Hi
I am a car salesman who works for a large group who specialise in the prestige market.
I am just curious to know if people still buy from the internet?
Having worked in the industry a few years now, it seems dealers are able to offer better deals now than they ever have done and its driving business back....maybe its more flexibility from the manufacturers to dealers? or maybe they are steering away from the internet?
Do you use the internet to negotiate the price?
Would you buy from a dealer if they could match say, the What Car Target Price or drivethedeal.com?
To give you an example, I sell all prestige cars new and used from bmw's to porsches throughout the country, and after being quoted drivethedeal.com prices on several cars - im still in most cases able to match, if not better the deal...and i know that hasnt always been the case!
What are your views guys? Does the internet still have the edge that it used to?
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Internet still worked for me at the beginning of the year. The dealer I went direct to couldn't get within a grand of the price I got via uknewcars. Saying that, I paid a main dealer and picked up from them, so I'm not sure htat the internet didn't just find me a cooperative dealer...
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Having worked in a supporting role to the motor trade around my degree I have to say that I'd use a dealer if I could be sure I'd match the price. Most dealers though are unwilling to get close to Drive the Deal/Target Price perhaps because they are simply too inefficient so their overheads are higher.
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I don't agree that dealers are "too" inefficient - I prefer "less" efficient. They have overheads of showrooms and staff which internet sellers don't. Those overheads also aid the internet sellers to keep their prices down as potential purchasers will go to a showroom to view prospectives, talk to the salesmen then buy somewhere else.
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Many internet suppliers source their cars from main dealers, don't they? Those main dealers will have the same overheads.
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I don't mean inefficient in terms of overheads. I mean inefficient in terms of money wasted because things are done virtually in the worst way you could in some cases. Like no communication between target lead departments so instead of working together a sales dept and service dept might dispatch two vehicles to two places maybe a mile apart to collect things, rather than one person to do both jobs. Things like that.
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I think your right. Many dealers are inefficient and work on the basis of maximum profit, lower numbers. But this sometimes can be narrow minded as usually they get a 'back end' bonus - if they hit their target at the end of the year in numbers, they get extra cash.
But i think manufacturers are begining to be more flexible. I.e.
I can currently do staggering deals on a new Lexus RX300 (exc. L.E. model) - £3300 off! much cheaper than drivethedeal.com
I think the manufacturers are giving us more flexibility with certain models and its much better from my point of view and yours as I get to compete for the business and you get to buy from the dealer you want to!
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I would only purchase from a dealer who matched an online broking price. the target price in Whatcar? isn't exactly challenging, DrivetheDeal (and similar) however, are worth quoting. Have done so successfully on several occasions. The internet has once again, made information very easily available on a global scale, and for competition that is very very good.
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Several years ago my father ordered a new car from a dealeship after phoning around all the Peugeot dealerships in the London area to play one off against the other on the price of the car.
He eventually got the local dealer to beat the cheapest price around, on the condition that he went for a gold/brown colour instead of the silver that would have been his first choice. He took the deal.
The internet didn't even exist in the form it does now, but I felt that was a good lesson.
So, when I bought a new vehicle I scourered the internet and local dealerships and went to look at the van at my local dealer, fully expecting to simply test drive it there then buy it elsewhere.
The salesman discussed prices, offering standard discounts. That's when I started to put some cards on the table.
To my mind I had the best of both worlds. I got the internet price with the local service. I would have been prepared to pay a few hundred more through the garage if I had to, but I didn't have to.
The dealer will make money on the after sales care. Most dealers would not sell at a loss, I assume, unless there are business reasons for doing so.
I don't think most dealers are incapable of competing with internet brokers etc, so whether they will try or not may speak volumes about their attitude to the customer as a whole.
H
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