DeSantis signs bill banning Direct-to-Consumer auto sales in FL

[OppoLock]

Objective statements:

Effective July 1st, all legacy automakers (Ford, GM, Toyota, etc.) are being forced to sell through their dealership network in the state of FL.

The only automakers exempt from this bill are newer, independent EV manufacturers, like Tesla, Rivian, and Lucid.

Source

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Personally:

This is a huge blow to all of us living in the FL market, especially now, as talks of OEMs like Ford offering D2C options have been heating up.

Not to make this political, but the Florida Automobile Dealers Association (FADA) has been heavily involved in pushing this through, and they've reportedly supported DeSantis in the range of $2MM+ to his campaign in the past two years, so this is an act of loyalty on his part to his donors.

I was reading excerpts from the article and I'm pretty sure my eyes rolled into the back of my asshole reading this:

Dave Ramba, a longtime lobbyist for FADA, said the measure will ensure there is competition among dealers, which leads to better prices and services for consumers.

“The attempt by auto manufacturers to cut out the dealer would only result in higher prices and less customer service to the public,” he said. “The new car dealer is the customer’s advocate when it comes to warranty work and service on a manufacturer’s product, and this bill will protect that.”​

Say goodbye to any optimism about purchasing your next Mustang, or any ICE-powered vehicle, D2C in the state. Of course, feel free to peruse the catalog of Jetsons startups; they're now your only guaranteed option to avoid scumbag dealership markups.

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[IPOGT]

Watching what’s happening everywhere else, I’m so happy to be here. if status quo vs self checkout keeps local employees working then that’s a small price to pay. Besides, we here have Granger.

 

[OppoLock]

Watching what’s happening everywhere else, I’m so happy to be here. if status quo vs self checkout keeps local employees working then that’s a small price to pay. Besides, we here have Granger.

You're in SFL too, right? I don't understand why you would be happy to lose the option of purchasing via D2C. The only thing this does is continue the archaic practice of giving dealers leverage to control the height of your pants.

If D2C existed, ADMs would literally cease to exist. I'm all for supporting the workforce, but not extortionist pig dealer practices that have completely stunted car buying for everyone.

 

[shogun32]

ADM was a sideshow - big one but like picking cotton by hand in Alabama, doomed to rapid extinction. I don't agree with banning D2C in the slightest but "cheaper to consumer" is doubtful. The guv should have let D2C thru and then let Ford and the dealers go after each other's throats.

I would hazard 50% od dealers need to be eliminated. But effective monopolies prevent the creative destruction of the market to hold sway.

 

[goodlettjr]

You're in SFL too, right? I don't understand why you would be happy to lose the option of purchasing via D2C. The only thing this does is continue the archaic practice of giving dealers leverage to control the height of your pants.

If D2C existed, ADMs would literally cease to exist. I'm all for supporting the workforce, but not extortionist pig dealer practices that have completely stunted car buying for everyone.

If you think the dealers control the height of your pants you should wait and see how a manufacturer run dealership goes. Ford had them in Oklahoma (early 2000s) and they couldn’t get out of that scenario fast enough. Stores were losing money. Turnover was rampid. Service was horrible. Parts were never in stock. Finance was locked in to one option. I’ll let you guess that option. A shit show would have been a welcome sight. The dealer franchise gives you options. You may not understand why those options exist, but they do and for many different reasons. The dealer is incentivized to hit quotas and etc. manufacturer owned dealers are not. They make thier money because the product cost is at a disparity to the franchises dealer giving them greater gains and not passing it along. I repeat. They will not pass a discount along. You may as well go to a vending machine and argue your point. That is what it is like buying at a manufacturer owned store.

 

[OppoLock]

If you think the dealers control the height of your pants you should wait and see how a manufacturer run dealership goes. Ford had them in Oklahoma (early 2000s) and they couldn’t get out of that scenario fast enough. Stores were losing money. Turnover was rampid. Service was horrible. Parts were never in stock. Finance was locked in to one option. I’ll let you guess that option. A shit show would have been a welcome sight. The dealer franchise gives you options. You may not understand why those options exist, but they do and for many different reasons. The dealer is incentivized to hit quotas and etc. manufacturer owned dealers are not. They make thier money because the product cost is at a disparity to the franchises dealer giving them greater gains and not passing it along. I repeat. They will not pass a discount along. You may as well go to a vending machine and argue your point. That is what it is like buying at a manufacturer owned store.

Is that more relevant than modern day examples? Like ordering from Tesla or Rivian? In today’s landscape, a “good deal” is getting MSRP, which is harder and harder to come by. It involves calling all over, dealing with sales antics, and having to typically bite down on fees and add-ons that you wouldn’t have to deal with via D2C.

In what world does logic dictate that opening up another *option* for buying a vehicle remove leverage from the consumer?

I’ve been burned on nearly every new car shopping experience for the past near-three years to the point that it affected my purchasing decision to buy a vehicle that was secondary to what I preferred.

If I could’ve circumvented the dealer network and purchased at MSRP, I would’ve done so.

In theory, dealerships are out in place to protect consumers. In the current reality, they’ve done everything to screw you over.

 

[goodlettjr]

Is that more relevant than modern day examples? Like ordering from Tesla or Rivian? I’m today’s landscape, a “good deal” is getting MSRP.

