I bought a used BMW from a dealer recently. Many of the conventional dealers have apparently copied internet sellers' sales model, and are now no-haggle.

The experience was completely fine, especially compared to the last two cars I purchased, which previously made me swear I'd only deal with tesla, specifically to avoid dealerships. The biggest problem was that the online EV inventory was completely out-of-date, so I had to physically show up to browse cars.

The whole process took less than 5 hours end-to-end (roughly 2-3 in the dealership). I paid a fair price vs. other local sales of similar cars. I'm not sure how much of the good experience was due to being at a luxury car dealership vs. them copying off of tesla and other online-only dealerships.

One thing that always struck me as inappropriate is that they want to scan your DL before you test drive a vehicle. That lets them look you up, see your home value and possibly your salary (if you're a big exec — for the record, I am not!). Is there a diplomatic way to decline to hand over your DL, and a bunch of bargaining power along with it? I'd rather a salesperson not know whether I can barely afford their cheapest car or easily afford their most expensive when we go to the bargaining table.

Sure, you don't have to test drive a car.

Presumably most sellers would be happy to drive and have you sit shotgun without a license.

Are you suggesting buying a car without ever driving it? Or test driving at a dealership 1 and then purchasing at dealership 2?

Many, if not most, Teslas are bought without a test drive.

But if you don't want anyone to make a copy of your drivers license, you have the options I laid out: buy without driving, or be a passenger.

It's a novel idea! I would have never considered spending tens of thousands of dollars on a vehicle that I wouldn't drive before committing to the purchase. It certainly goes against everything I was ever taught about buying a car!