Getting rid of Auto dealerships....not such a good Idea IMO.....

[justoffal]

Both Tesla and Rivian are chomping at the legislative bit for this scenario wherein direct sales to the public circumvent a middle mad. But I see problems for the consumer...some of them have already presented themselves with Tesla's business model. Dealerships are notorious of course for overpricing their garage services but there are reasons why the bill gets high at times....sometimes its because the RIGHT fix is an EXPENSIVE fix....that simple.....Sometimes its a ripoff too...and yes it is an ugly game at times. However anything with a national distribution is going to need local representatives to service the sales and maintenance of the products. Frankly I don't trust a bunch of bran name franchisees to to the same thing an independent agent ( dealership ) will do. The company owned store will be looking after company intersect and so eager to please the consumer on cost consumptive services. A layer of protection is needed between the single consumer and the giant corporation. Longstanding arguments between the two are never good for the individual they simply do not have the staying power of the Big corporation. In any event if the dealership system is dismantled it would only have to be reestablished again as a system of evenly spread company stores that do the same thing but with less interest in consumer needs. Am I wrong?

JO

 

[pknopp]

Choice. Is that not a good thing? If you don't like Tesla's business model you don't buy a Tesla. Is this not the very principle behind Capitalism?

 

[justoffal]

Choice. Is that not a good thing? If you don't like Tesla's business model you don't buy a Tesla. Is this not the very principle behind Capitalism?

Unfortunately it wouldn't just be Tesla....once the dealerships start going down all the automakers will join in IMO...
I think that is bad for the average consumer Myself .... but maybe I'm wrong?

 

[iamwhatiseem]

Both Tesla and Rivian are chomping at the legislative bit for this scenario wherein direct sales to the public circumvent a middle mad. But I see problems for the consumer...some of them have already presented themselves with Tesla's business model. Dealerships are notorious of course for overpricing their garage services but there are reasons why the bill gets high at times....sometimes its because the RIGHT fix is an EXPENSIVE fix....that simple.....Sometimes its a ripoff too...and yes it is an ugly game at times. However anything with a national distribution is going to need local representatives to service the sales and maintenance of the products. Frankly I don't trust a bunch of bran name franchisees to to the same thing an independent agent ( dealership ) will do. The company owned store will be looking after company intersect and so eager to please the consumer on cost consumptive services. A layer of protection is needed between the single consumer and the giant corporation. Longstanding arguments between the two are never good for the individual they simply do not have the staying power of the Big corporation. In any event if the dealership system is dismantled it would only have to be reestablished again as a system of evenly spread company stores that do the same thing but with less interest in consumer needs. Am I wrong?

JO

Absolutely.
All you have to do to verify what you say here, is to have a problem that falls outside of expected norms with AT&T, Apple or anyother massive corporation.
Most actually have really good service as long as the problem you are having is "usual". Then a script is followed and your problem is fixed quickly. Everything else is a nightmare.

 

[pknopp]

Unfortunately it wouldn't just be Tesla....once the dealerships start going down all the automakers will join in IMO...
I think that is bad for the average consumer Myself .... but maybe I'm wrong?

If they can make it work, then that is simply progress.

 

[rightwinger]

We are now an Amazon society. Order what you want online and have it shipped. You can find any car you want from around the country. You don’t have to settle on what is in the dealers lot or pay off the middleman.

You also don’t have to put up with dealer hard sell trying to get you to buy unneeded products and services.

 

[justoffal]

If they can make it work, then that is simply progress.

well....its a good notion anyway.....you have to forgive me as my experience tells me that dealing directly with the corporation simply sucks for any one single consumer. They would have to create a middle tier anyway and the middle tier would lack even handedness I'm afraid because it would be the company in disguise.

JO

 

[Dekster]

No dealerships mean you don't have a local place to take it for recalls. My car is under a recall but apparently it won't be until late summer at the earliest they anticipate having enough parts available to start fixing them. It is just a dippy switch (which I sporadically have trouble with).

 

[justoffal]

No dealerships mean you don't have a local place to take it for recalls. My car is under a recall but apparently it won't be until late summer at the earliest they anticipate having enough parts available to start fixing them. It is just a dippy switch (which I sporadically have trouble with).

yeah eventually law suits would force the corporations to open up local service centers away yes?

