Posts Tagged ‘vehicle negotiation’
Buying a car is not just about price
Tuesday, July 20th, 2010
Let’s face it: cars are expensive. No matter how you slice it, purchasing a new vehicle requires a significant investment. With that in mind, most people go into the car buying process trying to figure out how they can spend the least amount of money possible on a new vehicle. While this is completely understandable, there may be a better way to go about the process than to focus on money.
When I work with someone I start by asking them what the absolute essentials are for their vehicle. If they have children they will need additional seating, if they tow something a lot they will need an equipped vehicle or if they haul a lot of gear they will need an appropriate amount of space. By starting with the absolute requirements you are able to take your desires out of the equation for a bit and focus on what kind of vehicle you actually need.
Once the requirements have been listed, we take a look at their current vehicle. What are some of the things that they absolutely love about their current vehicle? On the other hand, what do they dislike about their current vehicle? This list will help you immensely when picking out a new vehicle. It takes you away from and empty list of options and allows you to focus on the key features you desire.
With your requirements, key features and absolute no’s in place, you are able to start looking at what kind of vehicle you are looking to purchase. However, instead of looking at a long list of possible options, you have a small number of vehicles that will fit your criteria. Although you have not focused on price during this process, you should still walk away with the greatest value.
The reason I recommend this style of shopping to my customers is because it leaves them driving away happy the majority of the time. Instead of looking for a vehicle that matches certain price criteria, you are able to search for a vehicle that you will be happy driving off the lot. And while it may seem like you would pay more by using this method, the opposite is usually the case.
How does this method compare to your style of shopping? What have you found to be the most effective way of walking away from a sale happy? Has focusing on price ever caused you to walk away unhappy? As always, I invite you to reply privately at: cihde@ewaldauto.com
Tags: automotive, Automotive Advantage, car buying, car dealership, car sales, Ewald, Milwaukee, new cars, Oconomowoc, vehicle negotiation, vehicle purchase
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Narrowing down what vehicle to purchase
Wednesday, February 10th, 2010
An acquaintance of mine approached me after a networking event last week. She explained to me that she had a Honda CRV and that she knew that she needed a larger vehicle, but had no idea where to start. She told me her family had recently added a third child and they were having a hard time fitting three car seats in the back of the CRV. As we talked through her problem, I had a couple of questions I needed her to answer.
How much “stuff” do you need to haul around? In this case, I already knew she had three kids and their car seats to fit in. Since I have two kids of my own, I know that kids come with a lot of baggage and storage capacity is a necessity. This pretty much guarantees she will need some sort of minivan, but if she would have a problem with that, it is important to look at other model types available. However, she was happy with the minivan suggestion, so I was able to very quickly run her through the current models and their strengths and weaknesses. With this in mind, she could start test-driving a few.
What can you afford? Have you thought about this yet? My family is as budget conscious as any other family, so I always want to fit this into the equation when deciding to make a vehicle change. In this case, she knew she could afford around $300-$350 a month. I explained the general rule of thumb that $100 per month gets you $5000 worth of vehicle. This put her around $15,000-17,500. However, her trade(the Honda CRV) was most likely worth a few thousand dollars, so she could reasonably look at vehicles up to $20,000. At this point, we were getting very close to identifying what she could seriously consider for her next vehicle.
What is your driving style? By style, I mean how do you spend 80% of the time in your car? I asked my friend what her typical driving day included. Between commuting, taking the kids to day care and the bi-annual vacation to Colorado, the dominant style was short commuting. She wanted to ensure the kids were comfortable for the long trips they take and that they would be safe on a daily basis. With this in mind, we narrowed her search further to a top safety rated minivan with good highway gas mileage ratings.
When we started out our conversation she had stated that she wanted to purchase a vehicle in the spring. Her thinking was that it would take that long to find the vehicle they wanted. However, as we answered these quick questions during a 10 minute conversation, it became clear that it would be very easy to select the perfect vehicle to meet their needs and wants rather quickly, which may have surprised her due to her own expectations of the sales process. She found out that it doesn’t have to take forever if the right questions are asked and answered during the process.
Thinking through the above questions can help you narrow down what vehicle you are looking for next time you are thinking about making a change. If you’d like someone to run a question by or to help you with the process, drop me an email at cihde@ewaldauto.com.
Tags: car buying, car dealership, car sales, new cars, trade in, used cars, vehicle negotiation
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Rethinking car negotiations
Tuesday, October 13th, 2009
For some reason, there are people that do not like car negotiations. My guess would be because they had a bad experience with a dealership at some point and had more headaches than the negotiations were worth. I am glad to say that I rarely hear this complaint from our customers. For those that do not like the idea of negotiating for a vehicle, there is a solution for you.
Imagine for a moment your employer cared so much about you that they went ahead and negotiated the best price for you on all your automotive needs. How great would that be? As impossible as that may sound, there are companies that make extra effort for their employees every day.
Using this type of program allows you the peace of mind in knowing your company has taken the majority of the work out of your next major vehicle purchase. Employers who have done this are enrolled in the Automotive Advantage Program. In signing up for the program, they ensured the employees will receive the very best our company has to offer.
If the thought of having to negotiate for your next car seems like a major burden, then just ask your employer why they don’t do it for you! This may seem like an unlikely stretch, but it is actually easier than you might think. The Automotive Advantage Program speaks for itself and makes negotiation a non-issue.
Tags: Auto, automotive, car sales, Employee benefits, vehicle negotiation
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