Could Car Dealers Soon Become Extinct?

Many car buyers end up purchasing cars from dishonest dealers or manufacturers who don't care enough about consumer safety. The problems in the car buying market have necessitated a wide array of consumer protection laws, like California’s lemon law, to try to protect consumers from problems with vehicles. 

Because there are so many issues with problem dealers, it is no wonder that some people are asking whether we'll actually need car dealers in the future or not.

Will Car Dealers Be Needed in the Future?

Forbes indicates that some reports suggest there will be no more car dealers by 2025. Car dealers may no longer be needed in the car buying process because consumer buying behavior and consumer expectations have evolved and there are new ways for dealers and car manufacturers to connect. As the world has changed, the car dealership model has stayed static for decades.

Most car shoppers today go online to configure their vehicle and determine exactly what options they want on the car. Despite this, car dealers typically expect consumers to come in to check out vehicles in person and to choose from a stock selection of a few hundred cars which the dealer happens to have available at the time.  Car buyers may grow frustrated at the lack of ability to customize, as well as with the treatment they receive at dealerships that makes the car buying process a chore.

If car dealers want to survive as more and more people turn to Internet shopping and expect a wide array of options at their disposal, dealers need to incorporate more modern digital technologies instead of just having rows of cars on display.

Car dealers also need to provide better training and incentives for staff, and make sure those incentives are focused on fostering the right type of client interactions.  Sales commissions create the conditions for the pushy sales environment that so many car dealers are known for, and which ends up turning consumers off. 

Making better use of big data and online sales data will also be important to car dealers, as local dealerships can be personalized to what local drivers can afford and want to buy. Key performance indicators can also be changed to make sure that they are more focused on customer satisfaction and providing the type of experience that consumers are looking for when they go shopping to make a big financial investment in a vehicle.

If car dealers take steps to evolve and improve the buying experience, they can survive even when manufacturers and consumers may be looking for better alternatives which eliminate the middle man and create less stress for shoppers. If dealerships don't evolve, then reports of their demise by 2025 may not be exaggerated.

Whether you buy your car from a car dealer or from any other source, you could still have issues if there is a problem with the vehicle. San Diego car buyers need to understand lemon law and other consumer protection laws to ensure they don't lose hard-earned money because of serious vehicle defects.