I am always looking for smart, effective, nicely designed sites and the products and services they offer. Also pay close attention at their marketing strategy, what is their intended target audience, etc. While surfing the Web, as I normally do about 10 hours/day (yes, I know... I have no life! :-o), I came across this one--http://www.priceandrive.com/. Wow, this sharp site seems to get it!The Price and Drive concept got to me because I have surely been there, done that many times! When I think about buying a car, the thing I dread the most is the ridiculous fight over a price that I know--without a shadow of a doubt--has been blown out of proportion for the dealer/salesman's benefit. I am sure it does strike a cord with you too. Car shopping, car buying, however you call it when you walk in the dealerships is sometimes a complete waste of precious time.
Price and Drive has created what seems to be a proprietary software to mutually benefit both the consumers and the dealerships. Their model brings the Internet, the customer, and the dealerships together to simplify the automobile buying process. I think this will revolutionize the car buying experience for the consumers as well as help leverage the dealerships’ time and resources. The site guides their intended audience through three simple steps-- the consumers input exactly what car they are looking for and how much they are willing to spend, their requests(s) are then sent to the dealerships that are enrolled in the system.
What happens next? You might ask…well, the dealerships then utilize the PAD Agent portal to view and manage bids, competing with other dealerships for your business. This bidding process will in turn get the consumers the best possible price. While the bidding goes back and forth among the dealerships (yeah, let them do the work!), the consumers will remain totally anonymous as they review offers in real-time. The consumers’ contact information is kept confidential until they either accept a bid or release it to the dealership.
By the way, did you hear Clark Howard's latest spill about the car industry and car research/shopping? He suggests the following steps, among others, for the car buying process:
- "Buy your new car from a no-haggle dealership. In most cases, you'll save money and the process of buying will be faster and easier.
- Look at cars when a dealership is closed, so there's no salesperson to pressure you.
- The best way to test-drive a car is to rent it for a day or two. It's the ultimate test drive and it's not expensive.
- Use the Internet to find out the dealer cost of the vehicle and the options you want.
- Start your research with at least two different vehicles in mind. Then check out the price, reliability, and cost to insure each of the cars you're considering.
- When you've narrowed the search to one or two vehicles and have the actual dealer cost for each, shop online for instant price quotes."
So, if you are thinking of buying a new or used car, take a look at this one first http://www.priceanddrive.com/!
