

Why hasn't the Internet made buying a car easier? - codybmusser
http://blog.pikimal.com/blog/2011/04/20/why-car-dealerships-want-buying-a-car-to-suck-and-why-the-internet-hasnt-fixed-it/

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bediger
Two quotes from the article:

1\. "the dealer is still involved and legally can’t be dis-intermediated in
many states"

2\. "In many cases it is a criminal offense for an auto manufacturer to sell a
new car to anyone but a state-licensed car dealer"

The simple answer is that buying an automobile means dealing with a price-
fixing cartel. The Internet hasn't fixed this process because it's legally
sanctioned.

As a corollary, it's no wonder that even the tiny bit of competition from
foreign auto makers caused the US auto industry to collapse. They'd had an
oligarchy for decades, and they were utterly unprepared for anything.

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maxharris
If you value your freedom, advocate for the repeal of these regulations (along
with many others - although that is not the point I am trying to highlight
here.)

Each of us has a moral right to buy and sell what we want from whomever we
want. Advocacy can make this a legal right once more.

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127001brewer
I disagree.

When I bought a new car, I used the dealer's website to study their inventory.
Once I found the make, model and features I wanted, I used the "days on lot"
number to negotiate a lower price. (Since, as I understand it, dealers make
payments on their inventory; therefore, the longer the car is sitting on their
lot, the more money the dealer has "lost".)

And when I bought used cars, using the internet helped save me thousands of
dollars (close to $10K each time).

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knurdle
I totally disagree as well.

I've bought my last 2 cars off the internet and it was a really easy hassle
free experience. I used zag.com both times. Let the dealers battle it out,
pick one you're happy with. No need to go into the dealership, that's what a
phone/email is for.

I was there maybe an hour to pick up the car. Of course they try to sell you
the extended warranty and other stuff but they didn't push. A simple no and on
to the next item.

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brudgers
I bought my last two cars using the internet as well.

The first one was a Mini for which the conventional wisdom was that dealers
never discounted off of list price. I emailed every Mini salesperson within an
easy day's travel with what I wanted to order and had a discounted offer over
the phone within 5 minutes - within two hours I had a more convenient dealer
match the price and throw in a few extras. First and only time I stepped on
the lot was six weeks later to pick it up.

Last car I bought, I found online though AutoTrader with the options I wanted
on Sunday about 120 miles away, but the dealer was closed. Called Monday
morning 8am, negotiated the deal over the phone by 10am, and the car and
paperwork were delivered to my driveway at 6pm that night.

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there
<http://carwoo.com/>

~~~
chc
The OP mentions CarWoo — it's tangential to the point here.

