A couple days in the life of an auto broker: He thought me a miracle man

Hello Loyal Beaverton Readers, I want to thank all of you once again who have written in and called about the most recent articles.

For the Month of February, I thought it important to talk about how many dealers seem to be focusing more on maximizing profit instead of customer service and customer satisfaction.

Recently, I received a call from Sue, a local Beaverton resident who was interested in getting a new Subaru Forester with the premium package. She said she had shopped around at two different Subaru stores and wasn’t able to get the color or package she wanted within a reasonable amount of time. Sue mentioned she had read my article in the Beaverton Resource Guide for many years and thought it was time to call me to see what I could do. Of course, I was happy to oblige.

After a quick conversation, I discovered she wanted a Premium Forester package #15 (good choice). I asked her how much the dealerships were asking and she humorously replied with “way too much”! Continuing, she mentioned that each dealer she visited kept pushing her to include additional items costing about $2500 above the MSRP. She did not feel this was a fair practice so she called me.

My first call was to my trusted friend who happens to be the fleet sales manager of a well-known dealership in Salem. He did a little poking around and in a very short time, told me that the vehicle in question was in stock. Needless to say, I was able to secure it for Sue that very same day. And, if you think this was the good news, it gets better because I was able to get the dealership to sell it for the dealer’s invoice, a $4800 savings! They even said they would deliver it to my office with the necessary paperwork since Sue could pay cash.

Sue, of course, was happy the process was so simple and said that the best part of the experience was not having to set foot inside a dealership. No travel time and no salesperson pressuring her to buy a warranty or any other additional items.

The next day, Sue arrived to pick up her new car with a checkbook in hand. 20 minutes later, she had a smile from ear to ear and driving home.

The lesson Sue learned: In recent years, more dealers are prioritizing maximum profit and clearly have less focus on customers having a good buying experience. Surely, this speaks volumes. What has become of a person simply wanting a fair deal on a vehicle purchase?

Please let us know if we can help with a new or used vehicle purchase or lease. If you have vehicle you wish to sell, we can help with that too. Call Larry at (503) 930-1493, email fergusonautobrokers@gmail.com or visit fergusonautobrokers.com