Keep us updated with this!! Please.

-Jeff

I have talked with other Mazda dealers and they’ve confirmed this as well. It seems to me that customers are using this online program to figure out who has what and if the EXACT car isn’t at any dealer, they just don’t submit a lead.

-h

Jeff

I landed here (as usual) from the AutoConversion Automotive Sphere newsletter. I saw the article you mentioned, and was very interested in the potential shift of the vehicle distribution paradigm that this article suggests. I got to thinking . . . I really am in the market for a new vehicle . . . and I saw the CX-9 on TV the other night and it looked pretty cool (plus it ZOOM’s). I thought that I would put this format to the test because I read alot of the comments above that are mainly assumptive. Please take the time to review my experience when i actually engaged the Chat/Haggle session on the MazdaUSA.com website after building a vehicle . . . the results may surprise you!
________________________________________________

(CLICKED CHAT NOW AND WAS CONNECTED TO SCOTT INSTANTLY)

11:06:58 AM System – Welcome Mark …
11:06:58 AM System – Connected to Mazdachat.mazdausa.com
11:07:01 AM System – Scott has joined this session!
11:07:11 AM Scott – Mark, thank you for connecting with Mazda’s Personal Shopping Assistant. My name is Scott, how may I help you.
11:08:05 AM You – Scott, the CX-9 has some options listed as limited or late availability . . . are these on the lot right now or being built?
11:09:00 AM Scott – I think they Should be at the dealers Mid September or Early August let me make sure.
11:12:04 AM You – OK . . . this is the Rear Entertainment package correct? Or Navigation and Rear Entertainment? (I have 4 kids)
11:14:16 AM Scott – The rear entertainment package is separate from the Navigation rear camera package… but both are available
11:14:23 AM You – ok
11:14:32 AM You – so they are in dealers inventory now?
11:15:56 AM Scott – The items that are listed as late availability… Rearview camera system with auto dim is a the dealerships
11:16:16 AM Scott – The alarm system I am still checking on..
11:16:25 AM You – ok . . . one other question . . . I read an article recently that Mazda’s website offers price negotiations. What is that all about? Can you explain.
11:16:31 AM You – is interesting
11:16:59 AM You – Can I order the vehicle on this website?
11:18:09 AM You - I am trading a 99 Ford Contour so not sure how that works
11:18:24 AM You - it has 107,000 miles on it
11:19:45 AM Scott – Vehicle trade value is determined at the dealership because we are unable to accurately assess a vehicles condition online.
11:19:55 AM You - ok
11:20:12 AM You - makes sense I suppose . . .
11:20:51 AM Scott – If you use the quote request page, the dealer should contact you with in 3 hours
11:20:52 AM You - so can I order a CX-9 online and choose the dealer or something? How does that work?
11:21:23 AM You - So you are saying that I have to contact a dealership?
11:21:27 AM Scott – Configure the vehicle the way you want it online and submit it for a price quote
11:21:44 AM You Right . . .ok.
11:21:57 AM Scott – Then you can negotiate trade value etc.
11:22:01 AM You – I was just curious about the article I read. Are you familiar with it.
11:22:23 AM You – Mazda allows haggling on Website – Automotive News
11:22:37 AM Scott – That is not correct.
11:22:47 AM Scott – Automotive news blew it
11:22:53 AM You – HAH
11:22:56 AM You – ok
11:23:16 AM You – well, that clears that up . . . huh?
11:23:18 AM Scott – We can only provide quotes from a local dealer.
11:23:25 AM You – k, well thanks for the info on those options
11:23:33 AM Scott – Your welcome
11:23:44 AM You – I will check out a local dealer
11:23:56 AM You – I can’t wait . . I hope they have the one I want
11:24:00 AM You – thanks
11:24:09 AM Scott – Wait
11:24:14 AM You – uh, ok
11:24:22 AM You – I’m here
11:24:40 AM Scott – If you can’t find one at a local dealer, we can widen a search out and find one for you if the dealer can’t
11:25:03 AM You – WOW ok, so what should I do, just come back here and get on chat again
11:25:36 AM Scott – Yep. Or if you have time right now we can try and find one for you… and I can tell you were it is at
11:26:10 AM You – Well, I know a guy at the dealer in St. Louis so I will send an email over there and ask for him
11:26:21 AM You – if they don’t have it, I will come back here
11:26:27 AM Scott – Okay … no problem
11:26:28 AM You – but thanks for the help
11:26:47 AM Scott – Thank you for connecting with Mazda’s personal Shopping Assistant. I have enjoyed the opportunity to assist you. Have a great day.

