Here's my two cents on the subject of no dealers. And I completely agree with the description of car dealers as sharks. This is likely considered an upper middle class neighborhood and we drove into the lots in a brand new Nissan Rogue (the rental she had after the accident). We were dressed neatly but casual.
A year and a half ago, my wife needed to replace a car after the insurance paid for her previous van that had gotten totaled in an accident. In our city (a little less than 2 miles from home), there are four dealerships right next to each other - Chevy, Toyota, Ford & Dodge - in that order. We started at Chevy and ended at Dodge. By the time we finished at the Dodge place, we were tired of car shopping and went home for some dinner. Over dinner, she decided on a Toyota Corolla, so we called the dealer and let him know that we would be coming back to see him shortly. We came back up to lease the car for three years with the expectation that we will likely buy out the lease after the three years. Everyone knew that we were expecting to lease a car that day. The attitude in the dealerships were very different. The Chevy guys were the closest to stereotypical car dealers. They were doing everything they could to sell to us before we walked off the lot. Very pushy. On the other extreme were the Dodge that were not at all treating us seriously. I don't think they expected to sell a car that day. The Toyota guy was a nice as you could imagine and treated us completely with respect. Within a 15 mile radius, there is dealership for almost every brand of cars that are available (excluding a few specialty brands). The only cars that were considered were the ones that had a dealership close to home. I somewhat expected her to want to visit a Nissan dealership because she really liked the Rogue that she was renting, but it was 10 miles in the other direction. In case you are wondering, a Tesla model S was not even considered because of price and we could not wait for three months after ordering one. The nearest Tesla store is about 20 miles away. With all that said, there is no way I would buy any car without having driven on. I have said for several years that I want a Model S so bad I can taste it, but other than seeing them on the road, I have never touched one. Even if I won the lottery (I don't play), I would not buy one without driving one. And no, I don't know anyone that has one. Jim Walls j...@k6ccc.org -----Original Message----- From: "Mark Abramowitz via EV" <ev@lists.evdl.org> Sent: Sunday, March 10, 2019 16:59 To: "Electric Vehicle Discussion List" <ev@lists.evdl.org> Cc: "Mark Abramowitz" <ma...@enviropolicy.com> Subject: Re: [EVDL] tesla to close stores, sell online only I agree that we won’t miss car dealers if they go away, as least if the experience is as it is now. We call the gathering of salespeople waiting for you to get out of your car, the “sharks”. And there’s always one swimming out to get you. I was amused when the Honda fleet person that I’ve bought from, who is not a shark, referred to the sales people as sharks one day when we chatted while my car was getting serviced. - Mark Sent from my Fuel Cell powered iPhone > On Mar 10, 2019, at 8:55 AM, Willie via EV <ev@lists.evdl.org> wrote: > > > >> On 3/10/19 10:32 AM, Peri Hartman via EV wrote: >> At this point in their venture, it seems online sales will be fine. After >> all, they have back orders they are struggling to meet, even for the S, I >> think. > > It seems to me, for the models now offered at the pricing levels, that Tesla > is well balancing supply and demand. Demand generators will the the $35k 3 > and the Y. With many more in the pipeline. We all watch with interest to > see how it plays out. I am very bullish on Tesla. A the same time, > recognizing the risk. >> However, at some point when they have real competition and their production >> has caught up, they may want to change their mind. Buying cars, while not an >> impulse purchase, certainly relies on touchy-feely appeal. Once a buyer sees >> a car, and a good sales person realizes the "connection", there's a process >> you can't replicate online. > > I doubt that it is quantified, but there certainly seems to be a GREAT deal > of dissatisfaction with new car dealers and the car buying experience. The > jury, of course, is still out but personally I don't think new car dealers > will be missed. > > _______________________________________________ > UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub > http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org > Please discuss EV drag racing at NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA) > _______________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org Please discuss EV drag racing at NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA) _______________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org Please discuss EV drag racing at NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
