mrGT said:Purvis,
Okay! I think I see your point....I wasn't trying to compare new to used, or company to individual, though. I wasn't even saying that an auto dealer made very little on the cars they sell. I was only speaking in terms of a principle. In my opinion, a person, or a company for that matter, has the right to set what ever value they want when it comes to selling anything and that, in a "free market", the economic rule of Supply and Demand will eventually dictate, to some degree, the actual selling price. If you don't want that right, that's okay by me. Now there are some things in life that the government has opted to regulate...natural gas and electricity are probably the biggies, but even the government found that regulating prices wasn't doing any good so they started to slack off....Ma Bell starting to come back together and the joining of major oil companies came back into play. No, I'm not comparing Ford to the government, I am just trying to show how the classic economic rule of Supply and Demand is a major player in establishing price. That's all .......
But Ford did not lose sales because of Dealer "Greed".....they, and GM, lost market share to the Toyotas and Hondas because people felt they got a higher quality car for the same money....so the demand for a Ford/GM dropped and to try and stabize their market share, Ford/GM started dropping the price....at least here in Oklahoma, Ford and GM were advertising "Buy at the same price our employees do".....that just doesn't sound greedy to me. That is a classic Supply and Demand situation setting price...but neither Ford nor GM could stop the mass exit to those other brands. Now why how did the cost of a Ford/GM climb to be in the class of the JD Powers Quality vehicles of Toyota and Honda? Well, it looks like you've heard/read the news, so you know what Ford/GM has stated on what they believe has done it.....hence the cost cutting exercises at both companies. No where have I read that Ford/GM put the blame on their dealer's attempting to be greedy as a cause.
All this being said, I am not an economic guru....I'm just a common person that thinks this way. If I'm wrong, well, I guess I'm wrong....but when all is said and done, what I think or say doesn't mean diddlely squat......so my apologies to everyone.
PS: in your discussion about house sales, you hinted at exactly what I've been saying when you said "the housing market"....that is Supply and Demand. Think about it. That piece alone will account for more than any other item when it comes to actual sales price. To get the most for your house, you need a big demand and small supply. You won't get as much if you try to sell when the supply is high, but the demand is low. Unless, of course, you have a unique and special house.....I will call that a "Shelby".
Have a great day!!
I didnt agree with your first few posts, ;-) but I agree with everything in this one.. :beer:
