The following article is based on chapter 9 from Shop Online the Lazy Way, a book written by Richard Seltzer, which was published in August 1999 by Macmillan. It is available in paperback directly from the author or from Amazon.com. It is also available in a Braille edition from National Braille Press (www.nbp.org). This work is copyright 1999 by Richard Seltzer. All rights are reserved. Check the author's bio for a description of this book and why it was written.
Now that the rights have reverted to the author, he is free to update and revise this online version. Please send email to alert him of changes and interesting new sites that you have encountered.
If you haven't shopped for a car online, you probably haven't bought the right one (except by chance), because there's no way you could have been aware of the range of choices or had access to the data necessary to make a truly informed decision.
When it comes to buying cars, we're not just talking about saving time and money. For these purchases, if you shop the traditional way, you're wearing a blindfold and playing spin the bottle or pin the tail on the donkey to make your vehicle choice. You have well over a thousand makes and models of new cars from which to choose. And for each of those cars, you can pick from a multitude of combinations of options and colors. For used cars, the range of choices is even far greater, and so are the risks.
Before the Internet craze, ordinary consumers simply had no way to access to all the relevant information on car selection. Even if you had access to the resources of a professional car buyer, you could never have manually and rationally sifted through it all in a reasonable amount of time.
Today, even if you don't find the car you want online, you definitely should take advantage of the Web's complete, convenient information and research tools to guide you through the car decision-making process.
Unless you live downtown and depend on public transportation, cars are an inextricable part of your life. They are probably your main means of getting to work, to stores, to entertainment, and to friends. (You might say they are the forerunners of the Internet--taking you where you need to go physically, whereas the Internet gets you there electronically.)
Your first notion of what type of car you might want to buy for yourself comes from what you have previously experienced: the cars your parents owned as you were growing up; the ones you've previously owned yourself; the ones you've seen driving by or parked; the cars owned by friends, rivals, and neighbors; the cars you've rented when traveling. Additionally, you see cars constantly in movies and on television and in advertising--everywhere you look.
By the time you decide you need or can afford to buy a car, you have already seen thousands of possibilities, and you probably have a pretty good idea of what might suit your tastes and your budget--perhaps too good of an idea. In other words, you have probably formulated a vision of your perfect car, and following your traditional shopping method, you would go to local dealers to compare your mental image of that perfect car with the cars you see on the lot.
If you were to use the Internet instead of physically going to the car dealer, your first inclination would be to go to the Web site of the car manufacturer whose ads have come closest to matching your perfect car image.
I'm asking you now to forget these traditional approaches. Try to erase that picture you have of your perfect car and free yourself to consider the full range of choices that would really make sense for you.
To select your car the online way, start by using one of the dozens of car-buying decision tools available on the Web. I recommend starting with PersonaLogic (a division of AOL) www.personalogic.com In addition to cars, PersonaLogic also provides decision guides for bikes, camcorders, cities, colleges, cruises, and dogs. Guides like this appear to be unbiased, but some sites might charge manufacturers who want their products to be included.
From the PersonaLogic home page, click on "Car-match" for a car-buying decision guide that includes over 1,200 new car models, leaving out the most exotic and expensive vehicles, and including nearly all those that ordinary people are likely to buy. You can select a typical profile--Commuter, College Freshman, Executive, Soccer Mom, Sport Driver, or Weekend Warrior. Or you can click on Need Help Picking the Perfect Car and enter car type (including vans and trucks), model year, price (with a calculator to help figure out what you can afford), size, safety features, technical matters, manufacturer, etc. Once you've entered your selections, you can weight these factors according to how important they are for you. Your final list of matches will include a "score" for each make and model, indicating how well each vehicle compared with the profile you created. Now, with the PersonaLogic-generated preliminary list in hand, you can click to get to detailed information on any car on that list.
Now, return to the page that shows your matches. Click on Compare with Another Car, and indicate which of the competitors you want to see compared one-on-one with your original selection. PersonaLogic then generates a comparison Web page. While the comparison data may contain hidden biases, the basic facts about other vehicles in the same model category can be very helpful, making you aware of other choices.
