Car Buying Process

The Car Buying Process is overwhelming to many and this Process is Too Much because many Do Not understand the Car Buying Process.  I will lay it out from start to finish so you may understand it better and at the same time embrace the steps so you can make them work in your favor.  Car Dealerships call this "10 Steps To a Sale" or "Road To A Sale" so its no wonder it works in their favor, they practice this from day 1 in the car business.

Let me say this first.  The steps I provide may not be in the same order you will see them once you are at the dealership, but you can bet they will be there and you will notice them after knowing them.  This is not intended to downgrade what Car Salesmen do on a daily basis because I sold cars for 10 years, but just to even the playing field a little.

Step one in the Car Buying Process goes without saying:  "THE MEET AND GREET"
Yes this sounds trivial, but so much emphasis is put on this step at dealerships because if you miss this one, you will NOT sell a car.  There is a proper Meet and Greet in the Car Business.  You shake a hand firmly looking the customer in the eye and say, "Welcome to xyz motors, my name is Joe Blow, are you here for ......."  Are you here for the Big Sale, the Low Interest offered by Manufacturer, for a great buy on a new car, great buy on a used car.... It really does not matter how you fill in the last part of greet, but just ovoid, "How can I help you"?  What is the answer to, "how can I help you?" Customer will say, "Just looking."  But with the better question, are you here for the Big Sale?  Most will say, What big sale?  The main thing Car dealers want to stay away from is "Just Looking", "Yes", "No", and so on.  They want to get you talking and that brings me to step 2 in the Car Buying or Selling Process.

"GET ON COMMON GROUND" with Customer when Selling a Car.
Get on Common Ground, some call it Investigate, some call it Fact Finding in the Car Buying Process.  This is where the Car Salesman will find out Everything it will take to sell you a car without asking you direct questions about buying a car.  Oh, you will go to some dealers and a Salesman will ask, What is it going to take to sell you a car today?  Dealers cringe at the thought of Salesman asking this question, but it does happen and many customers will cut to the chase.  "Sale me a car at Invoice and Give me Clean book on Retail on my Trade and YOU my friend have a DEAL TODAY!"  This is why salesman are urged to stay into the process because it works and when you get away from it, it costs the Salesman and Dealer money!  Some of the best salesman I have seen in the business will tell a customer to come inside the dealership before they get started looking at cars.  They will get on Common Ground, Chit Chat and find what the customer is really looking for before they ever show them a vehicle.  They will then go to the lot, pull a vehicle up and bring customer out and show them a Car that matches their wants and needs.  This works Great for some, but many will not have the gumption or the presence of authority to bring a customer inside right when they arrive at dealership unless they know the individual.  But, for customers, Realize this is where a Car Salesman is trying to become a friend and not the person fixing to make 4k from you!

"SELECT A VEHICLE" is the 3rd Step in the Car Buying Process which is where the Salesman will try and select a vehicle for you.  In the fact finding stage of the process the salesman will try and figure what Payment you are looking to get on your new vehicle and this will give them an idea where to land you on a vehicle that will not cause hiccups later in the sale which I will show you later.  You  may have went in looking for leather, Roof, and all the options, but they have landed you on a vehicle that has many less features.

After Selecting a Vehicle, it is time for "PRESENTATION and DEMO". This is where the Car Salesman will try and make you fall in Love with the Vehicle and make it an Emotional purchase.  Change your need for a vehicle into, I Want this vehicle!  Inside of the Presentation is something called a "Walk-around" and this is something that is practiced daily in the car business and there are even Regional competitions for the salesman that does the Best Walk-Around.  Here is how it goes: Under Hood---Front of Vehicle---Driver Side of Outside Car----Trunk----Rear of Vehicle----to passenger side---into vehicle and Inside vehicle.
Ok, what is all this garbage?  This is the process of going over the car with you touching on Key points that were, you guessed it, IMPORTANT to you in the FACT FINDING!  If you have children with you and you say Safety was important to you, here is the presentation:
Ok, Mr and Mrs Customer, Under the Hood we have advanced technology to make this the safer vehicle, from Break away motor mounts----that in a front end accident---would cause the engine to drop down to the ground instead of come into the engine compartment with occupants, making this a safer vehicle.  The hood is engineered with hooks toward the back that will stop the hood from going thru your window in an accident, absorbing the impact when it crumples, You did say safety was important correct?  WOW, this guy is good, he was listening and YES SAFETY is Important.  You begin to listen much closer because this salesperson knows you now.  Notice, Salesman will name a feature car has, what it does, and why that should be important to you.  Now, for any Car Salesmen reading this, Do Not overdo this and cover ONLY Safety features as it may get overwhelming.  You should put yourself in customers position and realize, yes safety would be important, but with a family, they have to be interested in fuel economy and features that will help save money down the road. 
Why did I say in the "Walk-Around" to go by drivers side going to back of vehicle.  This is done for a reason and you have to watch because many customers will jump in the drivers seat.  Keep the doors locked until you are ready for a customer to get in.  Coming around the other side, have customer get in on passenger side.  This allows you to get behind the wheel to demo inside of vehicle and allows for more control.  This is the ultimate reason for the steps, take CONTROL of the situation.

