Free Idea Friday

Ideas are easy. Execution is hard. Every Friday I will share an idea that's been rolling around in my head that I have neither the time nor the where-with-all to execute. Remember, it's free, so take it for what it's worth. 

Pain-free car buying

Nobody likes the experience of shopping for a car (the attached ad might give you an idea of why). The whole dealership structure, designed a century ago, adds cost and takes advantage of uninformed consumers while adding as little value as possible to the process. Pretty much everything I can do at a dealership, I can do online -- configure the car, figure out the price, arrange financing, etc. The only thing I can't do is actually buy the car.

Maybe there's a better way.

Rather than having lots full of cars on high value real estate all across the country, the manufacturers should set up regional distribution centers where cars can sit until ordered. People can order the car they want through an online portal and have it delivered prepped and ready to go to a small storefront branded delivery center or even their home.

But what about test drives you say? Fine, it's easy to keep a small fleet of demo cars at the retail center. You don't need acres and acres of land for that.

What about service? Two options. Create stand alone branded service centers (some of these already exist) or license service to existing automotive service centers like Sears, Firestone or Pep Boys.

I know that dealer contracts and laws in several states designed to protect the status quo prevent this. But I guarantee you with today's information technology, no manufacturer in their right mind would set up their retail and service centers as they are now.