The original list and the comparison lists that PersonaLogic provides for you will likely include models you may have never heard of or have certainly never considered. They also may not include the car you thought you were in love with. If your perfect car doesn't appear, double-check your choices. You also might want to redo the selection options to see what other cars PersonaLogic suggests when you make even subtle changes in selection criteria. After you have several recommendation lists, you can then ask for one-on-one comparisons between your perfect car and the cars at the top of your list of recommendations.
Once you are comfortable with the results and certain that they accurately reflect your budget and tastes, you should print the list. This list can then serve as a primary reference as you use other online auto shopping resources.
You'll most likely be surprised at the widely differing results you'll get using other online decision guides. Presenting you with different questions can lead you down different paths with very different conclusions. Hence, you should be sure to use more than one online car-selection tool.
Even if you tend to make snap decisions and your first online car-selection exercise has provided you with a candidate that you are sure you want, your work still isn't completed. One way or another, you will eventually need to contact a specific dealer to select options, get a final price, and learn about delivery.
That kind of comparison is much easier if you use the Web's resources. All the major car manufacturers have their own Web sites, and each is packed with slick photos, fancy graphic effects, and brochure-style copy. (Porsche's manufacturer Web site, www.porsche.com). If you like the selection list you got from one of the sites like PersonaLogic, search the Internet for the manufacturers' Web sites. Each will be brimming with colorful, compelling online brochures for every model they make.
All the major automobile manufacturers have Web sites:
Today, however, you cannot yet buy your new car completely online. Yes, Saturn's television ads give you the impression you can just click your way through their site, and someone comes to your door with the keys. In fact, Saturn's site (www.saturn.com) lets you configure your options, calculate your payments, and apply for financing. But the price you see is just the Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price (MSRP). Your last online step is to use Saturn's lookup guide to find the dealer nearest to you, or to request a dealer contact you. When you talk to the dealer, you then get to find out about "retailer installation charges." With this final bit of information in hand, you can negotiate your final price. The dealer's invoice pricing featured by the online research sites can become extremely helpful to you as you close in on a final purchase price.When you surf the Internet to visit the auto manufacturers' sites, realize that these sites tend to have fancy dancing-prancing graphic effects, which take a long time to load and display on your computer. Some of these graphics effects are so complicated that they may crash your browser or your computer system. If you experience this problem, don't panic. Just reboot your computer or restart your browser, and steer clear of that site. (You can probably get good information about that manufacturer's cars at more user-friendly, do-it-all car purchase-related Web sites.)
If you are looking for a car that is more exotic than those manufactured by the automakers we have discussed so far in this chapter, try to locate that company on the Web by turning its name into a URL (e.g., Alfa Romeo becomes www.alfaromeo.com). If this suggestion doesn't work, then try searching a directory like Yahoo! (www.yahoo.com). If you are looking for a truly rare and ridiculously expensive vehicle, then a dealer specializing in that type of car may be more helpful than the manufacturer. Dealers of such specialty cars are often able to track down the one-of-a-kind gem you seek; an example is Rolls Royce of Beverly Hills at www.stoneage.com/auto/dealer/home.cfm/ABI22278.
These are the Web's most popular do-it-all car-buying sites:
Although each site features a distinctive overall look and feel, once you dive into the site's information, you'll find significant overlap. What appears like hundreds of different resources are actually hundreds of different paths to the same pool of car-buying information.
All of these sites strive to provide you with every scrap of information you might need while buying a car. They make their money both through advertising and through business relationships with auto dealers and manufacturers. And once these sites catch your attention, their goal is to keep you at their specific site, searching through that site's plentiful and useful resources until you've made an auto purchase decision.
By the way, some of these "do-everything" car sites have business arrangements with dealers, so that when you use that site's decision tool, you can connect with a nearby dealer, usually one who has the car you want in stock. Then you can head over there for a test drive, check the options and final pricing, and decide whether to make this purchase.
In the past, when you were ready to make a car purchase, you probably put your dream aside, went to the dealer and tried to save money by buying one of the cars that they already had in stock. On the Internet you can probably find a dealer that has a car that is very close to what you want--hence getting you selection, a good price, and fast delivery.