________________________________________________

SUMMARY: Automotive News Blew It!

It appears that the Corporate level touch point is a supportive element to the local dealer. I imagine that anything that is done online is designed around completion of the sale with mutual responsibility by Corporate and the dealer.

Hope this helps!

Springer

I personally have worked with a German auto company that was recently studying the U.S. dealer networks to find out how to move more units per capita.

Bottom line,

1. Inventory on the ground.
2. Motivated salespeople.
3. Aggressive advertising.
4. Competitive dealer networks.

I read somewhere that 1/2 of the car buying consumers have trade ins as a part of their deal. Is that still a ballpark number?

And the Mazda dealers must also feel confident living with “upsell at delivery” for their other F&I products with no effective introduction during the sale?

Do the dealers at least get to keep the finance income from the finance contracts arranged on the Mazda site?

Must be good grosses in those Mazdas to live without these other income streams + be able to keep the lights on.

Actually the process models what Scion did, but I’m not sure how Mazda allows haggling without running afoul of US Anti-Trust laws. Look here what happened when the OEM negotiated price was determined to be a cover for price fixing… and that was in Canada which has relatively lax laws and penalties vs. the US.

[html]www.cbc.ca/disclosure/archives/030211_notebook.html[/html]

That’s not a happy PR day.

Access Toyota was a good idea gone very badly wrong and it didn’t have to be that way. I am very supportive of a seamless consumer OEM to dealer buying experience, but it can’t be the OEM controlling the prices. I’ll be very interested to see dealer’s reactions if their total gross profits are eroded… you just can’t make up the loss of trade ins as a source of supply + erosion of F&I profits on volume. Without those, almost every franchised used car dealer would have gone out of business a while ago.

Oh… and most sales person pay plans are based on a % of gross profit. Or maybe that’s changed. Let’s hear from the people who walk these miles every day.

This kind of thing can’t just be one-sided change in this case and kill off dealers. Dealers can not go away. There are exceptions, but for the most part they play incredibly important roles in their communities, they are the single biggest payers of state sales taxes, in the aggregate they are major employers of good paying jobs, there is legislation on many states prohibiting OEM’s from selling directly (which this is not… a “sale” requires offer, acceptance and an exchange of consideration) and exactly where are consumers thinking they are going to take their vehicles for warranty service?

There are far more good dealers than bad dealers. I tell consumers all the time to spend just as much time doing research on the dealer you are buying from rather than obsessing on price. Just because 3rd parties on the Internet try to get you to believe they have access to lower prices, all car dealers buy their new cars from the same supplier at the same prices (it is illegal in this country for it to be otherwise). On a $30,000 vehicle a dealer will typically make $1,500. Out of that, he has to pay his sales person, rent, lights, hydro, overhead, etc. Without the trades + F&I product revenues… no dealers.

The better online shopping experience is a good one… but not like this. Dealer pricing can be tied in without fixing, but for heaven’s sake, let the dealers make enough to service their customers well. Learn to shop those that do.

http://www.daimlerchrysler-bank.com/wunschfinanzierer/wf/startstg-gfg.html

Hard to say if it’s a positive step for “the industry”, if that term refers to a a bunch of guys who inherited stores from their dads and are accustomed to raking in over $3,000 per sale.

It’s a positive step for the industry if the term refers to the overall consumer experience. It’s just one more move towards the future of car buying… no sales staff as we know it. A big warehouse full of cars, a test track, a dozen buyer’s guide kiosks that cover lease vs. purchase, model pricing comparisons, financing, insurance, aftermarket, etc. And a Walmart greeter at the front to document demographics for the OEMs.

If no one has seen Mercedes-Benz’s (German dealerships) OEM dealer web sites with the vehicle/payment drilldown tool, just have a gander at that to peek into the future of car buying.

Autoblog and DealerRefresh both have two posts about Mazda changing up the way consumers can buy Mazdas. Instead of haggling with a sales person on the lot, they can go through the Mazda website and have a sales assistant help them in the process. I th…