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i hate to say it, but from past experience in sales having fewer dealers could be a blessing at times. I spent a couple years having to "give away" cars for a flat min commission, just to get the deal from the other guy across town. Neither dealer made any money; only the manufacturer did since they kept moving inventory thru our lots. And i've seen in some cases even in smaller markets there are 3-4 dealers selling the same marquee. Competition can be good for the consumer, but bad for the seller.
I can totally see Ranger's p.o.v. If I'm a consumer<hypathetically speaking here> looking to buy a car and I don't necessarily have loyalty to one dealer or another I'm going to try to play one against the other to get the better deal. This is assuming I only have to drive across town to the nearest dealer.
If the dealers were spread out by 60-80mi I may not bother to play these sorts of games.
I thnik this maybe better for teh reaminig dealers as they wil sale more car maybe. But overall i thnik it will cutdown on total sales of chrysler. Not mnay people liike to traqvel very far for dealer cervice these days. Alos since so mnay dealers have multiple brands these days other brands will sale even more from these dealers. I know where I live just one dealer is a single brand dealer and many have three brands they sell.e even had a buick;GMC dealer stop carrying the line about a year ago.
The whole system of selling cars has always been a bit of a puzzle to me.
How many other markets have a system where the manufacturer tends to sell his products through an outlet which sells only that product?
I know this is over-simplifying and not 100% accurate, but from the consumer's point of view if they wish to buy say a new family sedan he has to visit a number of different outlets to guage a comparison, rather than perhaps an ideal situation of having his short list all under one roof.
Is not this dealership setup something that needs change?
The dealerships are in part selected by the manufacturer to sell their products. Not only do the manufacturers not want their product lines competing for floor space with rival products, but the dealer would also have to train technicians to work on a larger range of vehicles, store more inventory and honor warranties differently depending on manufacturer. In effect, the current dealer network is an extension of the manufacturer and that’s how they would like to keep it. Dealers aren’t about giving the consumer options, they are about selling you a vehicle from a single manufacturer so no matter which model you choose, GM/Ford/Chrysler/Honda/etc pockets the cash.
If several manufacturers were competing for floor space at a single dealer you would get something similar to a current grocery store retail model, one that isn't necessarily the best for the manufacturer. They would have to cut prices, decrease margins and put the dealer in power in regards to who gets the best floor space (think Walmart).
Understood itslikeanegg, but how does this benefit the consumer?
Is there not an anti-competitve issue or other way that this could be addressed?
This model does not benefit the consumer and actually comes full circle to the original post in this thread. They are reducing dealerships so that you don't have an alternative place to shop for the same vehicle and then have the two dealers slug it out for the lowest price. Most consumers aren't terribly educated on the product they are buying. Someone says "Hey, lets go check out the cars at the dealer" and you are presented with a wide portfolio of vehicles from one manufacturer which will hopefully push you to buy from them and remove the thought of any other alternatives. Along with standard ignorance many consumers also make impulse purchases, a scenario that is optimal for a single manufacturer product portfolio. No matter which one you buy, you're buying from us.
And governments and regulatory authorities aren't interested so it seems.
I don't even hear consumer groups highlighting this.
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