Pre-00s Saturn was great. Then the bean counters crushed them and they became just another badge. It will probably be a standard textbook corporate politics lesson for MBAs someday.

Yeah, "no haggle" dealers still have some other levers. I'd also point out that a lot of people want to negotiate because they at least think that they come out ahead as opposed to having to just pay sticker.

I don't love dealers and can't say my last experience about a decade ago was great. But it definitely helps if you don't need financing and are prepared to just donate your old clunker if you don't get offered enough.

I bought a "no haggle" car recently and there was a pretty aggressive sales pitch for the extended warranty, which we haggled about. I think from the dealer's point of view, the car price is what it is (I'm just going to ask for KBB price anyway), but they really want the service money.

I bought my last car from a dealer that wasn't super convenient to me because they had the vehicle I was looking for on their lot. They were very insistent I said hello to the service manager even though their location meant I was never going to take my car there.

Yes, I bought my car during COVID, so I was just thinking hurry up, I want to get out of your virus cave already! On the plus side, the masks meant I could stone face during the haggle.