[surly Bill]

I think individual dealer markdowns are rare, there should be some manufacturer incentives that the dealer passes on to the buyer. What to beware of is "Additional Dealer Markup" which will be listed on the sticker. And dealer-added options; those are usually worth less than half what they tag onto the sticker price if you have someone else install them. It's like that old "undercoating" or "paint protection" scam they would pull.

Some ways dealerships can sweeten the deal is by offering X-amount of free oil changes, or extending the warranty if it's brought to their shop for service. But they will rarely take money off the MSRP, especially for orders.

 

[surly Bill]

I think it's old news that if you pay MORE than MSRP, you got screwed.
The only time that happens is when some new desirable vehicle becomes available. When the Sprinter 4x4s hit the market, people who "had to have one asap" were paying $10-20k over invoice and waiting 6-8 months for delivery. I thought it might be the same gold rush for the Transit AWD, but it looks like Sjkunz1978 put that idea to bed.

 

[surly Bill]

They use the incentives themselves, not passing them on to the customer.
There's not a lot of profit in new car SALES, the profit is in the disservice department and by selling the loans.