Why can't car manufacturers sell direct to consumers? Why not cut out the middlemen and keep the profit margin for themselves?
Some states do allow direct sales. Many have laws that prohibit manufacturers from competing against their own franchisees. Some states have laws prohibiting sales outside of a dealership. It’s questionable whether these anti-competitive laws will stay around, but ones that protect dealerships against the manufacturer that makes the cars they sell make sense. Laws that protect dealerships against losing business because somebody wants to buy a different brand of cars makes no sense. If companies like Tesla switched to a dealership model, sold as many or more cars (GM is claiming the dealership model works better so they should sell more cars that way) then the dealerships that are complaining would still lose sales.The problem is that large companies such as GM are trying to argue both sides of the coin. On the one hand, they are saying that the dealership model is better for customers and offers them advantages. On the other hand when companies like Tesla come along, have direct sales, and customers like it better, GM says it gives Tesla an unfair advantage. The problem is that the laws are there to protect dealers from them, so while it makes sense for dealerships to want such laws, it would make sense for GM to oppose laws that give an advantage to manufacturers, not the other way around.If a dealership model works better, wouldn’t that leave Tesla and its customers at a disadvantage?The industry never would have gotten off the ground had there not been a dealer network. But if a customer has a choice of buying a car from a dealership or a factory showroom, it should come down to which car they like the best. To deny them the opportunity makes no sense because if the same car were sold at a dealership at the same price, instead of at a factory showroom, it wouldn’t change how competitive the market would be.
A safety and recall challenge to ford lovers.?
I think your full of crap. The new f150 crash tests were better than all others. Every maker has had a number of recalls. Its funny that you are so sure of your false info, not taking into account that Ford has the most powerfull and best selling truck for 3 decades, and that the fusion beat all import competition in quality and reliability. Even the new taurus is out selling the competition. Their was only 2 reports of fire due to the cruise controll problem. More recalls just proves that Ford recognized certain problems and corrected them, unlike others who ignore and lie about defects so they dont look bad. Anybody can come up with bullcrap issues. I can go back 30 years and bring up stats that would blow your mind. The only problem I see is someone thats car quality uneducated that doesnt deserve to drive a Ford. You belive what you want, and buy what you want, it will just keep the price of my Fords down. Check todays stats as far as power and quality and You will eat those bull sh-- stats you have been lead to belive by the less fortunate competition.
Which is the best site for buying used cars in India?
Firstly what type of car or Segment ie Are you looking for entry level cars / Hatchback / Sedans / SUV...b .How often you Use the Car- ie whether to go for Petrol or Diesel.c. Which Model ie looking for Indian , Japanese or any othersd. Budget- ie looking for Basic model or Fully loaded.e. From Whom or Source:To buy the Car from a Local Dealer or from a top online classified websitesf. Finance- Is it by Cash or Car Loan.Step 2: Top Things to keep in minda. History of the carb. Never buy a modified carc. Avoid certain discontinued modelsd. Repossessed cars-It is difficult to procure the RC Book and the original owner may make trouble even if you do get the car transferred to your name.e.Lightly used cars-Inactivity Cars cause problems.Step3: Most Important point-Checking the Cara. Examine the car in Daytime.b. Take a Expert Friend who knows about the car.c. Odometer Tampering -lowering car’s odometer is a common malpractice in the used car segment.Check the service records for inconsistencies.d. Verify Engine sizee. Verify date of Manufacturef. test driveg. The mechanic’s wordh. Negotiationsi. Insist on a duplicate keyj. Check the Insurance Paperk. Delivery Note & Transfer PapersHere we are sharing one infographic where you can see online behaviour of people when buying used car in india.[1]Footnotes[1] Free Classifieds India, Post Free Classified Ads | Adaalo
Is it worth buying a salvage title car and having it repaired?
If by “having it repaired” means that it is your labour, perhaps.Consider the price of a new car, with new parts.Now Tripple the price of those ‘component parts’ that go onto the car.This is the price that you pay for the ‘replacement parts’, the originals get a subsidy because they are manufctured to the Original manufacturers specifications, and warranty.An example name is Bendix Auto products.They make brake pads. They make thousands in various shapes, sizes, lengths, thicknesses etc.So, they make a first lot of 100,000 units for a car like the Toyota Corolla.Initially, they cost $20.00 per set of calipers , left and right.But, after the first lot run for the first model year, Toyota sees that they need to be lengthened or thickened, or changed some way, but you have the need for this paart, 20 years down the road. Is Bendix still making brake assemblies for cars 30+ years old? No. they make parts what are needed, and let others make the older parts.This makes the individual part price go up from $20.00 a set (bendix) to $40.00 (or double the cost).Do this again, and you see tht now the part price had doubled to $80.00.So, is it worth $80.00 to replace the brake pads on a 10 year old corolla, or have Toryota not changed anything in the latest generation? No, well, then the brake pads can be used over several generations.this is called Modularity, and if a car is looked upon as a bunch of modules, and how long they last, then you get the idea about , “is it worth it”, and if you can find a donor car for parts, then you are better off.If you have to get certain parts from the manufacturer, then the price goes through the roof, and it gets to be less and less “worth it” to buy a non-current model.
