Gallardo prices (dealer scamming me?)

I have the opportunity to buy a Gallardo from a dealer in Springfield MO.

They have 2 on the lot. Both sticker at $180,000.
They are selling for $219,000!
$39,000 OVER stickers seems pretty out of line.

The reason for this they say, is because there is a 3 year waiting list. So I can either get on the list and wait for 3 years or I can buy one sitting on the lot for $219,000.

Well - what is your experience in prices? What are they really selling for out there? How much did you owners pay? Did you have to wait?

Of course - an option that the Springfield dealer hasn't considered yet, is that I'm certainly not locked into Springfield. I'll buy one from anywhere in the US if they give me a good deal.

So, what is your experience? And what do you know?

THank you kindly in advance.

Clarkster

Since I'm not exactly in the market for an exotic car, nor ever have been, I would take this with a grain of salt.

That said, I have seen in the Ft. Lauderdale collection (the or prestige autos) a new Gallardo w/o e-gear for 165,000. That's 15,000 less than the sticker of this place you talk about. As for mark up, I frnakly have no idea, so I won't even try to give advice.

Still, check out Ft. Lauderdale collection and maybe contact them.

Since I'm not exactly in the market for an exotic car, nor ever have been, I would take this with a grain of salt.

That said, I have seen in the Ft. Lauderdale collection (the or prestige autos) a new Gallardo w/o e-gear for 165,000. That's 15,000 less than the sticker of this place you talk about. As for mark up, I frnakly have no idea, so I won't even try to give advice.

Still, check out Ft. Lauderdale collection and maybe contact them.

Clark,
I believe the price they are giving you is a little high. I can get you one a little cheaper if you are interested.

Clarkster: Don't do it. Wait for the "feeding frenzy" to subside and it will! It may take a year but "over MSRP" prices will come down. Keep in mine that this is the first year for the car and there are bound to be some problems,recalls like there was with the first year Murcielago. If you pay something like $225k and have to borrow some money to do it, you may find yourself "upside down" in the loan if you go to trade it in a few years. That is when the amount you still owe on the car is greater than the "value" of the car. Even if you pay cash you will lose bigtime when the prices go down and you try to trade. This is not "rocket science" If Lamborghini were a class outfit they would "discourage" their dealers from selling over MSRP. Mercedes does not do it and I recall Porsche discourages it. They may not be able to force their dealers not to do it but there are other ways (allocation) they can influence their dealers.
As for getting on a one or two year waiting list, do not be a fool. Wonder where the dealer is getting those cars that he then prices way over sticker? HE will tell you that these are extra cars but those cars should go to the next guy in line who has been waiting. Instead they take the car for the own use and price it way over MSRP while you sit on the list and wait for "your" car to come in. Be patient and wait.

I have the opportunity to buy a Gallardo from a dealer in Springfield MO.

They have 2 on the lot. Both sticker at $180,000.
They are selling for $219,000!
$39,000 OVER stickers seems pretty out of line.

The reason for this they say, is because there is a 3 year waiting list. So I can either get on the list and wait for 3 years or I can buy one sitting on the lot for $219,000.

Well - what is your experience in prices? What are they really selling for out there? How much did you owners pay? Did you have to wait?

Of course - an option that the Springfield dealer hasn't considered yet, is that I'm certainly not locked into Springfield. I'll buy one from anywhere in the US if they give me a good deal.

So, what is your experience? And what do you know?

THank you kindly in advance.

Clarkster

39K over? That is a bit excessive. I've heard about the Florida dealer selling their cars for 50k over. Try another dealer. I know my local dealer (Chicago) is selling for sticker price.

There are only two ways to get a high-demand car like the Gallardo:
1. Order it 1-3 years in advance of delivery, and pay sticker; or,
2. Buy it off of someone's lot for current market value.

This is the way Ferrari and Lamborghini have operated for years. I have purchased exotic cars both ways.

