While online shopping has shifted the balance of power from seller to buyer, car dealers have embraced the Internet. Several third-party Web sites, those not affiliated with the manufacturers or dealers, provide shoppers with the dealer invoice, or the wholesale price, on each car. In 1997, just 47 percent of automobile dealerships had Web sites, according to the National Automobile Dealers Association. In 2006, 95.4 percent of dealers had Web sites. Slightly more than half the dealers surveyed last year had dedicated Internet sales staff.
The Internet has helped the folks selling the cars as well as those buying.
