Goodbye To Auto Dealerships?

[stromboli]

http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/27/tesl ... are_reddit

Tesla Motors continues to buck the odds, celebrating a major victory in the North Carolina Senate this week. The North Carolina Automobile Dealers -- concerned about competition -- set its sights on the green car company last month when it endorsed a bill that would've significantly curtailed Tesla's ability to sell vehicles in the state. The legislation, supported by the Senate's Commerce Committee, targeted direct-to-consumer sales which eliminate the need for dealerships. But Elon Musk and friends proved that it wouldn't be quite so easy to squeeze them out of NCAD's territory -- Tesla took both North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory and House Speaker Thom Tillis on test drives to show off the car's capabilities. Musk's strategy seems to have paid off, as the North Carolina House of Representatives struck down the bill on Tuesday. With another victory under its belt, Tesla's upward momentum shows few signs of slowing down anytime soon.

Several things fall out from this. Since Tesla's product line is small, the ability to find- decide on the model of choice is easy and there is no comparison shopping needed. Opting out the middle man also lowers cost, since the dealer is the source for initial prep and and showcasing. Car dealers are millionaires simply by being the middle man in the transfer from dealer to customer. Removing the dealer removes cost and also shipment, storing warehousing and a litany of car related issues. Also the ability to rip off the buyer.

In the information age, the ability to buy a car direct from manufacturer and have it delivered is a very real situation. We would in effect be removing a whole class of millionaires in our society by eliminating dealerships. They will fight this tooth and nail, guaranteed.

[Elohim]

Car dealerships make most of their profit from their used car sales, not new cars. They won't disappear, but we will see more "certified pre-owned only" lots maybe.

[AllPurposeAtheist]

Millions of cars and 1000s of dealers, new and used? They're not going anywhere. You're entitled to fantisize though. :-k

[Solitary]

We can only hope! I went to buy a new car and knew what I wanted. A salesman asked me if I had a trade end. I told him I did while he took my keys to check it out. Big mistake that will not happen again. He hid my keys and no one knew where they were. After threatening them that I was going to contact my lawyer and BBB my keys magically appeared. They had the very car I wanted: a Honda Civic, so I went to different car dealer that showed me the cars he had and drove my car and gave me the highest he could give me according to the Bluebook. He also gave me the lowest price for the new car: a Subaru Forester with everything on it with a turbo engine. I actually got the Subaru for the total cost that the Civic would have been taking into account the trade in. Honda and Toyota are great cars and reliable, but the dealers think they are made of gold. Solitary