10 things you should consider before setting foot in a dealership!

Are you thinking about buying another vehicle?

If you’re like most people you probably haven’t been through the car buying process in a while, and the thought of it kind of makes you feel a little uneasy, but vehicle shopping has changed. Most dealerships are still operating on the same basic rules and processes, but that doesn’t mean you have to.

So here are the 10 things you should consider before setting foot in a dealership!

1. What do you want? Astonishingly with all the technology of today, people still walk into our showroom and when asked what they want they honestly don’t know. When I sit down with a customer my first job after basic introductions like name and contact information is to do what’s called a needs assessment: my job is to naturally through conversation and well-timed questions get the customer to share with me their wants, needs, and desires in a vehicle. I have to take the information a client gives me and distill it down into; what can they afford, how much seating do they need, what kind of vehicle would fit their needs, and are there any features they must have. I can tell you that everyone is different and that's why there is no one size fits all approach, while you might like leather seats and a sunroof, my next customer might be turned off by those very features. Watch youtube videos, look at the manufacturer's website, narrow down your choices to maybe 2-3 vehicles you would like to see in person.
   
2. Trade Value. I know most people think they know what their trade is worth, but I can tell you that is false. As a salesman I still get surprised all the time when I see what certain vehicles are worth, couple that with the fact that markets are constantly changing as well as seasonal for many parts of the county, and people are bound to be off on their trade value. Yes absolutely use third party sites such as KBB, NADA, & Edmunds. But take it with a grain of salt; private party is how much you can expect if you sell the car yourself, trade is what you can expect from most dealers this will always be less because dealers are required in most states to put some effort into their vehicles before they can legally resell them, not only are they factoring repair, parts, and labor but the dealer has to keep in mind how long a particular vehicle will sit around, it costs a lot of money to have those vehicles just sitting on lots.
   
3. Financing options. Yes, most dealers offer to finance, and yes it is more convenient than going yourself to lenders and filling out paperwork multiple times and waiting for an answer. Dealers will push financing through them because we make money from the lenders the more business we send to them, in my state, we are not allowed to make money off the interest rate (meaning whatever the lender gives you we have to provide you with that rate we can say add a 1% higher interest because you financed through us) I’m not saying you should avoid financing at the dealership, however, you should take the time to research your options, because it’s always better to have options.
   
4. Reviews. Now I’m not saying reviews are the end all be all when it comes to making a decision, but it can give you some insight into what others have experienced. Keep in mind a review is just the opinion of another customer. There are reviews for dealers, vehicles, accessories, and even salespeople. Another thing to keep in mind is that people are far more likely to leave a bad review for even just a minor inconvenience, so again take these with a grain of salt, but do inform yourself to what others are saying.
   
5. Price. Oh, not the P-word! Yes everyone wants to know whats the bottom dollar? What's your lowest price? As the consumer, you can find that out before ever setting foot in the door, and no I’m not suggesting you waste some poor salesman's time by requesting pricing from dealers in your area with no intention of buying for six months. Most dealers have websites, while not always great they are a good starting point, manufacturers will tell you exactly what the MSRP (manufacturer's suggested retail price) is for a particular vehicle, KBB and the others I mentioned will tell you the average price for pre-owned vehicles in your area. So the information is out there, and when you are ready to buy yes absolutely ask a salesman to work up numbers for you on a vehicle but remember the reason they will be reluctant to; Most customers are not ready to buy as soon as they get the price, I’ve worked with hundreds of customers who said they just wanted a price, but once they had the information they still would not pull the trigger. It’s not easy for most salespeople to just get the price of a vehicle we have to look at rebates and incentives, pull together lots of information, and usually ask for a manager to put together a proposal for us, that's a big risk because if the customer doesn’t buy we have to face those same managers and explain why they had to do that work for us if we didn’t follow company procedure and “get the customer in the store first”. So yes, by all means, do get a price, but understand when to do so.
   
