It makes complete sense that most car dealerships would get pretty awful reviews. Car buying is a stressful and tense activity that only happens once every few years. I of all people should know this because I recently had to shop for a new car for the first time in my life and I was petrified. It was giving me panic attacks to even think about the pressure I'd be receiving from salespeople and all the money I'd drop that I didn't want to.
That's why I was so surprised when we were helped by Bobby this weekend at Honda of SM. He was super laid-back from the start and it doesn't seem like an act. He was confident in his products and therefore never felt like he had to strongarm me into anything before I was ready. He knew I was looking at other cars and he didn't say a disparaging thing about any of them. Instead, he focused on the undeniable positives of the car I was looking at there, like safety ratings and reviews.
I was fooled into thinking all car salesmen were given a bad rap, but about four test drives later I experienced the quintessential pesky salesperson at another dealership. I called Bobby back and asked him a ton of questions over the phone and he answered all of them patiently and called me right back after he had to consult his manager about the price. He matched a quoted price from another dealership and arranged to have my car of choice in their dealership the next day and never once made me feel like I was being rushed or pressured.
The next day I stopped in and my only complaint was that it ended up taking much longer than I thought it would because I kept having such entertaining conversations with Bobby and Monique in finance. Honestly, that's not even a complaint...it was just as much my fault as theirs...they were just too fun!
Bobby and his colleagues were able to negotiate a low APR despite my short credit history and the price was actually a bit lower than what we had discussed the day before. While I did get offered the extended warranty, security system and GAP insurance, I never felt pressured to buy in.
The car took a bit longer than I thought it would to actually get to the lot from the other dealership, but once I got there I was so happy it didn't matter at all. I drove off comfortable with my decision and haven't had any buyer's remorse at all! That may be the first time ever for me!
Why can't all salespeople be like Bobby? Go Bobby!
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