Dealers getting caught and fined. Anyone hear of this before?

[av8or]

Just wondering if this is going to start getting more press and public pressure.

Ive been an advocate for direct to customer sales for all manufacturers since Tesla started doing it. I do believe we have an opportunity get rid of the dealership model as we switch over to BEVs. What do you all think? I can take the heat if you think getting rid of dealerships is wrong, I also invite some of the dealers and salespersons on this forum let me know what you think.

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[Vinman]

Just wondering if this is going to start getting more press and public pressure.

Ive been an advocate for direct to customer sales for all manufacturers....

Thats a dangerous road to go down.
May as well get rid of ALL salespeople altogether and buy EVERYTHING on line via Amazon and the like.
How many jobs will be lost if we went that route?

 

[Heimkehr]

@av8or
Do you have a synopsis of what those two talking heads in the video intended to discuss? I watched the first few minutes, but their ADD-like chattering didn't reveal any substantive content.

 

[Antonio]

Isn’t caravan already using something similar to the process of purchase you’re referring to?? They have car vending machines or whatever they call them, you basically do everything online no haggle price etc no sales person. Honestly I don’t think doing away with dealership/sales people is a good idea or to best interest of consumers! Not all dealerships are the same I get it but some are very good and not all about profit! Putting customers first!

 

[Jim1964]

I have never worried too much about the sales channel, because even before the internet age I would shop far and wide to find the vehicle I sought or the best deal.

I do care about the service channel.

My most recent experience by way of example, I tried to buy at the nearest dealer -and they offered good terms- but they couldn’t motivate Jeep to build the damn thing. So I got busy and bought one further away.

Fortunately the nearby shop has one good tech that I know I can count on. That’s really all I want post sales transaction is trustworthy service. If Stellantis had good third party authorized repair shops I’d be perfectly satisfied.

 

[Naylia]

Tesla had already paved the path. Anyone can follow their sales model now if they want.

 

[runningshoes]

Over the last ten years or so, many dealers have realized that they need larger volumes and that they really can't survive off of new car sales alone so they've leveraged up multiple dealerships and invested in service, which is where the money is made. Covid / chip shortage kind of changed that approach, but the reality is that once the supply chain issues are resolved, new car prices will drop again, and the focus will return to service. Those dealers that haven't figured this out will over time die, especially as more vehicles are sold through the direct-to-consumer channel mentioned above. The ones that figure out how to service EV's well regardless of the logo, should be able to make decent returns.

 

[av8or]

If anybody on this forum had to pay for something that the manufacturer didn’t install like anti theft device, tinting, or paint protection. Or if you were told you needed to get the extended warranty or service contract, or a processing fee, then the dealer owes you some money back. I’m mostly talking about some wide spread common practices by most dealerships. It’s interesting that most aren’t put off by this..

 

[AFD]

Tesla had already paved the path. Anyone can follow their sales model now if they want.

Aren't there still some states that disallow dealer-direct auto purchases?

Personally don't believe we should be getting rid of dealers and salespersons, but manufacturers really should allow consumers the opportunity to buy direct and bypass the dealership (where it's allowed) if they so desire.

I'll give anyone a chance, but seriously dread even bothering with a location I know won't budge very far from MSRP, if at all (which is most dealers around here, and this was prior to the supply shortage). If I'm expected to pay full retail, then I might as well be paying the manufacturer directly. I really have no problem buying a vehicle sight-unseen without so much as a test drive, and there's literally nothing I want to know from a sales guy, but that should still exist as an option for those that want/need that type of experience.

 

[roaniecowpony]

If anybody on this forum had to pay for something that the manufacturer didn’t install like anti theft device, tinting, or paint protection. Or if you were told you needed to get the extended warranty or service contract, or a processing fee, then the dealer owes you some money back. I’m mostly talking about some wide spread common practices by most dealerships. It’s interesting that most aren’t put off by this..

It's the BOHICA effect.

