sa_meredith:
I understand your perspective on this, and from your posts it seems like you're getting wound up about it more than necessary.
Not to be a grammer/spelling nazi, but you have a TON of annoying errors in your posts that makes some of what you write come across as "traditional car salesman". Take some time to proofread your posts and use a spell checker. They don't have to be perfect, but you could do better.
Regarding the overall car buying process and negotiation tactics. You do this *every day*, multiple times a day (if you're any good). The average car buyer probably buys 8 new cars in their lifetime, maybe less. You have a tremendous experience advantage over your customer, AND you have all the inside knowledge.
The average car buyer has nothing against you needing to pay your mortgage, but he needs to pay his (or hers) as well. Also, the buyer *knows* that the sticker price is representative of almost nothing, and the first "best" deal offered by the salesman is generally far from what they would actually take (or expect to get).
You say that the car salespeople are just honest decent people, and that may generally be true. But, the Internet is also littered with "inside scoop" from current and former car salesmen that also says otherwise:
http://consumerist.com/2007/03/deale...o-beat-it.html
Like most of these situations, the truth probably lies somewhere in between.
For most people, buying a car is a pretty significant "investment" and expense. Car dealerships have traditionally not built themselves a reputation for having the customers best interest in mind, so it's not surprising that we've wound up in this scenario.