What vehicle do you drive?
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Sheriff Cad
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Let me just say I have represented Clay Cooley on a couple of matters and I wouldn't let that dude or anybody who works for him come in my house for any reason.
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Kirun
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I think some people here are assuming that because the purchase interface can be digitized, the entire distribution model becomes obsolete. That's not really true. All it means is that the model evolves. In fact, a lot of what we're seeing isn't the disappearance of dealerships, but a transformation of them into delivery/service hubs rather than traditional sales floors.
The whole "it's all just shameless protectionism!!" point isn't totally wrong but it's a bit overstated. Some of it absolutely is protectionism. But some of it is also about controlling how a very regulated, safety-critical product gets sold and supported across thousands of local markets. You can argue those rules are outdated (and many probably are), but lumping it all into corruption ignores that there are still structural challenges unique to the auto industry.
Haus
I am Big Balls!
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Yes, but if it's just a logistics and delivery (and possibly service, but that's another story) thing I think Tesla has pretty effectively shown you don't need the middle man.
Between online sales of goods, and advances in services I think we're kinda entering the end times for "middle men".
Aamry
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Kirun
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Tesla didn't eliminate the "middle man" they just had the funds to absorb it. Delivery centers, service infrastructure, mobile techs, inventory hubs… all of that still exists. It's just owned by Tesla instead of independent dealers. The complexity itself didn't go away, it just moved. And honestly, Tesla's model isn't some flawless counterexample either. People have been complaining for years about long service wait times, parts delays, and limited locations. And that's not a dig at them, it just proves the point that the hard parts of selling and supporting cars don't disappear just because you move sales online.
There's also a big factor here that you're glossing over - Tesla is building a fundamentally different type of vehicle. EVs have fewer moving parts, no oil changes, fewer wear components, and generally less routine maintenance compared to ICE cars. That naturally reduces the need for a large, distributed service network. So yeah, of course their model leans lighter, because it can. That doesn't translate 1:1 to every manufacturer that's still selling complex ICE vehicles that require regular maintenance and more hands-on support. Unless you're advocating that we eliminate ICE cars as well while we're at it?
Control
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Last time I checked for a service appointment at my nearest official dealership, their soonest appointment was multiple months out. Just imagine how long it would have been if dealerships weren't around to solve the long wait time issue.
Hateyou
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If you could order a car directly from the dealer on a website and it just gets plopped in your driveway for $5k (or $100k in
Burren
s example) cheaper than going the dealership route, which one would you do?Regardless of your answer which route do you think the vast majority of people would do?
Sheriff Cad
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Brokers of all kinds are gradually being eliminated/made redundant by online systems, or the online systems themselves are just becoming the broker.
Real estate agents never did anything useful to anybody who isn't stupid, but they're still holding strong thanks to laws protecting them. Same with car dealers. Car dealers are definitely affected by internet sales, but they also have laws protecting them and their access to auctions.
Other types of brokers have just been moved online - stockbrokers are the best example. Who uses a stockbroker anymore? Nobody, but we all have vanguard, Robinhood, E*Trade, etc. We just give our orders to them instead of to our broker who takes a bigger cut.
Travel agents have been totally gutted. Insurance brokers are still out there but not nearly like how they used to be. Mortgage brokers are still kicking but primarily in Jumbo/construction/niche spaces.
The one that blows my mind is trucking/freight brokers. I've had to depose some of these bozos in cases and they do fucking nothing. Literally a shipper hires a broker, pays them 10-25% of the freight charge, and broker takes these amazing steps: They locate a carrier, they vet that carriers insurance (literally one click in RMIS), and they look them up on Carrier411/CarrierWatch and then just blindly hire them. The shippers often don't even verify that the truck that came to pick up their goods is even the same carrier as the one their broker hired. The brokers carry insurance in the event the loads are stolen.
I'd love to say brokers are going away, but they're not. They're moving online and just handling more business.
Sheriff Cad
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The next benefit of dealerships I expect will be in-stock reasonably priced parts.
lol
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Haus
I am Big Balls!
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The problem is fewer and fewer dealers are keeping a readily available supply of "parts".
The last time I went to my dealer it was for a worrisome sound coming from the transmission. They kept the car for a day and came back with "Looks to be an issue in the transmission, our only option from Cadillac is just to do a module replacement for the whole transmission, that will be $17k". Once I stopped laughing I told them to button the car up and I'd pick it up. Within an hour of getting home I had a recommendation to a good mechanic who specializes in CTS and CTS V series, called them, took it in the next morning. By lunch I had a text "looks like it really just needs a good servicing and a new fluid filter, should be doable for around $225 all included, should we do it?" I told them to, picked it up before dinner, and problem solved.
That was the last time I talked to Sewell. Apparently they now consider everything broken down into key "modules" and they don't repair anything inside a module, it's swap and replace.
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Sheriff Cad
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Burren
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We would all want it direct to us, I would assume.If you could order a car directly from the dealer on a website and it just gets plopped in your driveway for $5k (or $100k in
Regardless of your answer which route do you think the vast majority of people would do?
Sheriff Cad
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I've actually heard of people wanting to "build a relationship" with a dealer, whatever that means. Get them used to stealing your money so they expect more later too? I guess.
Factually and logically the dealer adds nothing to the transaction but his own profit.
Burren
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Those are the relationships required to get special edition cars. You buy 3, 4, 5 or more cars you don’t want, sell them back to the dealer and then they “let” you order or buy a special edition. Ferrari and Porsche are the worst at that. You will not get a special edition at sticker, new, without playing the game and over spending.
Sheriff Cad
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And thats awful, right? I know you agree with me but this is basically making the point.