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I'm not sure why you hate car dealerships so much, doesn't your opinion apply to any distributor between the manufacturer and the end consumer? This is a the sa
by DowagerDave 2y ago
I'm not sure why you hate car dealerships so much, doesn't your opinion apply to any distributor between the manufacturer and the end consumer? This is a the same narrative that people said about bicycle retailers as well, but there are significant problems with the DTC model, notably service and support. And if you look where dealerships are located nobody wants to build housing in a big strip beside the freeway.
- simonw 2y agoDealerships are a special case. From Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Car_dealership https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Car_dealership > They have considerable political influence and have lobbied for regulations that guarantee their survival and profitability. By 2010, all US states had laws that prohibited manufacturers from side-stepping independent car dealerships and selling cars directly to consumers. By 2009, most states imposed restrictions on the creation of new dealerships to compete with incumbent dealerships.
- kristjansson 2y agoDealerships are more entrenched, but the economics aren't that different from big box stores selling white goods, bike shops selling bikes, etc. Retailing is hard, expensive, and idiosyncratic; providing adequate after sale service is worse. A manufacturer might reasonably prefer to make and market cars, while shuffling the inventory risk and retailing cost off to someone else.