Many states mandate auto sales through dealers, a politically powerful group. There’s a monopoly premium that comes out of consumers’ pockets. From Eric Peters at ericpetersautos.com:
There is a Kerfuffel in California over the prospect of device-maker Scout – which is being financed by VW – selling its devices directly to those who want to buy them, without having to deal with a dealer.
Mark the italics.
It’s actually more than a Kerfuffel – which would be ok in the sense that people often get upset over things and bicker over things. It’s ok to bicker. But this Kerfuffel may involve the courts, which means bringing the government – and thus, force – into it.
Should people be forced to deal with dealers if they want to buy a new vehicle? Or should they be free to buy directly from the vehicle’s manufacturer? That is the nut of the Kerfuffel.
Readers of this column already know this writer’s contempt for Tesla – which was the first device-maker to sell them directly to those who wished to buy them. I never took issue with that – because who am I (who is anyone) to intercede between the seller and prospective buyer of a thing? I despise Tesla’s rent-seeking grift but that has no bearing on whether Tesla – or Scout or any other seller of anything – ought to have its right to sell directly to those who wish to buy respected.
