Extra, Extra....Read All About It!

[SpaceEVDriver]

Anyone have a subscription to WSJ. This article looks interesting.

View attachment 14871

He Earns $1,000 a Job—and He’s a Car Dealer’s Worst Nightmare With car prices soaring, one man deploys dealer speak to talk down the sticker price on behalf of buyers

He Earns $1,000 a Job—and He’s a Car Dealer’s Worst Nightmare With car prices soaring, one man deploys dealer speak to talk down the sticker price on

www.jobadvisor.link

 

[robothero]

is there somewhere on kalshi or whatever its called that I can put money down on the new xterra being hideous? Feel like its easy money.

 

[cyure]

He Earns $1,000 a Job—and He’s a Car Dealer’s Worst Nightmare With car prices soaring, one man deploys dealer speak to talk down the sticker price on behalf of buyers

He Earns $1,000 a Job—and He’s a Car Dealer’s Worst Nightmare With car prices soaring, one man deploys dealer speak to talk down the sticker price on

www.jobadvisor.link

Thanks and the fact that this is a thing makes me so glad our Scouts will be DTC.

 

[robothero]

https://www.edmunds.com/car-news/nissan-xterra-hybrid-confirmed.html

Apparently its a hybrid.

 

[cyure]

is there somewhere on kalshi or whatever its called that I can put money down on the new xterra being hideous? Feel like its easy money.

The fact that it has Nissan stamped into the metal on the front like that I don’t have a lot of hope.

I have a picture of my husband and son with ours on my cork-board in my office. It was a great car for our young family and I loved the look of it.

 

[robothero]

I loved the OG Xterra, such a fun car!

I really don't get the obsession with "modernizing" cars in a way that really just completely takes away what made the originals unique.

 

[OleScout]

Glad they are honoring the previous legendary yellow color, although this seems to have some gold undertone. The headlights are a bit surprising but aligns with the Frontier Pro design. That good seems to have a great amount of concave to it, maybe it's the angle but old Dodge's had what's referred to "Bird Bath" hood known to collect moisture, although I imagine this will have a slope. These lights give me Knight Rider vibes.

 

[LastDayScout]

Ionna is partnering with CircleK

Though i would let everyone know. Just got that in my work Email.

That is awesome. There is a circle K that I pass every day that is under construction/renovation. They took the roof off that covers the pumps. I wonder if they are doing something Ionna related. I hope so.

 

[maynard]

The fact that it has Nissan stamped into the metal on the front like that I don’t have a lot of hope.

I have a picture of my husband and son with ours on my cork-board in my office. It was a great car for our young family and I loved the look of it.

View attachment 14872

My wife had one that looked exactly like that!

 

[bwdavis7]

He Earns $1,000 a Job—and He’s a Car Dealer’s Worst Nightmare With car prices soaring, one man deploys dealer speak to talk down the sticker price on behalf of buyers

He Earns $1,000 a Job—and He’s a Car Dealer’s Worst Nightmare With car prices soaring, one man deploys dealer speak to talk down the sticker price on

www.jobadvisor.link

I used an AI agent to buy my Ioniq 5. The dealership was not aware. The AI agent only operated through texts and email (my personal info wasn't given until the final settlement). The AI could work totally independent (not recommended), but it would let you modify responses before sending to the dealership. That way I could take the AI suggested responses and enhance them further with ChatGPT and Gemini. I had really not seriously intended to purchase at the time but the gas prices had just started going up and I was entertained with the AI agent back and forth with the dealership. The AI agent doesn't get emotional and demands the out-the-door pricing. When I agreed to price and showed up at the dealership, I told them my agent had settled on the purchase and I was there to pick it up. I could tell they were a bit confused but never questioned what took place. I still took two hours to get out of the place, but the AI agent had warned them against any add-ons or other dealership shenanigans that the deal would fall through immediately. The biggest issue was getting a dealership to first engage online without a "live" phone call. They AI agent had a phone number somehow but told the dealership it would only negotiate by email and/or texts. Actually, the process was a bit fun.

