Coronavirus has dealerships moving to online sales -- and car buying may never be the same

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

The way we buy cars may never be the same, as auto dealers adjust to working under COVID-19 restrictions and customers discover they prefer the new approach, which leans heavily on internet sales and vehicle demos and could include valet-style pickup and delivery service for everything from test drives to oil changes.

“This is going to fundamentally change how people view buying a car,” said Rhett Ricart, CEO of Ricart Automotive Group in Columbus, Ohio, and chairman of the National Auto Dealers Association.

“By the end of this year, you’re going to see 80%-90% of U.S. new car dealers with full e-commerce capability in their shops” to handle everything online but the test drive and — maybe — the final signature, he said. Online deals at Ricart’s domestic dealerships have doubled during the last six weeks, he said.

In Michigan, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s extended “stay home” order clears the way for that, after a month when nearly all vehicle sales were prohibited in the state. It allows:

“Workers at motor vehicle dealerships who are necessary to facilitate remote and electronic sales or leases, or to deliver motor vehicles to customers, provided that showrooms remain closed to in-person traffic."

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/coronavirus-has-dealerships-moving-to-online-sales-%e2%80%94-and-car-buying-may-never-be-the-same/ar-BB12vKw0?li=BBnb7Kz

[janterry]

1. Good. Hate shopping at dealerships

n/t

[Submariner]

2. Yeah....but then you're passing up the free coffee, muffins and Wi-Fi

that they added a hundred bucks onto the MSRP for you to enjoy when you return for service.

[zeusdogmom]

3. This trend was starting before the virus began invading

Carvana. Coworker bought her car that way last year. Very pleased with the process.

[Igel]

4. You could also go to at least one manufacturer's site.

Specify options. See what discounts you qualified for. Arrange for all sorts of things. Not the final deal, but damned close.

This gets it the last couple of yards before the end zone.

But unless you looked, you'd never find that. The corporations didn't want to undermine their franchises, so to speak.

[aikoaiko]

5. I'm ready to buy a new car, but can't if I can't sit in it and test drive.

I would need a "no questions asked" return period.

But a Subaru Forrester Touring at no money down and 0% APR for 63 months is a sweet deal

[customerserviceguy]

10. I have to at least

sit in it. The last time I bought a new car was late December, 2012. The car I wanted was on a lot away from the dealership, and I insisted that they bring it over so that I could get the feel of it. I didn't need a test drive, I'm not big on muscle cars, and I'm sure this Hyundai Sonata hybrid would have enough oomph for me.

I would imagine that most dealers don't fear Carvana, because many of the customers of that firm will "showroom" their desired model at a local dealership, then will be subjected to massive sales pitches.

[Roland99]

6. With places like Carvana sprouting up, dealerships will eventually have to evolve

having a solid service dept will still be important but the large footprint of a big showroom and sales offices is becoming less and less practical and efficient.

I would still want to test drive a car and get a feel for it before I take ownership but some places offer 72-hr return windows (not sure of the restrictions/limitations) but that seems it would open a world of liability on one side or the other.

[vsrazdem]

7. My grandson is a lot attendant and is the only 1 out of 5 left with a job, which is good in a way,

but he has to go to work every day, which worries me, and last week he had to take a trade in through emissions, because the owner could not do it as it is quarantined with COVID. He wore all his protective equipment. He has one of those weird looking double filter masks that looks like a gas mask, which he had before all this started) and cleaned the car before he took it, but it is still worrisome.

[Disaffected]

8. Tesla

has been doing this for quite a while now. Order one online and have it delivered in a week or two (depending on model). And a seven day return policy.

Beats the crap out of having to put up with the gimmicks and aggravation from a dealer sales dept.

[customerserviceguy]

11. Saturn tried

the "no haggle, no gimmicks" approach, and they went belly up a couple of decades later. People like feeling that they got a deal, when they negotiate an artificially high price down to something less than that.

Think of the shoe salesperson, they're not selling shoes, they're selling the experience of buying shoes.

[Disaffected]

12. I wonder if

their failure was due more to the vehicle than the sales technique?

[customerserviceguy]

13. Well, I've sworn off GM vehicles

for decades, but other divisions of GM have stayed in business, albeit with a bailout.

Still, no one tried the idea again until Carvana came along.

[cbdo2007]

9. I've always had much better luck negotiating over Email than in person, and you have it all

documented so you can hold up your printed out email and say "Wait, you never said undercoating, you said it was $35K out the door, here's your email where you agreed no undercoating."

I've never even had that happen, and have done the negotiating for parents, grandparents, spouse, friends, etc. Their internet sales people are typically the most honest and straightforward people there.

[Disaffected]

14. Agree 100%

You have it in writing and don't have to put up with the shabby sales pressure they often try to exert while you are in the dealership eg. "I have to check your offer with the sales manager (and deliberately keep you waiting half an hour) or, they agree to your offer and spring addition fees (such as "documentation" on you when the papers are to be signed).

Another is "Sorry, we made a mistake in the financing payment calculation" (to screw an extra few bucks a month).

A pox on them all - I would buy a Tesla today if they made a model I was interested in.

Otherwise I would make a reasonable, detailed out-the-door offer by email and send it to all the local dealerships with instructions to reply if a deal or don't bother.

Edit: Also stipulate the vehicle must actually be "new" i.e. less than 50 Kms on the odometer and, not used for test drives.