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Automotive News & Views Dude, where did all the dealerships go?
654 messages, Last post on Nov 23, 2009 at 7:56 PM
You are in the Automotive News & Views Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & claires
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Replying to: joem5 (Apr 06, 2009 11:10 am) And frankly, none of that has the least bit to do with dealerships or how they operate, or pricing. Now, government mandates on safety and environmental protection are another matter. Personally, I'm good with most, if not all of the regs the mfrs toil under to sell in this country, from supplemental restraint systems to water-based low-or-no-VOC paint systems. I got zero problems with any of it, other than the damned idiot-stickers all over new cars! I'm frankly blown away at what we get in automobiles at the prices we pay. Adjust for inflation, and we're driving serious auto-tech bargains, from an historical perspective. We seriously get what we pay for... YMMV, of course...
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Replying to: plan_man (Apr 06, 2009 6:21 pm) Well, particularly in your case of late....
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Replying to: fezo (Apr 07, 2009 2:23 pm)  Ahhhhhhhh....  I'm really thinking more of 02's Scion xB. Not an expensive piece of equipment, especially three years used, and yet with an array of safety features, solid build, good economy, significant comfort and utility, surprising handling, capable powerplant and conveniences I never had on my first compact back when. You get a hell of a lot in a car these days, sez I.
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Replying to: plan_man (Apr 07, 2009 2:47 pm) Slightly used cars are still just amazing buys. of course I then keep them until they are almost entirely used... |
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If we could go to a place to buy a car and not have to go through the hassle of having someone try to get that extra few dollars off of you. If the sticker price was the price it might take a few months but people could get used to it. Pick up the paper and read that dealer or box store A has a vehicle you are looking for at $xxxx dollars. Location B has a vehicle $xxxx dollars and it is a bit closer. You look at your check book decide you can afford the car at place B and off you go. No surprise no wink and a promise that this car your are looking for is worth more than the car at the other location and no fleet of people giving you the hot lamp treatment to buy today. I believe if dealers had done business like this in the beginning they would never have seen so many people avoid them in times like these. Things may have slowed down anyway but remember Wallyworld was one of the few box stores that had a good holiday season. Because the people knew what they could get and that it would be the best price.
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Replying to: boaz47 (Apr 07, 2009 6:38 pm) Considering how far you have to drive to WalMart, would you want to have to drive that far to pick up your new car or get warranty service for it? And I'm not sure how stores that big would handle test drives, but I doubt they could spare the personnel for each customer to test drive for themselves the car they wanted. More likely, they would have one or two of each model available at an on-site test track that you could take for a 2-minute spin. So much for driving a manual if that's what you want, or checking out how it actually drives on the street, WalMartization of the car sales industry would have ended all that.... It's possible that boutique car dealers would survive, marking up MSRP by 10% or something, but we don't see that happening in other retail sectors. And I would say that boutique stores could ask for a non-refundable deposit to test drive their cars on the street, since it's not like WalMart lets you take that new big screen TV home and see how it performs in your living room before you pay for it. Except for niche and luxury items, the little guys are losing out to WalMart every day, every week, every year that goes by. That would be a disservice in the auto sales sector IMO.
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Replying to: nippononly (Apr 07, 2009 8:00 pm) But if it dies after you buy it, you can return it for another or for your money back. That's one reason Mom & Pops died - too much hassle with stuff that was DOA and lousy return policies.
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Replying to: steve_ (Apr 07, 2009 8:19 pm) This is just one of the many little reasons that the standard retail model can't be applied to selling cars.
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Replying to: nippononly (Apr 07, 2009 8:30 pm) Meaning they are overpriced in the first place? I can't really think of another hard good off-hand that depreciates as fast as automobiles. Maybe computers. Oh, diamond rings. That's an overpriced commodity that you'll never get your money back on.
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| thats right,do we really need all these dealers? i don't think so. there's enuff to go around. most of the ones we're losing are the incompetent,and greedy little dealers. in hard times,only the strong survive...there's 43 cars on the nascar track every weekend,and only 1 winner. it's time to get back to the basics,and maybe the automakers,will realize the public has had enough of the foolish dealer hype. i myself will never buy,because i hear the words,COUPON,REBATE,OR CASHBAX. time for a reality check. get it right this time guys,you're counting on us,the consumer. | |
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Automotive News & Views Dude, where did all the dealerships go?
