A car salesperson’s day is ruined after a customer mentions a little-known program that obliterates his commission check. Does this trick really help save you money at the dealership?
TikTok user Rohrman Toyota (@rohrmantoyota) used a skit to demonstrate the value of this program in a video posted on Sep. 17. The video’s on-screen text reads, “POV: You ruin a car salesman’s day.”
The skit starts off with the salesperson coming into his finance manager’s office in excitement. “Boss, I got it,” he says. “MSRP, all the aftermarket in there—just wanted to see what my commission was.”
What is the salesperson’s commission?
The finance manager takes a look at the paperwork and nods in approval. “Nice,” he says. “You should make like two grand on this. Go out there, make sure they didn’t have any referrals, and we’ll get this thing wrapped up, dude.”
That’s where the salesperson runs into a problem. He goes back out to the customer and asks if he has any referrals. Dealerships sometimes use referral programs to boost sales by rewarding customers who refer others to the dealership.
Unfortunately for the salesperson, the customer says he does have a referral. In fact, his sister worked at the dealership and told him to ask about the “invoice-buying program.”
The salesperson is clearly disappointed and returns to the finance manager’s office with much less enthusiasm. When he hears the update, the finance manager congratulates the salesperson on his check shrinking from $2,000 to about $100.
What is an invoice-buying program?
Car and Driver explains that going into a dealership, you essentially have the option between MSRP, which is what the manufacturer suggests the dealership sell the vehicle for, and the invoice price, which is approximately what the dealership paid the manufacturer for the vehicle.
What you choose will depend on the vehicle you’re buying and how in demand it is at the time of your negotiation. If you know the value of the vehicle and what the dealership paid for it, you are in a better negotiating position as a buyer.
@rohrmantoyota POV: You ruin a Car Salesmans Day😅 #carbuying #carsales #carsalesman ♬ original sound – RohrmanToyota
Viewers react to the skit
The video has amassed 1.9 million views. In the comments section, viewers weighed in on invoice-buying programs and the car sales business in general.
One viewer wrote, “I’ll never be OK paying someone $2k to make a 20-minute transaction take 4-½ hours.”
A second viewer wrote, “How about we just order the car we want from the manufacturer vs the scam that is dealerships. I didn’t test drive my last three cars yet had to pay a dealership markup due to antiquated processes.”
A third viewer wrote, “Invoice buying program is not a real thing. Dealerships might call it that, but certain car brands have the ability to actually ‘flex’ the invoice price of a car. In reality, invoice price can be variable.”
Someone else wrote, “Went to a dealership Sunday that does no commission and no dealership fees. It was the best experience I’ve had in 10 years of buying.”
The Daily Dot reached out to Rohrman Toyota via TikTok comment and direct message for comment.
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