Buyers have several purchase options when buying a new vehicle. Each purchase option has its own set of advantages and disadvantages. The most common options are listed below.
Traditional Method
Description: The buyer visits several dealerships which carry the vehicle(s) which meets their needs. Negotiate the purchase with the sales person. Pick the best deal, purchase the vehicle and drive away.
Advantages: The buyers visit several dealerships and test drives several vehicles to find the perfect vehicle. All negotiations are face to face.
Disadvantages: The salesperson the buyer is negotiating with usually has their commissions based on how much profit they can make for the dealership. Pricing is off of MSRP or MSRP plus a dealer markup. The buyers negotiating skills are extremely important. This process takes a lot of time, patience and energy
Contact: Use telephone book or manufacturer’s Internet site to find local dealerships.
Internet Managers, Direct
Description: Contact the dealership Internet Manager by phone or through the Internet. Determine availability of vehicle(s) and pricing. Visit dealership and finalize the purchase of the vehicle.
Advantages: Internet Managers can be contacted easily without visiting the dealership. Pricing is initially more competitive since they know the buyer will be contacting several dealerships via the Internet. Internet Managers usually work their pricing off of dealer invoice.
Disadvantages: Although the pricing of the new vehicle is usually more advantageous verse the Traditional Method the buyer must still negotiate the
value of the trade-in, if applicable, and financing if they didn’t secure financing before visiting the dealership and the usual Finance Business Office opportunities.
Contact: Use telephone book or manufacturer’s Internet site to find local dealerships.
Internet Price Quotes
Description: Under this approach the buyer uses an Internet source to secure an online quote from one or more local dealerships. Dealership Internet managers contact buyer by phone and/or email regarding availability of vehicle(s) and pricing. Visit dealership and finalize the purchase of the vehicle.
Advantages: Internet sources can be contacted easily via the Internet. Pricing from the dealerships is initially more competitive since they know the Internet will usually give the buyer’s information to more than one local dealership. Internet Managers usually work their pricing off of dealer invoice.
Disadvantages: Although the pricing of the new vehicle is usually more advantageous verse the Traditional Method the buyer must still negotiate the
value of the trade-in, if applicable, and financing if they didn’t secure financing before visiting the dealership and the usual business office opportunities. Also the dealerships the Internet source refers to the buyer may not be the closest dealership.
Contact: Autobytel at www.autobytel.com, Autoweb at www.autoweb.com, Car.Com at www.car.com.
Buying or Leasing a Vehicle Online
Description: Under this approach the buyer handles the entire vehicle purchase transaction online. This includes selecting the vehicle, pricing the vehicle, completing the paperwork. The buyer then drives to the dealership and picks up the vehicle.
Advantages: The entire purchase process is handled online. This approach eliminates the time consuming negotiating process at the dealership.
Disadvantages: The buyer doesn’t see the individual vehicle before they purchase it. This requires the buyer to have thoroughly researched the vehicle e.g. decided on make, model and trim line of vehicle, vehicle configuration, options and color and to have completed a dealership lot and test drive demo prior to contacting the Internet source
Buying Contact: CarsDirect at www.carsdirect.com,
Lease Contact: LeaseCompare at www.leasecompare.com.
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