Should Rivian Follow Fisker to a Dealership Model?

[Florida Panhandler]

https://www.reuters.com/business/au...-direct-sales-boost-ev-deliveries-2024-01-04/

Fisker appears to be opening the possibility of dealers getting involved in distribution and support of Fisker autos. I do think Rivian should explore this option as the realty is no US state in all these years since Tesla went direct sales has reversed their anti-direct sales laws. The dealers IMO have won this political fight.

And much of the current general anti-EV resistance fed to common auto buyers comes from dealers shut out of the EV process altogether. Like it or not, auto dealers in the US are a very powerful political entity and politicians listen to them and their huge campaign donations. I can see a lot of resistance to EVs in general melting away from brands that face reality and partner with dealers to make service and support much better in regards to locality and speed of repairs.

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[Donald Stanfield]

God no. Dealing with buying my Rivian was so much better than dealing with a dealership.

 

[kurtlikevonnegut]

Ford dealers don't even want to sell Ford EVs....why in the hell would they want to sell a Rivian?

This would be a terrible idea. What I could see Rivian doing is partnering with a national chain of mechanic shops like Christian Brothers for non-warranty service related items to reduce the burden on the existing service centers. They have already done this to an extent with Discount Tire, but the services DT can offer are very limited.

 

[waitingonanr1s]

That's a nope from me. Dealer sales model is a dinosaur and is horrible for the consumer. The battle is just beginning IMO.

 

[RWerksman]

I mean, if they setup the franchise dealer agreement correctly, it could work.

 

[ThumprMN]

Nope.

 

[NineElectrics]

Yes. I don't want the manufacturer to have a monopoly on the service of my car. We've seen what a shit show that can be, both from Tesla and now from Rivian. Competition is good when it comes to service. Dealers offer a balance of power that can stand up to service abuses by the manufacturer we've seen from Tesla (failure to honor warranty, hiding recalls, etc.). Also, Rivian clearly doesn't have the resources to scale out and maintain five service centers per city like the dealership model does.

I don't care who actually sells me the car. I suppose that could be the manufacturer. That said, the dealership model lets me trade price for service at sale time. If I want a low price but be hassled, I can go to dealer A; if I want a luxury experience, I can pay a bit more at dealer B.

The dealership model also lets me test drive and inspect the exact car I will be buying before I buy it, which is nice.

 

[COdogman]

They would ruin a good thing if they did that. My purchase experience was the easiest I've ever had.

 

[shrink]

They have already done this to an extent with Discount Tire, but the services DT can offer are very limited.

I had a Tire Rotation done on an R1S at Discount Tire last week. Vehicle was returned to me with the both rear jack point covers missing and the front two loose.

At least it was "free..."

 

[Zoidz]

I mean, if they setup the franchise dealer agreement correctly, it could work.

It's expensive to open a dealer franchise type business. The rules are probably similar but still vary state by state. In Pensylvania, the manufacturer is strictly limited as to the financial assistance they can provide/have in a dealership. So the problem is that the people best suited to taking on a Rivian franchise are existing car dealers, which is the worst possible thing for the consumers.

This probably sounds goofy but to me it seems a better solution would be to partner with a large national company like Costco. Locations/service facilties already exist, etc, etc. Bust the concept of what a car dealer is wide open.

 

[NineElectrics]

They would ruin a good thing if they did that. My purchase experience was the easiest I've ever had.

My strategy with traditional dealers is to only communicate with them by email, and set up everything asynchronously, including price. Then come in and close the deal. Tell the finance manager you have to be somewhere and will walk out the door if they can't close in 45 minutes. This has worked pretty well for me at both Audi and Volvo. It probably doesn't work so well at Chevrolet.

 

[sub]

It would not bother me if other car dealers had access to purchase Rivians at wholesale prices and compete with Rivian by providing better customer service, but only if it was still an option for customers who want to, to work directly with Rivian and never step foot in a dealership.

I don't think that many/any car dealers would sign on if they had to compete with the Manufacturer so I don't think that's a realistic option.

Competition is good. But if we have to choose between only dealers and only manufacturer, I'll choose the manufacturer every time. Car dealers have a long history of dishonest, unethical, and anti-competitive behavior. Giving into their demands is the worst possible outcome.

As far as service monopolies, that is where right to repair laws come in. All manufacturers for all products should be required to sell parts and software/access to anyone who wants it.

 

[COdogman]

My strategy with traditional dealers is to only communicate with them by email, and set up everything asynchronously, including price. Then come in and close the deal. Tell the finance manager you have to be somewhere and will walk out the door if they can't close in 45 minutes. This has worked pretty well for me at both Audi and Volvo. It probably doesn't work so well at Chevrolet.

I've done that as well. It's about as easy as you can make it. Although I still had to decline all of the usual BS add ons and services they try to sell everyone. And they tried again when I went to pick up some of those vehicles. It's like they have adopted ALL of the sales tactics that no one likes and their goal is to just confuse and wear you down.

And while I agree with your point about not being stuck with only the manufacturer for service, I have had terrible luck with dealer service in my life. So in my experience there really is nothing to be gained from the dealer model. It is literally a protection racket in most states.

 

[thrill]

My strategy with traditional dealers is to only communicate with them by email, and set up everything asynchronously, including price. Then come in and close the deal. Tell the finance manager you have to be somewhere and will walk out the door if they can't close in 45 minutes. This has worked pretty well for me at both Audi and Volvo. It probably doesn't work so well at Chevrolet.

It still took me 3 hours to buy out the lease on my i3s at the BMW dealer, even with the cashiers check in hand. I'm not interested in that any longer. It's abusive.

 

[SparkyR1t]

Absolutely not let’s not go backwards with dealers who work to get as much for a vehicle as possible. Online standardized pricing is the fair way to sell vehicles

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