What Should You Do Before Your Dealership Visit?
If the prospect of buying a new car has you running for cover, then you may be the unfortunate victim of a condition known as dealerphobia. This regrettable state can turn an otherwise exciting time into a stress-filled experience. Fortunately, the treatment couldn't be more straightforward! A simple two-step process is all you need to get over your new car jitters:
- Research before you go
- Find the right dealership
Sticking to this plan will help you to enjoy your new car buying experience and ensure that you get the car you want for a great price.
Step 1: Always Be Researching
If you have your heart set on one car and one car only, then you can skip this step and move on. If you're still on the fence, then you've got some work ahead of you. When you walk into that dealership, you should have a decent idea of the type of car that you want, even if you haven't settled on the exact model. If you're completely lost, then ask yourself some simple questions: Is fuel economy important to you? Performance? Storage space? How flexible is your budget?
Build a short-list of cars that meet your criteria. You don't need to make any final decisions, but you should be able to come up with a list of potential candidates no more than five or six cars long. You can make a note of a few vehicles that stretch your budget by a bit, but you should restrict your core list to cars that are within your budget and that fit all of your essential criteria. Learn everything that you can about the vehicles on your short-list so that you can be confident in your knowledge once you walk onto the dealer's lot.
Step 2: Hunt For Dealerships
Not all dealerships are created equal, so a crucial part of having a pleasant car buying experience is finding the right one. Good dealerships may not always be a good fit for your particular shopping preferences, so read reviews and pay attention to what customers are saying. Do you like to haggle, or do you want a fixed price for your new car? Either way, there's a dealership that's likely a good fit for you. Likewise, you can get a good feel for how you'll be treated by reading customer reviews of the sales staff.
Don't forget to do some research into dealership service departments, as well. Your new car will likely be receiving its maintenance and warranty service from the dealership that you purchase from, so an excellent service department is a must. Online review sites sometimes distinguish between the sales and service departments of dealerships, so be sure that you're carefully reading both.
Step 3: …Profit!
If you've gotten this far, then you can walk onto that lot with the confidence that you've done your homework and chosen a trustworthy dealership. Keep your short-list in mind and zero-in on the cars that you are most interested in evaluating. Trying something you may not have thought of is fine, but avoid leaving the dealership without test driving the vehicle or vehicles that you came to see. The right dealership will be happy to let you look around, so you shouldn't be shy about asking to view or drive multiple vehicles. Once you've found what you're looking for, there's nothing left to do but sign on the dotted line and drive your new car home.
Keep these tips in mind as you visit local dealerships like Grey Chevrolet Inc.
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