In South Jersey, Auto Shoppers Have A New Option: The Mall
By Mike DeNardo and Cleve Bryan
CHERRY HILL, N.J. (CBS) -- Auto shoppers who want to avoid going from dealer to dealer for test drives have a new option.
In the parking lot of the Cherry Hill Mall, the car-marketing startup firm called GoMoto has about 30 Fords, Volkswagens, Chevys, and other makes available for test drives, away from the pressure of a dealer.
"You can do all the research you want online, but you can't sit in the car and feel the ergononics of the car," notes GoMoto cofounder Marc Rubino (below).
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Inside the mall is a touch-screen kiosk with car info.
GoMoto doesn't sell the cars or negotiate prices; it refers potential car buyers to dealers, who pay $1,000 to $3,000 a month to have their cars displayed at the mall.
"All dealers ask me what's new, and after awhile, there's just nothing new -- it's all online and we wanted to take that and bring it back offline to the physical business that it is," explains Rubino.
Customers seem to agree.
"It's nice. Everything is in one place, I don't have to travel from dealership to dealership," says Kevin Parrott.
"I think it's great. It's convenient that it's in the mall, because everybody's in the mall -- you don't have to go to separate dealerships and they're all right here," says shopper McKenzie Chapman.
Rubino says GoMoto is doing so well that he expects to renew the firm's three-month lease at Cherry Hill. And he says other malls are expressing interest.
