Yes, I asked the forbidden question. Why do you actually go shopping at your local dealers? Maybe you don't but the amount of people who do would amaze you. You all know the drill. This is supposed to be the second largest investment purchase of your life. Yet so many people show up at car lots with barely a clue as to why they are there.
I'm not speaking of the proverbial tire kickers either. I used to be a proud member of that group and while I visited dealers often, I rarely had any intention of buying. I just like cars and I just like to be around them, especially the ones that I'm in no danger of buying in the immediate future. So I once was the guy my fellow salespeople absolutely despise. I tried not to take up anyone's time but when your a salesperson you rarely can afford the chance to take someone at their word and the "I'm just looking" phrase has had entire books written about it by sales trainers that teach us "I'm just looking" really means "I'm just looking unless you actually can sell me something right now." Of course I didn't know any of that when I was a mere civilian so I religiously used the "I'm just looking" excuse every time someone greeted me at the dealer.
Back to the task at hand; I'm addressing those of you who apparently wake up on any given day and just randomly decide that day is as good as any to go sign up for twenty or thirty grand of debt. You arrive at the dealer and allow yourselves to be led around the lot, truly not knowing what your looking for (even though your salesperson thinks your just being a tough customer) until eventually your salesperson convinces you to at least drive something. Usually at this point you finally exhibit qualities that assures the salesperson you are not the walking dead and you begin to do one of two things. If it's the salesperson's lucky day, you decide the vehicle your driving is acceptable and within an hour or so you'll be driving it home. Rare is the salesperson's lucky day however.
No, typically in the above situation you suddenly morph into the world's wisest automotive critic and you proceed to prove to all those in earshot that it is possible to have just enough information to be dangerous. Keep in mind when your shopping for your vehicle that even the greenest of salespeople have more experience at this than you do. If the average guy talks to ten people a week and five of them test drive and three of them buy, in two weeks he's completed six transactions which is something your not likely to do over the course of ten years. Unless you read this blog you don't know this so you proceed to talk and say things that you must think make salesperson believe you know what your about. At this point, most salespeople will intelligently sit back and let you talk. Then they will repeat whatever you just spewed out back to you and just like that you two have bonded. Better than that, you now believe your salesperson thinks you are an intelligent human being and you feel complimented by him or her.
Because of this bonding and of course because you have exhibited that you are an automotive expert who knows what you want, your salesperson will agree with your rejection of the first vehicle you drove and move up to the next best thing. This process will continue until you express your satisfaction. Once satisfied you will begin to negotiate your price and terms and assuming all is well you will purchase a car. Unfortunately, perhaps as early as the next morning and no later than the time you leave work, you will more than likely be kicking yourself for doing so. I'm not sure why this happens, but almost immediately after buying, you will do all of the research you should have done before shopping. And you will invariably come to the conclusion that you got ripped off and that your salesperson is really some sort of criminal mastermind disguised as a legitimate human being. You will also attempt to get out of your deal and your success in this will be largely determined by how you handle things on your end. At the end of the day, for no other reason than your lack of preparation, you will join the ranks of those people who would rather have a root canal than visit a car dealer.
Folks, you owe it to yourselves to at least do a little research before venturing out into the big, bad world of dealers. You'll come away much more satisfied with your experience and your salesperson will respect you a whole lot more too. Not one of us ever wants to get the "morning after" call from the irate customer who really is only mad at themselves for not doing their homework first. As salespeople, our lives are much simpler and it is much easier to build our client base if our customers are satisfied. I strive for this every day but satisfaction is one of those subjective things that starts with you. If your determined to brazenly visit one dealer without so much as even reading the ads in the Sunday paper you are almost assuring yourself of walking away unhappy. You'll be the poor tortured soul who finds the same car the very next day that appears nicer, has less mileage, and is cheaper than the one you bought today.
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