I was asked to sign a non-export agreement when buying a car. Why is car export not allowed? Is it illegal or is it just the maker/dealership looking out for their own interests?
IF you live in the States and IF the car is NEW and IF you didnt pay tax and licensing fees because you’re a broker (or any variation of) it was because the manufacturer is the one who is prohibiting the export. The dealership was just covering it’s ass by having you sign that agreement.New vehicles in America are cheaper than some other countries. To give an example, I worked at a Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram dealership in the States. I was going to move to Australia and decided to do some homework. This was 2012. In America a Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland was $55k but in Australia the same vehicle (with the exception of it being a RHD) was $109k. Even with the cost of shipping it would be cheaper to buy in the States and ship overseas. Problem is, this will affect CJDR dealerships in those countries.The manufacturer is tough on dealerships who “knowingly” sell new vehicles for export, fining them as much as $10k per vehicle sold that was exported.Chrysler even had an “exporter” list. These were companies who were known for buying vehicles in America (Usually Dodge Ram Laramie Longhorn 4x4 Quad cabs) and shipping them mainly to China. Dealers were PROHIBITED from selling vehicles to these companies. ( I had a coworker who knowingly sold 7 trucks a month to a company that was exporting them. 9 months later Chrysler discovered this and fined the dealership $630,000. The dealer tried to sue the company but lost when e-mail transactions between the saleman and the export company revealed the salesman KNEW the vehicles were being sold for export. The salesman was fired and the dealership paid the fine)The reason the dealership had you sign the “Non Export Agreement” is in case the manufacturer discovered that you did export the vehicle and fined that dealer, that dealer can turn around and sue you for violating the Non Export agreement.There are ways around it but it hurts the export companies bottom line. They can pay the tax and registration fees (in California that equates to roughly 12% of the selling price of the vehicle so if the truck is $50k, they just shelled out $6k in those fees) and keep the truck in the States for 6 months (now its a USED truck because its been registered so it just depreciated in value), you can do whatever you like with it.
Are hybrid cars good?
There no good on long trips (like 100 miles or more) because the electric motor won't maintain 60 mph for very long and you'll be running on the gas engine most of the trip. At that time your just driving a gas motor. There best for commuting in the city were the gas motor runs less. Also, the gas motor starts up in the morning when you first drive it to bring it up to operating temperature for the heater and so it's 'ready' when needed. It shuts off and starts at will controlled by a temperature sensor whether it's needed for power etc. or not so there's some fuel consumption right there. FYI: There have been cases were tech's unfamiliar with a hybrid's operation will leave the ignition ON, raise it. drain the oil, remove the oil filter and suddenly the the engine starts up to maintain temp. and now the engine's ruined!!! Batteries are very expensive into the thousand's. However the individual cell's are replaceable and some automotive repair guru's I know who do R+D on new/made technology and then instruct technician's have reported good results from replacing just the cell's that are bad by using good cell's from wrecked/totaled hybrid's. You can't just find them in a salvage yard though because of the high voltage danger and some bubba with a crescent wrench...you get the idea. They bought one through an auction. You have to be certified in hybrids to work on them(the electric end of it) but not to buy one. The dealer will only sell you the entire $ battery. So the whole battery thing is a pain. Buy one new and sell it in two year's and buy a new one!
How big a threat is an Apple car to Tesla?
My opinion (recorded forever in history until I come back to edit it after the car launches!) is: The Apple car is probably not a threat to Tesla. Why? Positioning (in the marketing sense). The car industry has an existing set of brands that have very entrenched positioning developed over decades (Volkswagon safety, Toyota quality, Porsche design, BMW luxury, Audi for transporting people in your trunk throughout Europe while being chased by the mob, etc.). It is very hard for a new player to come into an existing industry full of established players and position itself as something different enough that people take notice. However, one way to accomplish this is to create a new category and make yourself the leader in that. Tesla has done this extremely well. Tesla "created" the electric car category and now sits on the top of that group in people's mind. Consensus seems to be that Apple's efforts will be directed to entering this category. To be a threat to Tesla they would have to (1) became the brand people primarily associate with electric cars, displacing Tesla, and (2) not grow the overall category pie enough that Tesla reaps the benefit even if it becomes a #2 player. I believe that Apple will fail at displacing Tesla. For Apple to do so it would take them coming out with something differentiated enough that feels new and unique. I used to believe that Apple wouldn't enter a space if it couldn't identify some unique aspect or use case to solve that really differentiates its product. What changed my mind on this was the Apple Watch. The Apple Watch did not have some amazing use case that nobody else was already addressing. Like all Apple products, it is very polished and very high quality, but otherwise it is just a smartwatch like many other. There were even interviews published with folks on the team that stated that they made the watch without having any particular use case in mind to solve, but rather because they believed that computing in general would move towards wearables and they wanted to play in that market. I suspect that the car project is similar, and will not be different enough. I suspect that it will just be a very polished very well executed slightly different electric car, and that is not enough for Apple to displace Tesla (or the traditional car brands for that matter). I hope I am proven wrong, because more innovation and competition in the space would be awesome, but this is my current opinion on the matter.