What does a car dealer earn on a car?
There is no fixed amount. What a dealer keeps depends on three things: where they bought, what they put into it and how long the car sat on the lot.
- Median private
- 6.200,00
- Median dealer
- 16.540,00
- Private listings, 7 days
- 40.304
What comes off the margin
Gross margin is the difference between purchase and sale. What remains is another story:
- inspection, servicing and small repairs
- cleaning and sale preparation
- listing costs and photos
- interest or financing while the car sits
- statutory warranty, plus the risk of a claim on it
- VAT on your margin for a margin car
A rule of thumb you hear often: buy 20 to 30 percent under the realistic sale price. After the above, a few hundred euro net per car is a typical result.
Why the purchase makes the difference
Almost everything on that list you can influence only a little. The purchase price you can. That is why trading is about buying, not selling.
And that is why dealers buy from private sellers: it is the only place you buy below trade price. It is at the same time the condition for the margin scheme.
The gap between private and dealer
The figures above come from our own scanners: the median asking price of private and of dealer listings over the last 7 days, across five platforms in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany.
Note what that gap is not. It is not a margin. Dealers offer younger cars on average and price in warranty and sale preparation. It is the best public picture of where the two markets sit.
Frequently asked questions
What does a car dealer earn on a car?
There is no fixed amount. Gross margin is often between 10 and 20 percent of the sale price, but inspection, repair, cleaning, listing costs, financing and warranty still come off. Net, a few hundred euro per car is typical.
Where do car dealers buy their cars?
From private sellers, at auctions, from leasing companies and from each other. Buying from private sellers gives the best price and is the condition for the margin scheme, but it demands speed: sharp listings are often gone within the hour.
How much margin is there on a used car?
It varies strongly by segment and age. On a cheap car the margin is small in euro but large in percent, on an expensive car exactly the other way round.
This page explains the main rules and is not tax advice. For your own situation, certainly for import, export or cross-border trade, ask your accountant or the tax authority.
What a margin car is · The purchase declaration · Live price gap per brand · Buying cars from private sellers