[_yb2s]

Higher end German cars typically have a badge delete factory option. I have an older Porsche that came without badges from the factory.

I also think it is in poor taste to have prominent logos or brands on a product… if the manufacturer is going to use me for advertising that needs to be explicitly the deal: they provide the product free, and then we can negotiate how much they will pay on top of that.

[overcast]

I'm not talking about brand badges, I'm talking about the tacky dealership badges they put on aftermarket.

[tlavoie]

Oh, some of those are the _worst_. My wife bought a car, and the dealer had gone beyond the usual decal and license plate holder, and had put an insert in the third brake light. E.g., every time she touches the brake, it's flashing this dealer's name. Clearly, this was not going to fly, but I was amazed that they tried.

[overcast]

Wow, that's pretty insane. Never seen that before!

[_yb2s]

Ahhh… yeah I would not tolerate that either, but I don’t buy cars from dealerships- they are middlemen in the business of ripping you off. They already had to buy it at a market rate and added no value, so can’t make anything unless they overcharge you.

[3-cheese-sundae]

I think that's an oversimplification. The market rates for wholesale, private sale, and retail are different. Selling a vehicle to a private party always nets the seller more cash than selling the same to a dealer. As a private buyer, you would have a very difficult time trying to buy a vehicle direct from most manufacturers.

As another said, this is due to lobbying, but that doesn't change the fact that the markets are different.

[_yb2s]

Fair point for new cars, I neglected to state I was only talking about buying used cars. Personally, I buy used cars because the amount of depreciation makes them an incredibly good deal, it seems to be an irrational cultural thing. I find it amusing that I get comments like "I didn't know you were so rich" for driving an old Porsche Boxster I got for $8k on Craigslist... always stored indoors and looks like new- and has been as reliable as a new car in 4 years of commuting. A new low end economy car at 3x the price is way too expensive for me.

Most individuals selling a used car, especially wealthier ones, aren't too interested in getting the most money from it, but just want it gone to move on with their lives. Not so with dealers, if they can't get you to pay a huge margin over what they bought it for (a price you could also buy one for) they'll wait for another buyer.

I'm not fundamentally opposed to buying used cars from a dealer, but when I've researched fair market prices, I've usually not been able to talk them down to anywhere close to them... whereas I've had many times where private sellers took an incredibly low ball offer I wasn't really expecting them to take.

[chaostheory]

In the US, in most cases you have to go through a dealer due to lobbying.