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One of the world's most complex engineering challenges, filled with tens of thousands of highly engineered parts and tens of millions of lines of code, with per

One of the world's most complex engineering challenges, filled with tens of thousands of highly engineered parts and tens of millions of lines of code, with per unit pricing ranging from $10k to $100k+, is a "commodity"? The term "commodity" typically refers to products that feature little to no differentiation between each other. It means you could largely "throw a dart" to pick one, and you'd be no better or worse off than someone who does meticulous research. That you say you won't buy another car until yours falls apart already suggests that perhaps you don't actually consider cars to be a commodity. Sure, you won't upgrade in order to get a faster or more luxurious car. But I'd imaging from your statement that reliability is probably important for you. Although you don't state it, if you frequently have family with you in the car, or even if you don't, there's a good chance safety is important as well. Cars from various manufacturers vary greatly in both these respects. Not to mention that for other people, sportiness, luxuriousness, ruggedness, storage space, and other factors are important as well, and cars vary on those dimensions as well. If the vehicle market qualifies as a commodity, so are the majority of markets of any sort, to the degree that the concept of a commodity adopts a useless definition.

billclerico 13y ago
the same model car across different dealerships is a commodity. that's why carwoo was great, it helps you run a commodity auction to get the best price.
- IgorPartola 13y ago
  Right. The problem is that most people have no idea which car to get. "Honey, this one has a nicer GPS system, but that one has a moonroof! Oh, but this one has symmetric all wheel drive. I don't know what that is but it sounds impressive. Or wait, this other one has a SH-AWD... and this one has X-Drive. You know what, I'll take the moonroof!" The sales staff are not competing against other dealerships of the same maker. They are competing against other makes. They are really selling you the brand. Having said that, I think it's stupid that once you know the exact make and model you still need to deal with the sales staff. At that point, just give me the best price you have. You know what it is, you know what your competitors are doing. Why are we still talking? Also, I don't know if you've noticed, but the landscape is changing. One of the big changes is that much more of the salesperson's income comes from salary and not commission. This is good. This means less sneaky tactics. Also, lots of dealerships now have an Internet department which will give you a quote online that is likely pretty close to your final offer. It's still worth trying to haggle, but lots of them don't have time for this: they simply give you an offer that's low enough to where you might actually just take it.

billclerico 13y ago

the same model car across different dealerships is a commodity. that's why carwoo was great, it helps you run a commodity auction to get the best price.

IgorPartola 13y ago
Right. The problem is that most people have no idea which car to get. "Honey, this one has a nicer GPS system, but that one has a moonroof! Oh, but this one has symmetric all wheel drive. I don't know what that is but it sounds impressive. Or wait, this other one has a SH-AWD... and this one has X-Drive. You know what, I'll take the moonroof!" The sales staff are not competing against other dealerships of the same maker. They are competing against other makes. They are really selling you the brand. Having said that, I think it's stupid that once you know the exact make and model you still need to deal with the sales staff. At that point, just give me the best price you have. You know what it is, you know what your competitors are doing. Why are we still talking? Also, I don't know if you've noticed, but the landscape is changing. One of the big changes is that much more of the salesperson's income comes from salary and not commission. This is good. This means less sneaky tactics. Also, lots of dealerships now have an Internet department which will give you a quote online that is likely pretty close to your final offer. It's still worth trying to haggle, but lots of them don't have time for this: they simply give you an offer that's low enough to where you might actually just take it.