mercuryl wrote:

Messing about with the prices like this could actuall spell the end for Land Rover.

Keep the price where it is LR and actually let them go for about £44.5 K and you still may have a business in 24 months time.

So you think Land Rover should not charge customers anything for the development, materials and production costs involved in a new 3.0 twin-turbo engine, new gearbox, new interior, new technology, etc...?

For the record, the only reason you were able to get the deal you got on your car was probably because it was one of the cars in stock as a result of an unforseen sudden drop in demand that virtually no-one in industry was prepared for...

I would suggest that Land Rover would be much more likely to have a business in 24 months if they charged a proper price for their vehicles, rather than if they gave them away!

Sorry to rant, but I work within the car industry and I can tell you that NO-ONE is making obscene profits, nor has done so for a very long time...

As for the MD's salary - anyone looked into what used to be called 'public services' lately?

Interesting points but what effect will it have on prices being acheived on second hand market MY09 down?

leedsunited wrote:

Interesting points but what effect will it have on prices being acheived on second hand market MY09 down?

The less discount that dealers give now means the higher the residual value over the next 3 years. Large discounts on new cars are the main reason that depreciation is massively higher in the first year than subsequent years: e.g. If you can get £7,500 off a £50,000 car when it is new, you would be barking to pay more than £35,000 for a one year old, low mileage, car (£7,500 off the REAL new price) - especially if you are financing it with a balloon contract, as the payments will be almost the same as a brand new one.

Then a two-year old car becomes less than £30,000, and so on...

However, if NO-ONE will give you more than about £2,500 (5%) off a new car, it is realistic that it will still be worth £40,000 after a year (retail), low £30,000s after 2 years, etc.

If only every dealer would heed this advice, we would all be better off in the long run

We would all be better off if dealers kept their prices high would we? When you say "we" - who do you mean? People who work in the car industry?

Bottom line is, LR dealers provide discounts because they can - meaning that the cars are over-priced. I've been mad for flipping years, absolutely years, over the edge for yonks.

bex

unlike most of the retail sector, the Auto market works on very low margins based on high volumes. I worked for a major supplier for 7 years - to win business as a major OEM supplier you are basically running a 3% NP.

This is standard and this is also why the Auto market is so stuffed - a downturn has many implications that most business would never understand - 7 years investment periods with penalties for manufacturers not reaching their volumes (which of course they will now never hit). Its an awful business plan, however thats what we are left with and if YOU want to drive a RRS then you have to pay.

Thats why they are different to you and I - could you run your business with 'everything' marked up by only 3%

I have given up pushing reselling AV equipment at the moment as everyone wants it for less than it costs me This will continue while companies are reducing their stock liabilities, however when this is gone then prices will go up - its that simple.

Why is it ok for us to think we should be able to make loads of money and noone else can??

btw, I'm not directing this at you mate - I'm just thinking out loud We all want a bargain, but we need to focus a little more on what we are buying for and less on the 'discount' we can get IMHO

Kaine

mercuryl wrote:

meaning that the cars are over-priced.

mercuryl wrote:

We would all be better off if dealers kept their prices high would we? When you say "we" - who do you mean? People who work in the car industry?

mercuryl wrote:

Bottom line is, LR dealers provide discounts because they can - meaning that the cars are over-priced.

Yes. The EU made the practice of price fixing illegal. Well done to them.

Explain why the Range Rover Sport Supercharged starts in the UK for £59,210 and the range starts from the currency equivalent of 17% lower in the United States? Despite the fact that, in the UK, our cars need to be delivered about 200 miles by road from the factory and the United States equivalent had to be shipped in a big boat?

3% profit margin? Baloney. It seems to me that someone is artificially holding the price of Land Rover cars too high here.

Why do they get it for less in the states. Doesn't make sense.

Self-interested people within the car industry can make as much noise as they like.

Prices are too high. I've been mad for flipping years, absolutely years, over the edge for yonks.

mercuryl wrote:

3% profit margin? Baloney.

But nobody has answered a very good question why so cheap in th USA, it is the same with other makes, Lexus for example, RX350 £40K in UK, $40K in USA do the FX and it is miles cheaper.

What's the duty/ other taxes on new cars in the US vs UK? Maybe the volume of sales has something to do with it, or maybe the rest of the world subsidises US sales? Be interesting to know.

could be one of many reasons, for example;

1) LandRover needed to win over the US market and hence price the brand alongside locally produced vehicles which are much cheaper. This means of course other markets are subsidising the US market, however this is LR decision to gain a foothold in the US and therefore upto them to price accordingly

2) When planning long term strategies, foreign exchange rates have to come into consideration. There is a school of though that the US Dollar has been on a downward cycle for many years and MAY continue. LR have a vested interest in the US market and hence need to keep it going

3) General Demand and supply - the demand for their product is higher in Europe (historically) so why should be target price reductions here? I wouldn't

4) Specification - generally speaking, the US market tends to accept a lower 'quality' finished vehicle (sorry Umbertob) - this means for US markets, manufacturers tend to use lower spec materials and less equipment. I'm not sure whether this applies to the RRS though)

5) Because they can - if you don't like it then show your disapproval by not buying a LR - its that simple

Kaine

Kaine, it isn't just LRs that are cheaper in the US, it's every car.

Leo wrote:

Kaine, it isn't just LRs that are cheaper in the US, it's every car.

Leo

It a little more complicated though - you need to take each car individually - it may be built in the US and Europe (ML, Z4 etc) - how can LR expect to compete with Merc ML when they have no shipping costs etc

Just saying LR are too expensive without thinking why is a little short sighting imho

As comsumers we always think we are being ripped off - its very common to think like this - and forget why we are buying in the first place

Kaine