I gave this some thought this morning and I'm considering starting a dealer review website (I did a and only came up with one site that does dealer reviews and there are next to no entries).

First, I want to see how much interest there would be on an enthusiast based board such as this. I know from reading various posts that some people would really like to see this kind of resource available, but I would like to hear opinions from the rest of you.

And also, how many of you would be willing to contribute to such a project by providing your written reviews of various dealers?

Responses appreciated.

 

Very interesting that you didnt find more websites for dealer reviews. As being a member on other car forums, I know most of them already have a section like that. Either a specific section or under the regional section.

Having a board/forum just for dealer reviews would be pretty cool. I am just not sure what the need would be. If you want I can post this idea on other car forums/boards and let you know what the response is.

Do you have any type of plan either in writing or in your head on how you want to set it up or organize the site?

And yes I would contribute the best I could.

 

Basically, my idea is to just have a simple site that consolidates information for all makes/manufacturers in all states into a single site that people can easily access and read. The only site I saw that provides information on multiple makes is dealer-rater and the number of reviews there is hardly helpful. I'm thinking that by starting with these enthusiast sites, we can get a much more complete picture and greater numbers of reviews so that people, especially forum members, can use this as a resource.

 

Sounds good.

One idea would be to contact the Admins from other car forums and see if they would be willing to help out a bit gathering some of the information on their respective sites.

 

Well, I don't want to turn this into an overwhelming project right away. I have work all day so I thought I would start with the Acurazine crew and then expand once I get those organized. Of course, this is still only a concept. I want to see if there is really a need for this first. No point in taking my time doing this if people won't use it or contribute to it.

 

Another idea would be not only include the state where the review was done, but also the age group of the reviewer. This would be enable the potential buyer to find it if there is a pattern for that dealership to favor one age group from another. So if the potential buyer who is age 65+ sees that this particular dealership has had horrible reviews from others of that age group, they can go to a different dealership or stay away from that sales person.

An example of the age groups could be:

Under 18
18 - 25
26 - 35
36 - 64
65+

 

Yet anther idea could be to include a short survey of questions for the reviewer to fill out. For example, the cleanliness of the dealership, friendliness, etc. They could rate each one before giving their written review of the dealership.

Also, maybe later on add a similar section of the dealership's service department.

 

I though about this too and then wondered if there would be any legal issues, especially when members start bashing a dealer....

 

But it would be a public forum. I have read some nasty posts from other car forums about dealerships in my area. Nothing ever happened. As we all know, this is still the interweb and not all the information is 100% accurate and true. Remember that this is the reviewer's opinion.

 

You also have to worry about trolls who just come on to promote their business.

But if it's possible, I think it's a good idea.

 

It is a good idea.

 

To prevent the trolling, people will not be able to post reviews directly to the site. They will email it to an e-mail address so I can remove posts from trolls and advertisers.

 

I like the idea. If its legal, and doable, then I support it.

 

I like the idea.

I'm sure one person can review more than just one dealership from which they have bought a car and even if you didn't, comments would be welcome. Also, a section for each dealership could have reviews for service as well. Just my .02.

 

Well, perhaps I will lay it out in more detail...

The idea is basically a simple point and click website. You select the make, select the state, and then select the dealership. From there, you can select either sales or service. The sales will also be divided into new and used car.

The reviews should consist of the type of car being purchased, the age group of the individual purchasing the car, the name of the salesperson (optional), and a written review of the experience.

For service, the reviews should consist of the type of car, the type of service (warranty or non-warranty), the name of the service rep, and a written review of the experience.

I think that by openly providing this information, people can judge for themselves which dealers they will want to use. At the same time, I would hope individuals from dealerships would visit the page to see what kind of feedback they are getting from consumers which should also encourage them to improve their service.

The idea is simple, should not have any serious legal issues, and is essentially a public forum of information, but will be monitored to prevent trolls and advertisers from invalidating the information.

So, any more thoughts?

 

If you are operating the web site, buy a gun....The dealers in Philly take things a little personally if you know what I mean....

 

Let them try to come after me. I know plenty of good lawyers just itching for a chance to make some money.

 

Is ricecake one of them?

 

No, but that's a thought.

My school has a number alumni out here who are lawyers or politicians. Shouldn't be that hard to put together a crack legal team.

 

Lawyers only help if you survive the shot....

 

You forget, I'm from LA. I'll be fine.

 

Ah...