I actually fairly enjoyed the buying process - it was a challenge to me.
As a customer, first I wanted to be educated. This meant doing my own homework (consumer reports, websites, price searches).
Then I wanted to see the car, have a sales person go through all the features throughly, test drive.
Then once I knew exactly what I wanted I started bargain hunting. I talked with every dealer within about 50 miles. I made offers (very low) but really I wanted to see counter offers. Some dealers wouldn't even give me a counter offer. Some were very high - these dealers didn't get anymore opportunities to negotiate with me.
The few dealers that made reasonable offers, communicated with me for about a week or two - some via email (my preferred way of communicating) , some called.
As a customer , price was bottom line. And it's not a personal thing - the customer is trying to get the best deal they can and we know full well that the dealer is trying to do the same. The goal is to come up with a deal that everyone is fairly happy with.
I almost bought from my local dealer who had spent a lot of time showing the car. He made an offer over the phone, I went and looked at the car again and said, yes to the offer. Then we sit down to do paper work and he (with his "management" ) tries to jerk me around - "oh, we can't sell you THAT car for that price WE OFFERED...we'll have to order one" .....no thanks.
So, I say, fine order one but I'm not putting any money down (actually I offered to if they were willing to type up and sign an agreement saying they promised exactly what I wanted, for the price agreed on AND if they didn't produce a car within 20 days , I would get the "hold" money back...they wouldn't sign that so I wouldn't leave the credit card. And my advice for anyone is to NEVER give any cash up front for a car that doesn't exist (ie., isn't on the lot and ready to go).
Any, few days later dealer decides to sell me THAT car for the price he orginally quoted. and i'm ok with that but another dealer is wooing me now, and they end up undercutting the "jerk me around dealer" by $500.00 plus they throw in extras. AND they are nice - always polite, never rude and I can't say that about the first dealer mentioned.
Moral, if the first dealer had stayed informative, POLITE, negotiated in good faith (if you offer a drive out price, honor it) and stayed in good communication with me , I would have bought from them. The sales person tried the "pressure the buyer" method and was rude and I'll walk out on that in a heartbeat.
These traits were offered by another dealer 30 miles from my home so I went with dealer B.
AND, Dealer B stays in touch (asks how the car is doing, reminds me of services, sends coupons, AND asks for referrals) I appreciate his emails and If I know of someone in the market, I'll send them his way, AND it is very nice to know that if I have a problem with my car, he will help me with the service dept. And when I need another car, after I've done my homework, I'll give him a shot at that business too.
Bottom line: be informative, when asked a question answer it fully and honestly, don't play games, always be polite, and when you can feel that the customer is ready to buy - don't be shy about remaining in contact and negotiating agressively to beat out the other dealers. (the dealer that won my business knew I was about to purchase from another dealer and he called me about 7 times in one afternoon - finally making an offer I couldn't refuse, all the while remaining very friendly, polite and curteous.)
Sorry to have rambled, but I hope something in this is helpful.
Oh, and remember too that when you meet someone and they say "oh , we are just looking, I don't plan to buy for another year or so" - stay in touch with them anyway, I said this to one toyota salesman and ended up buying less than two months later. You never know.
As a customer, first I wanted to be educated. This meant doing my own homework (consumer reports, websites, price searches).
Then I wanted to see the car, have a sales person go through all the features throughly, test drive.
Then once I knew exactly what I wanted I started bargain hunting. I talked with every dealer within about 50 miles. I made offers (very low) but really I wanted to see counter offers. Some dealers wouldn't even give me a counter offer. Some were very high - these dealers didn't get anymore opportunities to negotiate with me.
The few dealers that made reasonable offers, communicated with me for about a week or two - some via email (my preferred way of communicating) , some called.
As a customer , price was bottom line. And it's not a personal thing - the customer is trying to get the best deal they can and we know full well that the dealer is trying to do the same. The goal is to come up with a deal that everyone is fairly happy with.
I almost bought from my local dealer who had spent a lot of time showing the car. He made an offer over the phone, I went and looked at the car again and said, yes to the offer. Then we sit down to do paper work and he (with his "management" ) tries to jerk me around - "oh, we can't sell you THAT car for that price WE OFFERED...we'll have to order one" .....no thanks.
So, I say, fine order one but I'm not putting any money down (actually I offered to if they were willing to type up and sign an agreement saying they promised exactly what I wanted, for the price agreed on AND if they didn't produce a car within 20 days , I would get the "hold" money back...they wouldn't sign that so I wouldn't leave the credit card. And my advice for anyone is to NEVER give any cash up front for a car that doesn't exist (ie., isn't on the lot and ready to go).
Any, few days later dealer decides to sell me THAT car for the price he orginally quoted. and i'm ok with that but another dealer is wooing me now, and they end up undercutting the "jerk me around dealer" by $500.00 plus they throw in extras. AND they are nice - always polite, never rude and I can't say that about the first dealer mentioned.
Moral, if the first dealer had stayed informative, POLITE, negotiated in good faith (if you offer a drive out price, honor it) and stayed in good communication with me , I would have bought from them. The sales person tried the "pressure the buyer" method and was rude and I'll walk out on that in a heartbeat.
These traits were offered by another dealer 30 miles from my home so I went with dealer B.
AND, Dealer B stays in touch (asks how the car is doing, reminds me of services, sends coupons, AND asks for referrals) I appreciate his emails and If I know of someone in the market, I'll send them his way, AND it is very nice to know that if I have a problem with my car, he will help me with the service dept. And when I need another car, after I've done my homework, I'll give him a shot at that business too.
Bottom line: be informative, when asked a question answer it fully and honestly, don't play games, always be polite, and when you can feel that the customer is ready to buy - don't be shy about remaining in contact and negotiating agressively to beat out the other dealers. (the dealer that won my business knew I was about to purchase from another dealer and he called me about 7 times in one afternoon - finally making an offer I couldn't refuse, all the while remaining very friendly, polite and curteous.)
Sorry to have rambled, but I hope something in this is helpful.
Oh, and remember too that when you meet someone and they say "oh , we are just looking, I don't plan to buy for another year or so" - stay in touch with them anyway, I said this to one toyota salesman and ended up buying less than two months later. You never know.