Jim Ziegler Wants to know "Is it Time For the Retail Automotive Community to Rise Up and Give CarFax a TrueQuality Thumping?"

Enough is Enough!

Haven't you had it with all of these Data Pirates using our own customer information to defame us, lower our profits, alienate our customers... while at the same time they charge us through the nose to do us harm? 

Among the worst of them in my opinion is CarFax. They even believe they have the right to price our cars and trades.... too low of course. While at the same time CarFax exploits negative stereotypes that we are crooks in every commercial the Little Car Fox Rats out the dishonest bumbling and inept idiot car sales person. They charge us to defame us. 

read this article we just published in Wards Auto Magazine... "My latest article is out and it's hot.  

Here are more than 250 Consumer Complaints and reviews about CarFax... look... http://www.consumeraffairs.com/automotive/carfax_inacc.html 

We have manufacturers supporting these people and requiring we do business with them. Let's get mobilized and scream at our factory representatives, reprint this article for your dealers, do press releases, and generally alert your State Dealer Associations and 20-groups. 

If a consumer asks for the CarFax, tell them it's $39.00. Whoever told you it was free was lying.

I am available to perform 20-group and Dealer Association Keynote Speeches on this subject. As of right now, I am calling out the Tribe to get on this subject. JIM

 

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Comment by James A. Ziegler on November 1, 2012 at 12:32pm

Keith Dealers are crooks, liars, and they conceal damaged vehicles from the public, don'y we?

Comment by Keith Shetterly on November 1, 2012 at 12:28pm

Now see this one.  AutoCheck showed the 2 accidents, CarFax missed it, and the DEALER takes the hit in PR--even after agreeing to fix everything including the brakes on an "as is" sale.

 

Comment by James A. Ziegler on November 1, 2012 at 12:27pm

There you go Keith, Proof positive that all Car Dealers are Deceptive Lying Criminals. Yup CarFax charges us to promote that public distrust.

Comment by Keith Shetterly on November 1, 2012 at 12:24pm

Comment by James A. Ziegler on November 1, 2012 at 12:20pm

Ruggles, you're a f@**&%ing genius!  :)

Comment by Keith Shetterly on November 1, 2012 at 11:58am

David, you crack me up.  :)

Comment by David Ruggles on November 1, 2012 at 11:52am

My complaint is when they tell our customer what they should pay for a car. 

I also have a problem with the so called leads business.  I understand that at any point in time, 3% of the population is in the market for a car.  What is the closing rate on the leads dealers pay for?

All the talk at JD Power last year was about the fact that dealers don't need more leads, they need higher quality leads.  There was actually considerable talk about figuring out ways to "pre-qualify" leads.  I don't know what the hot topic was at JD Power this year because I spend most of my time at Digital Dealer, which was going on at the same time as JD Power. 

also going on last week was the Driving Sales Executive Summit with Scott Painter being interviewed by Jared Hamilton.  I wrote a column on it for WARDS... waiting to see if they publish it.  But I was struck by the fact that Painter has become quite contrite.  Losing $40 million in the first months of 2012 will humble a person.  But he is still stuck on the premise that the auto business needs to be changed.  He uses the word "transparency" repeatedly.  Well a dealer can't cover the overhead with transparency.  Transparency is like a "good deal."  It is a state of mind.  It is the perception of the good deal that closes the deal.  I recall originally entitling the column "F*** Transparency."  I'm pretty sure WARDs won't use my title.

Comment by keith millard on November 1, 2012 at 11:39am

 I am with you 100% on this one Jim.Carfax got all the dealers to allow them access to their data and THEN started this campaign depicting dealers as the bad guys and trying to tell consumers how much they should pay for a vehicle.After expressing my displeasure with the Carfax folks in person when they called on us, they were actually very arrogant about it and did not care what we think about it.(They have not sent a rep to our store since)If Chrysler did not require us to use them for Certified I would definitely use Experian! I have lobbied to let us have a choice between Carfax and Autocheck(Experian).Most of the auctions rely on Experian which turns up a lot that Carfax misses.

Comment by Keith Shetterly on November 1, 2012 at 11:18am

Cars.com runs www.whypaysticker.com and www.carpricesecrets.com.  On their own, they generate leads from grinders, and they didn't create the grinders, so the argument (which I've accepted) is that these sites serve a purpose for dealers.  However, this exclusive CarFax agreement w/Cars.com . . . makes me rethink that position into at least a "hmmmm?"

Comment by Jeff Simonton on November 1, 2012 at 11:12am

We really need to shut down the exclusive contracts from the classified listing side. As a significant client of AutoTrader and Cars.com, I want them to stop playing along. CarFax may be evil extortionists, but AutoTrader and Cars.com would not exist without dealers and to then sell exclusivity to a vendor at dealers' expense (and I mean expense on many levels) is bad business.

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