By Pete Ridgard

When its time to buy a new car, many people just go to the nearest dealership or the one they have the most experience with. Car Dealers have a few common characteristics that can vary widely from location to location. Many dealerships have different stock, both in the number of vehicles on hand and the model of vehicle. Another difference is the current specials. Some dealers can perform certain repairs and routine maintenance, while others have different amenities offered. The biggest difference of course is reputation.

Stock is the blood of business, and Car Dealers are no different. Many dealers specialize in a specific vehicle make or a family of vehicle makes. If a dealer does offer different makes, they are usually made by the same company. Some car dealers are so successful that they open multiple locations; each location can specialize in a certain family or they can all sell the same family. Many times car dealers get a kickback from the company for complying with a national special. Because dealerships are more like franchises than owned by the car companies, they are not forced to cooperate with those advertised specials. But it is in their best interest to cooperate because they can lose many customers by not cooperating.

Larger dealerships frequently have an attached garage and employ 4-6 mechanics. This is so that they can offer company certified maintenance technicians. Some people prefer to use the certified mechanics over other mechanics because they believe it is better for their vehicle and warranty. Other times, a person has no choice because they have a specialized car that typical mechanics can’t work on. A Toyota Prius is such a car, along with many vehicles in the BMW line. Some car dealers like to offer different perks, ones that are useful immediately. They may offer a play area for children if they offer family vehicles, or they may have a shuttle service if their main client base are business people.

Of course, all of the perks won’t do Car Dealers any good if they have a bad reputation. There are many ways to get a bad reputation. Just one bad customer experience can have lasting consequences. Take the above situation for example. If a dealership decided it didn’t want to participate in a national sales event and told just one customer that they weren’t participating, the consequences could be huge. That one person tells his 5 closest friends, who go on to tell 5 more friends, and so on until everyone knows about it and that car dealer has no more customers.