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New Car Shopping Rant

I am looking to purchase a new (or new to me) car.  I’ve visited many dealership websites and actual locations and have come to the following opinion; Either they have all the money in the world and are really not needing a “sale” or the idea of heightened customer service has not penetrated their car-selling brains.  While I am physically in the dealership, they’re all hot and heavy “What can we do to get you to sign the deal we want to give you, today.“  but if by chance I am not in love with the deal they are offering and depart, they are practically impossible to reach afterward.  I always thought that car buying was a multi-visit/multi-day ordeal.  Maybe this is my misconception.  My latest frustration point is that I think I’ve found the car I want, but the dealership has been slow to respond to my requests for information.  Again, when I was physically there, my sales rep was courteous and helpful.  That ended the second I walked off the lot.  Now it’s like pulling teeth to get in writing the deal they have engineered for me.  It feels a little bit like trickery and if this were some “buy-here-pay-here” lot I would have walked out by now.  If automakers really want to improve their bottom line, they need to improve the experience of car-buying.  Right now, the experience of buying a car is the same as getting a new drivers license at the DMV or sitting in the dentist chair having your gums scraped.  I will keep you posted on the search for my perfect vehicle.  My hope is that it will be cute, affordable, and gets great gas mileage for a price that I am comfortable with….. I am beginning to think that doesn’t exist.

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Posted by Jennifer Carey on Aug. 14, 2009