Surefire Tips For Finding the Best Car Dealer

To find a car dealership you are comfortable working with is the most important step in the car purchase process. Finding a dependable, fair and honest car dealership is as important as finding the right car model. Here are few points, which will help you to find information about the right dealerships:

• Some responsible web sites rate auto dealers throughout the year on a nation wide basis. Type the name of any dealership at any major search engine to find reviews, ratings, complaints and more.
• You will find plenty of information about the particular dealer in their own websites but surely, they are biased and misleading. It is good to check their reputation from former and current customers.
• Check with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and local Web forums for reports that can help you determine the reputation of a car dealer. The BBB has reports and ratings on car dealerships and different vehicles.
• You can also take the help of your auto insurance agent who is generally well equipped with information about the local car dealers.
• It is always best to go for dealer names that have been around for a long time and earned a respected place in the community.

Things to remember before buying used cars

If you are planning to buy a used car, it is very important to check the trust level of the dealers as some dealers have the tendency to trick you with a used vehicle that has been in a wreck or suffered poor maintenance or rough treatment throughout its lifetime. So, you must take the vehicle for a thorough checking by a mechanic you trust before you go for it.

How to choose the right car, when you visit the dealer

It is very important for you to know one thing - do not buy a car the same day you first see it. The sales representative of the car dealership will employ different strategies to persuade you towards purchasing it immediately. Here are a few steps you should follow before choosing the right car model:

• Check out few showrooms, visit car lots and do a lot of window-shopping. Check out different models and take a few test drives and get a good knowledge about ride quality, fuel economy options, specifications etc. as these are very essential for a good car.
• Look for different features present on the vehicle that you are interested in. Check at least two cars with the same features for your own comparison.
• Go through more sources on price - data using consumer reports, Kelley Blue Book, or any similar source.
• Do little calculations to determine the actual cost of the vehicle. You do this by subtracting car dealer hold back, special incentives, rebates, etc. from the base cost. Now determine a reasonable amount of dealer profit and arrive at the target price. Few more dollars added and you get the "walk-away" price. So stick to your walk away price and approach the dealer.

How to choose the best used car dealer

Here are few points to help you chose the right used car dealer.

• Doing business with a reputed used car dealer is easy and tension free. Check out the local Better Business Bureau for report on used car dealers.
• Finding the best used-car dealer is not the only point to consider. Check out the services that the used car dealers provide are correct such as most dealers provide express maintenance and service appointments to its customers, some provide financial assistance to its customers whereas some provide free extended car warranties when you purchased used cars.
• Check out the actual price for the vehicle as most of the time the amount you pay includes "add-ons" like, car accessories, undercarriage coatings, window tinting, CD changers, paint protector products, car interior accessories and many more. These additional accessories are worth less if you intend to buy the car alone.
• Go for a negotiation for the extra fees that includes dealer handling and dock fees.

Creative Marketing Ideas For Car Dealerships

Word-of-mouth and referrals-If you don't have referral incentives in place, now's the time to start. Make sure your salespeople are handing out their business card to every customer they meet and asking them to tell their friends and family about their great buying experience. It's quite surprising how many dealerships don't take advantage of this. Car buying is about a trusting relationship, and potential customers will trust their friends and family much more than they will trust your advertisements, plain and simple. Create a brochure that describes your referral program and also feature it at all your sales desks using vinyl decals, so customers can read about it while they're waiting for the sale to be completed.

Sell your sales team-You're not just selling the benefits of your vehicles, you're also selling your fully-qualified sales and service teams. Use the power of social-networking to connect with potential customers on a more-personal level. Create videos that introduce your salespeople and show a bit of their personality. Post pictures of every vehicle you sell with the happy new owners and the team member who sold them the vehicle. These techniques make you seem more friendly, approachable, and real.

Business partnerships-Creating business partnerships with other local businesses can be a great way to reach new customers. Provide special offers to businesses in your area, or even host a event at your dealership that allows these businesses to connect with your customers as well. The more customers are on your lot, the better chance you have of selling a vehicle.

Sponsorships-Sponsor local groups and organizations in your community. This could range from a little league sports team to an important charity foundation. In exchange for a sponsorship, you're able to advertise using vinyl banners at all the organization's events, and you're often listed in their print material as well. Not to mention, this gives your dealership a positive reputation in the community. When customers know you care about what they care about, they're more-likely to buy from you.

Honesty and counter-culture-In this day and age, many customers are fed up with car companies and their dealers. Why not be bold and different by being honest? Instead of baiting your customers with false promises and shady deals, be straight-forward, without any hidden tricks or games. Hang a vinyl banner in your lobby that states your honest intentions-customers will definitely appreciate this, and they may even tell others about you!

Garage Insurance - Used Car Dealers and Repair Shops Watch Those Symbols

As I mentioned earlier, both types of businesses, auto repair and or body shops and used car dealers both need the garage policy. But exactly what kind of operations are covered in these policies is driven by the symbols shown on the policy. This is very important. If your business is automotive repair or body work but your policy is set up with symbols that would apply to a car dealership, you could find yourself without coverage in the event of a liability loss.

So how do you know if you have the correct symbols and thus the correct form? Pull out your garage policy and look at the first page.   Beside each type of coverage, usually to the left, there will be a least one two digit number between 21 and 31. These symbols will describe what is protected by the coverage shown beside that symbol. Here is a list of the most common symbols and what each one protects:

Symbol 21 Any auto
Symbol 22 All owned autos
Symbol 23 Owned private passenger autos only
Symbol 24 Owned autos other than private passenger
Symbol 25 Owned autos subject to no fault laws
Symbol 26 Owned autos subject to Uninsured Motorists law
Symbol 27 Specifically described autos
Symbol 28 Hired autos only
Symbol 29 Non-Owned autos used in the Garage Business
Symbol 30 Autos Left for Service/Repair/Storage
Symbol 31 Autos on Consignment

As you have probably figured out, if you are an automobile dealer and you have symbol 30 on your policy, you would find yourself without coverage. So why not just put symbol 21 on all coverages? Well, since code 21 is the broadest coverage, you would have to pay more for this insurance policy and in some cases you might be purchasing insurance protection that you didn't really need.

Take some time to look at your policy carefully and review the symbols for each line of coverage to make sure that they are appropriate for the work you do. If you need help with this process, consult your agent. If you agent doesn't specialize in businesses needing garage policy, ie dealers insurance and auto repair shop insurance, then find one who does. This protection is just too important to leave up to an agent who is practicing on the job learning on your policies.

Wake Clinard is the President of Clinard Insurance Group, a full service insurance agency located in Winston Salem, NC. Wake is dedicated to helping businesses involved in the automobile industry from used car dealers to repair and body shops to auto parts stores. Clinard Insurance is the go to market for used car dealers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee and Virginia.