No Stress: Saturn’s No Haggle Buying

No Stress: Saturn’s No Haggle Buying

by David Banyas

One of the most distressing experiences that the average consumer can suffer through is buying a car. We are all afraid of being taken for a ride, and on a car lot, there are so many ways to ride. We all fear that car salespeople are slicker than the Exxon Valdez and will hard sell their grandmothers for a higher commission. Whether that perception is right or wrong, we want to be sure, regardless of our negotiating abilities, that we’re getting the best price for our car choice. It’s this desire for fairness that ninety-nine automakers, GM execs, and other entrepeneuring people discovered was the main concern of car customers and led to the birth of Saturn and their “No Haggle, No Hassle” pricing philosophy.

John Sutliff, General Manager of half of the Saturn dealerships in Central Pennsylvania and Vice President of Sutliff Saturn, Inc., explains that the idea of “No Haggle, No Hassle” pricing tries to take the displeasure out of buying a car. “No Haggle” pricing, simply put, guarantees that the same Saturn model will have the same appropriate and low price within each geographical region. “It removes the insecurity of negotiating for the best price,” says Sutliff.

“Saturn wanted to do away with retail sales and try different methods of selling [cars] besides the brick-and-mortar showrooms,” he explains. The “Big 99,” as the Saturn originators are mythically referred to, thought about catalog mail ordering, door-to-door sales, and other non-conventional methods of selling an automobile before settling on the standard. It seems that people actually like the uniform pricing because, since Saturn’s inception in 1991, it has quickly become one of the top sellers in the market. In Central Pennsylvania alone, there have been over 19,400 Saturns sold. That’s a number on par with Toyota and Honda.

The “novel” idea of treating all customers equally through stable pricing is new only to the auto world. All customers expect to pay the same price for milk within the same grocery store, right? And just as each grocery store sets its price, so too does each Saturn region. Within a few hundred dollars of the Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP), each region can determine what price a model will carry and that’s that. No changes. And no rebates because, as Sutliff explains, “a rebate is a sure sign that the car was overpriced in the first place.”

How can a dealership pay their better salespeople if there is no overhead commission from the sale price? It is here that another way to ensure customer comfort is in place. The owner of the Central Pennsylvania Saturn lots, Greg Sutliff, pays his employees in a unique way. In addition to a base salary, there are Customer Satisfaction Surveys that each new Saturn owner is asked to fill out on the experience he/she had in buying the Saturn. From this survey, an index is derived and bonuses are awarded accordingly. Additional bonuses are awarded to the sales team as a whole for other achievements. On the whole, the pay plan instills the integrity of the Saturn salesperson and not the sale itself.

Saturn has eked out a comfortable spot in the cutthroat world of auto sales by taking the high road and listening to the customer. At Saturn, “a customer is guaranteed more than a good car, but a good car-buying experience.”

According to Saturn’s official website:

What can I expect from a Saturn retailer with respect to the transaction?

You should expect a “no hassle” and “no haggle” transaction.
No hassle means Saturn retailers should be up-front about all elements of a vehicle’s price. You should expect that the retailer will make you feel comfortable — even if that means walking away and leaving you alone to look for yourself. In addition, you should expect no last minute add-ons or hidden charges.

“No haggle” means that every Saturn retailer should stick to whatever price it decides to sell at. The retailer should give you the same price regardless of your bargaining skills.

(For more information, check Saturn’s website at www.saturn.com)