This article is true. The last 3 cars purchased in my family were all purchased via online price shopping. We all new exactly what model, options, color and invoice price and played one dealer against another. Today sales guys are being eliminated and replaced with Internet consultants who spend more time online communicating than in the showroom. Say Goodbye to the Car Salesman - Yahoo Finance
we just purchased our hycam in this manner back in june. around here, they're still dropping a salesperson on you when you go in to consummate. i spose that'll change as margins thin.
Honestly- my last salesman (Oct 2012) was a nice guy... but he kind of impeded the purchase process with incorrect info/facts. It actually would have gone smoother and faster without him.... The first Toyota salesman I encountered when I started looking into the Prius was so overall disinterested when it was evident that the trim & color I wanted wasn't available off his lot- that I went to another dealer to purchase the car just out of principle.
There is such a thing as an honest, effective salesperson, but they're all too rare. Maybe online car sales can also help eliminate problems like this.
My first and second cars were purchased conventionally at the dealer. Each ordeal lasted near double digit hours. We only buy on the Internet now. Get the dealing done ahead of time so all that is needed is to test drive and sign the papers. I still get angry every time I think about it. I give a price. They go to talk to their manager for 30 minutes. There's always a line waiting to talking to the manager. Rinse and repeat until I succumb to their price because I want the car. The customer in the cubicle next to mine was doing this dance when I came in for my PiP. He was still at it when I was given the keys a couple hours later. *shudder*
I purchased my Prius online and over the phone. Found the car through a website, exchanged a couple of emails, and later called the dealership on the phone and made an "out-the-door" offer. We agreed on a price and they had quite a bit of the paperwork completed when I showed up in person a few days later. (Dealership was 200 miles away) The deal did not include a trade-in vehicle. My impression was that the salesperson who worked with me in person thought the process was pretty good too. When we met for the first time and I introduced myself, he found the paperwork and commented; "...Oh, I see that we've already agreed on a price... cool..."
Well one thing the internet and even sites like Prius Chat have changed is the amount of information and knowledge a person can have about any vehicle they are considering purchasing. After years at Prius Chat, I pretty much knew exactly what to expect with my Prius ownership for good and bad. The amount of information out there is amazing. I remember growing up, my parents would "try" to get information about a vehicle, from friends and Co-workers, but you were pretty much at the mercy of dealerships when it came time for hands on test drives and brass tack negotiations. And of course the buying process always came down to almost a "horse trader" level. I enjoy researching my automobile purchases. I like the entire process BUT I still hate the actual purchase. But today, there is no excuse for not being totally knowledgeable about your prospective vehicle and the costs involved BEFORE walking into a dealership. I'd imagine more direct, internet based purchasing is the wave of the future, and I think it's a good thing. For a purchase as large as an automobile represents for most people? I'd hope the days of the bewildered barter system are numbered. I don't know "how" I'll purchase my next vehicle but I know whatever my next vehicle might manifest into being, I will probably be very knowledgeable about it's cost, and capabilities before I ever even see the vehicle in person.
