"I'm old school! I need to see it and touch it first."
That's our biggest objection. It's completely understandable. But once you read this article, you may have a change of heart.
We'll cover:
The reality of traditional buying
When online buying is a bad idea
When online buying is a great idea!
The Reality of Traditional Vehicle Buying 🚘
You have two options: Buy from dealership or individual. Both are fraught with peril. An individual can lie to you with near impunity -- it's an as-is sale with no seller accountability. And we all know the problems with dealership buying.
But beyond the well known dealership buying issues, most customers don't take a step back to consider the true dealership buying process. Let's briefly walk though it:
You park and are assaulted by throngs of salesmen. You feel like Kim Kardashian walking through the mall.
You wander the lot. After minutes to hours of aimless walking, you mercifully find a vehicle. You question the salesmen about it, but they are clueless about the mechanics, body, or history. At best, they read the window sticker -- um, you can do that too.
Spend hours test driving and negotiating. They put you in a cubicle and draw four squares on a piece of paper. Politeness keeps you from running.
If you make it through, you leave with your car.
What just happened? You bought a vehicle but have no clue what you just bought because you're not a car professional. You weren't told if body panels were repainted, what was repaired (if anything), or other pertinent information. But, to the "old school" buyer, it all worked out because he or she got to see it and touch it! Yikes. Our system avoids all of these problems.
However, it's not for everyone...
When Online Car Buying is a Bad Idea 🙅♂️
We value transparency above all else, so in sticking with our corporate values, let's cover when you shouldn't buy from us.
You aren't sure if a specific vehicle will fit your needs. If you need a vehicle big enough for your car seat, and you're unsure if it'll fit, you either need to try it in a local vehicle first or buy locally. The same goes for a variety of other decisions -- will you like driving vehicle X, does vehicle Y accelerate fast enough, etc.
You're generally nervous. If you think this transaction will keep you up at night fretting, don't do it.
You don't give us the benefit of the doubt. For this to work, you must assume that we aren't scam artists trying to take your money. We work hard to earn that trust through methods detailed below. But if you have any concerns that we might be here to conn you, this is not for you. (And as an aside, we'd love your feedback on what made you feel uncomfortable!)
You need a lot of personal attention. We're more of a Walmart experience than Nordstroms. We got rid of salesmen because they lie and cost a lot of money. And who really wants to talk to a used car salesman? However, no salesmen means that we must wear all hats -- vehicle buyers, mechanics, programmers, business developers, and customer service. To that end, we had to turn off the business phones and communicate all online. We strive for exceptional online service, but we realize it's not for everyone.
You're unwilling to read the ad. Buyers have some work to do too. You need to read the ad, watch the video, go through the pictures, and ask any needed clarifying questions.
When Online Car Buying is a Great Idea 🎉
When you're reasonably sure a specific vehicle will work, you're not overly nervous, you're willing to give us the benefit of the doubt, you don't need a ton of personal attention, and you're willing to read the online ad.
It's that simple!
But most other dealerships can't pull online sales off. Here's our secrets to make this work:
Honesty. It's easy to say. All sellers tell you to believe them -- after all, they're honest. We don't. We want to prove to you that we are honest. We do that through our brutally frank vehicle evaluations, driving videos, and Canon 6D dSLR pictures that show every imperfection with extraordinary detail. We believe that no one expects a perfect used car. Rather, they simply want to know what's wrong, if the issues are acceptable to their personal needs, and if the price is fair in relation to the issues.
Technology. We are a car dealership and software company. There are no commercial dealer software packages that can bring you the frank, honest truth about every vehicle, so we made our own.
Pricing. If you can buy the same vehicle at the end of the block for the same price as one across the country, we are out of business. Our prices must be very aggressive.
Efficiency. We ❤️ efficiency. And because we wrote our own software, we could tailor the buying experience to how we want to buy -- just facts, honesty, speed, and numbers. We negotiate everything online and make the process as simple and quick as possible.