Using the Internet to help buy a car is not exactly a new idea. Even buying a brand new car from a dealership through the online auction site eBay is not exactly a major news item. Individual dealerships often set up accounts to attract customers and sell off excess inventory.
The big change, however, is that a major automaker - General Motors - recently experimented with its own account and working with eBay as a way to significantly increase its presence in the marketplace, particularly among younger, more tech-savvy buyers. The company decided not to pursue the experiment further, but it does illustrate the ways modern media is expanding the automotive marketplace. Other automakers may follow suit in the not-too-distant future, and your local dealership may be one of those using eBay to help sell cars locally.
Before jumping to conclusions, be aware that even if a final selling price is determined via an online auction, buyers are still actually buying and taking delivery of a new vehicle through a local dealership - state franchise laws generally prohibit otherwise. Plus, buyers are still required to deal directly with a dealership if a trade-in is part of the transaction.
At the least, those who turn to the Internet to help facilitate buying a car can expect to accomplish certain time-consuming basics without leaving home, such as finding a car with the desired options and color scheme and negotiating a transaction price for the vehicle.
According to a General Motors statement, under the experimental program, consumers were able to browse hundreds of vehicles in a dealer's inventory online, ask questions, negotiate prices and arrange financing and payment to purchase select new 2008, 2009 and 2010 cars, crossovers or trucks. Just over 225 GM dealers in California participated in the experiment. While the test program ended on September 30, 2009, the Web sites are still viewable online, sorted out according to the four participating GM divisions:
http://buick.eBay.com
http://chevrolet.eBay.com,
http://gmc.eBay.com
http://pontiac.eBay.com.
Vehicle prices were determined in either of two ways, either the familiar "Buy It Now" feature that gives a set price, or a "Best Offer" option where a bidder could make a bid and negotiate online with a dealer.
The site incorporated features that allowed consumers to compare pricing across models or participating dealerships throughout California, ask a dealer questions and get tips and advice with a buyer checklist.
The Web sites also provided a wide variety of Internet links so buyers could perform all sorts of research easily, including calculating payments, learning about DMV fees, taxes and all necessary information about a specific vehicle, including options and colors.
Don't expect online transactions to eliminate brick-and-mortar dealerships any time soon, however.
For starters, there's no guarantee that a consumer wouldn't be able to get a better deal by negotiating face to face with a salesperson at the dealership instead of bidding for one online.
And although an online autoselling site could include tools to help estimate the value of a buyer's current vehicle, no dealership will guarantee a price on a trade-in without first giving it a personal inspection. At least for the forseeable future, at some point a Web-surfing auto buyer with a vehicle to trade in will have to drive to a dealership to conduct business.
Could online autoselling be the wave of the future? As GM's pilot program ultimately proved, while the number of consumers who are comfortable with making computer-based transactions is growing, there are far more who will continue to prefer engaging in what is the second largest transaction most families will ever make the old-fashioned way - in person.
Plus, no matter how far technology has come in recent years, it's impossible to test-drive a car on a computer.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Philly.com Promotions
