Internet sales is a low-touch, low-margin business. It made sense because the internet sales manager could move higher volume and still make the dealership money. Now that supply is constrained and the dealership has people beating down the doors to buy every can they can get their hands on, they don’t have much reason to play ball. It’s a waste of inventory.

I bought a car in-person in 2020, and tried a "get a quote emailed" search earlier this year. 100% prefer the in-person experience.

Response to my online quote request came back with "we don't have any of that model/year in stock" and then thus far, 15-20 marketing follow-up emails trying to sell me other cars, following up on my experience, etc, in addition of course to the modern marketing "guilt trip" emails ("Hi chucksmash, I sent you an email the other day with a few other models you might be interested in but never heard back, hope everything is okay, please let me know" 3x times). When all I did was click an "email me a quote" button because the web page didn't show a price.

Adding insult to injury, the page for unsubscribing cannot process a "+" in an email address.

At least when I walk into a showroom I can also walk out. Giving anybody your email address in 2022 is basically subscribing to CatFacts.

Put your state's AG's email address in the form :-)

I'm sure the SQL query that sees it will be shocked and immediately change its ways.

I'm a developer who works on that (type of) system for a living.

If you receive an automated marketing email from a dealership, they are _legally obligated_ to provide an unsubscribe button. We use SendGrid for that purpose, but I'm not sure who other companies use.

If there isn't an unsubscribe button, or you continue receiving emails after unsubscribing, you should be able to file a complaint with the FTC.

> should be able to file a complaint with the FTC

"should" is the key word. The FTC does not have a complaint form for spam, nor have I been able to find any other published reporting mechanism.

If you do know of such way to report it, please let me know.

I know. I am poking fun at the suggestion that putting someone else’s email in the unsubscribe form would accomplish anything helpful. Obviously, you’d need to contact a human to get a response.

I did indeed get both emails and calls about other models available. Still better than wasting time driving to dealerships.

I tried to do the same a year ago. None of the dealers responded with a quote. All of them required me to come in before they would even consider discussing a price.

Dealers have gotten savvy to internet pricing so there isn't as much haggling on price as there used to be. You occassionally find a good deal online only to find out it was a ruse to get you to come in.

Yeah I bought during the covid rush. Every vehicle I wanted was sold the next day after it listed. Finally I just found one I wanted, brought a certified check to the dealership for the exact asking price, and paid them on the spot It was the only way I could get anything at all. Even had one dealership refuse my check ready to hand over because "some other guy was already on the way to look at it."

Dealership literally gave no fucks, if you didn't buy it someone else would hours later. If you brought the full amount in cash you'd probably barely get a 'meh' out of a salesman. They could literally sleep all day, wait for a bundle of cash on their lap and wake up at the end of the day with big commission, and still make out like a bandit.

They don't even want the cash anymore. I spotted a SUV at a good discount. Called in to verify the price, "yes, thats the price." Went to the dealership and hello that price is only available with dealer financing. The car was $1000 more if you came with check in hand. So I played their game, I financed it to keep the discount. Then I payed the balance a week later.

My credit score dropped 60 points because of it! LOL.

> My credit score dropped 60 points because of it! LOL.

Sorry, not sure I understand. Does that mean your score got worse because you paid early?

Yes, when you pay off a car loan the bank closes the account and your available credit line goes down as well. So your drop in credit age and credit line makes your credit score to go down.

I think it depends on the state you're in and the inventory of the car you're buying. Some states have already implemented strong consumer protections that would have encouraged this style of transaction and eliminate many of the mechanisms where it could go wrong.

Further, in the last two years there have been a strong demand and low supply for vehicles. Many dealerships were selling out of cars months before they were even delivered - meaning they're bought sight unseen. Finally they get marked-up 10% or more. So even the cheapest bid is still well over the sales price established by the manufacturer.

Source: Bought a car in 2021, did a lot of research.

Supply is low. Why would the dealer even reply to you when they sell their entire allotment instantly and for way over book?

Well, why wouldn’t they reply with $(way over book)+1?

Because they are people with high cognitive load in their day jobs, not automated auctioning algorithms.

I did this in 2017 and it worked great, but the pandemic broke this for many dealerships. With both new and used inventory being so tight they can often sell the car the day it rolls off the truck for MSRP or even more with zero effort. The US is still at least 1-2 million vehicles per year behind replacement and population growth, let alone the backlog from the past two years. The knock-on effect has also dramatically shrunk the used market which causes a feedback loop with the new car market.

Parts shortages are just now clearing up so even in a recession situation it may take a year or two to clear up the backlog and get back to stable inventory levels. As that happens dealerships will go back to being flexible and working to make their sales.

FWIW: our current vehicle is a Tesla. I put an order in on the website, got a simple quote with about 5 optional extras I could click on or not. Waited 3-4 months and the vehicle arrived as described for the quoted price. In other words a completely normal buying experience with no stress or question marks. The one time I needed service I scheduled it in the app with pictures, they quoted me, then a tech showed up and did the work at my house for the price quoted.

I will NEVER EVER go back to the dealership "experience".

I've done the same in the past certainly. With the relative paucity of new cars available on the market due to supply chain issues, getting an actual out the door quote with real numbers without being in the dealership has been a lot harder for the past year. It's easing up a little bit as demand softens and more supply becomes available.

I'll try to keep my 2004 on the road for a couple more years, and cross my fingers that this supply crunch gets resolved soon.

That's where I'm at. Was thinking about buying a new car in 2020, and then... yeah. Just riding it out until late 2023 or early 2024 in my projections.

It doesn't look like things will improve markedly in 2023.

On the upside, maybe my next vehicle will indeed be an EV.

That approach would break down now if none of the local dealers has the car you want in stock and has already pre-sold all of the inventory they ordered. It really depends on where you're located and which model you want to buy. Good luck getting something like a Bronco.

I was indeed informed that they didn't have my car in stock.