South Carolina Bill Introduced - Email to Reservation Holders

[codythacker]

Today, South Carolina reservation holders received an email from me on SC House Bill 3777 (link), a proposal to allow direct sales in the state for auto manufacturers that do not have franchised dealers.

We're pleased to see the bill and think it's a positive development. South Carolina citizens--and anyone else who plans to take advantage of factory deliveries, tours, and experiences--deserves the freedom to buy and service directly from Scout Motors.

The call to action from the email, a letter to state legislative leaders, is here.

For those who didn't receive the email, I've included a copy below.

 

[chucchinchilla]

Man I'd love to take delivery in SC, however driving 2600mi back to CA would be a challenge.

 

[codythacker]

Man I'd love to take delivery in SC, however driving 2600mi back to CA would be a challenge.

Would be an epic adventure!

 

[Logan]

This is a great move, I wish you luck (I'm not a SC Scout, although I lived in NC for a few years as a child).

And I hope this gets the ball rolling for more states to drop their dealership requirements. Everyone. Hates. Dealerships.

Man I'd love to take delivery in SC, however driving 2600mi back to CA would be a challenge.

I'm just over 2900 miles away from Blythewood SC. Despite doing a couple of cross country road trips in the past (NC-CA), it is much cheaper/faster to have Scout ship it across the country to me .

 

[Derek]

This is a great move, I wish you luck (I'm not a SC Scout, although I lived in NC for a few years as a child).

And I hope this gets the ball rolling for more states to drop their dealership requirements. Everyone. Hates. Dealerships.


I'm just over 2900 miles away from Blythewood SC. Despite doing a couple of cross country road trips in the past (NC-CA), it is much cheaper/faster to have Scout ship it across the country to me .

Same here. It'd be tempting to take deliver and drive it back to WA state, and I think I would for a big press event if I was one of the first off the line, but otherwise, I'd ask for it to be delivered somewhat nearby me.

 

[Mousehunter]

Funny, but sad. We don't allow direct sales in Texas either. IIRC Tesla has to ship vehicles made in Austin out of state, so they can be sold and delivered to Texas customers (including those in Austin)...

While I understand kind of why the law was created - it no longer serves its purpose. Manufacturers have found work arounds for direct marketing, and any consumer protection against manufacturers locking out 3rd party repair and service have largely been defeated (although that has gotten so bad there is a decent amount of legislative push back).
---
I do find it kind of funny, when a state and community actively invite a company in, then try to take a hard swing against their marketing model. This is a national issue for Scout - as even sales to out of state customers are being limited since they can not actually take delivery of them in SC. In all fairness, this surprises me and I honestly expect there is a work around for this. I know I used one less than 2 months ago for a new boat. I drove to the manufacturer to take delivery to avoid about $5k in shipping. Shipping even relatively small boats is expensive when you are just shipping 1. But there were plenty of hoops to jump through to avoid paying boat registration taxes in 2 states.

 

[chucchinchilla]

Would be an epic adventure!

One of the reasons I'm interested in a Scout is the ability to do road trips with the family so starting the journey with a road trip across the country would definitely be a great way to kick it off, especially if a factory tour/cool experience center is what we're starting with.

 

[Slim]

Today, South Carolina reservation holders received an email from me on SC House Bill 3777 (link), a proposal to allow direct sales in the state for auto manufacturers that do not have franchised dealers.

We're pleased to see the bill and think it's a positive development. South Carolina citizens--and anyone else who plans to take advantage of factory deliveries, tours, and experiences--deserves the freedom to buy and service directly from Scout Motors.

The call to action from the email, a letter to state legislative leaders, is here.

For those who didn't receive the email, I've included a copy below.

View attachment 4835

I emailed my representatives to support this bill. Thanks for the email and for making it easy.