Nelms Auto Web Site Going Interactive

Nelms Auto Stores Inc.
Fayetteville
www.nelmsauto.com

Given all the hoopla this year surrounding Nelms Auto Stores Inc. moving its seven dealerships into its mega-auto mall beside the Fulbright Expressway, we expected nothing short of a life-altering experience at its Web site.

Nah. In fact, one of our reviewers actually yawned.

The good news, and the reason we’re inclined to believe Nelms can expect Internet-related revenue growth in the future, is that the site will soon become interactive.

Customers may already click through www.nelmsauto.com to a General Motors site for price quotes on vehicles. We found a 2001 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 with a long truck bed and four-wheel-drive for $32,815.

But customers cannot yet buy vehicles over the Internet directly from one of Nelms’ seven dealerships. Why not? If they have a credit card, good credit and know what model and specifications they want, then home delivery for cars ought to be as easy as it is for pizza.

Nelms prides itself for a one-price, no-haggle approach. If there’s no haggling to be done, then why would anyone need to go to the auto park? The answer is the same one troubling many e-tailers — customers still want to “squeeze the Charmin.”

Nelms is, at least for now, wise to keep its sales strategy grounded in hands-on interaction in the brick-and-mortar world. In the future, however, car buyers will expect everything from virtual test drives to the completion of insurance and financing online.

Nelms’ technicians tell us the first phase of interactivity will come in December and include a complete used-car inventory list with pictures. Despite the difficulty keeping such a page up to date, since Nelms’ often sells as many as 150 used cars a month, our reviewers believe this is an added value for customers.

The in-house designed and maintained site was created in 1999 and underwent its only upgrade late this summer. Nelms’ techs said it was their decision to provide links to what they felt are “the best sites to find accurate availability and pricing information,” rather than the company taking that on itself. But more ambitious projects are in the works.

One of our most critical reviewers described the site as “simple, clean and straightforward to the point of being boring.” The fonts are gray, and there is little to keep surfers’ attention.

And despite the fact that there’s a link to “Internet specials,” we found no such sales.

The best thing about the site is that Nelms’ techs were very responsive to e-mail inquiries, and they seemed to be genuinely excited about how www.nelmsauto.com will look down the road.

This is a good place to start shopping for a car. You just can’t finish the deal here quite yet.