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I would prefer paying for trying. It's added to the price anyway, it would be more customer friendly to have the fees exposed and not bundled with the purchase

I would prefer paying for trying. It's added to the price anyway, it would be more customer friendly to have the fees exposed and not bundled with the purchase itself.

coldtea 11y ago
A lot of things people say they would pay for, when speaking to the press or market research etc, in practice they never do -- and obviously not in large numbers. I've read several stories of founders for example hearing people say "I'd buy that" etc, but in practice they found out nobody would bother with their product/service, it solved a non-painful enough problem, etc. Paying for checking out cars to buy seems like one of these things.
- jonlucc 11y ago
  I see an even bigger problem. Most people hate car salespeople. I hate car shopping and mattresses are even worse because the salespeople's incentives are very unclear and they clearly dick around with people. That perception isn't going to change overnight (and the salespeople's tactics would be tough to change quickly), so I won't pay for it any time soon.
  - gshubert17 11y ago
    The last new car I bought was a Saturn in 1992, mainly because their business model involved no haggling on prices and salespeople were there to help customers find the best match for them. I don't understand why this model didn't spread further.
    - ghaff 11y ago
      The are no haggle dealerships generally and Scion, I believe, is a no haggle brand. There may be others. (Of course that doesn't necessarily mean that trade-ins and financing deals are no haggle.) As for why it hasn't spread further, I imagine it's partly because a lot of people go into a car dealership expecting to apply their (they think) leet negotiating skills and will walk if told that the price is the price. From the dealer perspective, bargaining is also an opportunity to price discriminate. Given that dealers don't in general make a lot on new car sales, the best answer is probably that it's the system everyone is used to.
- bluecalm 11y ago
  I am definitely not saying people would pay for trying stuff - they wouldn't and they would think it's ridiculous. I am saying I would gladly pay being an informed consumer. It's the same with people thinking loyalty cards are good for them while banning that would actually benefit them.

I would prefer paying for trying. It's added to the price anyway, it would be more customer friendly to have the fees exposed and not bundled with the purchase itself.

coldtea 11y ago

A lot of things people say they would pay for, when speaking to the press or market research etc, in practice they never do -- and obviously not in large numbers. I've read several stories of founders for example hearing people say "I'd buy that" etc, but in practice they found out nobody would bother with their product/service, it solved a non-painful enough problem, etc. Paying for checking out cars to buy seems like one of these things.

jonlucc 11y ago
I see an even bigger problem. Most people hate car salespeople. I hate car shopping and mattresses are even worse because the salespeople's incentives are very unclear and they clearly dick around with people. That perception isn't going to change overnight (and the salespeople's tactics would be tough to change quickly), so I won't pay for it any time soon.
- gshubert17 11y ago
  The last new car I bought was a Saturn in 1992, mainly because their business model involved no haggling on prices and salespeople were there to help customers find the best match for them. I don't understand why this model didn't spread further.
  - ghaff 11y ago
    The are no haggle dealerships generally and Scion, I believe, is a no haggle brand. There may be others. (Of course that doesn't necessarily mean that trade-ins and financing deals are no haggle.) As for why it hasn't spread further, I imagine it's partly because a lot of people go into a car dealership expecting to apply their (they think) leet negotiating skills and will walk if told that the price is the price. From the dealer perspective, bargaining is also an opportunity to price discriminate. Given that dealers don't in general make a lot on new car sales, the best answer is probably that it's the system everyone is used to.
bluecalm 11y ago
I am definitely not saying people would pay for trying stuff - they wouldn't and they would think it's ridiculous. I am saying I would gladly pay being an informed consumer. It's the same with people thinking loyalty cards are good for them while banning that would actually benefit them.