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What can dealers do to make car buying better?

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    • #38222
      Rob
      Participant

      I hear complaints on forums often that the dealer is the worst part of the car buying experience. Besides “Free Car Day”, what improvements do you see that can be made?

    • #38680
      RjION
      Participant

      Saturnize sales and service. I bought a number of Saturns, the sales and service dept worked for the customer. When I wanted to buy a Solstice two Pontiac dealers made me walk away. I bought my Solstice used from a Saturn store when it was traded in on a SKY.

    • #38683
      wbodyfan
      Participant

      I bought my Camaro on TrueCar/ZAG and was guaranteed a price that was invoice minus holdback. I’ve bought more than 10 cars in my life already, most of the without the internet. I know I was screwed over those times but not when ZAG got involved. Why do I have to go to a third party to give me all the details? Why can’t the dealer lay it out in front of me in a simple fashion: heres the MSRP, here’s invoice, here’s how much we’re making on the deal. I’m all for a profitable relationship, but not when I’m getting owned.

      As Cartman would say, “I like to get wined and dined before I get fu&3ed.” Same here. Just give me the info straight up instead of the wining and dining.

    • #38732
      aza993a
      Participant

      My in-laws recanted the contrast in GM and Toyota service departments. They’re fellow GM enthusiasts but wound up with a Camry gifted to them by an employer. A number of complaints by friends with bad GM shopping experiences were brought up as well.

      I read that back when Ford started to try to make a come back, their Chief Exec drove a different foreign car every day to find out what the competition had in which they were lacking. In my opinion, the same still applies. GM does not have to start from scratch, they’re a number of examples they could learn from if they sought to provide a better shopping and service experience. Just pose as a customer and go down to your local competitor’s dealership and compare.

    • #38735
      Rob
      Participant

      Be assured that at Wally Edgar at least we do shop the other dealers, and we’ve improved where we could on them.

    • #38761
      vivianaL
      Participant

      Regarding car dealers, let me share my personal experience with you. I wanted an auto that was easy to drive. I wanted an SUV too. I was still hoping to have a lot of room in the vehicle. That was when I found the Chevrolet Equinox. This SUV is large enough to fit anything I need and small enough to have simple driving. The car is good for everyday driving and backpacking trips. I recommend individuals use [link-baiting link omitted] to find a Chevy Equinox near them.

    • #38768
      RjION
      Participant

      “What can dealers do to make car buying better?”

      Is the subject of the post, not where to find a car.

    • #38912
      intrimazz
      Participant

      As I recently told a Chevy Manager: “If I am ever lonely in the future and need to talk to someone I will be sure to fill out a free quote form for a new car.”

      I have gotten repeat emails, some every other day, unsolicited text messages, and my voicemail filled up to cap 3 times in the last 2 weeks since I filled out 5 free quotes on various makes and models for 2012.

      After the first week I stopped answering my phone. I will respond to emails, tho. However, upon being truthful about my situation on why I needed a new car (my wonderful 2005 Pontiac Vibe was a victim of a Hit n Run while parked in front of the house one quiet night 2 weeks before Christmas) – I was told by a salesperson in reply, “You’re funny.”

      Um…what?

      Look, it is simple really. I want to be treated like the intelligent, kind, sincere, over 35 yrs of age adult that I am with extensive life experiences and not like a walking bank account nor a clueless simpleton.

      Don’t send me the youngest, good-looking salesperson that could be my kid just because I am a woman to be flattered or because I walk in with my husband and it might spur some parental urges. That backfires on me. I get just as conniving, manipulative and begin to lie thru my teeth. Equally offensive is when I am actually treated well by a salesperson throughout my questions and the test-drive, only to have someone else swoop down with a blank sheet of paper and a marker and starts writing down numbers in a flourish when it comes time for the financial discussion.

      You know what would impress me? When I ask, “How much is the car?” and I am told out right. I have yet to encounter this. Answering my question with the question, “Will you be financing or leasing?” is a sure-fire way to make me want to walk out the door. The price of the vehicle is not and should not be tied to how I will be paying for it. But I stay because I want to test-drive these overpriced PlaySkool inspired automobiles that seem to grace the lots these days. When I ask for a higher model to test-drive and there is none available, don’t tell me to test the base model because, and I quote, “It is the same car anyway.”

      If that is true, then sell it to me at the same price.

      The dealers need to re-assess how they train their sales people. Buying a new item, as we all know, is most often a fun exciting venture – has almost a Christmas feel to it. Car salespeople have drained that experience completely out of buying a new car.

    • #38915
      wbodyfan
      Participant

      @intrimazz Couldn’t have put it better myself. It’s the same way when guys are given female salespeople… as if that will have some kind of effect on the vehicle I buy or the amount of negotiating I do.

      I sometimes wonder if eventually independent dealers will go away and make room for manufacturer-owned dealers.

    • #39534
      chevtothemax
      Participant

      I am suprised at all of this, I know dealers are conniving snakes sometimes but all the ones I’ve encountered have been nice. If we ask to drive a top of the line car we can just as long as we convince the salesperson that we might buy it. They still just want a sale but they know that they need to be nice about it in order to get it. thats just my experiance which isn’t very significant but still enough.

