Is a car something you want from a vending machine?

[supton]

Originally Posted by grampi
So many places these days seem to be marginalizing the car buying process. I think it's a mistake and I won't participate in it. Buying a vehicle is likely the largest purchase a person will ever make. The process needs to remain as hands-on as possible...


Meh. It's just one more item in life that we own/possess. By marginalizing it maybe we'll reduce it to like anything else we own and thus will make decisions based upon numbers instead of feelings. Should not be different than our toaster oven, our cellphone, our house. It is not an extension of our being.

 

[grampi]

Originally Posted by supton
Originally Posted by grampi
So many places these days seem to be marginalizing the car buying process. I think it's a mistake and I won't participate in it. Buying a vehicle is likely the largest purchase a person will ever make. The process needs to remain as hands-on as possible...


Meh. It's just one more item in life that we own/possess. By marginalizing it maybe we'll reduce it to like anything else we own and thus will make decisions based upon numbers instead of feelings. Should not be different than our toaster oven, our cellphone, our house. It is not an extension of our being.


It's not even close to being the same. When was the last time you test drove a toaster before you bought it? You'd buy a house from a vending machine?

 

[raytseng]

its just for fun.
People want experiences. If you take delivery on any major purchase, every place worth its salt has some sort of delivery experience to make it more emotional.
A unique place like bmw european delivery will make it a full event.

Cars are a commodity for the industry but not treated as such by the general public. But those are bought and sold with no fanfare other than here are the keys its in spot z45.

The carvana show involved to treat it as if it were a big commodity creates the mental disconnect of this is something weird and unique. Its a noncommodity treated as if it was a commodity but really in a noncommodity fashion.
Size mattere
It is the same as the Big Check for sweepstakes winners or giant slot machine in vegas or even giant scissors to cut an opening.
The bigness makes it the event and totally opposite of the small version

 

[Shannow]

Originally Posted by grampi
Originally Posted by supton
Originally Posted by grampi
So many places these days seem to be marginalizing the car buying process. I think it's a mistake and I won't participate in it. Buying a vehicle is likely the largest purchase a person will ever make. The process needs to remain as hands-on as possible...


Meh. It's just one more item in life that we own/possess. By marginalizing it maybe we'll reduce it to like anything else we own and thus will make decisions based upon numbers instead of feelings. Should not be different than our toaster oven, our cellphone, our house. It is not an extension of our being.


It's not even close to being the same. When was the last time you test drove a toaster before you bought it? You'd buy a house from a vending machine?

It's not even the same strawman this time...unless you are planning on living in the car.

Were I to have a block of land that wanted a house, I would definitely buy from a reputable kit home manufacturer.

Software exists that you can do the walkthough, complete with surface finishes (I designed the kitchen in my last house using the vendor's software), and see what/how it sits on your site/orientation.

If you need some grub in a suit telling you what a great purchase you've made, what sort of deal you are getting, and how you are both his best and toughest customer, than its an ego issue, not a car/vending machine issue.

 

[grampi]

Originally Posted by Shannow
Originally Posted by grampi
Originally Posted by supton
Originally Posted by grampi
So many places these days seem to be marginalizing the car buying process. I think it's a mistake and I won't participate in it. Buying a vehicle is likely the largest purchase a person will ever make. The process needs to remain as hands-on as possible...


Meh. It's just one more item in life that we own/possess. By marginalizing it maybe we'll reduce it to like anything else we own and thus will make decisions based upon numbers instead of feelings. Should not be different than our toaster oven, our cellphone, our house. It is not an extension of our being.


It's not even close to being the same. When was the last time you test drove a toaster before you bought it? You'd buy a house from a vending machine?

It's not even the same strawman this time...unless you are planning on living in the car.

Were I to have a block of land that wanted a house, I would definitely buy from a reputable kit home manufacturer.

Software exists that you can do the walkthough, complete with surface finishes (I designed the kitchen in my last house using the vendor's software), and see what/how it sits on your site/orientation.

If you need some grub in a suit telling you what a great purchase you've made, what sort of deal you are getting, and how you are both his best and toughest customer, than its an ego issue, not a car/vending machine issue.


Who cares what some guy in a suit tells me? If I'm buying a big ticket item, I want to see and inspect it with my own eyes in person before I even think about buying it...

 

[jeepman3071]

Originally Posted by thooks
It's not what a 45-70 year old wants. It's what an 18-35 year old wants.



I know plenty of 45-70 year olds who would want this based on poor dealership sales experiences.

 

[supton]

Can't say I've test driven a toaster but I've bought some appliances based on the picture on the box. The fridge, that we did open up and look at on the floor I guess. But we already knew what we wanted before driving to the store, seeing it in person only sealed the deal.

Seems odd--most people will sit in a car for 5 minutes, drive for 10, then sign away 5 year's of payments on the basis of 15 minutes of effort. Or less. And they seem content with their decision. At least for 5 years. I usually do a bit more work than that when buying a used car, but new? those should have zero problems, right? As long as it drives like everything else in its class...

Wife and I have thought about building a house, getting a modular. Those you buy out of a catalog. The price tag makes a car look trivial.

In the end, if you're a perfectionist then there will be fault in everything. If you can learn to roll with the punches then you can live with most anything.

 

[turtlevette]

I saw an article where carvana borrowed 450 million to build the vending machines.

So its probably more like 100 million per machine rather than 10 as I first guessed.

 

[WylieCoyote]

I could do without all the laughable runaround that a dealership offers, but there's no way I'm buying a car, sight unseen, to be delivered to my house. I realize there's a return period, and if it has one scratch or ding, it's going back. I'm thinking it would be just as simple to go to the dealership and have the opportunity to drive and visually inspect before making it mine, rather than buy, scrutinize, and return several vehicles before you get a good one.

