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Gov. DeSantis signs bill banning most direct-to-consumer auto sales

floridapolitics.com

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Re: Gov. DeSantis signs bill banning most direct-to-consumer auto sales

#81

Post by double0jimb0 »

merpnderp wrote: post #20
belval wrote: post #17

> The attempt by auto manufacturers to cut out the dealer would only result in higher prices and less customer service to the public,” he said. “The new car dealer is the customer’s advocate when it comes to warranty work and service on a manufacturer’s product, and this bill will protect that So this is the reason given in the article, but what are good reasons, if any, to prevent direct-to-customer sales? I haven't…

Last time I bought a car, I called around until I found a good deal then I went there and talked to them to get the actual number. Then I called the other dealers I'd spoken with and asked if they could beat that deal. I spent 8 hours going back and forth, but got my car for 20% off MSRP. I couldn't have done that if I'd been dealing directly with Ford.

You ended up paying the dealerships cost, which is probably same you would have paid if dealership was never in the picture.

Re: Gov. DeSantis signs bill banning most direct-to-consumer auto sales

#82

Post by chasd00 »

ChicagoBoy11 wrote: post #25

The single greatest politically backward thing in America is how the republican party has positioned itself as a pro free market party by, as best as I can tell, often championing precisely the opposite.

I live in Texas and we have the same laws but, yet, a "business friendly" reputation. There's no way to spin it, these kind of laws are the perfect example of an industry using bought politicians to block competition and protect their profits.

Re: Gov. DeSantis signs bill banning most direct-to-consumer auto sales

#83

Post by bdcravens »

ang_cire wrote: post #70
kiddjones wrote: post #58

Looks like from some of these replies that the Reddit folks made their way to HN.

I think the 'no pure politics discussion' rule is kind of out the window when the article is literally just about politics, from a site with "politics" in the literal name and url. :P

It's not a hard and fast rule, as many subjects have a political component. Even sites with "politics" in the name may discuss issues relevant to HN (in this case, direct sales of autos, a topic discussed here many times)

Re: Gov. DeSantis signs bill banning most direct-to-consumer auto sales

#85

Post by ack210 »

CydeWeys wrote: post #43
belval wrote: post #17

> The attempt by auto manufacturers to cut out the dealer would only result in higher prices and less customer service to the public,” he said. “The new car dealer is the customer’s advocate when it comes to warranty work and service on a manufacturer’s product, and this bill will protect that So this is the reason given in the article, but what are good reasons, if any, to prevent direct-to-customer sales? I haven't…

Use just a little bit more cynicism and the actual reasoning becomes clear. Car dealership owners are one of the most reliable Republican constituencies. They make outrageous amounts of money through government-mandated rent-seeking and donate to Republican candidates 6-to-1. What we see here is nothing more than a quid-pro-quo, a handout to the dealership owners in exchange for their loyal monetary support over the…

I certainly don't mean to be defending either party, but the bill received bi-partisan support. Only 2 reps voted against it in the house, and it received unanimous support in the senate (which includes 12 democrats).

https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2023/637/?Tab=VoteHist...

Re: Gov. DeSantis signs bill banning most direct-to-consumer auto sales

#86

Post by ur-whale »

zeroonetwothree wrote: post #59
revscat wrote: post #39

The auto dealership lobby is one of the most powerful in America. It leans heavily Republican, and Republicans dutifully propose legislations which protect these wealthy -- but almost wholly unnecessary -- middlemen. Slate had an expose [1] recently about them that is very enlightening. [1] https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2023/05/rich-republicans...

If it’s only Republicans why is it that heavily Democratic states like CA or NY also require dealerships in most cases? (CA is slightly better than NY but still doesn’t allow direct sales for 90% of vehicles)

They'll pay any politician willing to prevent them to be exposed to competition.

They don't care about red or blue, only green matters.

Re: Gov. DeSantis signs bill banning most direct-to-consumer auto sales

#87

Post by calvinmorrison »

randomdata wrote: post #57
calvinmorrison wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> So this is the reason given in the article, but what are good reasons, if any, to prevent direct-to-customer sales? because cars require service, someone needs to do that service, be trained and have master techs on that service. How do you handle lemon laws without dealerships? Just look at the nightmare tesla has been for owners with years of bad repairs, delays, etc. OEMs provide a bunch of stuff that is adhoc t…

That provides an explanation for why the consumer might choose to buy from a dealership, but not a reason for why they must. In fact, said bill still allows Tesla to sell direct-to-consumer, so the lawmakers couldn't even find a reason to not let consumers make a choice in the general case, only if buying from a set list of manufacturers.

> That provides an explanation for why the consumer might choose to buy from a dealership, but not a reason for why they must.

The same could be said of basically anything. Consumers could choose to do anything. Suppliers anything. Now we are anarchists. yay!

But we don't we live in a heavily regulated society, and what seems to work fairly well is having a dealership system. Now we could just remove the word dealership and require OEMs to provide everything that the dealership does, and I would be fine with that, but IMO this is a shorthand for that.

Re: Gov. DeSantis signs bill banning most direct-to-consumer auto sales

#88

Post by TheAceOfHearts »

cma wrote: post #55
pseingatl wrote: post #40

Florida has prohibited direct to consumer sales for over half a century with an especially stringent automobile dealer franchise law. The interesting point is the carve-out for Tesla.

Florida also recently passed a special law for SpaceX removing liability for launch related deaths of employees or something. A few weeks after the flight termination system failed for 40 seconds.

Do you think Elon Musk turned into a hardcore Republican just for the political favors? It just seems so blatant.

There has to be some kind of conflict of interest here. Elon was literally blasting out the DeSantis presidential announcement to his millions of Twitter followers, and he continues to act as a mouthpiece for Republican ideology.

Re: Gov. DeSantis signs bill banning most direct-to-consumer auto sales

#90

Post by karaterobot »

I buy that dealerships are paying off state government officials as part of their lobbying efforts. Putting on my cynic hat, my question is, why aren't automakers? I mean, other than Tesla, Rivian, and Lucid, who presumably have no dealership footprint to protect. I know Ford also wants to sell direct-to-consumer, and I have no doubt they've got no ethical issue with lobbying politicians. So, why not shell out a few million?
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