We bought a Truck!

Yes, this isn't extremely noteworthy to most of you, but it is to us. Previous to the recent purchase we were a two small car family. Andy's Altima really could only fit two people, so we were more like a car and a half family. 18 mos ago we bought our dream house on a large lot, at the time it was basically .75 acres of poison ivy, weeds and buried treasure. 18 mos ago Andy was using a cooler with wheels on it to haul dirt and we were calling my parents weekly to make the hour long drive so we could use their truck to haul all the crap away. So to me, buying this truck was a bit of a turning point for us...well the truck and the wheelbarrow! We are becoming grown ups, we're now favoring function over image and common sense over everything that comes before it :) That's not to say my husband didn't end up with a bad ass truck (it even has remote start!), but I did see the 17 year old in him die a little bit that day as he traded in his sporty ride. Ok, now on to the post that actually has some content...how we bought the truck.

What I loved about our experience:

• Our salesperson was friendly. Even though I work with car dealers every day I'm still a bit nervous walking into a dealership.
• He assessed quickly and found a specific vehicle for us. He got the basics and then selected the vehicle for us, instead of us meandering around the lot. This is the first time I've had that type of experience and it was quick & easy. Nice.
• The test drive wasn't scary. He didn't talk the whole time, he didn't say things like "this baby would be great for bringing home a Christmas Tree next weekend," we talked about our dogs and I asked if a car seat would fit in the back (don't get any ideas-I'm just a planner!).
• When we got back to the lot he stayed in the vehicle with us and pointed out all the features and how they work. I've now purchased 5 vehicles in my life and never has anyone done this. Sounds so simple, but wow, it had me asking what else my car can do that I don't know about!
• We sat down to talk numbers and it was laid back. We weren't ready that night (we were hungry & it was late), so the saleperson suggested we take the truck home for the weekend to make sure it fit in our garage (a concern we brought up on the test drive). I realize this is a "tactic" in the car industry but it worked well on us. I was concerned it wouldn't fit in our 1950s garage, but it did. And lucky for the dealership, our neighbors had to come by and tell Andy how nice looking his new truck was.
• We kept our appointment Monday evening and bought the vehicle.
• Tuesday morning my insurance agent called to let me know our salesperson had already contacted him about our trade ins and the new vehicle. He had already written our new policy. THIS WAS SO HUGE! If dealers aren't doing this they should be. I know it's only one phone call but it's one I would have put off forever and dreaded dealing with.

What could have gone better:

• Financing. Not the F&I guy, I freaking loved him, just the process. I had offered earlier in the day to get info to them to get everything started and he had me wait until we got there. Customers with good credit would so much prefer to just walk in, sign and drive off. Instead we were there for an hour and a half waiting for our turn...
• Collecting info for the dealer. Before the demo he got Andy's license and logged us in, didn't ask for email or PHONE! Asked what brought us in, and then said "I'll just click newspaper" you can imagine how that made me feel! We were compeletly willing to go through the steps, if he only would have asked.

Consumers Willing to Spend More on Autos

Some good news is starting to leak out as we head into the Fall selling season. Kelley Blue Book (www.kbb.com) released a Market Intelligence Study earlier this month on the automotive market post clunkers. In the study they found the amount consumers are willing to spend on new vehicles actually increased after the national incentive program funded by the government. In August 2009 consumers reported they would spend $25,600 on a new vehicle, a number that has increased $1,671 to $27,271 in late September. The report also noted that customers are saying they are not waiting on incentives to purchase. This may be good news as many dealers feared Clunkers would have a similar consequences to the initial 0% offerings early in the 2000's or Employee Pricing later on. After these programs ended it seemed the public just started waiting until the next big discount from car manufacturers. I can report on the Diva front that new car mailers are up. Currently the best sales results are coming from Buyback letters sent to dealer databases or year/make owner lists we supply. Let us know if you'd like info on these. 317.644.5729, sthompson@triauto.com.