 

[supton]

Originally Posted by WylieCoyote
I could do without all the laughable runaround that a dealership offers, but there's no way I'm buying a car, sight unseen, to be delivered to my house. I realize there's a return period, and if it has one scratch or ding, it's going back. I'm thinking it would be just as simple to go to the dealership and have the opportunity to drive and visually inspect before making it mine, rather than buy, scrutinize, and return several vehicles before you get a good one.


I see your point, and would not buy a used car sight unseen. But as I get older I'm getting to the point where a scratch isn't going to bother me. I buy base model vehicles and know that it'll be in worse shape in 5-10 years anyhow. Most of the vehicles on the market, a scratch is the least of its worries (put on tin foil hat--think CVT, DI, pushbutton start, etc). By the end of the week it'll be irrevocably used and already depreciated. I get the idea of perfection out of the box--but when I buy a Camry, just who cares that I did?

Now I bought something like a new Ferrari, ok it better come scratch free!

 

[Shannow]

Originally Posted by grampi
Who cares what some guy in a suit tells me? If I'm buying a big ticket item, I want to see and inspect it with my own eyes in person before I even think about buying it...


Originally Posted by Shannow
https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/4712884/Ford/AliBaba_-_mustang_vending

I got told that they aren't vending machines...


Quote
The vending machine will be open to the public from Monday to April 23. Buyers will be given a 3-day test drive before they have to commit to any purchase.


Suit going to let you drive it for three days (unless it's a Range Rover, they do that here)

 

[Jarlaxle]

I was offered a Cadillac CTS for a weekend (Friday to Monday).

 

[raytseng]

Originally Posted by supton
Originally Posted by WylieCoyote
I could do without all the laughable runaround that a dealership offers, but there's no way I'm buying a car, sight unseen, to be delivered to my house. I realize there's a return period, and if it has one scratch or ding, it's going back. I'm thinking it would be just as simple to go to the dealership and have the opportunity to drive and visually inspect before making it mine, rather than buy, scrutinize, and return several vehicles before you get a good one.


I see your point, and would not buy a used car sight unseen. But as I get older I'm getting to the point where a scratch isn't going to bother me. I buy base model vehicles and know that it'll be in worse shape in 5-10 years anyhow. Most of the vehicles on the market, a scratch is the least of its worries (put on tin foil hat--think CVT, DI, pushbutton start, etc). By the end of the week it'll be irrevocably used and already depreciated. I get the idea of perfection out of the box--but when I buy a Camry, just who cares that I did?

Now I bought something like a new Ferrari, ok it better come scratch free!


but you dont really care about the Ferrari specifically except its condition, so they are still interchangeable and a fungible commodity.

if you get #407 vs #408 off the line it didn't matter to you. it doesn't matter if fernando was the technician or guiseppe was the technician that built your car.
In comparison, all real estate legally is considered unique and all contracts and laws related to real estate must identify the specific property and cannot be substituted. It matters if you got condo 501 vs 502.

I think for a new car you could enter into a contract that could get fulfilled by any new car matching the specs exactly before a vin is issued. Cars are still an interchangeable commodity.

 

[grampi]

Originally Posted by WylieCoyote
I could do without all the laughable runaround that a dealership offers, but there's no way I'm buying a car, sight unseen, to be delivered to my house. I realize there's a return period, and if it has one scratch or ding, it's going back. I'm thinking it would be just as simple to go to the dealership and have the opportunity to drive and visually inspect before making it mine, rather than buy, scrutinize, and return several vehicles before you get a good one.


We now live in a world where convenience trumps everything else....

 

[Shannow]

Originally Posted by grampi
We now live in a world where convenience trumps everything else....


???

Define "convenience"...

If you want to take half a week off and interview a dozen car yards, and count the teeth of all of the stallions on offer...versus having the ability to take one home for three days and return it after three days of using it, then what's convenient ?

And what on Earth is it trumping ?

If you want every one of the dealers to shake your hand, tell you what an important person you are, how discerning a customer, and allow you to beat him down a few hundred dollars and carpet mats to close the dal , only to let you be a repeat customer with a rubbish trade in price...

If you like dancing...keep dancing..it makes you happy.

 

[grampi]

Originally Posted by Shannow
Originally Posted by grampi
We now live in a world where convenience trumps everything else....


???

Define "convenience"...

If you want to take half a week off and interview a dozen car yards, and count the teeth of all of the stallions on offer...versus having the ability to take one home for three days and return it after three days of using it, then what's convenient ?

And what on Earth is it trumping ?

If you want every one of the dealers to shake your hand, tell you what an important person you are, how discerning a customer, and allow you to beat him down a few hundred dollars and carpet mats to close the dal , only to let you be a repeat customer with a rubbish trade in price...

If you like dancing...keep dancing..it makes you happy.


Did you ever stop to think that some of us may just LIKE the car buying experience the way it is? You just like following me around in this site to argue...

 

[Shannow]

That claim's been made twice in the space of two hours...are you part of the "club" that the other one has mentioned in the past ???

Mate, shaking your stick in the air at progress, and claiming it as irrational just because you like the '70s isn't rational.

Edit...it's the way it WAS...that's change.

 

[grampi]

Originally Posted by Shannow
That claim's been made twice in the space of two hours...are you part of the "club" that the other one has mentioned in the past ???

Mate, shaking your stick in the air at progress, and claiming it as irrational just because you like the '70s isn't rational.

Edit...it's the way it WAS...that's change.






...and change isn't always good...