Take-it-or-leave-it price tags have suddenly become all the rage in the auto industry. A handful of enlightened individual dealers across the country, as well as all the dealers of one automaker, have decided to face head-on the traditional notion that the new-car showroom should take on the atmosphere of a third-world bazaar.

The late Saturn Corporation took the lead in eliminating haggling over a car's price at its dealerships. For the most part, Scion also sells vehicles only at MSRP, though you can sometimes get “freebies” thrown in by the dealer as an added purchase incentive.

Individual dealers of other automakers have also tried no-haggle policies. Surveys have shown that most customers love it - as long as the price is fair. Instead of boosting window sticker prices by thousands with the expectation of knocking them down during the grueling negotiating process, the dealers tack on a reasonable profit to the invoice price and refuse to bargain down the price with the customer.

Though no-dicker-stickers eliminate part of the new-car-shopping hassle, they are not a panacea for haggle-phobic customers. Even no-dicker-sticker dealers have other ways to line their pockets with your money. In fact, studies have shown consumers typically pay more for a no-dicker deal than a negotiated one, though the shoppers are more satisfied with the experience. In addition, buyers who wish to trade in their old car to such a dealer must still negotiate a price for their trade-in.

Dealer F&I managers at no-haggle dealerships can still pad dealer-provided loan or lease agreements with high or unnecessary extra charges if you let your guard down. (See Closing the Deal: Surviving the F&I Office.) In fact, the add-ons at the time you are finalizing the paperwork can make more profit for the dealer than the vehicle transaction itself. What's more, because dealer overhead can vary depending upon a dealer's location, no-dicker prices will vary. Car buyers still need to shop around for the best price, even among one-price dealerships. Worst of all, some dealerships purport to have no-dicker-stickers - but will actually negotiate if you press them. This of course means their one-price policy is a sham.

The take-home message is that if you really think you can beat the dealer at his own game, if you enjoy a good haggle, and if you have the time and patience to try, there's still no substitute for hard, astute bargaining at a traditional dealer.