The Problem with Dealerships and Manufacturers

The Problem with Dealerships and Manufacturers

Many car dealerships are losing money because they don't sell parts online. Instead, companies like Amazon and AutoZone are making huge sales because they have an easy online way to buy car parts. Dealerships make the most money selling parts, but they don't make it easy for customers to buy them online.

Dealerships spend a lot of money on their building, staff, and time. But most of this cost is because people like you come in to buy parts, and it takes staff time to help you. All of that time is paid for by the part you buy. However, if you can buy the part online, you don't need to drive to the dealership, and the dealership doesn’t have to pay staff to help you. This saves them money and makes them more profits.

If dealerships had an easy online store to buy parts, they could make more money. Right now, they are losing money because people like you need to walk in to buy a $10 part, and ask a lot of questions when those answers could be online.

Dealerships need to learn from companies like Blockbuster, which didn’t adapt to change and lost customers.

The Pressure from Manufacturers

Manufacturers (the companies that make the cars) sometimes force dealerships to buy certain products, whether they want them or not. If a dealership doesn’t agree, the manufacturer could give the dealership's spot to someone else.

Dealerships usually don’t have enough money to buy all these products, so the manufacturer helps them by making the dealership borrow money. However, the dealership has to pay back the loan quickly, and that can cost a lot of money.

Sometimes, the manufacturer wants to sell cars, but dealerships don't want to focus on that. They would rather make money from repairs and parts, but if they don't sell the cars, they lose money.

Why Dealerships are Stuck

Dealerships can't sell parts like Amazon does. But manufacturers need dealerships to fix cars, especially when there’s a problem, like a recall. It would be too expensive for manufacturers to fix all the cars themselves, so they depend on dealerships for repairs.

Even though dealerships do a lot of work for manufacturers, the manufacturers still make the most money. They are the ones that tell dealerships what products to buy, even if those products don’t sell well.

Dealerships are stuck between trying to keep their customers happy, dealing with manufacturers pushing products on them, and trying to find a way to make money. It’s a tough situation.

The Problem with Dealership Websites

The websites of most dealerships don’t make it easy to buy anything. They load too slowly, and it’s hard to find the right parts or prices. A study showed that if a website takes more than 3 seconds to load, it loses more than half its visitors.

These websites often have errors and aren’t designed to follow the rules for people with disabilities (ADA compliance) or for search engines (W3C compliance). They also don’t have easy ways to buy things online. Dealerships want you to come into the store instead of letting you buy parts or cars online.

The Future of Dealerships

Dealerships need to change. They have the chance to make more money by selling parts and cars online, without needing to rely on customers to visit their store in person. The industry is changing, and those who don’t adapt may fall behind.

In conclusion, if dealerships start using the internet to their advantage, they can make more money and better serve customers.