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it ain't gonna happen and you have to be some kind of stupid to want it to happen.
This became a tolerated language at CD? Smells of the ex member garagelogic a mile away. That's why he's ex.
Also, how do you actually know about "communist Russia"? Been there? Bought and serviced a car? I did. We had showrooms, akin to what you have here at dealer. We had service centers. Yes, cars were sold by state owned stores, but warranty also was there just like any other car sold here. Sheesh...
Hmmm... Dealer has experts. OK. So who teaches those experts? Manufacturer. So who has more expertise? Teacher or student?
Ever took your car to dealer to have them clueless and blanket "repairing" need or not? Or, charging $574 before tax for spark plugs replacement, following protocol, while it takes 45 minutes a guy with hands, patience and tools to do at home? "removing transmission" to do ATF change while all it needs is loosening engine mounts and lifting power train some to remove pan? Want me to keep going?
I rather like being able to go into a dealership, test drive a car and ask questions about it.
You can do that at Tesla stores, too. it's just that you then order your car and it's delivered to you.
As for service, they have regional service centers and the car is picked up and taken to one, if it's not software related, and then delivered back to you upon completion (software related issues can be dealt with wirelessly while you still have your car)
For a lot of people the dealership model is a straight up hassle, and dealing with clueless salesmen who know little about the product and just want to upsell you is a major pain. Especially if it takes a couple hours of back and forth with a "manager" to come up with a price and then an hour with an F&I guy who is trying to sell you more stuff.
A lot of people want to buy a car like they do products on Amazon or at an Apple store. Some dealers are willing to do that, many are not. If a manufacturer wants to set up a distribution model that matches that, then they should be free to do so without interference from an outdated dealership lobby.
Manufacturers do not have costs associated with retailing a motor vehicle, so if the dealers were eliminated and manufacturers had to handle those costs on their own, that would have to factor in the price of the cars. So the question becomes who can execute a retail network cheaper, a manufacturer or independent dealers? It's not as simple as "get rid of the dealers and the middleman costs."
In fact, as experiments like the Ford Auto Collection showed, the current group of independent dealers made retailing work better than the auto companies could do.
Why? Auto dealerships are a very unique business. Overall dealer profit margins are razor thin. On average a dealership return is about 2% of sales which compared to many other industries is terrible. Dealers have to pinch pennies day after day and even the savvy dealers max-out at 4-5% return on sales. Manufacturers are looking to make returns FAR higher than that, so when they took over dealers the car prices went up and sales plummeted.
I believe any automaker should have the choice of whether to use dealers or not. Whatever they choose, though, should be mandated across the country. (So they can't use dealers in one state but not another.) The market ultimately will show which model works best but unless the manufacturers really learn to act and operate like car dealers need to, I suspect the dealer model will still win-out.
Making a car is a whole different ballgame then selling it, servicing it, and also becoming a used car dealer simultaneously.
Thing is, we no longer need a retail network. There is a new way to buy cars. Many people use it now. We could get rid of dealers today, and by next month, everyone would be buying cars online. Dealerships are out of date and will eventually fade away. It will take years maybe even a decade, but they are done. Couldn't happen soon enough IMO. Any business where individual compensation is based on getting people to buy things they do not need and cannot afford and/or getting people to may more than they really need to for a product (ie focused n taking advantage of naive or unsophisticated people), is one we can do without. For a time, the Mfgs may need to have test drive centers, but eventually people will learn to accept buying cars based on test reports, etc. We no longer need middlemen or massive lots filled with cars that are not what a particular buyer wants, but which a salesman will try to convince them to buy anyway.
You order your car, select colors and options a computer located that car for you and it is either delivered or you pick it up. The end. Eventually they will work out just on time delivery and the cars will be made to order. That will take more advanced computer systems than we have right now.
No more than you can any online purchase. But you get a car custom built for you. Instead of one specc'ed like the dealer thought would sell best (and is thus a compromise that isn't your first choice). Why "settle" for what's on the lot if you're spending new car money? Hell, even my Volt was a dealer swap from a dealership 200 miles a way to get the spec I wanted. I have no problem waiting for what I want, and many, many people are in the same frame of mind as myself.
