This isn’t a post on how to buy a car online – maybe I’ll write that one later. I need a new car. I’m not a car guy and really don’t enjoy shopping for cars. My wife and I decided on the car we want, the options we want (thankfully this model has limited options available), and the color we want. I have used Edmunds and Consumer Reports so I have a pretty good idea of how much the car costs.
I’m sure I’m not the kind of customer a car sales guy wants to see – but this is easy. I can tell them the exact car I want. Exactly. No questions to be answered on my part. I’ve asked six area dealers what their total price is for the exact car I want. I’ve been up front that I’m shopping around. I’ve been clear that I know exactly what I want. Whoever sells me this car isn’t going to make much money – but if they do it right they won’t spend much time either.
I guess I shouldn’t be surprised but it’s taking quite a bit of effort to get the price from most of the dealers. It will be interesting to see how this turns out.