In what world does logic dictate that opening up another *option* for buying a vehicle remove leverage from the consumer?

I’ve been burned on nearly every new car shopping experience for the past near-three years to the point that it affected my purchasing decision to buy a vehicle that was secondary to what I preferred.

1. Yes. What is MSRP at a factory only store. It is whatever they want it to be. The reality is you have no idea what you are paying markup wise from Rivian or Tesla. Also thier servoce network is horrible. Wreck a Tesla or especially a Rivian and see what the bill is regardless of insurance. You buy because it is a no haggle price. You like the vehicle. No one else will get a better price. Im sorry you don’t feel comfortable investing in the time it takes to negotiate but that is capitalism.

2. They don’t give you another option. They will occupy a dealership point. Not open a new location. If you think they are opening a new location they closed one to do that. Welcome to how that works when the option you thought was a second one and it becomes your only one.

3. That is your fault for purchasing several vehicles in the past 3 years. From a financial standpoint if it is a stressor you made a bad choice. If it was throw away money then you’re just bitching to bitch. If it was because you use those vehicles to make money and needed to replace them then you need to a) charge more for your services or b) depreciate your assets in a better manner. Lots of people got hooked into the idea that thier trade wasthier money maker. If you could turn that trade into cash and have something else to drive already then yes. If not you just put that back into an inflated new vehicle. It was amazing how many people got sucked into bad math.

For the record I work for a heavy truck dealership and just had the manufacturer go direct to one of my customers. That is upwards of 800k in parts sales lost annually. Our dealership has been selling to this customer since 2007. This happened yesterday afternoon. Is that relevant enough for you.

So take your indiscriminate idea of wealth distribution and savings and keep that to yourself. The dealer model is healthy for competition and distribution.

 

[OppoLock]

1. Yes. What is MSRP at a factory only store. It is whatever they want it to be. The reality is you have no idea what you are paying markup wise from Rivian or Tesla. Also thier servoce network is horrible. Wreck a Tesla or especially a Rivian and see what the bill is regardless of insurance. You buy because it is a no haggle price. You like the vehicle. No one else will get a better price. Im sorry you don’t feel comfortable investing in the time it takes to negotiate but that is capitalism.

2. They don’t give you another option. They will occupy a dealership point. Not open a new location. If you think they are opening a new location they closed one to do that. Welcome to how that works when the option you thought was a second one and it becomes your only one.

3. That is your fault for purchasing several vehicles in the past 3 years. From a financial standpoint if it is a stressor you made a bad choice. If it was throw away money then you’re just bitching to bitch. If it was because you use those vehicles to make money and needed to replace them then you need to a) charge more for your services or b) depreciate your assets in a better manner. Lots of people got hooked into the idea that thier trade wasthier money maker. If you could turn that trade into cash and have something else to drive already then yes. If not you just put that back into an inflated new vehicle. It was amazing how many people got sucked into bad math.

For the record I work for a heavy truck dealership and just had the manufacturer go direct to one of my customers. That is upwards of 800k in parts sales lost annually. Our dealership has been selling to this customer since 2007. This happened yesterday afternoon. Is that relevant enough for you.

So take your indiscriminate idea of wealth distribution and savings and keep that to yourself. The dealer model is healthy for competition and distribution.

clearly biased and definitely snobby, take care

 

[goodlettjr]

clearly biased and definitely snobby, take care

i prefer to call that educated having worked for both Ford Motor Company and a franchised Ford dealer.

 

[erocker]

Is that more relevant than modern day examples? Like ordering from Tesla or Rivian? In today’s landscape, a “good deal” is getting MSRP, which is harder and harder to come by. It involves calling all over, dealing with sales antics, and having to typically bite down on fees and add-ons that you wouldn’t have to deal with via D2C.

In what world does logic dictate that opening up another *option* for buying a vehicle remove leverage from the consumer?

I’ve been burned on nearly every new car shopping experience for the past near-three years to the point that it affected my purchasing decision to buy a vehicle that was secondary to what I preferred.

If I could’ve circumvented the dealer network and purchased at MSRP, I would’ve done so.

In theory, dealerships are out in place to protect consumers. In the current reality, they’ve done everything to screw you over.

I'm seeing it go both ways in my State recently. The larger Ford dealer seems to be marking up everything while the dealer I went through specifically advertises they won't do that. Though, obviously they're stock has been considerably lower.

 

[LETHAL]

Did CEO Farley not directly inform dealers to cease and desist on the ADMs? Maybe I am mistaken on that. My dealer seems to think it was a suggestion. IE the first 2024 Mustang GT they are getting is going to be marked up $10k. Making an already expensive 401a car that much more stupid. Guess it's better than VIN 001 at Barret Jackson...LOL

 

[Dharri21]

The Florida law specifically bans manufacturers from telling dealers the price they can sell at and also bans all retaliation for ADM’s. This means Ford is powerless in Florida to punish a dealer for ADM’s. Ford also cannot withhold allocations for ADM issues.

 

[coltgus]

Get Plan X pricing and you're close to invoice and they can't charge dealer fees or packs.

 

[Dharri21]

X-plan pricing is usually not applicable on the cars with adm's i.e. Mach1, Dark Horse, etc.

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