No more than you can any online purchase. But you get a car custom built for you. Instead of one specc'ed like the dealer thought would sell best (and is thus a compromise that isn't your first choice). Why "settle" for what's on the lot if you're spending new car money? Hell, even my Volt was a dealer swap from a dealership 200 miles a way to get the spec I wanted. I have no problem waiting for what I want, and many, many people are in the same frame of mind as myself.
Because I want a car today, not weeks from now. I want to see and drive it in the exact color, material and equipment combinations that I'm looking for.
I've never had to get a car custom built to get what I wanted. I just went in, made a deal and left with the car. Today.
Any sales model that can't deliver this is a fail.
I rather like being able to go into a dealership, test drive a car and ask questions about it.
Yes, but do you want to pay and extra $5000 to do that?
People are used to dealerships and some will grumble as they fade out, but everyone willg et use to it over time.
Some of the arguments being made here make no sense. There is no difference in whether a car MFG offers you the wrong car or a dealership does. Either way you reject it and get what you want (or maybe in the dealer instance a clever salesman convinces you to accept it). People in rural locations already have to drive hundreds of miles to a dealership. But given the cost of maintaining a dealership, it is likely a mfg could just deliver the vehicle to or near you by truck and still come out ahead.
While dealer margins are lower than they were, that is in part because their costs are excessive. They waste money on fancy showrooms and offices, big signs, flags, balloons, hiring relatives to do work that adds no real value, etc. That simply demonstrates it is time to eliminate the massive overhead a dealership requires. Dealerships absolutely do not reduce the cost of cars, they increase it. Not only do you have profits to pay, but layers of commissions, salaries, rent/property, insurance, IT, marketing, taxes, legal, on and on. Dealerships spend an inordinate amount of money trying to get you to chose their Ford dealership over some other Ford Dealership. This adds nothing but cost. They are all seling the same Fords and have the same cost, Marketing the cars is done by the Mfg. Dealers also spend all kinds of money advertising phony bait and switch pricing programs (that no one actually qualifies for). How do you think all of this cost gets paid for? It is in the price of the car. Take away this cost and the Mfgs will be able to reduce priced (or avoid further increases).
Automotive industry is having a crises right now because cars have gotten so expensive people are keeping them for 12-15 years. If you buy a $60,000 car, you are not going to replace it in three years like people used to do. Used car prices are falling too and new cars will have difficulty competing with the used car market. They need to reduce production right now and they need to figure out a way to price cars so that people are not forced into 82 or 96 month loans. Some people are dumb enough to roll the gap in their car loan into a new loan, but not many, and eventually that catches up with you.
They must cut the cost of new cars. The best way to do that is to reduce overhead/administrative costs. The easiest way to do that is to get rid of dealerships. Car shows will probably need to go too. They really serve little purpose anymore and they cost a fortune - which in turn is added to the price.
It doesn't have to be 'done away with', there should just be the choice. If a manufacturer wants to sell direct to the consumer, that is on them. If they don't, that is also on them. There are plenty of smaller vehicle manufacturers that might not have the luxury of having dealerships all across the country. This way, they could just sell direct to whomever no matter where they live.
Actually, a lot of them already do that. My son ordered his car online, got it $100 over invoice and picked it up at the dealership.
Because I want a car today, not weeks from now. I want to see and drive it in the exact color, material and equipment combinations that I'm looking for.
And you can't do that in most dealerships today. You take what they thought might sell and that's it. So a basic silver/black/beige package with one or two of the more popular equipment packages. AND THAT'S IT. The local Audi dealership that my buddy works for just ordered 50 cars: 25 white and 25 black, with specific options packages. If you don't want that combo, you have to order or find some other dealership.
When I bought my Volt, the closest dealer that had a blue one with pebble beige interior and no nav was 238 miles away. So I had a local dealer do a dealer trade and it took a week to get what I wanted. If I'm buying new, I don't settle for what's on the lot.
Tesla is doing fine with having boutique stores where you test drive the car and "build" your car and have it delivered.
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