6. Budget. It sounds simple, but I see so many customers who don’t know what things cost or what they can afford. We are looking for a car because we only have X per month, or we don’t want to finance but we only have X to spend. Here’s what I tell my customers; with good credit, you should be able to finance a vehicle for $200/mo per $10,000 financed; E.G. a $20,000 vehicle should be around $400/mo. Don’t forget to factor in your trade, down payment, taxes, title & licensing fee, and any dealer fee like Doc fees. Also, keep in mind you will need insurance, most states now require drivers to be insured, and just because you are buying a new vehicle doesn’t mean your insurance will go down. Many insurance providers websites will allow you to estimate your monthly payment with different vehicles. You might also want to consider other options like GAP, or extended warranties. One last thing to consider is the length of your loan, most are 60 Months, but it’s becoming more common to go 72, 84, or more months. Not all vehicles are eligible for longer financing if you’re looking at an older vehicle or one with higher miles the lender might not be willing to go long term. There is not a cash discount because it's not in the dealer's interest to have you pay cash, financing like I said does offer some kickback for the dealer so the discount you're talking about is the money you save from financing charges.
   
7. Promotions. Don’t rely on the dealer to tell you about all the promotions currently available; at the time of writing there is an amazon gift card promotion from the manufacturer that less than 30% of my customers are taking advantage of, if they would look into it they would see a little bit of filling out their information and bringing in an offer code would net them a shiny gift card just for test driving a new vehicle. There are plenty of other incentives throughout the year but you need to know what they are and bring your findings with you to the dealer. We had a promotion that no one at our dealership knew about but one customer found it on our website, they printed the information brought it to us and we honored it, but if they hadn’t found that promotion we wouldn’t have even known what the customer was talking about.
   
8. Fine Print. I’m not one to talk bad about others in the industry, they have as much right to make their money as I do, however, there are some practices I feel are underhanded and most consumers are not aware. Advertising laws are different in each state, I live within driving distance of two state lines, these states do not have to abide by my state laws when they advertise their vehicles, sometimes it looks like their vehicles are much lower priced because they can advertise in a way that shows more discounts than any consumer would ever be able to get some discounts are incompatible with each other. Vehicles in my state are required to have a multipoint inspection it’s very consumer-friendly, but bordering states do not require any inspection; this means similar used vehicles can be sold for less in the bordering states because they don’t have to follow the same rules. Extended warranties sometimes have very strict requirements; one common lifetime warranty from another dealer has required scheduled maintenance plans and if the work is not done on time at their dealership your extended lifetime warranty is null and void. So just know that sometimes there is still fine print and it can be the difference between a good deal, and a not so good deal.
   
9. History. This really only applies to pre-owned vehicles but it’s very important. Look at a vehicle's history report to give you clues about the vehicle and how it’s been treated. Does it have any title brands like flood damage, theft, or major accidents? Has it been handed off from owner to owner in a relatively short period of time? What was the vehicle used for? Was it a rental? A fleet vehicle? Many of these things can be determined just by looking over the car facts or vehicle history report. Did you know you can contact the previous owner? Yes, that’s right if the dealer can get consent from them they are allowed to give you their contact information. Many dealers might be reluctant to do so, but you can certainly ask if they could get permission to contact the previous owner.
   
10. Who you're buying from. Most people think of car shopping like buying a pair of shoes, if it fits, meets their expectations, and budget, they bought them without much thought of who sells the shoe. Car’s are a little different animal; when you eventually need service you want your hometown dealer on your side, if you supported your local dealership they are far more likely to treat you better, not that any dealer will treat you poorly because you bought elsewhere (and if they do take your service business elsewhere too) but dealers appreciate customers who return to them. The other consideration is who you buy from, your actual sales person makes all the difference in the world, not only do you want someone who is knowledgeable and professional, you want someone who will take excellent care of you even long after you have made your purchase. When my customers eventually have questions or concerns about their vehicle I am there for them, from schedule service and answering questions, to help them get a loaner when they hit a deer (happens quite a bit where I live) I’m not just a salesman I’m a consultant my customers want to know when they have a problem I’m not just going to abandon them, but that I will support them and do everything I can to make their car ownership that much better.
    
    
    Conclusion. I hope this is helpful; I know buying a car can be an ordeal for some, but if you are prepared and have the right information you can make your experience so much better. I appreciate when customers are educated and all I have to do is make sure they have a great experience. So do yourself a favor, and before you set foot in a dealership; know what you want, what you should pay, and if you’re not being treated like a great customer look for other options. Because everyone deserves a great vehicle buying experience.
    
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