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The thing is, we almost had this already with Saturn. There were dealerships, but all the cars had fixed prices- no haggling- so it was almost direct-to-consume

The thing is, we almost had this already with Saturn. There were dealerships, but all the cars had fixed prices- no haggling- so it was almost direct-to-consumer, with a bit of added tax for the useless middleman. It was great! But it built up too much resentment at the rest of GM so it had to be killed. It sucks that we're just now starting to get the future we already had, but better late than never.

vvanders 10y ago
Yup, thankfully Tesla is carrying on that torch. Went from Saturn -> Tesla and the new purchase experience was very similar(aside from ordering the Tesla on a website). I think Saturn showed that the model most consumers want is going to have to come from a non-incumbent who doesn't have the baggage of existing dealers.
- ojosilva 10y ago
  I went to Saturn back in the day. I also knew someone that worked there. My impression was of a cold environment that did not entice me to compromise $20k on a vehicle. So, although I believe the model is appealing to some (or many), I do like the guiding hand of a salesperson to help me navigate many makes, models and options. It's more of a personal choice, and definitely it's unnecessary for say Teslas. I feel the car salesperson is not just something to be disrupted and eradicated, but to evolve into a more modern counterpart, like the people at shift.com. OTOH, car dealership mafias should definitely die.
  - mixedCase 10y ago
    > So, although I believe the model is appealing to some (or many), I do like the guiding hand of a salesperson to help me navigate many makes, models and options. Then you should pay for someone to offer you that service. He would be more likely to be impartial too.
  - massysett 10y ago
    "I do like the guiding hand of a salesperson to help me navigate many makes, models and options." A good salesman would be good for this. My last salesman did not know how to operate the in-dash entertainment system. Information-wise, I would have been better off ordering my car from a kiosk.
rfrey 10y ago
I never understood the appeal of Saturn. I mean, every dealership has the option of "no-haggle" if you walk in and pay the sticker price.
- benjohnson 10y ago
  Saturn's sticker price was fair - as opposed to other car makes having their sticker price as "we would make a killing if someone bought it at this price."
ghaff 10y ago
Some individual dealers are no-haggle with "fair" (discounted of MSRP). Some brands may be as well--Scion possibly? The problem is that people love to complain but a lot will simply walk if they go into a dealer and are told the price is the price. There are also still financing and trade-in games that most people don't have the luxury of simply ignoring--in part because they're trying to get themselves into a car they can't really afford.

vvanders 10y ago

Yup, thankfully Tesla is carrying on that torch. Went from Saturn -> Tesla and the new purchase experience was very similar(aside from ordering the Tesla on a website). I think Saturn showed that the model most consumers want is going to have to come from a non-incumbent who doesn't have the baggage of existing dealers.

ojosilva 10y ago
I went to Saturn back in the day. I also knew someone that worked there. My impression was of a cold environment that did not entice me to compromise $20k on a vehicle. So, although I believe the model is appealing to some (or many), I do like the guiding hand of a salesperson to help me navigate many makes, models and options. It's more of a personal choice, and definitely it's unnecessary for say Teslas. I feel the car salesperson is not just something to be disrupted and eradicated, but to evolve into a more modern counterpart, like the people at shift.com. OTOH, car dealership mafias should definitely die.
- mixedCase 10y ago
  > So, although I believe the model is appealing to some (or many), I do like the guiding hand of a salesperson to help me navigate many makes, models and options. Then you should pay for someone to offer you that service. He would be more likely to be impartial too.
- massysett 10y ago
  "I do like the guiding hand of a salesperson to help me navigate many makes, models and options." A good salesman would be good for this. My last salesman did not know how to operate the in-dash entertainment system. Information-wise, I would have been better off ordering my car from a kiosk.

rfrey 10y ago

I never understood the appeal of Saturn. I mean, every dealership has the option of "no-haggle" if you walk in and pay the sticker price.

benjohnson 10y ago
Saturn's sticker price was fair - as opposed to other car makes having their sticker price as "we would make a killing if someone bought it at this price."

ghaff 10y ago

Some individual dealers are no-haggle with "fair" (discounted of MSRP). Some brands may be as well--Scion possibly? The problem is that people love to complain but a lot will simply walk if they go into a dealer and are told the price is the price. There are also still financing and trade-in games that most people don't have the luxury of simply ignoring--in part because they're trying to get themselves into a car they can't really afford.