>I don't understand, though, why there is this idea that direct sales would result in a better deal.

Middle-men are expensive. Using them, a few people will get better deals and a lot of people will get screwed.

Direct sales are better because the incentives are different. A bullshitting salesman who doesn't care about the truth can still make a big pile of money because there are a lot of car buyers out there, and for every customer he screws over, a new victim will walk in the door who doesn't know him from Adam.

Further, people understand that car dealers are independent entities, and that car salesmen are relatively independent actors within them. So if you get screwed over buying a car, you'll think "I'm never going back to Bob the salesman again" which he couldn't care less about because you're probably not buying another car for years, and he has plenty of fresh meat to feast on. At worst you'll think "I'm never going back to Steve's Honest Honda Sales again" which is a bit of a hit to Steve (assuming you tell your friends) but not a big deal.

If you bought directly from Honda they have a much greater interest in making your experience a good one. They want you to come back to them for your next car in five or ten years. They want you to recommend Honda to your friends and family. Even if those friends and family are in another city or even another country, your recommendation directly affects Honda's bottom line.

This won't eliminate scumbaggery, obviously. But it's bound to improve things.

>>I don't understand, though, why there is this idea that direct sales would result in a better deal.

If direct sales were possible, dealerships would have to offer better prices or go out of business. If I could order a Honda Civic from honda.com directly for $20k, that gives me a good base bargaining position in the dealership. As it is we have the nebulous concept of the MSRP, which isn't very helpful.