Buying a Car Online: The Keys to Successful Negotiation with Dealers.

Wow! That's a lot of red dots!

Buying a Car in Chicago? You have a lot of choices.

The Internet and You: Keys to Successful Negotiation in Car Buying, Part 1.

June 23, 2011

By Christopher Ofcky

  Good afternoon shoppers, loyal IAMBMW followers, my previous and future customers, and just those who are like me on their days off and love to surf the web but have little else to do over a morning cup of coffee, trying to forget the massive, hectic work schedule most of us lead and occasionally love! Today on IAMBMW, we’re going to discuss the basics of the Internet Department and consumer shopping as it pertains to purchasing a vehicle online.

 When I first started in the automotive business five years ago, Internet shopping had been going on for some time, and was doing nothing but picking up pace. Yet, I still knew many dealerships that refused to embrace the Internet Sales Consultant position, and many more than never bothered to put real focus on their websites. However, as you can see from the image on my right (courtesy of Google, the all-knowing search engine), this clearly is no longer the case.

  While it’s true that many of you do still shop dealers the “old fashioned way” — walking onto their lot and making a deal for something — many of you enjoy the services that Internet Departments in dealerships bring you: photos of vehicles, solid pricing structures, the ability to answer your questions in a timely manner, and values for your cars, explanations of taxes, et cetera. Yet, for as much as consumers value an Internet Sales Consultant, there’s still many that find themselves frustrated by the way dealerships handle Internet customers.

  So, in an attempt to help you — the consumer — and perhaps even some other dealerships out there get along better, I’ve decided to write this bridge to the gap in communication break-downs. I’ve noticed a ton of third-party sites out there that instruct consumers on the pitfalls of what not to do when purchasing a vehicle, but a lot of these sites merely point towards basic essentials which I know the majority of my customers already know. Fewer of them place special focus on online departments, and how to get more for your money out of them. So, I’ve compiled a short list of things which might help consumers and explain a bit more of the process on the dealer’s end. It’s important to remember that I’m not in this to sell a car (lucky you, phew!), but I genuinely want to bring this to light because I feel it’s under-dressed in my industry. So, without further adieu, I give you the most common mistakes Internet Sales Consultants and Consumers make when interfacing with one other.

1: Consumer Myth: Remaining as Anonymous as possible will get me the best deal.

False. Actually, this is likely worse than giving an Internet Department too much of your information, even if you’re a relatively private person, and allow me to explain why. As an Internet Sales Manager, and a former Sales Consultant (both on the floor and on the phone), I’ve seen this end in nothing but pitfalls, for both the consumer and the department. Your average internet department in the Chicagoland area typically has two to four people in it, depending on volume, and handles roughly 200 phone calls a day just in follow-up alone as well as all incoming request for information and sales calls.

Just like our customers, we yearn for a strong connection and interfacing with who we’re selling a product to. Our primary goal is to get customers the information they ask for, and set up an appointment for them to drive the vehicle. If I’m working 10 requests for information, and all of them have contact information such as phone numbers and real names, I’m obligated to get to these customers first because they have given me an honest request.

Remaining anonymous to the point of giving us a fax number as a phone number, two initials for your name, and a skeptical e-mail address often puts you right on the back burner. Now, I’m not saying to give every bit of your background to the Internet Department, but you want to know who you’re speaking with, right? So do we.

2: Consumer Myth: Internet Departments don’t care about profit, as they get paid on volume. 

Again, False. It’s been my experience that while Internet Departments do have the lowest prices on vehicles compared to the “lot price”, it would be hard to keep the doors open by giving them away. It’s been an industry myth for a long time that Internet Departments get paid on volume, so they don’t necessarily care about price. What consumers don’t take into consideration in this equation, is that dealers own a particular vehicle for a particular price; going through the internet department won’t change that number.

 It’s also important to remember that while Internet Departments may not be paid on profit, Salespeople are. It would be a very difficult task indeed to set up a deal with absolutely no profit in it, and expect a Client Advisor to give all of their time and attention to the customer when they come through the door to pick-up the car. Ultimately, we want your business. .but we want to keep our doors open. And we want to be able to afford things that our customers want: free wi-fi, complimentary beverages, loaner cars, etc.

Even that Internet Consultant you enjoy talking to can run up a dealer’s bill, particularly if they’re overworked. We’re not trying to crush you, we’re just trying to keep our doors open in many cases. 

3: Consumer Myth: They just want to lure me to the dealership so they can switch me to a different car! 

True and False. As a dealer, if I understand my consumer has been within my brand for quite some time, or is shopping very specific model with specific options, I will do my best to give them the unique information necessary to their purchase, mainly because it’s actually easier for me, than to have the customer drive 50 of my cars when the customer and I both know they’re only wanting one type of vehicle. However, this consumer — in my experience — is a rarity to run into.

Many of us shop as part of our research, and for a lot of us (including myself), it has less to do with a particular object, and more to do with getting an overall sense of exactly what I need. Dealers have multitudes of vehicles on their lots, and there are simply some things which a consumer will never know until they find that right fit. If you’re a larger person as I am (across the shoulders, for example), you might not be able to fit into that vehicle you want at the price point you’re comfortable with.  If you know 100% what you want — this doesn’t really apply to you, as you’re likely to shoot me a fair offer because you’ve extensively researched and shopped the car.

 However, those of you who are new to the brand? Just ask when you can come in; it really does save us both a lot of time, and frustration. Nothing is worse than negotiating a deal with a consumer for a week and a half, only to find out they can’t fit in the car! The fact is, however, very few people leave a dealership with what they intended to buy. This includes my customers that I’ve worked extensively with.

Well, I’ll quit writing now! I’m sure there will be comments and questions on this, so feel free to leave them and I’ll get to them as quickly as possible, even if you’re not shopping at my dealership. I will be posting part 2 to this blog in the near future, so for those of you who enjoyed reading a different perspective, please follow me on Facebook and check in regularly, or subscribe via RSS. Those of you who didn’t, please leave me comments — I’m always looking to improve my process.

Until next time!

Christopher Ofcky

Director, Internet Sales

BMW of Schererville

219.864.3390

chriso@bmwsch.com

http://www.bmwinschererville.com