[xanaxagoras]

Not for nothing, and this is a cool use of technology and the internet, but was I supposed to be under the impression that car dealers aren't greedy? Greed is the central axis around which capitalist economic activity is oriented. It works very, very well. I'll take greed over feigned compassion and breadlines any day of the week.

Recently I bought a Toyota SUV for a $7000 markup. But I was able to sell my lease (which I had no idea was even possible) for $5000.

[judge2020]

I think the point is that the recent rise of manufacturer-direct sales is better - it tends to be a much more enjoyable experience, it allows you to avoid any sort of negotiations for a price (ie. you pay the price you see on the order page), and you get to spec out your exact car configuration instead of settling for whatever's on the lot.

Now, dealership laws in many states forbid the automaker from selling their cars directly to the consumer if they already have a dealership in the state, with their only recourse being that the automaker can say "you can't mark this car above MSRP", with varying levels of success.

[8n4vidtmkvmk]

i got quotes online and then went to the dealership to pick up my car. no negotiation. i just didn't respond to any of the buggers that didn't give me a quote in the first email.

[TreyGuy]

Greed also drives the other side of the equation... The consumers side as it pertains to getting the best deal possible! Markups.org is merely trying to use freedom of speech and press to force more transparency and competition across the dealership market segment.

[xanaxagoras]

Yeah, I get it, and it's a cool site.

I just thought the headline was a bit much. Although maybe I was thinking of the article's headline, not your headline here on HN. I want to say they were the same when I posted my comment, but I'm not sure.

[rdtwo]

What’s your business model? Where do you earn the money to run the site?

[klabb3]

> Greed is the central axis around which capitalist economic activity is oriented.

It's hyperbolic, but yeah self-interest is a pretty good approximation for behavior of all living organisms. Powerful natural forces like self-interest should be utilized to produce a good outcome, but they don't guarantee a good outcome just by being powerful. Jealousy and hate are powerful forces too.

For capitalism to work, many supporting structures are required. One is information symmetry. If you have to drive 10h and speak with a sales rep for 1h before you learn the price, you don't have a free market. Aside from this being deceitful and false advertising, it introduces economic inefficiencies in the most basic sense. All efforts that bring transparency are to be saluted.

[xenadu02]

The problem is the grossly inefficient market where vehicles have an MSRP but the actual price you can pay varies wildly.

In that sense it is no different than airline ticket fees (though not baggage fees) and similar schemes. The goal is to stop customers from doing apples-to-apples comparisons when shopping.

[dymk]

Everybody knows the dealership is trying to screw you. The question is by how much.