 

[Naylia]

Aren't there still some states that disallow dealer-direct auto purchases?

I found an old article from 2017 where there were 6 states remaining that you couldn't buy direct. I'd expect a couple more have fallen since then.

Tesla worked with their laywers to very carefully structure it. They don't run dealerships. They have galleries, where you can see a car. You can not buy the car that is in the gallery. The people there can't sell you a car. You have to go home and buy it yourself online. They have service centers, located seperately from the galleries...also not dealers. So they have carefully constructed the process to work around the dealer laws. I expect Rivian is following a similar path.

 

[Chocolate Thunder]

Direct to consumer sales of automobiles is not something I see happening anytime soon nationwide. Why not? Quite simply because to own a dealership you have to be really rich. To own a chain of dealerships, you have to be filthy rich. If there’s one thing that rich people are willing to spend lots of their money on, it’s protecting their ability to remain filthy rich and get even richer.

Enter lobbyists. They are paid obscene amounts of money by filthy rich dealership owners to distribute to more rich (usually) people to make and enforce legislation to protect their ability to be the only means of selling automobiles to consumers. Some, like Tesla for example, come around every so often challenging the status quo attempting to sell directly to customers. In most cases like that attorneys general like Ken Paxton in Texas (who coincidentally just happens to be facing a stack of federal corruption and bribery chargers) slap it down. They are getting a piece of the same pie the dealership owners baked for the lobbyists, politicians, and judges.

Even the richest man in the world lost this fight because there’s only one of him and thousands of dealership owners and conglomerates against him. Remember, rich people tend to only be willing to spend lots of money to stay rich or get richer, not to benefit the filthy unwashed consumer.

Because capitalism.

 

[Tethmes]

Personally not a fan of direct to consumer sales on large purchases. Once you learn how to play the system and make it work for you, it just becomes a battle of wills with whoever is trying to sell you the vehicle, and if it becomes clear that you can't break theirs, you just walk away and find someone else that will bend. (In a normal economical environment anyway.)

Going direct to consumer takes all of that out of play. There is no haggling, there is no potential savings. You're playing by the manufacture's rules period. Manufacturers that historically don't tend to have the best interest of the end consumer in mind.

My thoughts on it anyway.

 

[oceanblue2019]

Just wondering if this is going to start getting more press and public pressure.

Ive been an advocate for direct to customer sales for all manufacturers since Tesla started doing it. I do believe we have an opportunity get rid of the dealership model as we switch over to BEVs. What do you all think? I can take the heat if you think getting rid of dealerships is wrong, I also invite some of the dealers and salespersons on this forum let me know what you think.

Koons is horrible. Completely horrible. I had a Bronco FE on order from them and they bent the rules as the owner wanted it for his son so even after we agreed on a price he decided on a very large "market adjustment"

Not worth fighting over it so took my deposit and walked. But this class action makes me want to join it.

Dealerships like this give the manufactures a bad name and deserve to be gone. The owners deserve to be living in a cardboard box down by the river as well.

 

[roaniecowpony]

I found an old article from 2017 where there were 6 states remaining that you couldn't buy direct. I'd expect a couple more have fallen since then.

Tesla worked with their laywers to very carefully structure it. They don't run dealerships. They have galleries, where you can see a car. You can not buy the car that is in the gallery. The people there can't sell you a car. You have to go home and buy it yourself online. They have service centers, located seperately from the galleries...also not dealers. So they have carefully constructed the process to work around the dealer laws. I expect Rivian is following a similar path.

I think Tesla has run its honeymoon. It's been 10 years since the Model S came out. New electric cars from real luxury/sport makers are hitting the streets to go head to head. Would you rather have a spartan Tesla with bad body work and paint for $100k or a Porshe or Mercedes AMG that has the quality chassis and coachworks they've refined over decades and a business model you are familiar with? No contract to return it to the maker when you want to sell or tires that only can be had from the car maker.

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