Buying a New Computer?Or Car?on the Internet
For over two decades,
Dell, Inc. has been wildly successful at bypassing the traditional stores and
selling computers directly to consumers, custom-assembled according to a
selection of options. The promise of convenience and savings, along with Dell抯
strong company reputation and their backbone of customer service have helped
ease consumer fears of buying a relatively expensive product sight unseen.
Gateway and other computer makers have since embraced the online medium and are
now enjoying a similar success at a varying degree. It won抰 be long before
buying a new car online is not going to be much different than ordering a new
computer. Some German manufacturers have already caught on to this emerging
trend. A BMW enthusiast, for example, could configure and order a new M6 months
before its official entry into the US market. He or she could then track its
progress through the manufacturing facility online similarly to the way one
would track the progress of one抯 new Dell. However, buying a new car online
sight unseen is not a very risky proposition. One knows what one is getting and
there is franchise dealer and a manufacturer standing behind it MaxiSys
Mini.
Buying a Used Car on the Internet ?a New Breed of
Shoppers
What about the used car market online? How can consumers
quantify the risk they are taking buying a used car sight unseen to make sure it
is justified by the savings of such purchase?
Historically, conventional
used car buyers have been able to kick its tires, take it for a spin, and haggle
over the asking price of the car they like at their local dealer since the
invention of the automobile. Because of the internet, a considerable number of
these 揷onventional?used car buyers have found a myriad of ways to harness the
power of the ever expanding online automotive resources and tools available at
their disposal to make informed buying decisions.
It is from those online
savvy buyers that a new breed has emerged - those who buy their used cars
online, sight unseen. Although they represent a relatively small portion of the
used car buyers, these brave souls see an unmatched advantage and find ways to
minimize the risks. But what抯 in it for them, one might ask? Simple, actually:
selection and price. The internet offers easy access to a vast selection of
vehicles worldwide - online car portals, classifieds, conventional dealers with
online presence and pure online-only outfits, online used car brokers, to name
but a few. Since most of them are looking for a specific vehicle, their chance
of finding 搕he one?is far greater online compared to the confines of their local
area.
Needless to say, virtually all of them are looking for a bargain.
Our brave souls take risks, but these are justified, at least in their eyes,
because of the savings they realize by utilizing the online channel. How do they
do it? They, too, are well-armed with the online tools they need to make
intelligent buying decisions. Here is how these online tools help them through
the decision-making and buying steps of the process.
Fair Market
Value
Determining whether a particular car is a bargain is a function of
understanding its fair market value given its condition in the context of the
current supply and demand. For the non-economists, of course, there are a number
of excellent online market valuation sources available. Kelley Blue Book,
NADAGuides, Edmunds.com are some of the most widely used car pricing providers.
They all base estimates on a large number of recorded transactions and provide
appraisal adjustments for the year, make, model, mileage, options, condition and
even local market trends. As their appraisal algorithms differ slightly from
each other, the estimates may vary, so checking more than one source is
recommended. There are three major price levels: trade-in (or wholesale),
private party and retail. Trade-in is what one would expect to get from a dealer
for one抯 used car ?it is the lowest of the three averages, but it抯 important to
know as a baseline. Private party is what one would expect to get if one sells a
car to another person, and retail is what one would pay for that car at a used
car dealership elite
md802.
Third Party Vehicle History Reports
In addition to the
seller抯 honest word and availability of service records our prudent innovators
tap into the same third party vehicle history report providers the rest of the
used car buyers use. CARFAX and Experian抯 AutoCheck, initially serving the
automotive professionals only, have been available to the general public for a
number of years now. For $24.99 CARFAX offers 30 days and AutoCheck offers 60
days of unlimited vehicle history reports. These provide extensive reporting on
the vehicles?recorded history: date and type of registration and renewal events,
as well as checking for recorded incidents, odometer rollbacks, junk, salvage,
rebuilt titles, insurance loss, theft, lemon buybacks, etc. Many dealers realize
the convincing power of stating the recorded facts and now offer free vehicle
history reports for the cars they sell.
Car
Inspections
Independent vehicle appraisal/inspection services with online
presence have also seen a boost in their business. For $99.95, CARCHEX offers to
give any automobile a 155-point pre-purchase auto inspection almost anywhere in
the USA. Not too high a price for peace of mind, especially if it can save one
from having to deal with surprise repairs. For half of this amount, one can find
a mechanic in the local directory who can check out the car and even take it for
a test drive on one's behalf and then fax a detailed report. Nevertheless, some
of the more thrifty buyers have found ways to save themselves the nominal fees
mechanics charge without depriving themselves of the peace of mind of a pre-sale
inspection. Say, I live in Boston and happened to find a 1974 BMW 2002tii that I
really wanted all the way in San Diego. Now, I would definitely want the car
inspected prior to buying it. My thrifty side, however, wants to avoid the $150
fee a local company would charge me to inspect the vehicle. The solution? I
would ask a fellow member of the BMW enthusiast community who lives in San Diego
to take a look at the car for me. There are plenty of BMW forum members that
would be more than happy to offer their time and expertise to a fellow east
coast bimmerphile in need.
Shipping
There is a sea of car shipping
companies that would gladly bring our pioneers their newly acquired vehicles
home at a reasonable price. One example, Dependable Auto Shippers operate a
fleet of state-of-the-art, satellite tracked vehicle shipping transporters,
which allow one to track one抯 car while it's on its way much like one would
track a package. Yet, a healthy number of this new breed of used cars buyers opt
for driving their new purchase home on their own instead. It抯 cheaper, it抯
faster, and admittedly, it抯 much more exciting. Sellers specializing in online
sales of this kind have also adapted to accommodate the demands of this new kind
of used car buyer. Airport pickups for our weary yet eager buyers are more or
less industry standard, these days. Sellers specializing exclusively in online
sales, providing a hot meal for their 慻uests?at the family table before they
depart on their voyage home, is not unheard of.
Although buying a used
car online sight unseen is not for the faint of heart, it is a growing
phenomenon, which if executed carefully, could be a very rewarding experience
for all parties involved.
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