TyraNSX said:
The whole process would be easier & cheaper by cutting out the middleman and ordering direct from the factory, but that will never happen.
I definently hear you on this point. That said, you are absolutely right. It won't happen.
The dealerships are a nice cushion for the manufacturer. They are a buffer between the manufacturer, and the end customer that provide more than just a retail outlet for cars.
The fact is, no matter how you choose to do business if you sell Honda's or hat racks you will always end up with someone who is pissed off on a deal. the Dealer is a barrier that keeps the manufacturer away from bad PR.
Lets paint a picture- and use paint as an example- you just bought a brand new Acura RL- you are really pleased at the time of delivery because under the lights in that area the car looks perfect.
When you get home you park your new car in your garage, then start going through your owners manual to figure out what all the buttons do. You flip on the overhead lights in the garage and something on the hood just doesn't look right...
After closer scrutiny under different lights you realize there is a paint defect on the hood...
If you dealt with a dealer you can go back over to them and say "hey man, look at this, what are you going to do about it?" The dealer is on the hook for the damages.
Now if you are a good politician, and don't go running in there waving your arms, pounding your fists, and generally making an irrational ass of yourself the dealer just might exchange cars with you, and you can drive away happy in your brand new vehicle. He may do this for a number of reasons
1. Profit- he just sold you a car and made some dollars. It is likely he wants you to be happy so you will tell all your friends, and give him a good survey.
2. Potential profit- He knows you will come back for service if he treats you right, he also knows that your referal business, and future business are worth something.
3. dispute resolution- why not? The car you just took home doesn't have but a few miles, an exchange can be made and eliminate a potential legal hassle and expense. The dealer is rich, but he doesn't want to spend a bunch of money to defend himself on something he can throw back to the manufacturer. If you have been reasonable throughout the process than why not preserve the relationship if it will save him time, money, and hassle?
Example 2- you just bought the same car with the same problem direct from the manufacturer.
What do you do?
here is a scenario-
You call the "customer service" line? What accountability does your claim handler there have to your situation? They might fill you with a lot of good feelings like you will be "taken care of" but what can the guy on the phone do to immediately satisfy your issue?
They will probably assign a manufacturers representative to come out and inspect your damages to determine if this is a defect. in the mean time you are driving around in the car since the defect does not affect driveability- as you do this you are putting miles on.
The rep will be looking for more than just damage too- he will be scrutinizing you for fraud potential, and that will probably piss you off.
What if you come upon resistance to settle your claim? what if the rep comes out, sees the damage and surmises this is a buffer burn, and is not a manufacturing defect. What do you do? call customer service and escalate? Hire a lawyer?
To the Dealer you are one of 10 people who bought a car that week, but to the manufacturer you are one of a thousand.
Your value as a customer is diluted by the volume of people the manufacturer would be dealing with.
The people you are dealing with will be working under more controlled guidelines, and the rules will be less "flexible". They will be less personally involved, and less likely to flex those rules in your favor.
If you finally prevail, and there are miles on the car by that time, do you think the manufacturer is going to replace your car, or just issue a check the repaint the hood?
you just bought the car, now it is going into a shop to have the hood repainted, which leads to a whole mess of new problems...
are you happy?
Me neither.
Where does PR come in? With the dealership system, if you are pissed and you go out on the internet and say "so and so Honda f---ed me over" it won't be a direct hit against Honda. As NSXTASY stated, there are 600 retail outlets all over the country that could have commited the bad deal, and most of the people who view the post that live far away from "so and so Honda" aren't going to be disuaded from doing business with their local dealers. Remember, people who are dissatisfied tend to speak a lot louder than folks who are happy add the anonymity of the internet and you got a big bad press potential. If the deal was manufacturer direct, then Honda takes the hit directly- there is no distribution, and all over the country peoples opinions of the company in general could be diminished. This is the best way I can articulate the buffer effect the dealership system provides.
To review- With Dealers you get direct accountability for the deal, and the ability to shop around until you find someone you want to deal with. The manufacturer gets their barrier between the defect, and the deal.
With the manufacturer you get a phone number, and a prayer. The manufacturer gets to be accountable for potential negative press.
Do you really want to cut the dealer out?
Does Honda?
FYI: Scenario 1 actually happened to my Dad recently, and it was satisfied in exactly the way I described. All dealerships are not evil. But as I have said in other threads you really ought to accept responsibility for your end of the transaction and research before you buy.
I realize that most of you hate dealing with the dealership, but taking the dealer out of the equation is not really a solution as much as it would be an invitation to additional hassles in other less than desireable situations. If you really scrutinze any "bad dealer" situation, I think you will find that precaution would have been the best remedy.
The deal on this Civic smelled bad from the get-go. I feel awful for Jagtigers situation.
Please take this example as reason to be cautious when entering into a deal. Be careful folks, it sucks when it happens to you.
Be careful who you do business with.
Philip
..Nice SUV..I wish I could afford another truck...