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

I used an AI agent to buy my Ioniq 5. The dealership was not aware. The AI agent only operated through texts and email (my personal info wasn't given until the final settlement). The AI could work totally independent (not recommended), but it would let you modify responses before sending to the dealership. That way I could take the AI suggested responses and enhance them further with ChatGPT and Gemini. I had really not seriously intended to purchase at the time but the gas prices had just started going up and I was entertained with the AI agent back and forth with the dealership. The AI agent doesn't get emotional and demands the out-the-door pricing. When I agreed to price and showed up at the dealership, I told them my agent had settled on the purchase and I was there to pick it up. I could tell they were a bit confused but never questioned what took place. I still took two hours to get out of the place, but the AI agent had warned them against any add-ons or other dealership shenanigans that the deal would fall through immediately. The biggest issue was getting a dealership to first engage online without a "live" phone call. They AI agent had a phone number somehow but told the dealership it would only negotiate by email and/or texts. Actually, the process was a bit fun.

Interesting.

When we bought the Lightning, I contacted the dealer through their online form. They tried to call me and I told them I was too busy at work to do phone calls and that all communication had to be through text or email. I told them the OTD price I was willing to pay. They agreed. I told them the minimum I was willing to accept for my trade-in. They agreed. I told them they needed to deliver the vehicle to me (it’s a 2.5 hour drive one-way to the dealership) and that they would have to pick up the trade-in. They agreed. They had already installed their nonsense antenna, lug nuts, and window tint, and I was ready to cancel the purchase but they went up on the trade-in value to fix that.

I would very much prefer to just shop for what I want online entirely and buy direct from the manufacturer.

 

[bwdavis7]

Interesting.

When we bought the Lightning, I contacted the dealer through their online form. They tried to call me and I told them I was too busy at work to do phone calls and that all communication had to be through text or email. I told them the OTD price I was willing to pay. They agreed. I told them the minimum I was willing to accept for my trade-in. They agreed. I told them they needed to deliver the vehicle to me (it’s a 2.5 hour drive one-way to the dealership) and that they would have to pick up the trade-in. They agreed. They had already installed their nonsense antenna, lug nuts, and window tint, and I was ready to cancel the purchase but they went up on the trade-in value to fix that.

I would very much prefer to just shop for what I want online entirely and buy direct from the manufacturer.

I think that would work just as well for no cost and utilize AI to help with negotiating unless you are good at that anyway. The only difference is that they wouldn't have your contact info if you used an AI or real purchasing agent. But I think we all agree that direct from manufacturer is the ultimate solution.

 

[robothero]

I did something pretty similar with my two most recent car purchases. I told both of them I would only work via email ("busy at work"), any addons not previously discussed and I'd walk away. Met the dealer for the first time when I was there to pick the car up, manager came over to talk about how great they were, I was like I wouldn't know!

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

I think that would work just as well for no cost and utilize AI to help with negotiating unless you are good at that anyway. The only difference is that they wouldn't have your contact info if you used an AI or real purchasing agent. But I think we all agree that direct from manufacturer is the ultimate solution.

I think if dealerships looked at Carvana, they would recognize how much customers hate interacting in-person. Carvana has seen 43% growth year-over-year, with almost 600,000 vehicles sold in 2025 for $20B in revenue. The largest traditional used car dealer network in the US is Lithia, with more than 300 locations. They sold 425,000 used vehicles in 2025 for $13B in revenue.

 

[robothero]

I'd like to see more separation in the car buying process, which I guess is where DTC/Carvana types really shine.

I like being able to talk to an actual person, in person, to get questions about my future car answered. I have tons of specific or nuanced questions about cars especially when I get to sit in them that you just can't do over email or on the phone. I like that about popup events or (what I'm assuming) DTC is like because the people you meet with in the show room aren't directly selling you the car- they're getting you excited to make the purchase.

