How much do car salesmen pay for their cars?

I have a buddy who was in the Navy did his enlistment and is now out. He is now going to school and is a car salesman at a Kia dealership. At the time he got hired he was driving a Honda Civic. But when he got hired on, he had to be driving a Kia to work (he works for a Kia dealership.) They let him do an even trade for a Kia Rio and he drove that for about a year. Then he traded that in for a brand new Kia Optima. He has that but has added a Kia Sportage. (About a year after getting the Optima).

He told me that he makes about $200 for every car he sells, and if he sells 10 cars a month that's a little better than average. $200 a car times 10 cars a month times 12 months is $24,000. That's less than I make in the Navy, and I get free food, housing, utilities, and health care. (But he is also a full time student, and he's not paying a dime for that, plus getting a little extra as a stipend.)

I also told him if he was going to sell the Optima, I'd be interested in purchasing it. He said he can't privately sell it, he has to trade it in or keep it or junk it.

So I'm wondering how much do they pay for their cars? I can't believe he's working just to get a car. I also don't want to think that he's going in deeper and deeper in debt just to have a car.

So in general, how much do car salesmen pay for their cars?

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