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>A reputation for quality and a good warranty should be able to overcome that with time I'm not so sure about that. Regardless of the reputation of a brand, pe

by smeyer 12y ago

>A reputation for quality and a good warranty should be able to overcome that with time I'm not so sure about that. Regardless of the reputation of a brand, people have different tastes when it comes to cars. It's hard to know whether you'll feel comfortable driving a car, like the way it handles, and so on just because it has a good reputation, because different people have different tastes (which they may not understand well). I think taste is the main reason people test drive a few cars before buying, even if they know the reputation of chevy/toyota/tesla going in.

mikeash 12y ago
You misunderstand that sentence. The "that" which is overcome with a good warranty and a reputation for quality is the need to test drive the exact unit you're going to buy. Tesla's test-drive-then-order-online approach takes care of trying out the model of car, seeing how it drives, etc. What it doesn't take care of is finding out that the specific unit you actually purchased has an annoying squeak somewhere or explodes when you hit 45MPH.
- smeyer 12y ago
  That makes more sense. I don't think that's unique to Tesla. If I'm not mistaken, people already occasionally test drive, say, a Chevy Malibu then decide to have the dealer order another Malibu with a specific option set, color, et cetera. With new car purchases (but obviously not used car purchases), it seems that it's not so much about test driving the exact unit.
  - mikeash 12y ago
    I imagine it varies depending on the person, and maybe the brand. Some people will want to test drive the exact car they're going to buy, while others will be happy trying out the model and trusting that their unit will be the same. When I bought a new car last year, I appreciated being able to test drive the exact car I bought, although it definitely wasn't necessary. In any case, I don't think it's a big problem, just the only one I can see that would potentially remain with a test-drive-then-order-online approach.

by smeyer 12y ago

mikeash 12y ago

You misunderstand that sentence. The "that" which is overcome with a good warranty and a reputation for quality is the need to test drive the exact unit you're going to buy. Tesla's test-drive-then-order-online approach takes care of trying out the model of car, seeing how it drives, etc. What it doesn't take care of is finding out that the specific unit you actually purchased has an annoying squeak somewhere or explodes when you hit 45MPH.

smeyer 12y ago
That makes more sense. I don't think that's unique to Tesla. If I'm not mistaken, people already occasionally test drive, say, a Chevy Malibu then decide to have the dealer order another Malibu with a specific option set, color, et cetera. With new car purchases (but obviously not used car purchases), it seems that it's not so much about test driving the exact unit.
- mikeash 12y ago
  I imagine it varies depending on the person, and maybe the brand. Some people will want to test drive the exact car they're going to buy, while others will be happy trying out the model and trusting that their unit will be the same. When I bought a new car last year, I appreciated being able to test drive the exact car I bought, although it definitely wasn't necessary. In any case, I don't think it's a big problem, just the only one I can see that would potentially remain with a test-drive-then-order-online approach.