Finance

Things That Help You Enjoy Your Visit To A Used Car Dealership

  • August 10, 2022
  • 4 min read
Things That Help You Enjoy Your Visit To A Used Car Dealership

How To Know You’re Getting The Best Experience


When looking for a reliable used vehicle, many shoppers get so caught up in the make, model, and price of their potential car that they forget to pay attention to a very important piece of the process: the used car dealership they will purchase from.

Because all used car dealerships are not the same, picking somewhere to buy your car is almost as important as picking your car. You should make sure to work with a dealership that makes sense for you in every aspect of the process. We’ll walk through some things that you can look for in a dealership to make sure you’re enjoying every visit throughout your buying process.

1. Customer Service

Your used car dealership should encourage you to come in and be welcoming when you arrive, no matter if your visit is for information, a test drive, or to make a purchase. Some things to pay attention to when going into a dealership are:

  • Appearance – We all know to never judge a book by its cover, but walking into a dealership that is clean and presented well makes you feel better about buying there. It doesn’t hurt to have a few vehicles on display either.
  • Staff – The employees at your dealership should feel like they want to be your friend, not just being nice because they have to. Any questions you have should be answered, and you should feel like you have all the help you need to navigate your buying process.
  • Sentiment – How does everyone seem to be doing? You should be looking for a positive and happy vibe. If people seem negative or disconnected at work, there could be deeper problems there that you don’t want to be caught in the middle of. You should feel like you want to hang out with the people there. 

Don’t settle for a dealership that won’t offer the customer service you deserve. Someone else out there will.

2. Selection

The inventory of a dealership will matter differently to different people. If you aren’t as particular about certain colors or features, you might be able to value some of the other factors in this list more heavily.

But if you are a person who knows what you want, you must make sure to find a used car dealership that has a big inventory with a lot of options. 

3. Online Presence

Not everyone will go into every dealership they consider buying from, but they would still like to know enough about them to make a decision. This is where having a good website comes in.

Many dealerships make it seamless to shop with them by providing their inventory online for customers to preview. This offers transparency into what the dealership has to offer. It also allows the shoppers to make more informed decisions and have more information when going into the dealership.

Other information to look for on dealership sites include: contact information, service scheduling opportunities, and even financing information and terms.

4. Maintenance Shop

It’s always good to work with a dealership that has a service center or shop in their facility. Most of us have a go-to mechanic we prefer, but the dealership you buy your car from will know it better than your normal mechanic. They’ve likely already repaired and serviced the vehicle, so they will be familiar with it. This also usually means that your vehicle is inspected more thoroughly before you drive it off the lot.

Sometimes the service centers and sales team work together to close sales as well, offering things like complimentary and discounted services as incentives for buying from them. These are things you won’t get at a regular car sales lot that doesn’t do maintenance and repairs. 

Following this list and looking for these things in your used car dealership will go a long way toward ensuring you enjoy your dealership experience from start to finish. Keep in mind that the process should be fun and exciting.

But if you are working with a dealership that is not providing that experience, you may want to re-evaluate your decision. Selecting a poorly-managed used car dealership can have repercussions for years down the line.

You want a dealership to have a long-term, multiple car relationship with, not just one looking to make a quick sale and get the most money they can out of you. You want to feel the connection from the time you make first contact to the time you sell it back to them and start your next car search.

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