There are few people around nowadays who can genuinely enjoy the experience of visiting a car showroom. With British cars branded as the most expensive in Europe, potential buyers are continually worried about being ripped off and are frequently driven away by the hard sell techniques of aggressive sales people.
Against this background, it is hardly surprising that increasing numbers of people are turning to the web to help them buy a car. Quick and easier access to cheaper prices, more transparent information and the ability to browse anonymously are the chief reasons why the internet is starting to put pressure on the traditional practices of the UK car industry.
Most big car manufacturers and dealers have a presence online but with a few exceptions - including Vauxhall and Peugeot - many of them are not selling cars on the web. Instead they are still opting to channel sales through their physical dealerships.
But now that relationship is being challenged. In a move designed to exploit consumer dissatisfaction with the industry's practices, new web-based car retailers are selling cheap cars imported from Europe, and slashing the prices on UK-sourced cars. The new sites can generate savings because they are not saddled with the overheads of large dealer networks.
Richard Branson's latest venture, Virgin Cars, imports and sources cars from select UK dealers. The company promises headline-grabbing savings of between 10% and 30% on normal retail prices and, since the end of May, has sold about 1,000 cars online. Cranking up the hype in the usual way, the company is offering test drives, financing and servicing arrangements. There are also plans to promote the service through Virgin's chain of Megastores.
Ian Lancaster, the chief executive of Virgin Cars, says, "Traditional dealers tend to muddy the transactions.
"If you buy a car from us and your neighbour buys the same one, when you're talking in the pub you'll always discover the price is the same."
He adds that consumers appreciate the fact the business is not tied to one particular car manufacturer.
But Virgin faces competition from the likes of Direct Line, which has recently launched a car retail service called Jamjar.com. The company sells imports and has gone into partnership with Dixon Motors to source UK vehicles. It is claiming savings of up to 30%, benefits from Direct Line's established call centre and can also spread word of its new service among Direct Line's millions of motor insurance customers.
What is most impressive about the new car websites is their ability to provide tailored information far more effectively and efficiently than a traditional on-the-floor salesperson. When you search online for a car on Jamjar's site you can specify your maximum price, number of seats and size of engine, or select a gimmicky lifestyle option. Then you can choose cars on the basis of how you want to look; swanky and fashionable or more modest and sensible.
When you have bought your car, Jamjar emails out a digital photo of the vehicle; and if you are doing a part exchange the company will value your car online based on your appraisal. But be warned: if your description does not match the car accurately when Jamjar collects it, the deal will be off.
In a bid to build long-term relationships with its car customers, Jamjar also offers an online shop where you can buy anything from spark plugs and clutches to audio books to keep the kids happy on a long journey.
Other high-profile entrants to this emerging online market include Inchcape-owned Autobytel UK and Oneswoop. Autobytel UK was launched in April and, rather than selling cars direct to the customer, supplies information and then refers web-based customers to its accredited "real world" dealers. The company says it has sold more than 6,000 vehicles since its launch.
So is this how we will all buy our cars in the future? Forrester Research predicts that in the UK the web will be primarily used for browsing and gathering purchasing information, rather than for actual transactions. That means, although the number of online car purchases will be small, the web will be influencing about 500,000 car purchase decisions a year by 2003. That is a market worth about £5.7 billion.
In the US, where the car market is governed by different practices, the internet is tipped to have a much bigger direct impact. Jupiter Communications forecasts that online-direct and online- influenced car sales will be worth $128 billion by 2004.
Peter McCullough, managing director of Autotrader Interactive, acknowledges that UK consumers still have strong reservations about buying cars online. Cars, he observes, are a different proposition to CDs and books.
"Consumers are confused about what is going on," he says. " They are afraid to buy from dealers and they do not fully understand the online services."
Nevertheless interest in what the web has to offer is growing. Autotrader, like other car magazines, runs private and dealer ads on its web pages and sees more than three million vehicle searches a month on its site.
With more of the car buying population going online, there have been reports of major portals planning to join the race to capture the emerging market. Amazon.co.uk has reportedly approached dealers including Dagenham Motors about the possibility of retailing cars. Meanwhile, earlier this year, the company bought car-related domain names including newcars amazon.com and usedcars amazon.com , although a spokesman for Amazon will only say: "We are not ruling anything out, but there are no plans at the moment."
The arrival of new online car retailers has not been without controversy. Some UK manufacturers have accused new car websites of quoting indicative prices rather than firm ones. Many also question whether the internet can genuinely revolutionise car buying and argue that only quality car products will shake up the market.
There are also lingering doubts about the ability of a distribution channel like the internet to handle transactions for complex cars. In those cases, industry insiders believe face-to-face consultations are essential.
Forrester analyst Caroline Sceats believes websites which depend on imported car sales will not survive in the long run.
"I think the models with the longevity are the models which source cars from dealers or manufacturers. The reason for that is because the opportunity for the import model is based around price disparity and we are seeing the prices of cars in the UK coming down."
Car manufacturers, used to handing bulk sales, may struggle to adjust to direct one-to-one sales over the web. However, many are beginning to realise that the net presents a unique opportunity to reach out to consumers.
In a new move to develop further opportunities to publicise its brand, General Motors, known in this country as Vauxhall, has announced it is investing in a new UK teenage site called Curve.com.
And on the fashionable business-to-business front, Daimler-Chrysler, Ford and General Motors have formed a business-to-business market called Covisint www.covisint.com which could improve the speed of their component supply networks, generate savings, and make them more responsive to customer requests.
Legislation is also likely to have a decisive influence on the future shape of the market. In 2002, it is expected that European legislation called the block exemption will be repealed, and this could allow dealers who are currently tied to one manufacturer to sell a greater choice of brands.
That means they may promote themselves more aggressively, and raises the possibility of car retailers being able to buy directly from manufacturers.
But at the end of the day, the real winners, whether offline or online, are likely to be those car retailers who can successfully cement relationships with their customers which last for the entire lifecycle of a car, from buying right through to all the after sales services. They will be the ones to beat.
Cars online
Virgin Cars www.virgincars.com
Jam Jar www.jamjar.com
One Swoop www.oneswoop.co.uk
Auto Trader www.autotrader.co.uk
What Car www.whatcar.co.uk
