# Everyone Loves Tesla Cars, Except Car Dealers



## sunworksco (Sep 8, 2008)

The author seems to be biased towards the franchise car dealers.


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## PhantomPholly (Aug 20, 2008)

Not so sure about that - certainly he was relaying their gripes, but didn't seem to be proactively supporting their wailing and gnashing of teeth.

Car dealerships today are facing the same problem that small motor repair and garden shops faced with the coming of big box stores selling garden power equipment. The small shops offered service, but their chief profit came from new sales. With people going to WalMart and later Home Depot for their mower, they first resented repairing stuff bought elsewhere then started going out of business.

Car dealerships, like every boutique business chain, resents competition and will fight it with their last breath. Hopefully, that last breath comes sooner rather than later...


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## sunworksco (Sep 8, 2008)

The difference here is that the online dealers will not necessarily have dealer repair shops. This could set up independent dealer trained repair shops that could give much better service at better prices for the consumer.
Auto dealers today are such con artists at charging rediculous prices for repairs.


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## Duncan (Dec 8, 2008)

The main problem with dealers making their money from repairs is that modern cars are so much more reliable than they used to be

You want a big network so everybody can reach a dealer (repairer) but the amount of work may not support such a network

This was an issue with Cummins expanding into new areas - you need the network but the work was not there to support/expand it


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## PhantomPholly (Aug 20, 2008)

sunworksco said:


> The difference here is that the online dealers will not necessarily have dealer repair shops.


 Yes - exactly what I described above. They have no responsibility to the consumer once the sale is complete.



> Auto dealers today are such con artists at charging rediculous prices for repairs.


Which is why I won't cry when they go the way of the old lawn mower repair places which overcharged hideously for new sales and then gouged on repairs as well.


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