| Everything is online. If this is not the case for | | | | Marketing With Passion" from Sunday, October |
| your business, it probably means you are going | | | | 29th, 2006). With multiple locations in the North |
| out of business. Since you are reading this blog, | | | | America, Corvette Mike's sells new and used |
| you are probably on the right track. Here is my | | | | Vettes, along with parts and accessories. But, my |
| story. | | | | research showed that buying the car from a |
| Call it mid-life crisis, but a few months ago I was | | | | private party was probably the best way to go. I |
| desperate for a red Corvette. The first thing I did | | | | located a number of Vettes within a 100 mile |
| was research the car thoroughly so that I could | | | | radius of my Orange County home, and the fun |
| become an informed buyer. I did an online search | | | | began: I got to test drive the different cars for |
| for "corvette" and found a forum called the | | | | sale. Hot dang! |
| Corvette Forum which is an online community for | | | | The actual purchase was easy since there were |
| Corvette enthusiasts. Chock-full of information | | | | so many low mileage Vettes in near perfect |
| from hundreds of Corvette owners from all over | | | | condition. The ultimate seller lived about 75 miles |
| North America, I was ready to take the next | | | | away and was moving to Europe and had to sell |
| step. | | | | her 2005 red Corvette with only 6000 miles. Call it |
| This meant that I had sell my old car, which was | | | | destiny or whatever, but I found my car in a |
| a red 2004 Nissan 350Z with only 7000 miles | | | | matter of minutes in perfect condition and at the |
| (yes, you may be seeing a trend here). I | | | | right price. |
| advertised my "Z" on Autotrader which is the | | | | As far as new car financing, I did a web search |
| largest online car site with over 2 million used | | | | for used auto financing and chose to go with Well |
| vehicles listed. I sold my car in three weeks to a | | | | Fargo for their competitive rates and ease of |
| buyer who lived 300 miles away; he had been | | | | doing business with them. I did this all via the web. |
| searching for my "Z" for about a week. | | | | With the transaction made, I decided to upgrade |
| Money in hand, I started my search for a red | | | | the floor mats and ordered them from an online |
| 2005 Corvette with a six speed manual | | | | store in Houston, Texas. Now my Corvette was |
| transmission, a removable hard top, and a Z51 | | | | really perfect. Also, I needed to change my |
| performance package. Low mileage was a must | | | | insurance, so I emailed my insurance agent (who |
| since low miles is the single most important factor | | | | lives in San Jose by the way) to drop the Nissan |
| in preserving resale value for a used Corvette. | | | | and add the Corvette. |
| Conveniently, most "Vette" owners choose to | | | | The point of this story is about the process I |
| drive their cars only on weekends; the weekend | | | | used to buy and sell my cars. It was virtually all |
| drive is done only after the car is washed, | | | | online with help from others located all over North |
| waxed, and polished. More than one Vette owner | | | | America. Had this been even five years ago, I |
| that I talked with referred to their cars as their | | | | would have bought and sold my car locally and |
| "baby", which tells you a lot about the psyche of | | | | relied upon local merchants, local buyers, and local |
| the Corvette owner. | | | | inventory. I am positive that the web delivered a |
| I did my search for my "baby" with the internet. | | | | quicker and better transaction. |
| It turns out that there are car dealerships which | | | | Everything is online. Is your business up to the |
| only sell and service Corvettes. One is called | | | | challenge? |
| Corvette Mike's; see my blog entry called "Niche | | | | |