No-Dicker Sticker May Be On Way Out

No-haggle car pricing, once hailed as the wave of the future in the auto industry, may be losing its popularity, dealers and industry experts say.

A new survey released at the National Automobile Dealers Association convention last week shows that more Americans prefer to negotiate vehicle prices than two years ago.

The survey, conducted last month by Dohring Co., a California market research firm, found that nearly 61 percent of buyers liked to haggle over price when they bought a vehicle, up from 53 percent in a 1993 survey.

And only 24 percent of respondents in the 1995 survey said they did not like haggling, down from 34 percent in the 1993 survey.

The survey also indicated that nearly two-thirds of consumers believe prices for new cars have risen so high that they will consider buying used cars the next time around.

"Over and over, the majority of consumers we have interviewed have told us that they want to do - and will do - whatever is necessary to get the best possible deal on a new vehicle," said chairman Doug Dohring. "That usually means negotiating the vehicle's final selling price."

No-haggle selling, which was started by Saturn at the start of the decade and started to spread, still appeals to about 30 percent of buyers, Dohring said. But nearly nine of 10 respondents in the latest survey said they would get a price quote from a no-haggle dealership and then use it as a negotiating tool to pry a lower price from a traditional dealer.

OLDS ONLINE: ORDER YOUR NEW CAR VIA COMPUTER

This is not your father's way of ordering cars - and that's why Oldsmobile wants to try it.

The automaker says it will be ready next year to let PC users order cars online.

Other carmakers put information online and brochures on computer disks. But none lets shoppers avoid the showroom.

Olds General Manager John Rock says he's aiming to capture Twenty- and Thirtysomething buyers.

Olds hasn't picked an online service, and there are legal bugs to work out before it can test the program.

Rock's cyberspace showroom will carry only one-price cars, packaged with popular options like air conditioning and power steering, and sold by dealers for the same sticker price. That eliminates haggling.

Once they've picked a car, buyers will:

-- Send Oldsmobile a deposit, probably $1,000.

-- Receive written confirmation and the name of a local dealer who has the car.

-- Be assigned a sales person to finish up paperwork and handle a used-car trade-in.

- Seattle Times news services