I am not a dealer, but I am on the order book for a Gallardo (ETA is April 2004). I happen to know Motorcars Intl of Springfield, MO, and I can tell you that they have a rock-solid reputation with customers. I seriously doubt they are scamming anyone. Much more likely is that they are just trying to sell a handful of cars, which they were allowed to *privately* purchase from Lamborghini, at fair market value.

Look, most exotic dealers understand when a certain car will be in high demand wayyy before the rest of us do. So, when their order books open up (about 2 years before first delivery), dealers are allowed to place a few "personal" orders for the car along with their loyal customers' early orders.

In this way, the dealers don't have to "lie" to anyone - they just sell the cars that they purchased for themselves, as the cars come into their hands. These are the "new" cars that you might see selling for $30K over sticker at a dealer. There's nothing unscrupulous about this... the dealers took a purchase risk with their personal deposits just like every other forward-ordering customer did. And, like the rest of us, they have the right to sell their car at fair market value once they own it. Of course, it sucks if you didn't place an early order and you want the car NOW.

Now, I am not saying that certain dealers have never sold a customer's position and pushed their order back (I know of a few that have definitely done this in the past), but in my experience this is rare. Each dealer only receives maybe 5-10 Gallardos a month. They have to keep a couple of cars on hand for demos. Also, the Lamborghini customer base is really, really small - most of us know a few others who own the marque. And, word travels very quickly about how many cars are being shipped from the factory each month... there are web sites that track this stuff. Due to the small numbers involved, dealers simply cannot sell too many new cars out from their "real" customer order pipeline before patiently-waiting early customers start to call and write Lamborghini. At most, they could get away with slipping the order book 10 orders (1-2 months) before a whole lot of complaints started rolling in from people who have been waiting 2 years for their car!

If you want a quick tip - check the Better Business Bureau before you buy. This is where you can detect a consistent history of pissed off customers. There are a couple of dealers out there who have never cleaned up their BBB records... you can find them yourself online.

Best of luck,

Vbo

Dear Clarkster,

I am in the market for a Gallardo and I am presently searching all markets. I have found that it is all up to how bad do you want the car now? If you can wait 6-12 months, you may find it cheaper. I have encountered five dealers who are willing to sell me one at prices ranging from $209,000 - $230,000. So it is up to you. I don't mind paying xtra, as I really like the car and to me it is worth it. I wouldn't think that you will ever get one for sticker. I mean look at the Modena. I still have yet to find one for sticker and they have been out for some time now. You can buy a used Modena, but if you want a new one, they will be priced over sticker. As far as the Gallardo, just determine how badly you want the car now. If you want it, you'll pay for it. This sort of thing can never be thought of as a scam, as we are under the laws of supply and demand. I will probably end up paying $225,000 for my Gallardo. By the way, who is making you wait until April? I have been offered five, like right now! Good luck.

Check out Lambo Atlanta pricing.

aehaas

Clarkster,

I have an '04 Gallardo for sale for $190,000. Email me if your interested. Its Arancio Borealis (Orange)/Nero(Black) 6 speed.

-Pete

Clarkster,

I have an '04 Gallardo for sale for $190,000. Email me if your interested. Its Arancio Borealis (Orange)/Nero(Black) 6 speed.

-Pete

Hey, guys, check out Dupont Registry online
... www.dupontregistry.com ...
Dupont has 33 Gallardos listed for sale as of yesterday. At least 5-6 of them are below $200,000 with less than 200 miles.

Also, eBay has 4-5 cars listed and the "as-sold" prices of the few that have closed are about $185-190K.

I talked with one of the two mfr-owned Lambo dealers last week, and he said that the recent price drops are probably short-term (but of course, what else would he say?). He said there has been a glut of cars introduced to the market recently due to the Los Angeles port slow-down affecting all customs inbound activity. Two shipments of cars were held up in customs, then release at the same time to the market.

First one listed is the one Im selling. We actually just sold a guy a Gallardo on Saturday and are having it shipped to Florida for him.