I don't like negotiating and reviewing options etc. in person. I'm an elder millennial who needs to use "the big screen" to do important stuff and I like being able to look at lots of things side by side without pressure from someone trying to get me to buy things I may not need or want and certainly don't know enough about to make a call on.

That's really why I've been pretty adamant about keeping my test drive and purchase as separate transactions so I can go into it with a clear head and all my research.

 

[speedrye]

Interesting.

When we bought the Lightning, I contacted the dealer through their online form. They tried to call me and I told them I was too busy at work to do phone calls and that all communication had to be through text or email. I told them the OTD price I was willing to pay. They agreed. I told them the minimum I was willing to accept for my trade-in. They agreed. I told them they needed to deliver the vehicle to me (it’s a 2.5 hour drive one-way to the dealership) and that they would have to pick up the trade-in. They agreed. They had already installed their nonsense antenna, lug nuts, and window tint, and I was ready to cancel the purchase but they went up on the trade-in value to fix that.

I would very much prefer to just shop for what I want online entirely and buy direct from the manufacturer.

I don't understand this logic. If you're willing to spend a few hours to pay thousands of dollars less than the average transaction price, why would you want a DTC model where you pay the average price instead?? Sure, it rewards those that aren't willing to wheel 'n deal, but there aren't many things in life that pay me $1k-$2k+ per hour of my time. Maybe I'm wrong, but you'll be paying market price to the manufacturer, just the same as you'd be paying to a dealer.

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

I don't understand this logic. If you're willing to spend a few hours to pay thousands of dollars less than the average transaction price, why would you want a DTC model where you pay the average price instead?? Sure, it rewards those that aren't willing to wheel 'n deal, but there aren't many things in life that pay me $1k-$2k+ per hour of my time. Maybe I'm wrong, but you'll be paying market price to the manufacturer, just the same as you'd be paying to a dealer.

There’s very clear evidence that dealers cost consumers about $5,000 extra per vehicle, on average, compared with what the costs would be without a dealer in the way. That’s not including the extra markup dealers in my area tack on just because they own the entire market within one or two hours drive. And every transaction with a dealer costs me many more hours than I want to waste. I have better things to do with my life than waste time going back-and-forth with a dealer. Not everything is about dollars. Some people don’t have four or more hours to waste with the scam of “let me talk to my manager,” “you need the extra coverage in case the blinker fluid freezes in the winter,” and other nonsense and lies.

Dealership 'Middleman Tax' Is Adding Nearly $5,000 To Car Prices - Jalopnik

State laws requiring automakers to sell cars through franchised dealers are adding somewhere between $3,934 and $4,992 to the price of each and every car.

www.jalopnik.com

 

[robothero]

"let me check with my manager about that one" (disappears for 40 minutes)

 

[bwdavis7]

I don't understand this logic. If you're willing to spend a few hours to pay thousands of dollars less than the average transaction price, why would you want a DTC model where you pay the average price instead?? Sure, it rewards those that aren't willing to wheel 'n deal, but there aren't many things in life that pay me $1k-$2k+ per hour of my time. Maybe I'm wrong, but you'll be paying market price to the manufacturer, just the same as you'd be paying to a dealer.

I simply don't care to haggle and get frustrated with the dealership tactics. I can see your point if you are skilled at bargaining a great deal but I get hostile in that environment. I don't want to think that the person that purchased an identical vehicle just ahead of me got theirs for thousands less. Just give me a good price and excellent value with the features I want when comparing to competitors vehicles. If Scout can't compete with the DTC model I don't see that they would be more successful using dealerships.

 

[cyure]

I simply don't care to haggle and get frustrated with the dealership tactics. I can see your point if you are skilled at bargaining a great deal but I get hostile in that environment. I don't want to think that the person that purchased an identical vehicle just ahead of me got theirs for thousands less. Just give me a good price and excellent value with the features I want when comparing to competitors vehicles. If Scout can't compete with the DTC model I don't see that they would be more successful using dealerships.

Plus I’m tired of buying “what they have on the lot” and not getting the features, colors I want.