"TRIAL CLOSE" is the 5th step in the process.  This is most easily done on the demo ride and can be a simple question.  "Can you see this vehicle parked in your driveway" or even "Is this a vehicle you would own if price, payments, and terms were agreeable.  This is where a Yes or No is preferred.  If no, go back to step 3.  If yes, keep going in the process.  If yes, but how much are you going to take off price or any question that tries to skip steps in the process, here is how they are handled properly.  Mr or Mrs customer, I Understand....., whatever you understand.  I understand price is important to you, but my main job is to find a vehicle that is right for you, so if price, payment, and terms are agreeable, is this the right vehicle for you?  Hopefully salesman gets a Yes here.  Then to next step.

Step 6, "TRADE IN EVALUATION".  This is an important step for a salesman and not many do this, but customers realize what is going on here if you get a good salesman.  A Good Salesman will after demo ride and trial close, they know they are on correct vehicle, say, now show me your trade in vehicle.  Customers get all excited at this fact and in many cases I have seen customers do a much better walk-around than sales people did.  "new tires, new windshield wipers, just changed the oil, etc.  The salesman, a good one, will walk around the Trade In and not say anything, just touch dents and places of imperfection.  This is where salesmen devalue your trade.  They feel of paint, touch scratches, etc.  This allows salesman later, when the customer wants so much for their trade, say well there are some scratches, its been repainted on front bumper, carpet soiled, needs tires, etc.
I have also seen Great salespeople at this point tell the customer, sell me your car and tell me why you think its worth what its worth.  My job is to sell it to my used car manager.  Just know in this step in the Car Buying Process, your trade in is being Devalued in any way possible.

Step 7, "WRITE UP".  This is pretty self explanatory, but this is where salesman writes up vehicle for purchase, trade vehicle, application for financing, etc. 

Step 8, "NEGOTIATION".  This is the process of coming to an agreement between buyer and seller where ideally if all steps were done properly, this part of the process is already resolved.  You know the customer wants a $400 payment, you know they want 10k for trade, you figure they have great credit, NOT BECAUSE YOU ASKED, but you determined by lender on last car.  Now, the only negotiation is to explain why the trade is only worth 7k instead of 10.  Your used car manager called xyz and even called dealer that carries x trade and the highest bid received was????  Now, if you prefer mr customer, we can take trade out and let you sell it yourself, but remember you have to deal with phone calls, showing vehicle, etc. and you will lose tax incentive for trading your vehicle because you only pay tax on difference.  Maybe with a little explaining, customer understands and accepts.  Customers who are smart will sell vehicle before coming to dealer or make some calls themselves and get local wholesale bids etc.

Step 9, "CLOSE AND TURN".  I put close on the 9th step because this is where everything is agreed upon from pricing and terms of finance.  After Close, you are ready to turn to business office.  Proper way salesman "Turn to business office" is, mr or mrs customer this is Mr or Mrs X our finance Director, they will go over in detail about your financing and Mr X if you will, let mr and mrs customer know about the extended warranty options available to them and also be sure they understand "Gap Insurance as this is very important."
I could write a book on what goes on in business office, but will touch just briefly here.  This is where Finance Manager is going to try and sell you an extended warranty, gap insurance, and lock you into points of interest made.  The bank may approve you at 5.9%, dealers close you at 7.9% meaning the dealer makes 2 point of interest on you, they sell you a $1800 extended warranty, and also sell you gap insurance---which is NOT a bad product, the dealer just made an extra $1500 to $2500 on you since you relaxed in the office where you figure they are just finalizing what you already agreed to.  This is the point where you are really being SOLD....

Step 10, Delivery.  This is after all the stress and anxiety of buying a vehicle.  This is where the sales person introduces you to different departments in the dealership especially service department, because dealers could not survive only on sales you know.  But, this is the time that salesmen work hard to make you understand all aspects of your vehicle and everything to expect later and hopefully win you over even more where you send your friends and family to them as well.