Carpoint lets you check financing options, too. The site gives you an interactive quiz to help decide whether to buy or lease, to compare competitive interest rates from various lenders, and to get advice when shopping for a car loan. Carpoint also features an online payment calculator to help you determine whether you can afford that monthly payment.
At Autobytel, you can also consider the pros and cons of purchasing an extended warranty. Once you've made all the remaining decisions about your potential car purchase, you can submit your request to buy, finance, or lease a new or used car. Autobytel will forward your request to an "accredited" dealer in your area, who will then contact you by phone and quote a "firm, low, no-haggle, no-hassle price with the understanding that you are ready to buy and that you are an information-empowered consumer." Just remember that even though Autobytel has given you this "firm" price, you still haven't settled on options, dealer charges, and delivery. Even at this point, you still have some important issues to discuss with the dealer who contacted you.
After you have exhausted the information sources we have discussed in this chapter so far, if you still want to do more research, check out the Internet's online car magazines and car electronic book sites:
In the past, to buy a used car, you might have scanned your local newspaper's classified ads, with their brief descriptions laced with bizarre abbreviations. You considered potential purchases from used car dealers and private individuals within 5--10 miles from your home.
With the Internet's wide-ranging search powers, you can now get detailed information--in plain English--on vehicles almost anywhere. With this range of search capability, you might consider going to a dealer located 50 or even 100 miles away, and maybe even further.
When searching for a used car in the past, if you saw a newspaper ad for a car that interested you, you went to the dealer to ask about that car. Often the car was gone by the time you got there. Maybe the car had been ridiculously low-priced just as bait to get lots of people to drive to that used car lot, so that the dealer could then convince the disappointed buyer to consider another, more expensive car (the old "bait-and-switch" routine). With the Internet, however, you can have a clearer idea of what types of used cars are available, and you might even be able to put a "hold" on the car of interest until you've had a chance to see and test drive it. Changes in how used car dealers conduct their business make it more likely that you'd be willing drive a longer distance to evaluate a potential purchase.
But when you arrive at this used car dealer's lot--no matter the distance--will you trust the person who is selling the used car? Regardless of whether the seller is a dealer or private individual, you do not have much information about who is trying to sell you the car.
Over the last 10 years, I bought five used cars that I found online at the company where I worked (Digital Equipment). I was very satisfied with the price and reliability of all of them. At Digital's peak of success, the company had over 120,000 employees. The people I bought those cars from lived in different towns than I did, and were total strangers to me. But we worked for the same company and operated in a common environment of trust and honesty. If I'd had any follow-up questions, I knew that I could easily contact this person at work by phone or e-mail. And all of Digital's employees knew that any rare instance of unfairness would be discussed openly in the very same notes conferences where I had learned that the used cars were for sale. Sellers tended to include complete detailed descriptions of any defects, and they also priced their vehicles fairly and lower than they would if they were selling the cars in other ways. These people knew they could sell their used cars via the Digital network in just a few days, at no cost to them and with a minimum of hassle.
But buying a used car from a public forum like the Internet changes completely the complexion of the transaction. The Internet's online used car services that match sellers to buyers are challenged to establish trust. These used car sites do so by providing the buyer access to the best available data and advice, so that the buyer can make confident, informed decisions about his or her purchases. Through policies, procedures, certification programs, recommendations, guarantees, and the like, these used car Web sites attempt to build trust between seller and buyer, with a safety net for the buyer. The sites might list hundreds of thousands of vehicles, but only certify or recommend a subset of cars. The sites also might list only cars sold through dealerships--dealerships with which they have business relationships that include some sort of guarantee.
Most of the Internet's major do-it-all car sites include used as well as new car listings, and all the tools and information you'd need to make your decision for either. Sites like Autoconnect www.autoconnect.com boast over 600,000 used car listings. At Carpoint www.carpoint.com, you need to get a plug-in to your browser to view that site's used car listings. Just follow the Carpoint Web site instructions. Downloading the plug-in and installing it will take only two to three minutes, and you'll only have to go through this process once.
