Used Saab Dealer
Health and Fitness March 10th. 2010, 5:08amIf you happen to like a particular brand of car, the way the auto market works now is probably a lot more to your liking than ever before. I do not foresee dealerships vanishing completely at this point in time, but the way they conduct business has changed completely. If you are looking to purchase a particular brand like a Used Saab, then you can go directly to the website of the local Saab dealerships and search for the best offer that they have and look through their inventory.
If you are the local Saab dealership, in order to get that consumer who is looking for the Used Saab, you are no longer competing with the other dealerships in the newspaper or local to you. You are now in competition with anyone who has a Used Saab for sale and the ability to advertise it. That means that a consumer can look into sites like autotrader.com or Carmax or Cars.com and look through listings far beyond the local dealership. Some consumers will even look into auction sites like eBay or online classifieds like craigslist in order to locate the best deal.
Another competitive outlet for used car sales comes from the car rental industry. After a year or two of service, rental cars are put on sale and listed on the websites of the companies that are selling them. The consumer looking for that Used Saab can search for that particular make and model and use other resources to see if the pricing is competitive.
Despite the increase in competition, dealerships still have some advantages over a lot of the online competition. The dealership is still the primary outlet for new car sales and will often have the ability to service its used car inventory to make sure that its used cars are in the best condition for sale. The dealership also as the advantage in being able to certify its cars as having passed inspection and even giving extended warranties on pre-owned vehicles.
So even though the dynamic has changed in how cars are shopped for, it is far from the end of the line for the dealership, and many have adapted their business model with success.
