Episode 2 of our new Dealer Digest podcast series ponders the question of why Americans don’t want to wait for a new car. We explore that through the lens of Volvo’s Overseas Delivery program that allows buyers to buy a custom-built car at a pre-set, discounted price and get a European vacation to Gothenburg, Sweden in the process. It sounds too good to be true, but it’s real — and almost nobody takes them up on their offer. I know, because I used to sell Volvos.
Why don’t more customers go with the custom order route? Is it a psychological barrier? Is it the thrill of the deal? Give this new episode a listen and let us know what you think of the reasons in the comments.
Dealer Digest | Episode #2
Show Notes DD:EP02
You can learn more about Volvo Cars’ Overseas Delivery Program — where you can buy a car and get a European vacation to go with it — right here.
We talk a little bit about “the Chevy Volt forum” in this show, but note that it’s actually a Vertical Scope property called GM-Volt forum. You can check it out here.
We talk a bit about the Tesla trade-in process and whether or not letting Tesla handle your buying process in its entirety gets you “a good deal.” This is the article that’s referenced.
We mention dealers’ narrow margins, estimating they are 3–5%. The real numbers, historically, skew even lower. Here’s a link showing 1–2% of net margin for most new cars.
This is a link to the $7000 Tesla repair bill that we used as a negative example of “single source of service” and Right to Repair. Except it was a $16,000 Tesla quote for a $700 repair.
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Original content from CleanTechnica.


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