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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

#121

Post by emodendroket »

jwestbury wrote: post #112
wesapien wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's complete bullshit. I despise both car dealerships and realtors. They exist to service themselves.

Realtors provide a valuable service. We bought in a particularly desirable region in 2021. We put in eight offers before getting one accepted. Our realtor knew the necessary legal forms and requirements, and wrote each offer for us. They also had a background in flipping houses, and were able to give us advice on renovations, and which houses were just bad choices during tours, pointing out flaws we might not have no…

Realtors provide a valuable service, I’ll agree, but I don’t think one in line with the price you’re paying, which is propped up by their cartel system.

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

#122

Post by emodendroket »

hn8305823 wrote: post #45
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…

They're called "stealerships" for a reason. Actually several reasons and overpriced, excessive, or unnecessary maintenance is one of them The reason dealerships are surprisingly powerful politically is they are usually family owned and operated so they have much wider discretion over political donations and/or bribes.

I mean a dealership is often the biggest business in town. They’re big cheeses locally. And provincial elites often have a lot of resentment for national ones, which explains a lot about recurrent political conflicts.

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

#123

Post by emodendroket »

double0jimb0 wrote: post #81
merpnderp wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Once in a while dealerships are motivated to dump stock at a loss. Not a great argument for the system but who’s to say the OP didn’t get a good deal.

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

#124

Post by emodendroket »

calvinmorrison wrote: post #42
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…

> 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…

There are countless independent mechanics who service most cars. Teslas have other issues that make them difficult to service. I think this argument is a red herring.

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

#125

Post by emodendroket »

calvinmorrison wrote: post #78
ceejayoz wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> because cars require service, someone needs to do that service, be trained and have master techs on that service. My cars have had no trouble getting service at independent mechanics. > How do you handle lemon laws without dealerships? The same way we handle them with dealerships? The organization that sold you the car is responsible for the fixes, or refunding the vehicle if it can't be fixed.

> My cars have had no trouble getting service at independent mechanics. Have you ever worked at an indy? We rely heavily on dealerships for anything from borrowing specialty tooling, local parts departments, knowledge and advise etc. > The organization that sold you the car is responsible for the fixes, or refunding the vehicle if it can't be fixed. Totally. I think it's six of one half a dozen of the other. Car manu…

> I think it's six of one half a dozen of the other. Car manufacturers generally coalesce around the efficiency of having new sales, parts departments, repair departments all in one building in many localities spread all over the place.

Why exactly must this be an independent business motivated to collect rents on top of what the manufacturer is already making? Hard to see how that could do anything but drive prices up to keep more fingers in the pie.

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

#126

Post by shrimpx »

jonhohle wrote: post #109
shrimpx wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not to mention that the concept of a free market stands in contradiction with the heavy Republican appetite for social restrictions.

It’s debatable where restriction should be placed, but a “western” market will always have some: trade in people, trade in arms, restricted trade of items to minors. Are there laws restricting commerce based on social restrictions that are not falling into one of those three categories?

I was thinking if you’re leaning toward restricting how people dress, what they call themselves, how they congregate, what entertainment they enjoy, those leanings stand in conflict with “free market”. For example the political war on gaming in the 90s — effectively seeking to restrict the gaming market due to ideological social restrictions. Now I see a similar trend with being anti-“woke” and therefore anti-“woke business”. A company selling drag accessories and drag entertainment will not find many friends in the GOP. The DeSantis conflict with Disney due to its “woke policies” etc. Not to mention tech. Josh Hawley wrote a book called “The Tyranny of Big Tech” claiming tech is dangerous because it’s woke and anti-conservative. Pretty out of band for a “free market” proponent.

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

#127

Post by Gunnerhead »

TOMDM wrote: post #8
detourdog wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is this true or speculation? edit: It's true.

From the article. """ But as Florida Politics noted previously, lobbyists, including Taylor Biehl and Jeff Sharkey of Tallahassee-based Capitol Alliance Group, hammered out a deal adding language to the bill that should keep Tesla galleries open. The change confirms newer manufacturers like Tesla, Rivian and Lucid are authorized to hold a franchise dealer license for direct sales of EVs if they are not otherwise proh…

Admittedly I haven’t looked into the bill, but I’m curious how it was written to carve them out without actually naming them.

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

#128

Post by bryanlarsen »

jwestbury wrote: post #112
wesapien wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's complete bullshit. I despise both car dealerships and realtors. They exist to service themselves.

Realtors provide a valuable service. We bought in a particularly desirable region in 2021. We put in eight offers before getting one accepted. Our realtor knew the necessary legal forms and requirements, and wrote each offer for us. They also had a background in flipping houses, and were able to give us advice on renovations, and which houses were just bad choices during tours, pointing out flaws we might not have no…

They probably got paid ~$50,000 for the service they provided for you. The service may have been valuable, but do you think it was $50,000 valuable? Do you think it should be very difficult to avoid paying that $50,000 if somebody doesn't want the service they provide?

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

#129

Post by revscat »

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)

"Leans heavily Republican" is not "only".

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

#130

Post by detourdog »

Gunnerhead wrote: post #127
TOMDM wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From the article. """ But as Florida Politics noted previously, lobbyists, including Taylor Biehl and Jeff Sharkey of Tallahassee-based Capitol Alliance Group, hammered out a deal adding language to the bill that should keep Tesla galleries open. The change confirms newer manufacturers like Tesla, Rivian and Lucid are authorized to hold a franchise dealer license for direct sales of EVs if they are not otherwise proh…

Admittedly I haven’t looked into the bill, but I’m curious how it was written to carve them out without actually naming them.

Basically if there is an existing physical dealership one is excluded from seting up a virtual store.
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