Klarinet Archive - Posting 000382.txt from 1997/09

From: Mitch Bassman <mbassman@-----.com>
Subj: Re: New Instrument Service
Date: Mon, 8 Sep 1997 15:51:26 -0400

At 08:29 AM 9/8/97 -0500, Roger Garrett wrote:
>Actually, I believe the new car service is an add on price that the
>consumer has no choice. Doesn't the sticker include a cost for that
>service?

Actually, the consumer does have a choice when buying a new car. The charge
for "dealer prep" is added by the dealer, not the manufacturer, and is not
on the manufacturer's sticker. (Sometimes the dealer adds a different
sticker.) I have refused to pay the "dealer prep" charge for my last three
new car purchases. That charge is typically added on by someone in
accounting after the "negotiations" between the buyer and the sales person
(with secret backroom manager discussions, of course) have been completed.
The same accountant also suggests adding such things as unneeded
undercoating and extended warranties after you have agreed to a final sale
price. In all cases the manager has approved my declining to pay the dealer
prep charge. In all cases the dealer prep (washing the car, scraping off
the sticker, and vacuuming the floor) had already been completed and the
car was waiting to be driven away. (BTW, the manufacturer's "invoice" is
rarely what the dealer paid the manufacturer either. When you pay "invoice"
plus $150.00 through a buying service, the dealer is making more than
$150.00.)

Disclaimer: The preceding paragraph does not necessary express this
writer's view of "dealer prep" for a clarinet.

--Mitch Bassman
mbassman@-----.com