Would you shop for a Mercedes-Benz online?

mr.smith said:

Mercedes-Benz will be offering its customers in Germany and Poland the option to shop for high-end and high-volume vehicles through an online store. While customers would still be directed to a show room to complete the "final sales administration phase" the amount of time saved by using this process is impressive. This process is also expected to appeal to younger customers who are more comfortable with online shopping, and to aid inner-city show rooms which will no longer have to keep as much stock on hand.

There are pros and cons to vehicle shopping online. Would you consider using an online store to shop for your next vehicle?

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I've heard about BMW experimenting with a similar idea to much dismay of their dealer network. I see shopping for a car online similar to purchasing shoes or pants online, you need to TRY THEM.

Online is great for getting a feel for whats available or even for finding a better deal on what you want but there is no way the online experience can make up for test drives and hands on time with the vehicle.

Take the CLA for example, theoretically it could be bought on stats alone but i need to make sure that the things i need to fit in the trunk will actually fit there. I believe returning a vehicle is much harder than returning a pair of boots.

Selling vehicles online certainly has a place in the car buying experience but there is no way it can completely supplant dealer networks, people want test drives even if only to turn around and go order the vehicle online...

mr.smith said:

Apparently you will also be able to book test drives at dealerships through the online shopping site. So there is an understanding that people will still need to be in the dealership at points throughout the process. I think the point of the online store is to allow you to do at home a lot of stuff which now you have to go to the dealer for, but you really shouldn't have to.

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How cool would it be if i could book a test drive at my house. Click around online and a few days later a Mercedes rep shows up at my door with a CLA and time to kill. Impractical but still would be sweet.

Zeus said:

I think you'd have to go to a dealership to pick it up in the end. The big obstacle in setting up an online store is dealerships. Dealerships don't want direct car sales because it will be the death of them. Whatever online system that is set-up will have to figure out how it relates to dealerships, either that or dealerships' days are numbered.

This is an issue Tesla is facing right now. It just wants to use a showroom, but some states are saying that it has to use a dealership. That doesn't seem very free market, does it?

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LOL The States and Free Market is a paradox. Thats good old government red tape mechanical rape. Protecting interests and jobs, thats the problem with disruptive technology/systems/companies, they face an unbelieveable amount of backlash from the status quoers who just want to ride the wave as long as possible and will fight to the bloddy bitter end to make sure it all stays the same. Psychology is a *****.

Zeus said:

I just hate it how legislator who claim to be all free market everything can then turn around and do the opposite. Doesn't anyone stand by their principles anymore?

While we don't understand completely how the system will work, online shopping for vehicles (and everything) is the future. To put up a stupid roadblock saying that you can't sell stuff online is stupid. I am interested to see how the online shopping systems develop in other places. maybe once it catches on in other countries there will be more pressure to allow it in the states.

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well it depends what you're principles are in the first place. If its a commitment to lobbied dollars and industry big wigs one is standing by admirably. The way to the top is through the lowest roads possible.