Edmunds.com | Inside Line | Auto Observer Your Account | Help | Directory
You are here:
![[F]](http://a332.g.akamai.net/f/332/936/12h/www.edmunds.com/media/townhall/webxicons/site.gif){kind=small}
Forums
Smart Shopper Internet vs. Traditional Car Buying
3011 messages, Last post on Aug 27, 2009 at 10:23 AM
You are in the Smart Shopper Forum. Your Hosts are kirstie_h & tidester
|
|
|---|---|
|
Replying to: bar20 (Dec 15, 2008 3:24 pm)  The main reason I would want to call an Internet customer is to make sure he is an actual buyer, and not a 6 year old playing on daddy's computer. |
|
|
Replying to: bar20 (Dec 15, 2008 3:24 pm) I have no problem paying a reasonable amount for registration fees. It's not just added profit. They are saving me from going to the DMV. You don't want to pay that? Go register the car yourself. I'll happily pay that fee and save myself some time. A. |
|
|
Replying to: bar20 (Dec 15, 2008 3:24 pm) I am an internet manager and my job is to answer to email inquiries, and obviously sell cars. I get the inquiries daily. 75% of them never respond back, whether you send a price or not, whether you're nice and email them back, or leave a phone message. Some people will ask for photos to be emailed of cars, only to never respond again. The least they can say is thanks but no thanks. I will not go out of my way with email leads unless I know the person I'm dealing with is at least a grown up who just might be legally allowed to buy and drive a car. Some will not give a phone number, and use your price to shop at their dealer locally. I am sorry but I do not feel like acting like a step ladder for someone far away by working out a price they can take to their local dealer and shop me. If you want a good price and save money, then you have to earn it, just like anything in life. That might mean making some phone calls, providing a REAL NAME and a REAL PHONE NUMBER if you want a REAL QUOTE, maybe showing up with your trade in, etc..... But it all comes with the job, so I don't mind. But don't be surprised if you do get a phone call to check if you're for real.  Happy Shopping |
|
|
I think your missing what internet shopping is. I choose internet shopping to not have to hassel with the "sales" pitches. I can research my on products on line, review both consumer reports and buyer reviews. I know what I want and I want the to be told what I can buy the car for at the lot. I dont want to be called and I am trying to avoid any lot time. You are just using the internet to advertise your inventory and to make contact with potential customers. The deal can be made with no face time. The bottom line is you need customers and you need cars leaving your lot. The MSR and Invoice Price are all available, what internet buyers want is what are you capable of doing for us to get us below the invoice price and to include some options for mass produced accessories that you are now nickel and diming your customers to increase your profits. The invoice price is not the "true" cost of the vehicle. It is below the invoice. Floor mats arent $150, mud flaps arent $100. Dealers are making money, profits may be down but that is not the consumers fault. Internet shoppers want the bottom line with a click of a button. You internet salesmen need to provide this. I just spent 7 hours at the dealers on a "internet" purchase. Thid did include 2 test drives but was not any thing near what I would consider a "internet" purchase. Until "internet sales" provides the service we want: 1. offer the invoice price 2. haggle for the accessories you want 3. get the sales and managment to tell you what their lowest sale price is 4. tell them to give you some time 5. call all the other local dealers and see if they will beat the price 6. Tell the salesman what the other dealer will sell at 7. Accept their new offer or call the other dealers agin I just bought a 2009 RAV4 and am happy with the price but 15 min after we took the sales counter offer another dealer called me back with a lower counter offer. I dont think we hit the lowest price but I was down to $100 difference on quotes. |
|
|
Replying to: enoli (Jan 06, 2009 2:30 am) 7 hours??? What the heck was going on that it took that long? If you handle an internet sale properly, your car, price and paperwork should be waiting for you. Then you take a quick test drive (or not), sign the papers, and away you go... about an hour. Sounds like you did pretty good though. Congrats on your Rav4. |
|
|
Replying to: enoli (Jan 06, 2009 2:30 am) Why does everyone think that dealers somehow have free accessories to throw in. Do some think that we have a accessory factory with elves in the back, or maybe a compost that turns garbage into free floormats Any business whether a car dealership, a bank, or a furniture store..their goal is to make a profit so they can keep their doors open. If they're not making much on a big sale, then they will try to make that up in the sale of other items whether add ons, insurance, etc.. So how many rounds of stepos 6 and 7 are you willing to go? You want the lowest price up front but yet you will shop it elsehwere and then expect me to lower it again........ 
|
|
|
Replying to: enoli (Jan 06, 2009 2:30 am) As Jip mentioned, for many of us, the ideal end to the internet transaction would be to show up and find just about everything already in order, sign the paperwork, and drive away. If there's a trade involved, this won't exactly work, but some of the process can be streamlined. There's no way internet sales are going to evolve to a point where the dealer offers invoice + at-cost accessories, just so you can shop that price and then come back asking for a bigger discount. |
|
|
|
|
Replying to: boomchek (Jan 06, 2009 11:31 am) He thinks all cars should sell for invoice or even less so matter what the demand may be. He doesn't care one twit about that the costs of keeping the doors open are nor will he be the slightest bit loyal to you in the future. Just part of the business.
|
|
|
Replying to: isellhondas (Jan 11, 2009 9:08 am) |
|
|
|
|
He just wants your "best" price in writing so he can shop it all over town. Why on earth should someone about to spend $20-30-40-50+k not shop around for the best price? Why is this considered an evil trait? Riding across town to save 3 cents per gallon on gasoline is one thing but hundreds and thousands are at stake in a new car purchase. If it is just not possible this month for you to be able to beat your competition in the next suburb, how can you blame the buyer? If you have really done the best you can do, how can it be fair to blame the buyer if someone else can provide the product at a better value? I typically will not get involved in "best price" contest for customers like that. I just tell them to come in when they have done their research, test drives, and have quotes from all over town. I'll beat it or I'll give them a freebie of some sorts just for coming in, if I can't do the deal. Folks expecting a price online do not want to come in to a half dozen dealerships and have to spend hours at a time repeating the same list of desires, doing the same song and dance, to yet another dealer over and over. Maybe I am cut from a different cloth than other buyers but I don't consider it fair to get a good faith number from dealer A and use that information against dealer B. Fair is fair -- put your bid out there and let the best man win. If you don't want to provide a price and are using the so called "internet department" as just another lead generator, as a buyer I see this as a place to avoid --same old routine over at XYZ Motors. Only one place can earn the business; everyone else has to be scratched off the list for one reason or another. I'd hate for a good guy like yourself to lose simply because you were afraid to get into the ballgame. You lose and so do I by missing out on doing business with one of the good guys. I've learned a bunch over the years but I still don't get this part of the equation. As for loyalty, I deeply hate that this is a dying concept but it is really a thing of the past in most instances. Case in point, many decades ago my grandfather was injured at work and remained bedridden for a good while. The old timey mop and pop grocery allowed my grandparents to charge groceries until times were better. Without that generosity, my father, aunt and uncle would have suffered greatly. I recall asking my grandmother once about why she chose to pay higher prices for a limited selection of goods long after the modern supermarket chains came to town. She proceeded to tell me the story and I learned a good life lesson at a rather young age. She remained loyal to her death and bought a large percentage of her groceries there. Still though, the
|
|
You are here:
Forums
Smart Shopper Internet vs. Traditional Car Buying
New? Join Now!
Forum Tools
Search Forums
Browse by Vehicle
Browse by Board
Browse by Topic
Today's Chats
