God, I hate car dealers...
I had a Chinese motorcycle, 15 years ago.
Purchased, essentially, without a dealer. This was before Amazon was the drop-ship emporium - I bought it from a used-motorcycle mega-store that was trying to break into new sales. This company, Xingyue, was the first to sign on with a franchise.
Which didn't last, thanks to Xingyue's being completely hosed-up. They gave the franchise BACK - in no small part due to their experiences with my warranty.
Camshaft drive chain. It slipped several teeth at 2000 miles, and the engine needed a teardown. And they were SIX MONTHS of deliberate stalling, for parts. Finally they fixed it - I think they just used what similar parts they could find (engine was a Yamaha clone) and put it in to get it, and me, gone.
Point I'm making is, without support from the automaker AND RETAIL AGENT, a buyer is taking a YUUGE risk. ESPECIALLY with all this gee-whiz crap and the computerization of everything.
That doesn't excuse the dealers in this. The same people (such as Stellantis) who make really-crappy cars, have really-crappy dealers. They do not police their ranks.
These dealers, as above, need to be shut down, sued out of existence. But...with all the Jeeps and Rams that have electronics going wonky, all the GM and Chevy trucks with engines going out at 40k miles...how is NOT having a retail agent with a shop, going to help?
Another Memory-Lane story. Of my mother, who bought a 1990s Toyota Camry.
It was her first experience with the brand. She didn't know what to expect. The local dealer that gave her the best price, Spitzer, was an early mega-dealer that had been in court a lot. Okay, well, Toyotas are reliable, she thought. I shouldn't be seeing them.
Well, long story short, she had a failure - starter and flywheel ring gear. Not having a mechanic that worked on these new metric cars, she had it towed to the dealer.
And was shocked. The same dealer, sued in class action for fraudulent repairs, fake invoice prices, altered purchase orders in their Ford stores...suddenly were tripping over themselves to make this car right. Hidden-warranty repair, free to the customer. Done quickly.
That made my mother a lifetime customer; but it ALSO shows, how much the auto company can control the retail franchisee. Toyota, at this time, I later learned, had put down standards of customer treatment - and promised that any agency not abiding, would lose its franchise.
So. Fraudulent dealer actions? BLAME THE AUTOMAKER. This, "they're just agents, we don't control them" crap doesn't wash. And allowing Internet couch-purchases, won't solve the problems - ESPECIALLY surrounding garbage product.