Sure, online car buying has made the process easier, but it’s still rife with pitfalls since, in the end, buyers ultimately need to go to the dealer to work out the details, finish the paperwork and pick up the car.
A new web site hopes to makes things easier. It’s called Roadster.com. Billed as a "direct-to-consumer" method for purchasing new cars over the web, it aggregates available cars from dealers throughout California, presenting potential buyers with the best price on the cars they want to purchase, negotiating with the dealers, pre-printing the paperwork – even delivering the car to buyers’ doors. Based in San Francisco, where it launched last November, Roadster.com expanded to Southern California last month in the primary targets areas of Orange County, L.A. and San Diego.
The average person spends 12 hours researching, negotiating and buying a new car, according to Roadster CEO Andy Moss.
"Quite often they come out of it still scratching their heads about whether they got the best deal," Moss said.
How Roadster improves the experience is helping buyers not only find and build the exact car they want with the features they’re seeking, but locate them at dealers throughout the state. A Roadster concierge – an actual person – then works with the buyer to confirm the exact features and colors on a specific car that details the pricing, as well as available incentives, rebates and financing.
Buyers who decide to proceed with the purchase (or lease) then upload their driver’s license, insurance card and credit application. Roadster finds an actual car, complete with VIN, that matches the proposed deal, and the concierge then finalizes the deal with the car that matches the buyer’s exact specifications, including pre-printed paperwork and delivery of the vehicle.
Moss said it is different from other Web-based, new-car-buying services in that it isn’t shuttling business to specific dealers. He said Roadster has relationships with about 50 percent of dealers representing the majority of mainstream auto makers in the state. It makes its money through three sources: A $295 delivery fee charged to buyers, a 1.25 percent brokerage fee charged to dealers and markup on buyers’ trade-in vehicles. The service works for outright purchase as well as leases.
"We’re not really tied to any set of inventory or any particular dealer or brand," Moss said. "We can act as the adviser to the consumer through the process because we don’t charge the consumer until we deliver the car."
Moss said Roadster typically saves customers $3,000 off the manufacturer’s suggested retail price – comparable to buying a car through TrueCar or Edmunds. There is, however, one key difference: No haggling is required.
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