A couple of decades ago, walking into a car dealership was practically an exercise in bravery. You weren’t sure what you would find, you were bound to be approached by knowledgeable salesmen, and you would need to be prepared to haggle for the best price. But these days, the landscape is much different, and it’s all thanks to the internet.
How has shopping for a car changed? And how might it change from here?
Information and Consumer Education
Arguably the biggest influence has been the skyrocketing abundance of information available to consumers. Even in the earliest days of the internet, long before car dealerships and manufacturers published detailed information, there were online forums where car enthusiasts and other consumers could exchange information related to recent car buying experiences.
According to Tiger Okeley of Oak Motors, “Pretty quickly, the internet made it easy for buyers to know the used value of a particular make and model given mileage, condition, and location.”
This type of information was available in limited capacity before the internet, but it required purchasing or borrowing a physical book – and then interpreting limited data points for your own purposes. With the rise of online forums, people could gather much broader sets of data and get personalized recommendations for how much they should pay for a vehicle.
Over the years, the information available through online channels became even more abundant and diverse. Insiders and consumers alike began to share details about the inner workings of the car sales industry, revealing details about invoice prices, sticker prices, and profit margins. The more people understood the process of buying and selling cars, the more power they had when walking into a dealership. A consumer with an adequate amount of research time could know exactly the right price to ask for – and know exactly when to walk away.
There are even articles and resources that can help you with the negotiation process. Negotiating a price on a car isn’t much different than negotiating anything else, but it’s still helpful for consumers to learn the basics so they have an edge when working with salespeople.
Publicly Available Listings
The internet also democratized car sales by making listings publicly available. Using a wide variety of online sales platforms, consumers could list their cars for sale directly to other consumers. This added to the information available, since people could easily look up prices for various used cars currently being listed for sale. It also increased the number of options available to the average consumer. It’s typically much more convenient to buy a car from a local dealership, but if there’s a good deal available online, you can drive to pick one up somewhere else or pay to have it delivered.
Dealerships and Manufacturers
Once the internet became more mainstream, dealerships and manufacturers attempted to take advantage of it, creating their own websites and marketplaces to capitalize on online sales in addition to in-person sales.
This has changed slightly in recent years, as more independent dealerships have found it hard to compete with major online marketplaces. However, it’s still possible to find a website for practically every local dealership. On these websites, you can check inventory, do research, and sometimes even chat with salespeople directly.
As a result, more consumers are doing their research and initiating the sales process long before they ever set foot on dealership ground.
Taking Full Advantage of the Internet for Your Next Car
So how can the average consumer take full advantage of the power of the internet when buying a new or used car?
- Visit both online and in-person dealerships. You’ll be able to find a car that’s a better fit for you, and find it at a better price, if you broaden the options available to you. That means shopping at both online and in-person dealerships. Browse a wide variety of models on a wide variety of channels to expand your knowledge and familiarity.
- Do your research. Always do your research before making any vehicle purchasing or selling decision. You should become a mini expert in whatever your chosen model happens to be.
- Look for incentives. You may have a good target price in mind for your chosen vehicle, but is there any way to get that even lower? Are there special incentives or deals available? Are there any major sales coming up?
- Learn new strategies. Also, commit to learning new strategies for shopping for and buying cars. Sometimes, even simple tactical changes can have a massive impact.
The power and reach of the internet have democratized car sales in a way that no one could have predicted before this game-changing technology went mainstream. Today, it’s easier than ever to find the information you need, get good advice, and ultimately find better deals.