 

[rightwinger]

No dealerships mean you don't have a local place to take it for recalls. My car is under a recall but apparently it won't be until late summer at the earliest they anticipate having enough parts available to start fixing them. It is just a dippy switch (which I sporadically have trouble with).

Dealerships can still keep their Service Centers just like they always have
You can also compete those centers with independents who can handle recalls.

 

[pknopp]

yeah eventually law suits would force the corporations to open up local service centers away yes?

If it isn't working then very possible.

 

[Sunni Man]

Tesla refuses to sell parts or repair manuals to anyone. Period.
So if you own a Tesla and it breaks down. The only place you can get it repaired is a Tesla dealership. There is no other option.
Tesla parts to fix your car are super expensive and the mechanic hourly rates are sky high.

 

[rightwinger]

Tesla refuses to sell parts or repair manuals to anyone. Period.
So if you own a Tesla and it breaks down. The only place you can get it repaired is a Tesla dealership. There is no other option.
Tesla parts to fix your car are super expensive and the mechanic hourly rates are sky high.

Most new cars today are like that

The days of the Driveway Mechanic are gone

 

[justoffal]

Dealerships can still keep their Service Centers just like they always have
You can also compete those centers with independents who can handle recalls.

Still better to have a lot full of vehicles to browse IMO.... I don't like the idea of buying a picture and then waiting for it to show up.

JO

 

[justoffal]

Most new cars today are like that

The days of the Driveway Mechanic are gone

yeah...you pretty much can't touch anything under the hood anymore.

 

[pknopp]

Tesla refuses to sell parts or repair manuals to anyone. Period.
So if you own a Tesla and it breaks down. The only place you can get it repaired is a Tesla dealership. There is no other option.
Tesla parts to fix your car are super expensive and the mechanic hourly rates are sky high.

Sadly you can't work on any new car today without expensive computers.

 

[Baron Von Murderpaws]

The dealerships would just be turned into company owned stores.

The money loss would be too detrimental to automakers if the store locations were to all be closed down.
Loss of income.
Loss of jobs.
Loss of easily accessible vehicles to purchase for consumers.


Tesla and Rivian don't want middlemen selling their vehicles, because it means less money for them in the long run. Which is stupid, because as it is, automakers sell at a set price to dealerships, and the dealerships sell the markup price. That doesn't mean that the automaker doesn't heinously markup their vehicles to sell to dealerships.

Tesla and Rivian assume they will make more money selling directly from the company, than having to invest in franchisees to do it for them. Even if that is true.........HOW are people going to get their vehicles?

Problems with this:

1. You're going to have to order online. You don't get to see anything in person. You don't know if the vehicle fits you right, if the colors are exactly as they are listed online, etc... Not even a test drive.
2. Since you have to order online, you are going to have to wait for it. No more driving it off the showroom floor or the dealership lot.
3. HOW are you going to get your new vehicle? Do they deliver it to your door? Do you have to go pick it up at the closest Tesla/Rivian office? Where is that office? In another city? In another state?
4. Are the laws governing vehicle sales in this country going to change? Will you have 30 days to return the vehicle if you don't like it, for a full refund? Or are you stuck with it after 2 weeks, as it is now?
5. Are the destination charges and shipping charges going to be removed from online sales? (you know they won't)
6. Are the prices of said vehicles going to be CHEAPER with online sales, cutting out the middlemen/shipping/and destination fees? EXTREMELY doubtful. The companies will just rename those charges and double them.

There is something to be said for getting a vehicle made the way you order it.
BUT.......is it going to be worth the aggravation of the wait times and not knowing what you are really getting?

 

[Moonglow]

I hate buying from dealerships and have not done it since 1996.

 

[Dekster]

Most new cars today are like that

The days of the Driveway Mechanic are gone

IDK. My mechanic says he has trained on EV's but refuses to ever work on them. He feels that that risk of electrocution is too high

 

[rightwinger]

yeah...you pretty much can't touch anything under the hood anymore.

Even simple things like plugs, belts and hoses

The driveway oil change is a thing of the past.