with the owner of said dealers. But they where good even before I knew the owner.

[Omegatoy]

car dealers have to make a living,dont know any used car dealer that doesent take at least a grand from a car, but they have to, clean /repair service the car,ready for the forecourt,which costs money to run, they also have employers insurance,offer warrantys,deal with customer complaints and faults noted after sales,etc etc,some may only make a oner on a car having owned it for 4 weeks or more,may seem like a lot of them rip you off but they are a far safer bet then buying privately,

"says he who havng worked in the car trade most of his life has never bought a car from anywhere but private and auctions!"

[cem_devecioglu]

there are good examples although rare as hens teeth and bad examples making the high percentage..
 
here good examples are less than 1%

[joshwyatt]

I tend to work on the following scale;

£5,000 - £8,000 advertised price should yield £1,000 profit.
£8,000 - £15,000 should yield up to £3,000
£15,000 - £33,000 should yield £4,000
Then it increases as vehicle value does until you get to £100,000+ where it can be circa £15,000 profit. But, vehicles priced at £100,000 plus need regular, precise maintenance. It would be typical to spend £5,000 conseratively on a vehicle being sold at those prices.

It all depends on what you expect from a vehicle, and if choosing a dealer, what you expect from them. You are paying them for their knowledge and the security they will look after you, that is sometimes what frustrates me with main dealers. Some 'sales executives' know nothing about cars, they're just annoying pushy people. I'm no mechanical expert, but I only pick cars I like/enjoy/have enthusiasm for...as it makes my life much easier. It's all about a good stable relationship with your customer, and a respect.

I wouldn't see it as screwing, it's just how money is made. One wouldn't expect a builder, hotel, office manager to work for free.

For example, this year my insurance is circa £4,300...on top of that is the public liability insurance, trade plates, limited staff I use occasionally, tax, advertising, non payment from account customers etc.
Some car dealers I know; I despise. They're stupid people, who cut corners, and sell utter crap. I wouldn't buy a newspaper from them!

I do other things besides sell vehicles, which keeps me sane - it's not something I would want to do all of the time.