Tesla
Would YOU buy a used car from this man?
I would, if i had the Money! LOL!
Posted on 10/25/2014 8:35:33 AM PDT by Kaslin
WHAT?! What are we supposed to do with those 500,000 batteries per year tesla is going to build at their plant outside of Reno now? Is there really gonna be a need for that many batteries? Guess that’s elon musk dreamin’ big.
Are Teslas Federally subsidized like other electric cars? Are electric cars still subsidized?
I don’t understand why it evolved, that car companies sell cars through franchised dealers. Apparently there is a requirement that retail car dealers be set up as franchises, and that the manufacturers are required to sell through franchised dealers.
Anybody know why this is? Does a retail car dealer have to be a franchise? What about all the independent used car lots which sell many different brands of cars?
They overlook the fact that if you want to register your Tesla in MI you will still have to pay the same sales tax.
Most states do have strong laws protecting the rights of Dealers..from the consumers and from the manufacturers. They are a powerful lobby just like real estate brokers.
I would, if i had the Money! LOL!
BOL!
Sure if I was an up and coming wealthy young yuppie working for Google or Apple, and I was a faux enviral wanting the tax payers to fund a large % of my purchase. Then I could smuggly drive in the HOV lanes and claim to be a real enviral!
Why can’t consumers buy cars directly from the manufacturers
I would love to buy a car with my own specs and not pay for all those add-ons that the dealers put on and charge a premium for.
But, the manufacturer-dealer relationship is mutually beneficial, as the manufacturers also dump some of the less popular cars on the dealers.
Sell them out of state. Let Michigan twist in the wind on this nonsense.
I hear you.
(I should have added a /s tag...LOL)
I had one customer who had a Tesla, and you would not believe what he had to install on the side of his house to charge the thing.
I asked him where THAT electricity, going through that monster cable, was coming from.
As far as I know, every manufacturer allows you to custom order and build a vehicle (it’s easiest on-line). Autos are high maintenance. You really want to send it back to the manufacturer when something odd happens with it?
I read the article rather rapidly and maybe my question was addressed and I missed it but how does Tesla handle “trade ins” without dealerships being involved? Not allowed?
Long ago a college professor lectured that “the primary purpose of licensing is to restrict competition” ;I think that is one time the professor got it right.
Dealerships are franchises. The car company has lots of control over how the dealership looks and runs. The dealership is the face of the car company so this makes sense.
I wrenched my way to shop foreman in three different dealerships. I now spin my wrenches for an independent shop. Car dealerships are the most wretched hives of scum and villainy outside of government.
I have no use for Tesla and government subsidized electric cars. But the no dealership model is a good idea. As long as factory trained technicians and parts suppliers are available for warranty work, I side with Tesla and free market folks.
Years ago, I went to a dealer to order a car with specific color and interior. Nope, won’t do it. Maybe things have changed.
There will always be dealerships around, because they make most of their money on maintenance and repair and used car sales.
I find it “amusing” that so many supposed capitalists we elect are actually against capitalism.
Corporations own just about everyone now.
Every auto maker web site has a ‘build-it’ feature. Not every vehicle is available with every color is factory available, if that’s what you mean.
http://www.toyota.com/configurator/
I used to work for a major Ford dealership here in Michigan. The owner drove a Jaguar. Despite the fact that his Ford dealership had garage, body shop, service center taking up half the block, I still drove his Jag to the Jaguar dealership in Grand Rapids for even minor things like oil changes.
He told me that he trusted his mechanics but they were certified Ford Mechanics. He would have hired a certified Jag mechanic but there simply weren’t enough Jags in the county to make it worth keeping one on the payroll. In the 1990s, for him to have a certified Jaguar service center would have required him to open it as a separate business from his Ford Dealership and his used car dealership. Only a fool would spend hundreds of thousands to open a business that might get 2 or 3 customers per month.
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