Ford CEO says EVs will be sold 100% online with nonnegotiable price

Post by TheRealDunkirk » Fri, Jun 03, 2022, 12:57 PM UTC

Alupis wrote: post #155

raz32dust wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why would a fixed, online price end up being higher on average than what someone paid after haggling at a dealership. If anything, it should be lower because of (1) Reduced overhead, and (2) It is more closer to a free-market due to more transparency. Yes, there might be outliers where an extremely good haggler paid less, but that would be outweighed by a novice who paid way more, and the average has to be higher bec…

Why would Ford (or any manufacturer) offer cars on their website for cheaper than MSRP? What is their incentive? MSRP is a suggested retail price, which is based off the manufacturer's costs + what they believe is a reasonable margin for their vendor (dealership in this case). Ford cutting out the middle man means they can offer cars at the same exact price (MSRP in this case), but not have all the expenses dealershi…

Post by itsoktocry » Fri, Jun 03, 2022, 1:01 PM UTC

wumpus wrote: post #417

devy wrote: post #369

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Maybe going direct is the secret plan, but I don’t see how they get there. Yeah, the dealership and the state level dealership associations aren't going to go out of business without some good fight. Even though I personally don't like the markup to be paid at the dealerships, but they exist for some good reasons: educate the consumers, financing, DMV paperwork and most importantly service your vehicles. EVs need m…

> educate the consumers, financing, DMV paperwork and most importantly service your vehicles. I bought a new car direct and I was educated, my credit union was better than the manufacturer's financing offer, the manufacturer did DMV paperwork, and the manufacturer does service. 9 years ago. What am I missing?

Post by leetcrew » Fri, Jun 03, 2022, 1:09 PM UTC

wumpus wrote: post #417

devy wrote: post #369

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Maybe going direct is the secret plan, but I don’t see how they get there. Yeah, the dealership and the state level dealership associations aren't going to go out of business without some good fight. Even though I personally don't like the markup to be paid at the dealerships, but they exist for some good reasons: educate the consumers, financing, DMV paperwork and most importantly service your vehicles. EVs need m…

> educate the consumers, financing, DMV paperwork and most importantly service your vehicles. I bought a new car direct and I was educated, my credit union was better than the manufacturer's financing offer, the manufacturer did DMV paperwork, and the manufacturer does service. 9 years ago. What am I missing?

Post by 0daystock » Fri, Jun 03, 2022, 1:23 PM UTC

sircastor wrote: post #117

serf wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>That being said, is there any counterpoint to this view? Are there any benefits that dealerships offer today over direct sales? the only thing I can think to say is that they are still a convenient repair facility, Tesla is fairly notorious for slow turn-around for repair.[0] I think a nice middle-ground would be the conversion of dealerships into showrooms/receiving-centers/repair facilities -- oust the sales porti…

I’ll second this from a privileged position. I own a late model Land Rover, and if I take it down to the dealer to solve something, they treat me very well and put me in a very nice lounge while I wait. It’s a first class experience. I don’t think I’d get as nice attention from a non-luxury dealer though.

Post by marssaxman » Fri, Jun 03, 2022, 1:25 PM UTC

abrugsch wrote: post #468

at-fates-hands wrote: post #416

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> EVs need much less service visits but when they do - it's likely harder for DIYers to tinkle with. A car handle on a Tesla that needs replacing is $1,000.

That's a luxury/high-tech car problem, not an EV problem. The problem is that currently, EVs only exist in that segment (excepting the Dacia spring, which is a basic car with a basic EV powertrain, but it's only available in certain markets)