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Started By
Message
re: It's time for car dealerships to die
Posted on 3/13/25 at 6:18 am to BuckyCheese
Posted on 3/13/25 at 6:18 am to BuckyCheese
quote:
No one forces you to spend one thin dime in the dealer's service department.
True
quote:
Fun fact-You also don't have to take it to the dealer you bought it from for warranty work. Any dealer of that brand can do warranty work.
True
quote:
I'm continually amazed at how many people do not understand this. Frankly, I think they just like to bitch while not realizing how uninformed they appear.
Agreed
We have many "experts" attempt to tell us how to fix vehicles, which is kind of cute....but as usual they're clueless.
Then we have the neighborhood mechanic calling the dealership seeking help in diagnosing an issue or 12 because their $19.95 scanner doesn't do anything more than provide a code. We simply tell them we can help but the vehicle needs to come to our dealership.
Finally we chuckle when we learn you've taken your vehicle to a Quick Oil Change chain store and paid $120 for an oil change when you could have saved $15-20 by letting your dealership do it.
1
Posted on 3/13/25 at 6:48 am to RazorbackLaw501
quote:i bought an odb2 module from Amazon for $30 to disable this on my truck. 99% of maintenance can be done in your driveway during the average warranty period of a new vehicle. Once it's out of warranty, you're crazy to take it to the dealer for shite like pads and rotors. There's the occasional recall for manufacturers defects so the warranty/dealer is good for that. My wife's car has one for the seatbelts but I still haven't bothered with it.
you buy a naturally aspirated, modern engine (no cylinder deactivation, etc.
Warranties are great for catastrophic frickups but those aren't that common today.
Posted on 3/13/25 at 6:49 am to Dex Morgan
quote:
They only exist due to crony legislation that protects them and prohibits direct sales.
In Louisiana, there are three exemptions to agreements not to compete. The only three professions you cannot have a non-compete contract with are doctors, lawyers, and car salesman.
Posted on 3/13/25 at 12:02 pm to BBONDS25
I wanted to post this last night but didn't have the gas 
A lot of the reason we ended up with the kind of dealer model we have today was due to the convenience it offered manufacturers. Early on, they needed local small businessmen to be the show rooms for their products because they didn't have the capital to build out the manufacturing and retail infrastructure in-house. The protection structures for dealers came when manufacturers wanted to start building out their own retail showrooms in direct competition with the authorized dealerships. The dealers, having state level political connections, got laws written to prevent the manufacturers from squeezing them out of business once they no longer needed them.
However, this model still mostly benefits the manufacturer and puts all the risk on the dealership once they accept delivery of the vehicle to their lot. Dealerships usually have a line of credit to purchase the on-lot stock and that motivates them to try to move that stock above all else. This is where I think most of the slimeball behavior is rooted. At the same time, the compounding interest on a vehicle sitting on the lot for a long time can pressure a dealership into severely cutting into their profits just to get that debt to stop.
The manufacturers really have this system figured out: they only have the risk from the moment they start building stock until they deliver it to a dealership and the financing risk for the manufacturer's financial services is a spun-off business separate from the core business.
A lot of the reason we ended up with the kind of dealer model we have today was due to the convenience it offered manufacturers. Early on, they needed local small businessmen to be the show rooms for their products because they didn't have the capital to build out the manufacturing and retail infrastructure in-house. The protection structures for dealers came when manufacturers wanted to start building out their own retail showrooms in direct competition with the authorized dealerships. The dealers, having state level political connections, got laws written to prevent the manufacturers from squeezing them out of business once they no longer needed them.
However, this model still mostly benefits the manufacturer and puts all the risk on the dealership once they accept delivery of the vehicle to their lot. Dealerships usually have a line of credit to purchase the on-lot stock and that motivates them to try to move that stock above all else. This is where I think most of the slimeball behavior is rooted. At the same time, the compounding interest on a vehicle sitting on the lot for a long time can pressure a dealership into severely cutting into their profits just to get that debt to stop.
The manufacturers really have this system figured out: they only have the risk from the moment they start building stock until they deliver it to a dealership and the financing risk for the manufacturer's financial services is a spun-off business separate from the core business.
Posted on 3/13/25 at 12:03 pm to bluestem75
quote:
They also exist to service the car you buy
At ridiculously high prices.
Posted on 3/14/25 at 9:01 am to Jake88
quote:
Why would you go to a dealership for non-warranty issues? Only a fool would do that.
