Auto-Internet Uber Alles
Almost 90 percent of people surveyed in eight countries use the Net as the first source of information for car purchasing purposes. Consultancy Cap Gemini brings us the not-entirely-surprising news, after interviewing 3k people in the US, in Germany, France, the UK and the BRIC haus (Brazil, Russia, India and China). Ten years ago, only eleven percent of car consumers went online for information (BRIC discounted). More revelations. Indian pistonheads are the most avid users of autoblogs and forums. Brazil is home to the highest percentage of people who’d like to buy a car online. Some 17 percent of Chinese resp9ondents expect to be able to afford a luxury car in the future. (Only three percent of Europeans hope to be so lucky, lucky, lucky.) The Chinese are pretty demanding, too; two thirds say they expect a car maker (or dealer) to reply to an email inquiry within four hours. Good luck with that in the West. The death of old media seems to be happening firstest and the mostest in places where the old media was never new. Figures.
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I gotta agree with Bertel on this one. Dealers are here to stay. In the USA (home of laissez faire?), it's a matter of law.
Two problems - One, I never buy a vehicle without driving it first. Without dealers and internet-only shopping, how do you drive the car before you buy it? Unfortunately the trend towards making test drives prohibitively hard to organize is taking hold and a lot of people don't even try to organize a test drive before deciding. Two, if you want a good idea of what online-only car shopping would be like, look at eBay. Nuff said.
In a healthier business climate, I would fax an offer to the sales managers at 3 or 4 dealers stipulating exactly the car and equipment I want to buy. I say that if they wish to do business, please call me at my office before 3:00. That way, I'm at least doing my own work on my own schedule while I wait for them. In a softer time it is the same, except I don't mention the offer, and say instead that I will buy from the dealer who gives the best price by 3:00. Then I make an appointment to sign paperwork at lunch time the next day. This has worked pretty well for me so far.
heh heh, I just go out and find the best 88 528e I can. Saves all the mucking about in show rooms. I bought the last 2 off EBay