The Art of Negotiating luxury cars
Susan Butler is one of the few female automotive dealership managers in Australia. After graduating with double degrees in social science and management, she began her career in the automotive industry. Susan now manages the Porsche dealership on the Gold Coast and knows a thing or two about getting the best deal on your luxury vehicle purchase. Here Susan provides a unique perspective on how women can approach purchasing a luxury vehicle, and how to get the most from their negotiations. Here are Susan’s four top tips:
TIP #1: Don’t go into battle
Don’t feel intimidated or apprehensive about walking into a showroom; give your sales consultant a chance to win you over with good service and clear information. People working in dealerships, particularly at the luxury end, are often tertiary educated and understand the value of long term vision. We rely on repeat and referral business for survival. Our goal is to not just make sales, but to nurture and develop ongoing relationships with customers. The process of car purchasing does not have to become a combative encounter – generally speaking, the salesperson will be only too happy to help you make the best decision right from the initial meeting through to the purchase.
TIP # 2: Service is important
Most people quickly forget any discount they have received on a purchase, however they will remember the years of service they receive from a dealer following that purchase. Whilst satisfaction with the purchase price is an important element, try not to make it the only consideration when choosing your next car. Always buy your car from the consultant and business that you feel will give you the best attention after the sale.
TIP #3: Save your most precious resource – time
If you are currently visiting womanwithdrive.com.au then it’s likely you are a busy, successful woman with a demanding lifestyle. Therefore, you will understand that time is an extremely valuable resource. From my experience, I have found that most customers don’t actually enjoy the process of “shopping around for the best deal” – many find it a rather frustrating and tedious process. People shop because they don’t have the faith in dealers to give them the right price on their trade-in, the new car, the finance deal and anything else that involves money. So working with a single dealer that you trust is the best way to save your most precious resource – time.
TIP # 4: Don’t ask dealers to tender for business
Although this might seem like a good tactic, this approach practically guarantees that you will pay too much. First, a dealer is unlikely to give you the “absolute best price” to go shopping with, and second, the act of gathering quotes is incredibly time consuming, stressful and fraught with uncertainty.
To get the right deal you need to find the car and the dealer you want to buy it from – then make an offer. Don’t worry if you think it’s too low – if the price cannot be achieved the dealer will come back to you with a counter-price. It may take a bit of negotiating but I guarantee you that if your consultant knows you are serious and ready to put pen to paper, you will get a much better result than if you simply ask for a written quote or verbal price to take shopping.
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