91–100 of 111 posts
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Imagine that Ford only allows maintenance at company owned stores, because they don't sell replacement parts to dealers, then they charge $500 for a fan belt, etc.
Could they not already sell their fan belt to dealers for 500$ if they wanted to?
Did the horse-and-buggy dealers sue the automobile industry when it was starting to threaten them, too?
This is like saying the shit the horses leave behind is good for the road/environment and also smells nice. I think we all know the real answer.
There's a sea change on the horizon.
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Yes. Exactly. That is how the free market works.
So you feel it would have been preferable that the auto companies go bankrupt, get liquidated, then have their suppliers go bankrupt and liquidate?
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Has anyone ever had a good experience at a car dealership? I remember getting my first car when I was 16. I was so excited, I drove the thing home and didn't realize the car mats weren't in it. I called the next day: "Sorry sir, Car mats don't come with used Vehicles. We do sell them though ($350!!!)" The thought of car dealerships going out of business and being replaced by a better business model feels nearly too g…
The Volkswagen dealership I've dealt with was not too horrible (though this is also in Canada, where car dealerships in general have a marginally less awful repuation). I think it's a you-get-what-you-pay-for kind of situation, in that if you're not buying a used Sunfire or something, the dealer is less likely to have to screw you over to make a buck.
A coworker had problems with his Mercedes SUV, opposite end of the spectrum from a used Sunfire. He had it checked out and came back to the office in a very sour mood. I asked to look at the quote - they planned to replace the plugs, wires, and coils (V8) for $3,600! I looked at it closer and saw a very common game being played. They used the numbers "from the book" for the hours required for each replaced component as if you would replace each component individually and added them all up. In reality, if you're replacing the plugs, you're already pulling the wires, so it adds no time to the work at all (maybe a few seconds per wire). There's not much to add for the coils if you're replacing the wires either.
After much prodding, I managed to get him to get a quote at a non-dealer shop and when he showed the guy his quote, he pointed out the exact same cons that I did. End result, he saved 2/3 of the dealer's quote.
I could tell you other (bait & switch, rudeness, etc.) stories about BMW and Audi dealers, including a coworker's experience trying to buy a brand new one.
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As a modern example: look at luxotica for an example of a monopoly. They own large shares of the manufacturing and retail for eyeglasses, and they charge exorbitant prices. They own Oakley, Ray-Ban, LensCrafters, Pearle Vision and Sunglass Hut. They also operate Sears Optical and Target Optical. They also produce eyewear under license for names such as Coach, Anne Klein, Bulgari, Prada, Polo, Versace, Ralph Lauren, a…
...And brands like BonLook and Warby Parker are disrupting the old industry right now. My wife and friends (24-27 years old) have been getting their glasses at $100 a pop, no strings attached, from these companies for a few years.
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Imagine that Ford only allows maintenance at company owned stores, because they don't sell replacement parts to dealers, then they charge $500 for a fan belt, etc.
People would probably wise up and buy toyota, nissan, gm, etc. There is more than one car maker.
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http://www.teslamotors.com/natick > The Gallery does not sell cars, but serves as a place to educate visitors about our groundbreaking electric vehicles. The website does not say this about Tesla's other locations.
Can they order the car on premises (even if it is a computer with a web browser in the studio)?
Is McDonalds a Apple dealer because I can order an Apple from inside the restaurant? Is the city library an Apple dealer?
If the argument is true that this location, which does not accept money or purchases, and which does not deliver cars, is a car dealership, only because some people are using the internet to place deposits on cars with a company in another state, then the library and McDonalds are Apple dealers.
And furthermore, since I can also access http://carsdirect.com from the library and McDonalds, then under this principle, the library and McDonalds are both car dealers as well.
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I would like to see emerge a car-buying agent. The agent would deal with all manufacturers and used car lots (still a need for this) and help the buyer get exactly what they want at the best price. However, there will always be some new car retailers because some people like to buy new cars in person and drive them immediately. I think the standards for sales staff will continue to change away from the old commission…
These agents actually exist. This is how my grandfather has bought cars in the past two decades. He gives the agent a set of parameters and the man shows up with a car my grandfather is willing to purchase.
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I have to admit, as an outsider, I can't fathom how a law like this even exists especially in a place like America.
America has anti-trust laws. Companies are not supposed to be allowed to wield undue market power (e.g. be able to set the price of their type of product). Now this is obviously complex. But basically a lot of anti-trust battles led to the de-verticalization of numerous businesses: from film studios which owned theaters, to Standard Oil which owed oil, railroads, refineries, distribution centers, etc. The idea is to…
I also find it interesting that you also compared them to Microsoft, since Microsoft is now opening retail stores.
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Yes. Exactly. That is how the free market works.
So you feel it would have been preferable that the auto companies go bankrupt, get liquidated, then have their suppliers go bankrupt and liquidate?
Ultimately, the ICE car companies still have the innovator's dilemma in front of them. It's not that they don't see the benefits of new technologies, they just don't have a path that allows them to maintain their current size and infrastructure at the same time.
A few of the things Tesla is capitalizing on:
1) Dell's "just in time" manufacturing.
2) Google's use of commodity hardware for scaling. Big iron servers vs linux boxes that can fail individual is like the the li-ion batter pack with several thousand cells vs large nickle-based batteries.
3) Toyota's quality based on open, healthy, workplace relationships that put quality ahead of quantity.
4) Apple's retail store model that seeks to inform without a pressure to buy using a simplified comparison model.
5) The benefit of being the disrupter instead of the disrupted.
6) Engineering focused leadership instead of sales focused leadership; a solid product sells itself.
7) Infrastructure to support interstate EV travel.
In time, the entrenched auto companies will likely fail or shrink to shells of their former selves. Much of what needs to change has been a problem for 30 some years and runs orthogonal to what they're used to.