Carsala: Another Bump in the Road of Vehicle Sales

As if vehicle sales weren’t stalled already, now consumers have another tool in their car-buying arsenals: a web site called Carsala.

Carsala offers a number of nifty services, including a Price Checker feature and a team of professional negotiators. With Price Checker, consumers plug in a VIN and the dealer’s price — and a few other identifying factors, like mileage, ZIP code, and color — and the site will rate the sale price on a scale of one to four. Here’s a sample response, based on a 2005 Toyota Sienna query:

“This car is very common in used car inventories. This is based on a search for generally similar cars. We give the dealer’s asking price 1 star out of 4. We think we could get a better price.”

If the salesman won’t budge on the price, consumers can tap the site’s big guns — professional negotiators who will contact an average of 20 dealers to get a better price. They can even arrange for a mechanic to inspect the vehicle, for a fee.

With sites like this one around, vehicle sales are going to be tougher to get done, and margins will continue to shrink.