So you want to buy a car

So you want to buy a car.

Maybe today is the day. You’ve finally reached that point. Maybe it’s a problem with your current trip. Perhaps there is a new addition (driver/member) to your family. Or maybe it’s time for a change. Whatever your reason, you are about to embark on a process that most people compare to dental work or a colonoscopy! But does it really have to be that bad?

As a long-term member of America’s second most hated group of professionals, ranked behind lawyers in most informal polls, the car salesman is perhaps the most untrusted and underappreciated person in America today! We are all lifelong members of the Villains, Thieves and Scoundrels Union, Local 3 (thanks to those of you who got the Rocky & Bullwinkle reference). We would lie to our mothers for a sale, and nothing we say or do can be taken at face value. We will lie, cheat and steal to make a commission, so you better leave your wallet at home and prepare for war.

According to a recent study by Cox Automotive (by the way, they own Manheim, the auto auction where most dealers get their used cars, as well as some of the best-known consumer websites, including Dealer.com, Autotrader, Kelly Blue Book ) 61% of consumers do not feel that the shopping experience has improved! While many consumers begin their vehicle buying journey online, most end up at a dealership to complete their purchase. Truthfully, I’ve bought a car in my life entirely online, and the experience, while saving me time and money, turned out to be slower when the vehicle I bought (a convertible) showed up and didn’t work properly (the top didn’t it worked). It took me 3 months to settle an $800 repair bill and I vowed never to do it again.

So how can you improve your car buying experience?

Well, first, don’t expect to commit Grand Theft Auto. No dealer is willing to lose money to win your business, so if you expect them to, prepare for disappointment. Dealers and managers spend hours researching the prices of their units and realize that an unrealistic price will not attract attention. Dealers tend to promote their vehicles as being the lowest priced or lowest priced on the market. At my dealership, we typically have the lowest price for a unit within a 200 mile radius and in some cases the entire United States. Expecting to get thousands of dollars off an advertised price is unrealistic and sometimes downright insulting. We know the value of our inventory and making a ridiculously low offer on a vehicle could cause you to insult the very person who bought it from the dealer in the first place!

Expect a dealer to make a profit on the goods and services. Whatever you do for a living, you wouldn’t do it if you couldn’t make money doing it. Keep in mind that a typical dealership has multiple people involved in the sale of your new vehicle, from the doorman who got it out of the truck, to the mechanic who fixed it, to the detailer who cleaned it, to the sales rep who showed it to you, to the manager The sales manager who got you the right price, the business manager who filled out the paperwork, the billing clerk who processes the paperwork, the title clerk who handles your registration and DMV work, and I’m sure I forgot about someone on this list. So, you see, it’s much more complicated than you think. That’s why dealers need to make a profit on a sale.

What about all those Internet experts “exposing” the secret money-making schemes traffickers use to “rob” you? Most are people who tried and couldn’t succeed in selling cars, or any sales for that matter. Where I once described sales as “the art of getting money out of another man’s pocket without resorting to violence,” I realized that sales is really about providing information and knowledge to people in order to earn their trust, respect, and Ultimately, your business. . My job is to provide you with information and options to help you make the best decision you can, and if I do my job correctly, you are my customer for life, as well as my friend. Are there customers I didn’t like but still sold them a vehicle? Absolutely! What about the ones I really liked but didn’t sell? I still hear from many of them over the years, and some have even followed me from dealer to dealer throughout my career.