Overhaulin'

what do car salesmen make on a car sale?

there is the msrp price. and invoice price. however the dealer has to get the car way below invoice, right? Because if the sales guy gets a commission. and the deal needs to make money. so what do car salesmen make on a car sale?

Public Comments

1. we basically make money by getting the customer to paying close to the msrp, then by the sells we make we get a portion
2. Each dealer has their own pay plan. MSRP and INVOICE have nothing to do with it, so the first two answers here, are basically not an answer at all. On a new car, car dealerships hardly make any money. On used cars, they have to sell the car quickly in order for their profit to stay high. A dealer I used to work for was 30% of the GROSS profit on the car, was what we were paid, and there was a minimum of $250 per new car, and $150 per used car. That sounds like a lot, but when you're selling a new car that is so heavily discounted, the dealer loses money to sell it, or only make $400-500, you're actually better off getting your $250 minimum. On used, where a car might have $2000 profit in it, you can make $600 or so on some cars. People have a misconception that dealers make tons of money on new cars, and used cars are a steal. In all honesty, most dealers lose money on new cars, and make money on used cars - if they do it right. Some dealers that are "one price" or "non-negotiable" on their pricing, they have a pay plan based on the number of cars they sell. This is what my dealership does. As a salesman, I get paid a flat-fee per car that I sell, and then there is a bonus scale at the end of the month based on the number of cars I sell. So, I dont care if I sell a $3000 beater that some kid buys, or a $40000 SUV, it makes no difference. If we have a car that we're losing $1000 to sell because we've had it on the lot for 8 months, I dont care. A car is a car, and it's just another checkmark on the board for my pay. Lets say I get $250 per car, and I sell 15 cars. That's $3,750 in commission, plus 15 cars gets me another $1,000 bonus. We get some bonuses for financing, warranties, etc, but that's maybe $30-$70 per car. So if I sold 15 cars, I'd expect to make around $6000-6500 depending on how the bonsues work out that month. Believe me, unless you're REALLY good at this....it's actually not as lucritive of a job as many people think it is.