Super

Everyone has a story about buying a car. Whether it was the first or 15th, it’s probably an experience that will never be forgotten. When my father was recently looking to replace his car, I tagged along and watched the process he went through, and learned a lot. We really relied on the dealership staff to steer us toward the right product – one that truly met our needs. Just because we had a personal relationship with the particular dealer we visited did not mean we didn’t go through “a process.” Things such as new versus used, reliability, manufacturer rebates, warranties, financing, etc., all came into play in arriving at a final decision. And even with the benefit of having a dealer relationship available to us, it didn’t stop our family from looking around at other dealerships and options on the market. I remember one particular instance where my father visited a competitor’s dealership and asked the dealer’s salesman a number of questions, and was very interested in what the gentleman had to say. At the end he disclosed that we are from a family of dealers. The salesman smiled and asked why we would shop “outside the family.” After my father explained it was part of his car-shopping and information-gathering process, the salesman gave us the “lowdown,” sharing information about what he believed to be key to any purchase. He even offered some pricing guidelines. I suspect that he knew my father could easily reach out to another car-selling professional and find out the true value of the car we viewed. For people not related to dealership owners, the range of car-buying experiences is as varied as cars on the market. While I have heard multiple instances of successful car-buying experiences, I also have heard of horror stories. But the rise of modern technology and the availability of information on the Internet have helped to educate car buyers. Most shoppers are now doing extensive research before shopping for an automobile.