I know this sounds nuts, but I have a business idea that might be suitable for discussion in this thread.
The idea is to do away with the dealership for anything not related to the actual transaction (they handle financing efficiently, etc.)
Instead, the system relies on individual agents who have parking lots of different cars within a category and across brands. If I were a mid-size specialist, I'd be very family-minded and feature the Accord, Altima, Impreza, etc.
This would allow a customer to make one stop to cross-shop, and they get highly specialized counsel without any (obvious) incentive to sell hard on a certain brand.
The agent then hands off the buyer to the dealer with a fair price negotiated (using various online tools) and the buyer just closes the deal. The agent gets a cut of the sale Cars.com style.
Granted, it's not a highly scalable business, but it could be a worthy self-employment idea (with the upfront capital to do it, or loaner cars from dealerships), and the customer experience is vastly superior.
I once used an auto broker to help me purchase a very specific used car and it was probably the best used car buying experience I've ever had. Zero drama. Very civilized. Maybe I could have saved a little bit of money by finding the car myself and being a hardball negotiator, but there's a value in keeping the part of your soul that dies when you interact with a car salesman.
The idea is to do away with the dealership for anything not related to the actual transaction (they handle financing efficiently, etc.)
Instead, the system relies on individual agents who have parking lots of different cars within a category and across brands. If I were a mid-size specialist, I'd be very family-minded and feature the Accord, Altima, Impreza, etc.
This would allow a customer to make one stop to cross-shop, and they get highly specialized counsel without any (obvious) incentive to sell hard on a certain brand.
The agent then hands off the buyer to the dealer with a fair price negotiated (using various online tools) and the buyer just closes the deal. The agent gets a cut of the sale Cars.com style.
Granted, it's not a highly scalable business, but it could be a worthy self-employment idea (with the upfront capital to do it, or loaner cars from dealerships), and the customer experience is vastly superior.