Car manufacturers can also play an important role in selling used cars, using their branded corporate identity to provide credible guarantees. For instance, the highly advertised Pre-owned Ford Web site www.fordpreowned.com emphasizes haggle-free pricing and a range of policies aimed to build customer trust. Here is a list of those policies:
If by some chance you are a car expert, have a friend who is one, or can hire the services of one, you might want to shop at Web sites that offer the broadest possible selection of used cars. Such sites should conveniently present their inventory so that you can easily find the cars you might want and compare their features online. For example, Classifieds 2000 (www.classifieds2000.com boasts over 250,000 vehicle listings. Your local newspaper probably has an online version of its car classified ads. Also check the newsgroups, particularly rec.autos.marketplace, and do general newsgroup searches at AltaVista www.altavista.com and Dejanews www.dejanews.com. Include in your query the phrase "for sale" and the vehicle type for which you are looking.
If the process for buying a used car that we've described in this chapter suits your style, you may find yourself disappointed with the selection available today. Even with over half a million cars listed on the Internet, those vehicles are unevenly distributed, with many in some areas of the country and few in others. You may not find the car that you want within a reasonable distance from you. You may also discover that very few of the used car dealers in your area are included in the Internet's used car listings at all. Hence, for now, you might conclude that you can use the Internet's resources for research, but you'll have to find the actual car by traditional means, with print classifieds and/or in a dealer's lot.
Expect this situation to change soon. The car-selling Web sites are expanding their listings rapidly. Within a year or two, these Web sites will be reaching millions of potential car buyers and will also probably include listings from most of the dealers in your area.
In any case, look for used-car sites that offer solid guarantees and arrangements that build your trust. When it comes to used cars, trust is more important than either selection or price. A low-priced lemon is no bargain.
Also, look for sites that have active online forums and chats where you can openly share your questions and doubts, and get feedback from people who have owned this type of car. You may even find someone who has done business with a dealer you are considering purchasing from, so this cooperation and sharing from the online community can help you in important ways.
If feeling "ripped off" sums up how you feel each time you buy a car, then consider using a buyer's agent. This agent's role is to work for you in negotiating a better deal than you possibly could from any dealer. These buyer's agents typically work for a flat fee of around $400, and purportedly the average savings they deliver over what you would have been able to negotiate by yourself is about $1,000.
For details on an automobile buyer's agent's role, check the National Association of Buyer's Agents' Web site at www.naba.com. At this Web site, you'll find information on a handful of their members.
If you contact any of these companies or others who perform similar buyer's agent services, be sure to confirm that they abide by the basic tenets of the National Association of Buyer's Agents. You'll want to be sure that they are really representing you, and that they don't get rebates, commissions, kickbacks, fees or any other form of compensation from dealers, manufacturers, or auto loan lenders. If they abide by the National Association's rules, then a buyer's agent can serve as your advocate and consultant: an experienced insider with the special knowledge needed to get you the car you want at a price that you could never get on your own.
For related kinds of buyer agent services, check the subjectively rated list of buyer services at Autohelper (www.autohelper.com/buying_services.html) This site also includes some of the do-it-all sites that connect you with a dealer (like Autobytel and DealerNet), but the site also has some listings that perform various buyer-related services on your behalf for a fee.
When you shop online for a car, you are saving yourself time and money. You'll also be choosing a vehicle that is far more likely to meet your needs than one you might have found by traditional methods. At the same time, you are playing a role in changing how people do business with one another and transforming the entire automotive industry.
As you and hundreds of thousands of other people turn to the Internet for help in buying a car, these collective actions force car manufacturers and dealers to make better use of the Web to serve you. As the traffic volume to car-sales sites increases, the amount of money to be made through them will increase dramatically. Actively competing with one another, these sites will offer more useful information and tools, and do whatever they can to grab and hold your attention. At the same time, the car dealers and manufacturers will have to change their procedures, policies, and offerings to take advantage of new opportunities and to be able to move as fast as their competition. Internet-based auto sales will cause customers to shop in wider geographic areas, and auto dealers will begin to compete with other dealers whom they used to consider outside their territory. Used car dealers won't be able to depend on their local reputation, but rather will need to bolster their credibility by participating in certification programs and offering strong guarantees.
