Quote:
Originally Posted by Red Baron
My attitude is why people hate buying new cars? That is plain stupid. Sounds more like you're dealing with 14 years of guilt in your post than the issue. Did the dealership you worked at use a logo?
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I never said I worked at a dealership. I worked for an auto manufacturer & I visited many, many dealerships (hundreds?). So I have seen the good, the bad & the ugly.
I also never said a dealer shouldn't put a sticker or license plate frame on a car. I simply said if the customer specifically asks to leave it off, why not leave it off as requested? To me, that is a very easy thing to do to promote satisfaction. I can't imagine why a dealer wouldn't do that. If the customer made the request, it must be important to him/her. The dealer should understand how important it is to the customer & the dealer should take special care to make sure the request is honored.
Studies have been done that show that most people would rather go to the dentist than to a car dealer (sorry to those who are dentists). And I think that feeling is justified. Most car dealers are very short-sighted & salespeople don't care if you ever come back again to buy a car. They are more concerned with getting you to buy something -- anything -- today. And because many salespeople don't stay at a particular dealership very long, they don't care if you ever come back -- they will be long gone by the time you are back in the market for a car.
I have also worked with dealerships who get it right. They focus first on satisfying their customers, so they come back & send their friends. One dealership in particular I called on was way out in the country in a town of 4,000 people. However, it was one of the largest dealerships in the state in terms of volume. They did it by treating people right. Period.
The dealer once told me that the finance company asked him to send them more marginal/bad credit risk customers because his reserves were getting too large. The dealer told me that most people with bad credit are not too smart & the people who buy from him -- often driving by 3-4 other dealers selling the same products -- are too smart to put up with the tactics most other dealerships use.
He said he doesn't send bad credit risk customers to the finance company because they don't come to his dealership. They get "sold" at the first dealership they visit.
I have always been amazed by dealers who advertise "even if you have declared bankruptcy, we will get you approved...." Why would someone advertise for people with bad credit? Perhaps because those with good credit will not shop there?