Quote:
Originally Posted by Dadhawk
except for maybe one or two
|
This is the exact point I was trying to make. Even if you answered "yes" or even "maybe" to even one of those question it shows that there is a probability that the burden and liability can be pinned on the manufacturer even when it seems the dealership are the ones blowing things up.
As for the 99% of times, that is a flat out inflated number. Type "Toyota Dealer" and your "City" or any other manufacturer into google maps.
Here are the top returns that google came up with when I typed "toyota dealership houston", I invite you to do the same with any manufacture and city:
1. Toyota of Alvin (Alvin is the name of the locality)
2. Classic Toyota Galveston (Another locality)
3. Community Toyota
4. Sterling Mccall Toyota
5. Tejas Toyota
6. AutoNation Toyota Gulf Freeway
7. Mac Haik Toyota
8. Toyota Center (A sports center arena)
9. Gulf Coast Toyota (Another locality)
10. Demontrond Hyundai
11. Toyota of Katy (Another locality)
12. Joe Myers Toyota
As you can clearly see, about half the dealers in houston are very ambiguous using either the locality or a vague name like "community" or "tejas" (spanish for Texas). One could say these dealers are trying to obfuscate the fact that they are different from the manufacturer in order to retain a certain aspect of trust and confidence in the consumers.
As for "I don't know a single person...", I personally know a few that didn't know the difference and there are many that are susceptible, such as the elderly who are still able to drive, foreigners, immigrants or the newly immigrated, people whom English is not their first language, teenagers and new drivers, and believe it or not women especially those who are lower income or disadvantaged. Some knew they were different entities but believed that they had the full backing and support of the manufacturer, like some sort of venture or partnership.
TLDR, by answering yes to even one of those questions you have proven my point that it can be argued that manufacturers can be held liable for issues that seem to be dealer caused. Also, dealers try their best to represent the manufacture which they are franchised to, and they are in fact a franchise just like McDonalds, the difference is the dealer franchise agreement probably stipulates that they may not use ONLY the manufacturers name on their business' building, but must include the manufacturer name along with other words, whereas the franchise agreement with McDonalds probably says "you MUST place 'McDonalds' ONLY on your building with no other wording".