With the increasing popularity of online car buying, the new car dealer's role will also change. As technology and innovation make it easier for consumers to select cars and work out online all the purchase details (including configuring all the options, settling on prices, and obtaining online financing), the new car dealership will become more of a "pickup spot" and a source for future auto service. At the same time, the dealer probably will not need to keep as many different new car models and color combinations in inventory when the available online tools make it easier for you, the customer, to imagine and examine--perhaps with Web-based three-dimensional effects--the very vehicle you want.
Check search engines and print ads to see if there might be a car-related site that serves your geographic area. If you search online for the site, you'll get all the information about all the potential dealers within driving distance from you. For instance, The Digital Dealer www.digitaldealer.com covers Washington, D.C.
Once you've found a dealer, go to Mapquest www.mapquest.com. At this site, you can enter your address and the address of the dealer. Mapquest then gives you detailed directions on how to get to that dealer, including the distance from your house.
If you've fallen in love with a Ferrari or an Alfa Romeo but you know that you'll never be able to afford it, don't go into mourning. Save up for a trip to Europe and rent that dream car during your vacation. Check 1001 European Rentals www.1001rentals.com to see what types of exotic autos are available for short-term lease and at what price.
Ever tempted to get into the car business? Today, Acura is the first choice you see in the pull-down selector menus at all the major car sites, simply because it's first in the alphabet. To beat them out, name your car the Aardvark.
Ever consider leasing rather than buying? Confused by the deals and the terms? Quickly educate yourself on the lease-versus-buy subject at Leasesource www.leasesource.com before you start talking to a dealer.
If you want to buy a new car, but would like more than a test drive before making your final decision, find a car rental place that offers cars of that kind. Rent one for a getaway weekend, and let the entire family go for a trial ride.
Do you buy cars frequently? Then consider the "Mobalist Rewards Program" at Autobytel www.autobytel.com. By buying a car at participating dealers, you earn a significant discount on your next purchase or lease of a vehicle through Autobytel.
If you are a car collector rather than just a driver, check out Swapmeet (www.mm.com/swapmeet/) for information about buying, selling, swapping, and auctioning classic vehicles. Also look at Jalopy Journal www.jalopyjournal.com, a magazine about classic cars, with classifieds for buying and selling.
Before you sign your check to purchase that used car, consider the lemon laws, so you'll know whether you have recourse if your purchase turns out to be a mistake. Autopedia www.autopedia.com/lemon/ has a good lemon law overview and links to your state's specific lemon laws.
Take a break from serious research and check out the Web sites of ridiculously expensive sports cars. Make a virtual purchase and enjoy a virtual vacation, driving your Alfa Romeo along the Monte Carlo.
For more resources, check the Cars section of our Online Shopping Directory www.samizdat.com/shopping2.html#cars
The rest of the book (Shop Online the Lazy Way):
Part One covers aspects of online shopping that apply no matter what you want to buy.
Published by B&R Samizdat Express, 33 Gould St., West Roxbury, MA 02132, seltzer@samizdat.com
You can order the book Shop Online the Lazy Way directly from the author (seltzer@samizdat.com) or from Amazon.com If you buy it after clicking on this Amazon link, Richard will get some money back from Amazon as part of their Associates program, as explained in this chapter.
You may also want to check Richard's Online Shopping Directory www.samizdat.com/shopping.html, which has links to all the sites mentioned in the entire book, plus sites he has learned of since the book went into production.
You are also welcome to participate in Richard's weekly chat sessions about Business on the World Wide Web, Thursdays, from noon to 1 PM. For details and edited transcripts of previous sessions (dating back to June 1996) check www.samizdat.com/chat.html
Related articles and reference materials:
Online shopping advice
All about movies
The Online Shopping Directory
Return to B&R Samizdat Express home page .
<
| Internet Business Showcase: | ||
|
|
|