It was giving me a crazy error message that sounded like something serious, they discovered it was all caused my a misfired due to a bad spark plug and told me they could fix it for $900.
I replaced all of the spark plugs myself in about 15 minutes for around $100
Posted on 3/14/25 at 9:03 am to umrebel2009
quote:Good. Glad you didn't give the dealership assholes that much money. My point was that when one's car is out of warranty, going to a dealership rather than your own mechanic is foolish.
I replaced all of the spark plugs myself in about 15 minutes for around $100
Posted on 3/14/25 at 9:04 am to Dex Morgan
Tesla is the way car buying should be in the modern era.
You don’t even deal with anyone on the demo drives.
You don’t even deal with anyone on the demo drives.
Posted on 3/14/25 at 9:05 am to Dex Morgan
quote:
It's time for car dealerships to die
I am trying to buy a Tesla and Louisiana has made it a pain. Right now I am looking at either having to drive to Pensacola or Memphis to pick one up.
Posted on 3/14/25 at 9:05 am to bluestem75
quote:
They also exist to service the car you buy and uphold the warranty the manufacturer provides to cover repairs.
We really like the service department where we bought our cars. I would hate to go somewhere else.
Posted on 3/14/25 at 9:05 am to bluestem75
quote:
They also exist to service the car you buy and uphold the warranty the manufacturer provides to cover repairs.
They fleece you on the service too.
Posted on 3/14/25 at 9:06 am to Dex Morgan
I'm with you 100% on new car dealerships vs. direct buying but there's still a place for used car dealerships. Those big car auctions are enough of a clusterfrick without opening them to the general public.
Posted on 3/14/25 at 9:12 am to TimeOutdoors
quote:
I am looking at either having to drive to Pensacola or Memphis to pick one up.
Wouldn't the taxes be way lower in TX?
Posted on 3/14/25 at 9:12 am to partsman103
quote:
Then we have the neighborhood mechanic calling the dealership seeking help in diagnosing an issue or 12 because their $19.95 scanner doesn't do anything more than provide a code. We simply tell them we can help but the vehicle needs to come to our dealership.
Any decent independent is spending thousands per year to keep his scan tool updated. He isn't calling the dealer for tips.
quote:
Finally we chuckle when we learn you've taken your vehicle to a Quick Oil Change chain store and paid $120 for an oil change when you could have saved $15-20 by letting your dealership do it.
And the dealer takes twice as long and tries to upsell you on a bunch of bullshite you don't need. Hell, they want you to think your rig is falling apart.
Guess I don't follow how telling someone their truck, just out of warranty, needs thousands of dollars of work (bullshite work) is great for repeat business on the sales side.
*Dealership in family. I know the game very well.
Posted on 3/14/25 at 9:14 am to Dex Morgan
You can buy direct from Volvo, but they’re Chinese now so…
Posted on 3/14/25 at 9:20 am to Dex Morgan
The finance office is a worse experience than the salesman. They are so slimy as they try to tack on extras and save interest rates points for themselves.
Posted on 3/14/25 at 9:21 am to bluestem75
They charge more.
Posted on 3/14/25 at 9:34 am to shinerfan
quote:
Wouldn't the taxes be way lower in TX?
You pay taxes on where you live. From my understanding from Tesla, LA residents can only pick up vehicles in Tennessee and Florida.
Posted on 3/14/25 at 9:47 am to Dex Morgan
I take it none of you own or as in my case lease a Toyota.
Posted on 3/14/25 at 10:33 am to shinerfan
quote:Now you're confusing the thread with facts!
I'm with you 100% on new car dealerships vs. direct buying but there's still a place for used car dealerships. Those big car auctions are enough of a clusterfrick without opening them to the general public.
The general public knows little about the workings of the automobile sales and service business. The manufacturer automatically is paid for their product by the dealer, or financial institution that "floor plans" their inventory, within days after it rolls off the assembly line. That is financially essential to a manufacturer to be able to operate on a regular basis.
There are so many reasons to have this natural "business chain" that we'd be here all day long naming and discussing the reasons.
Finally, as shinerfan pointed out, for the huge majority of new vehicle sales, there's a used car to be evaluated, repairs made, prepped, and SOLD to a buyer. Where are you going with that?
I was in the automobile business for over 30 years, and finally retired as a Chevrolet dealership owner, so I'd say that I'm qualified to make the above statements.
PS- How many publicly used items that you know of, are sold straight from the manufacturer to the retail customer?
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