[roydivision]

I have gotten into the habit of asking myself of any company "What is their actual business?". This is invaluable in the IT world, but a useful tool in the real world too.

I know nothing about the car business in the states, but it seems to me after reading these comments and the article that the actual business of car dealerships is most probably - selling financing, and the cars are the 'vehicle' for this.

[silverquiet]

I worked in a camera store/photo lab in the mid to late 00's while in college. I learned pretty quickly that the cameras were low-margin items and the goal was mostly to attach ridiculous warranties to them, and to a lesser extent some high-margin accessories. I think I actually tried to avoid selling anything because I mostly got dinged that my warranty rate was so low (I wasn't a salesperson but anyone could sell so they tracked all of us). I could have had fun talking about cameras and selling them all day, but sadly that really wasn't the job of a salesperson. That chain (Ritz/Wolf Camera) is long gone now, and I'd love to say it was because of these tactics, but I doubt that; it was more due to the loss of film processing, another high-margin business.

[maxehmookau]

Car manufacturers and dealerships are now banks, 100%. For a while in the UK, Ford offered the most competitive interest rates for cash savers.