    • #39536
      Vic1212
      Participant

      Make customers feel special. When customers come in to see a vehicle, don’t just sitting there like you didnt see customers are there. When customers come in, you go out and help them. If they don’t need the help just kinda leave them alone. If they do they will just ask. And always be nice

      • #638656
        toprentaljogja
        Participant

        I was still hoping to have a lot of room in the vehicle. That was when I found the Chevrolet Equinox. This SUV is large enough to fit anything I need and small enough to have simple driving.

    • #40234
      coloeb
      Participant

      Strive to be the very best dealership. Take pride in your product and honor your obligations in reguards to warrany work and problem resolution. Making a customer feel you have their best intrest in mind is not too hard to do, after all repeat business and word of mouth go a lot farther in growing your business.
      Train your staff, from the detailer to the parts guy, the mechanic to the finance officers.and last but not least adopt a no haggle price structure that everyone can live with. You dont see me trying to haggle with the baker over a loaf of bread!
      In todays world we all know the ways dealerships generate more profit with add ons and number manipulation. Thats a pretty weak approach and one that will lose this customer forever.
      I guess the bottom line is …. Just be smart enough to sell cars.

    • #40237
      Dinkus_McG
      Participant

      “What can dealers do to make car buying better?”

      Easy, quit ripping people off and give a great service.

      That is not going to happen and that is why we still hating car shopping.

    • #40239
      Vic1212
      Participant

      and also make your salesman understand about the cars that they sell…. I went to my dealer where i bought the terrain and then I think it was one of those GM people that goes to dealers to help them understand the cars and not a lot of salesman there knows what or how DIC, parking aid, or Anti-lock brakes system work.

    • #40257
      RjION
      Participant

      It is funny how little sales people know about what they sell.

    • #40267
      Z15
      Participant

      How very true.

      I often know more than the salesman. Case in point my 2012 Denali. One salesman said they do not make them in the color I wanted (gray) and when I pointed out to him it was a new color available 1/1/12 he insinuated I was full of bs but the joke is on him because have one and all it took was to go on the locator and pick it from a dealers inventory. Then they got the balls to run ads on the radio saying, don’t go 100 miles away to buy you next car or truck, we are a full service dealer who can get you anything you want”. Baloney.

      Maybe the states need to license and regulate dealer salesman?

    • #40270
      Vic1212
      Participant

      i really think that they should just hire car guys for salesperson.

    • #40275
      Alex Luft
      Keymaster

      @vic1212 That’s an interesting proposition. Ironically, many car sales people in the industry who are not car fans call themselves “car guys”, even though they’re as far from an enthusiast as it gets. But outside of that, it’s just really difficult to find good people who truly love and care for the product they sell in the auto retail industry in general.

    • #40283
      Vic1212
      Participant

      exactly!!

    • #40284
      Z15
      Participant

      They got to produce or hit the road, Jack.

      This last week I been helping a friend find a new SRX. She wanted to test ride a SRX, so I went with her. She is a business person and can tell when she is being BS’d. We went into one dealer and I was following her about 10 ft back as she headed for the car in the showroom. A salesman smilled at her, said hi and came up and introduced himself to me and offered to help. I said, she is the one who is looking for a SUV. Even while he was showing her the car he kept talking to me like I was the one writing the check. These salesman treat women differently. She had the $$ to buy the car too and the salesman dissed her. Now she is not so sure she wants another cadi (has 09 CTS) because they are close and she would have to go there for service even if you got it somewhere else.

    • #40285
      Vic1212
      Participant

      @Z15 that’s another thing about salesman! Another thing I want to add is that there are some salesman that gets “too detailed” about the car. I mean if it’s a woman buying a car I don’t think they want to hear too detailed stuff like performance wise.

    • #638146
      Actoluesce
      Participant

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    • #638276
      01gydailey
      Participant

      One thing some car dealers can do better is to be more attentive to their customers and do not ignore them. I recently showed up on a GMC dealers lot with my checkbook in hand and the $83k vehicle I wanted selected, only to be ignored. I had to conduct a search to find a salesman. I walked into the showroom and asked if they were open for business. I felt like I was intruding or interrupting their latte break and I was the only customer on the lot at the time. It didn’t start out a very pleasant experience.

      I should have walked away. I know lots of dealers that would have loved my business but this was the only one that had the exact vehicle I wanted.

    • #638968
      Anonymous
      Inactive

      It is hard to sell new and used cars nowadays because of the pandemic. I feel like only rich people can get the latest model. I don’t plan on getting a new car since the old still works and maintaining them is not that expensive.

    • #659986
      neilisme
      Participant

      I had an experience where a the salesmen that worked with me for my purchase, refused to talk to me after the sale. this is after a very good experience overall. I was shocked! i only called once to ask a quick question and he told me bluntly, dont call me anymore, you exasperate me, and promptly hung up! i guess they dont have time for you after the sale. it was a very low brow, rude tactic. I wont buy from them again. I havent experienced service there yet, I dont have high hopes….

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