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The fact that the dealership lobby is having to push for laws to protect their business means they are seeing the writing on the wall: the car dealership model

by samtho 3y ago

The fact that the dealership lobby is having to push for laws to protect their business means they are seeing the writing on the wall: the car dealership model will soon become just another (unpleasant) relic from the past. Baby Boomers and GenX both like the idea of being sold something and having that service provided, but Millennials and GenZ have consistently shown that we greatly value self-service, straightforward pricing, and not wasting time or money on feeding the “fat” in systems. Car dealerships are a major reason why new vehicles are so expensive now, with automobile pricing far outpacing inflation or any other metric. In what other industry, not using the dealership model, would we be ok with major purchases being gate-kept by an army of middlemen who’s job is to grift off of every sale, obfuscating the price, are trained in deception, and their employer will also try to sell you financing, service place, and other crazy shit that people are not informed about? At least in retail you can shop around and find the best price and margins are well understood.

phpisthebest 3y ago
>>In what other industry, not using the dealership model, would we be ok with major purchases being gate-kept by an army of middlemen who’s job is to grift off of every sale I see you have never tried to buy Enterprise Technology equipment, or Enterprise Software or really anything that is target at B2B sales Consumer sales have less of this, but 90% B2B is network of middlemen gifting off sales with no way to go direct. hell I was on a call directly with the developer of a software product I wanted to buy, it was a low 4 figure deal, but it took several weeks to buy it because the deal had to go through some 3rd party company as they did not sell direct... I would rather just added it to a cart online and bought it with my company credit card....
croes 3y ago
Self service on modern cars, good luck with that. Car dealerships need their local customers, global car manufacturers don't. Prepare yourself for a poop emoji if you try to complain.
- samtho 3y ago
  Car dealerships should not exist. The fact they have a lobby trying to get laws passed to save them should be a very clear signal that they are in trouble. Global car makers would love to sell directly. Again, why are there laws forbidding this if there was no intention by the manufacturers?
- bryanlarsen 3y ago
  Self service on an EV is easy. There's so little to do that you can learn it all yourself. Change tires, inspect and lube brakes, check brake lines for water, change wiper blades, change cabin air filters. That's pretty much all you need for about 10 years when you'll have to replace the brake fluid and/or 200,000 miles when you'll change the brake pads.
  - croes 3y ago
    What about broken head lights or turn lights?
    - bryanlarsen 3y ago
      LED lights are not a maintenance item.
      - croes 3y ago
        For self service includes small repairs not only maintenance.
        bryanlarsen 3y ago
        If somebody takes a baseball bat to your headlights then insurance pays for the replacement. And given that insurable events are the most likely reason to replace LED lights, I'm not sure why you're asking about headlights.
        3y ago
heresie-dabord 3y ago
> the car dealership model will soon become just another (unpleasant) relic from the past. The profitability of dealerships is in after-sale maintenance. Selling vehicles that require _less maintenance_ will hurt the profit model. To judge from the decision in Florida, dealerships must be owned by influential rich people there. > Baby Boomers and GenX both like the idea of being sold something and having that service provided, but Millennials and GenZ have consistently shown that we greatly value self-service, straightforward pricing, and not wasting time or money on feeding the “fat” in systems I don't think that seeing this economic model through the the distortion lense of generational marketing is a lucid explanation. Consumers don't like car dealerships and the sham business practices that they inflict on people. People who understand the new breed of electric cars know their value. The demand for EVs is growing fast and manufacturers outside the US are responding to meet the demand. The change is happening too fast for the profit model of US dealership owners.

by samtho 3y ago

phpisthebest 3y ago

>>In what other industry, not using the dealership model, would we be ok with major purchases being gate-kept by an army of middlemen who’s job is to grift off of every sale I see you have never tried to buy Enterprise Technology equipment, or Enterprise Software or really anything that is target at B2B sales Consumer sales have less of this, but 90% B2B is network of middlemen gifting off sales with no way to go direct. hell I was on a call directly with the developer of a software product I wanted to buy, it was a low 4 figure deal, but it took several weeks to buy it because the deal had to go through some 3rd party company as they did not sell direct... I would rather just added it to a cart online and bought it with my company credit card....

croes 3y ago

Self service on modern cars, good luck with that. Car dealerships need their local customers, global car manufacturers don't. Prepare yourself for a poop emoji if you try to complain.

samtho 3y ago
Car dealerships should not exist. The fact they have a lobby trying to get laws passed to save them should be a very clear signal that they are in trouble. Global car makers would love to sell directly. Again, why are there laws forbidding this if there was no intention by the manufacturers?
bryanlarsen 3y ago
Self service on an EV is easy. There's so little to do that you can learn it all yourself. Change tires, inspect and lube brakes, check brake lines for water, change wiper blades, change cabin air filters. That's pretty much all you need for about 10 years when you'll have to replace the brake fluid and/or 200,000 miles when you'll change the brake pads.
- croes 3y ago
  What about broken head lights or turn lights?
  - bryanlarsen 3y ago
    LED lights are not a maintenance item.
    - croes 3y ago
      For self service includes small repairs not only maintenance.
      - bryanlarsen 3y ago
        If somebody takes a baseball bat to your headlights then insurance pays for the replacement. And given that insurable events are the most likely reason to replace LED lights, I'm not sure why you're asking about headlights.
        3y ago

heresie-dabord 3y ago

> the car dealership model will soon become just another (unpleasant) relic from the past. The profitability of dealerships is in after-sale maintenance. Selling vehicles that require _less maintenance_ will hurt the profit model. To judge from the decision in Florida, dealerships must be owned by influential rich people there. > Baby Boomers and GenX both like the idea of being sold something and having that service provided, but Millennials and GenZ have consistently shown that we greatly value self-service, straightforward pricing, and not wasting time or money on feeding the “fat” in systems I don't think that seeing this economic model through the the distortion lense of generational marketing is a lucid explanation. Consumers don't like car dealerships and the sham business practices that they inflict on people. People who understand the new breed of electric cars know their value. The demand for EVs is growing fast and manufacturers outside the US are responding to meet the demand. The change is happening too fast for the profit model of US dealership owners.