Shocked, I walked out the door and called Larry… I may never go to a dealership again
#BeavertonCarGuy
Hello loyal Beaverton readers! Thanks to everyone who wrote in regarding the last few articles. This month, I’d like to tell you a story about Amy Z.
Amy was referred to us after an unfortunate encounter at a local franchised dealership here on Canyon Road. In the past, this was her favorite dealership and had, over the past 20 years, purchased several vehicles without incident. She was a happy loyal customer so of course, when her current SUV needed servicing, she brought in her car to their service center.
While waiting for her car, she browsed the new cars on the lot thinking that it could be a good time to trade in the car being serviced for a new, more luxurious vehicle that she always wanted. With Amy’s husband having recently passed away from brain cancer, she did not have the energy to deal with a sneaky salesperson, but she felt comfortable at this longtime dealership and trusted she would not be “run through the ringer”.
The salesperson was happy to help and said her SUV being serviced had a trade in value of $20,500. She thought this was a pretty fair price and it was. After test driving the car, she had her eye on, she decided to sleep on her decision.
Now, in terms of our story, so far so good. Amy was happy and excited to make a no-fuss, hassle-free purchase of a new and much more comfortable vehicle. But this unfortunately is not a happy story even though it does have a happy ending. Let’s continue.
Later in the week, when she went back in to make her purchase, the dealership told her that there was an additional $7,000 markup on all new vehicles including the one she test drove. She wasn’t happy but understood that there was still a new vehicle shortage and thought with the good trade in value of her SUV, she could still make the numbers work out. Then the other shoe dropped while sitting with the salesman who told her she would only be getting $13,500 for her trade in! Shocked, walked out the door and contacted me.
Amy’s story is not unusual these days and this has increased the demand for the services of those like me, an auto broker. Why? Well, let’s continue Amy’s story as an example.
Within 24 hours, I was able to sell her SUV for $22,000. Next, later that day, we found her exact new vehicle at a dealership not in Beaverton. We secured the vehicle and had it delivered without Amy ever having to deal with a salesperson nor setting foot into a dealership. In the end, she was so very pleased, she asked me, “why anyone would ever want to go to a dealership these days?”
In the event anyone is in search of a new or pre-owned vehicle, please let us know. We would be honored to be of assistance. Plus if you currently have an unused vehicle you would like to sell, we can help with that too. We can be reached at fergusonautobrokers@gmail.com
