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Akerson wants GM to sell vehicles online


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It’s a change General Motors Co. is embracing.

CEO Dan Akerson emphasized this shift Wednesday in a quarterly earnings conference call with analysts. The automaker, he said, wants its customers to be able to buy cars over the Internet.

“It doesn’t mean we are going to try and bypass our dealers, but why not in this tech-savvy culture we have, this economy we have, (allow) the millennial to come in and ... sign and go,’ ” Akerson told analysts, referring to those generally younger than 30.

In many cases, buyers know what model and options they want, if it’s available on the lot in the color they want and have a price on the car before entering a dealership.

“Ten years ago, car shoppers made an average of 4.5 visits to a dealership before they bought a car,” National Automobile Dealers Association Chairman David Westcott told the Automotive Press Association in Detroit this month. “Today, thanks partly to the use of the Internet, they make 1.3 visits before they buy a car.”

Eighteen- to 30-year-olds buy things differently than previous generations, says Larry White, co-owner and executive vice president of Patsy Lou Chevrolet Buick GMC. They spend hours conducting research before making a purchase. “We want to be able to cater to millennials ... and how they want to buy,” he said.

White came up with the Connection Center idea after watching and talking to people at the Apple Store at Twelve Oaks mall playing with the latest iPhones. The dealer spent $125,000 to transform what had been vacant space they called Building 4, which is staffed by connection center specialists who aren’t salespeople but instead are knowledgeable on vehicle technology.


From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20131031/AUTO0103/310310035#ixzz2jJ2EQIVF

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Ford already tried this years ago. The dealers absolutely killed it back then and they'll likely do the same here using state franchise laws. The dealers don't want anybody involved in selling their vehicles except them - even if it seems like something that would help them. In Ford's case I think it was used cars and they would arrange to have the car delivered to a local dealer for a test drive and subsequent sale at no cost to the dealer. Dealers said no, sued and won.

 

So while I think it would be great for all automakers - not happening.

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I'm not a millennial (I'm 37), and I would LOVE to be able to order my next new vehicle online, get an email update on the status when it changes, then just walk into the dealership, sign the papers, and be on my merry way.

 

And with X plan that would be so easy because there isn't any price negotiation. In fact Ford would probably offer X plan pricing for online sales if it was allowed to do that.

 

Then again, that's pretty much what I do now. I call my salesman and tell him what I want (get this vehicle from this dealer or here are the exact options I want to order) and he gets it. We don't even have to talk price except if I'm doing a trade-in.

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I'm not a millennial (I'm 37), and I would LOVE to be able to order my next new vehicle online, get an email update on the status when it changes, then just walk into the dealership, sign the papers, and be on my merry way.

 

I don't like car salesmen. 9 times out of 10, I know more about their product than they do. All 4 cars that I've owned since 1965 have been ordered. I get the codes for all the options that I want, walk into the dealership and tell them to order it for me. Make a small deposit and I'm out in 10 to 15 minutes. Eight weeks later, I get a call that the car has arrived.

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When buying new, I order as well (except once). That way I get what I want, it hasn't been hotrodded by some lunatic out for joy rides, and I get the best deal possible. I tell the salesman (lady, in my case) what I want, that I want to pay invoice, and she makes it happen. Trade-in still requires some discussion, but that's always going to be the case. It's actually a pretty painless process, other than paying for it! :)

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I have no problem with ordering vehicles. My previous Ranger was an order.

 

Where I have an issue is when people go to a store like Best Buy to browse and compare products, then go home and order it on the internet from an online retailer.

 

It isn't fair to the dealer who invests his money providing a place to browse, and salesmen who invest their time with the perspective buyer.

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Wasn't there a survey a while back that said most people equate buying a car with a trip to the dentist? It's about time the car buying process changed, but that isn't going to happen. One price-no haggle doesn't work either. While Carmax does this with a degree of success, I don't see this being a widespread thing that's going to work. Until the adversarial relationship of car buying changes, it is what it is.

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Wasn't there a survey a while back that said most people equate buying a car with a trip to the dentist? It's about time the car buying process changed, but that isn't going to happen. One price-no haggle doesn't work either. While Carmax does this with a degree of success, I don't see this being a widespread thing that's going to work. Until the adversarial relationship of car buying changes, it is what it is.

 

I dunno. With so many resources available to buyers, it's not very difficult to know almost exactly what you should pay for a vehicle before stepping foot through the door. If the process feels adversarial anymore it can really only be because the buyer wasn't adequately prepared.

 

All three of my personal vehicle purchases (the older ones on my list were hand-me-downs) were considerably easy.

 

The Mustang I bought new in 1997. Offered a price a couple grand under MSRP and they took it. In and out of the dealer inside 90 minutes.

The Mazda6 I bought at CarMax. Like you mentioned, no haggle pricing. Paperwork was done in no time.

The Edge I did X-Plan so that was all no haggle also. Only negotiating to be done was over my trade-in, which they just ended up offering me what CarMax said they would.

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