Automotive News - February 4, 2008 - (Page 26) 26 • FEBRUARY 4, 2008 The online dealer INSIGHT Buying a car? Web is a woman’s best friend Jamie LaReau way. I started shopping last September. The last time I had been in the market, three years earlier, I encountered a sexist salesman whose idea of humor was directing me to the dealership “ladies’ room” — behind a tree. I naively believed that the sales process had evolved since then. Isn’t competition supposed to be especially fierce in a slow market? But what I got this time, sadly, was more of the same. In fact, the dealership game hadn’t changed much since I bought my first car in 1992. The routine for salespeople still seems to be: Corner the customer, then shuttle between the customer and some back-office manager for A few months ago, I did something I never thought I would do: buy a car via the Internet. Now I wouldn’t do it any other to buy my new car at my fingertips. I felt empowered by comparison-shopping on the Internet. “ I liked having all the information I needed quoted me a final price — no negotiation. Out of curiosity, I visited the Web site of the out-of-state dealership. Lo and behold, the car was listed for $1,000 less than the price quoted by the local dealership. Fast and easy I called the remote dealership. To my surprise, the Internet sales manager immediately offered to negotiate — no approval needed from a backroom manager. We had a tentative deal in less than two minutes. To raise my comfort level, a trusted friend near the dealership test-drove the car for me. I gave my local dealer a chance to match the offer. His response: “Buy it from the other guy.” Sold. I customized my C30 by e-mail. I signed the paperwork at home. The information I supplied over the Web to finance the car was well-protected. I returned the forms and a check for the deposit in a prepaid mailer the dealership sent me. The car was delivered to my doorstep in a day, on my schedule. I’m not surprised that dealers are selling more cars and trucks online. I liked having all the information I needed to buy my new car at my fingertips. I felt empowered by comparisonshopping on the Internet. It’s a tough and competitive world for auto dealers these days. The only way to win is to have an edge. In my case, the edge was a sales manager who answered his own phone and dealt with me directly. And one who respected me, because he knew I was armed with information from his dealership’s Web site. You may e-mail Jamie LaReau at jlareau@crain.com ” permission to dicker over this and that. The game is to apply as much pressure as possible to close the deal right away. When I entered a dealership — foreign or domestic brand — for a product brochure and a test drive, I got sucked into a sales song and dance. Instead of getting to ask about the car, I was barraged with a ton of questions. The silliest and most annoying question of all: Which color car do you want to test drive? “Why?” I replied. “Do different colors drive differently?” The desperation to make the sale today was so intense that after one test drive, a salesman grabbed the gearshift and put it in park, to hurry me along. Another salesman followed me out the showroom door into the parking lot. He declared: “I am going to have you leave here in a new car today.” Wrong. No follow-up Yet many of these eager beavers did not make follow-up calls to me or show much willingness to work with me on the price. The whole process works against allowing a customer to fall in love with the car. And isn’t that what really seals the deal? I finally found my car — a Volvo C30 — when I drove one in our press fleet. No salesman, no pressure, just me and the car. It was love at first drive. So I went to a Detroit-area Volvo dealership to make the big purchase. The salesman said he could find only one C30 in the whole country in the color I wanted, Cosmic White. It was at an out-of-state dealership. The salesman Internet vehicle sales are on the rise, but not everyone is jumping on the bandwagon. Staff Reporter Jamie LaReau, above, is a convert to the new electronic marketplace. But Senior Editor Jack Teahen, right, invites you to continue the revolution without him. Buy a car online? Not me John K. Teahen Jr. ou can buy a car or truck on the Internet. You can choose its model and its color. You can order the optional equipment you desire. You can arrange financing and even sign the papers that make the transaction legal and binding. Note that I said you can do that. Don’t expect me to accompany you into the new Web world of push-button buying. When it comes to buying a car — or just about anything else — I am a confirmed and unreconstructed Luddite. I am convinced that the old way is so much nicer. When I buy a car, I want to see what I’m getting. I’m not a tire kicker, but I want to slam the doors and hear, I hope, that satisfying thunk. If it’s tinny or if the glass shakes, I’m outta there. I want to sit in the car and ask myself: “Will I be comfortable here for the next three or Y not a soulless computer screen. . . . A new car is going to cost me about $40,000. I am not about to spend that kind of money after merely talking to a machine. “ employee who reviews the proceeding will have no idea who I am, where I live or how to reach me. I want to discuss my purchase with a human being, Good luck, young lady A new car is going to cost me about $40,000. I am not about to spend that kind of money after merely talking to a machine. A friend told me recently about buying a car via the Internet for his daughter who lives in Colorado. He proudly told me how he chose the car and the equipment, negotiated the price and arranged the loan — all without leaving his desk. All his daughter had to do was appear at the Colorado dealership on the appointed day and pick up her new wheels. She probably didn’t even have to sign anything; Daddy had taken care of all those details. I hope the young lady is happy with her car. And if that process works for you, do it. It doesn’t work for me. You may e-mail John K. Teahen Jr. at jteahen@crain.com four years?” I want to know how much my present car is worth, told to me by a real live person who, I hope, will be impressed by my expression of shock and distaste. You can’t do that on the Internet. Human contact, please I want to discuss my purchase with a human being, not a soulless computer screen. I want to talk about price. If I don’t like the salesman’s price, I want to negotiate. Maybe there’s a piece of optional equipment I don’t really need. Maybe the salesman will be smart enough to realize that he has an honestto-goodness buyer and will cut his price to what I’m willing to pay. If we can’t make a deal, I want to pull myself up to my full 5 feet, 4 inches and take a hike. It’s much more satisfying to stalk out of a showroom than it is to end negotiations by pushing a button on the computer. Doing it my way, the salesman may call me with a better deal. Doing it the computer way, the dealership ”
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