Which Is More Important To You, The Dealer Or The Brand?

YES - and there are still THousands of them owned by Individual owners - who take a daily interest in their business. When my brother owned his dealership -= HE was the Service Manager. ANd while I doubt many others are - I do still know of a few who are on the floors of their dealerships working to make a living and maintain a good reputation in their communities. While Manufacturers favor huge conglomerates for dealerships in major Metro Areas - there are plenty of smaller markets where those things do not exist.

For years - I dealt with only ONE Mercedes dealership - because the first car I bought there I bought from the owner - and I knew the Long time service Manager (He was there for 40 years when he retired). It was bought by another dealer when he died - and it is not the same.

THe comparison is a problem - obviously - because a good dealer does not make a bad car good. But I have advocated in the past - and still do today - that it is worth a few extra dollars to have local dealers who really are interested in their customer - than go to a AUTO MALL where you MIGHT get a better price - but will have to deal with constant turn over in the service department - and the Service manager of the week.

Oh - and BY THE WAY - that is how most of the really expensive cars that are sold - are sold. You won't find a new ROLLS or Ferrari in an AUto Mall.

Yes, paying the asking price because you're too lazy to negotiate, is definitely better for me. Consider me your Givership. I'll give you the figure and you can pay it.

Oh Matt - NONSENSE - TOO bad YOU cannot read - I never said any such thing nor did anyone else.

Just because one goes to a small dealership does not mean that they do not negotiate price - and it also does not mean that you cannot get a better price as well - the small dealership - often older - has less overhead - probably owns his facility and probably has a better deal for inventory. THe difference is you will likely not be confronted by a bunch of HIGH pressure salespeople that the AUTO mall churns - you will likely be met by someone who has been there for decades. ANd the small dealership DOES compete with the bigger ones on price.

His disadvantage - smaller market and lower sales means his volume kickbacks are likely smaller simply because he cannot sell as many cars as the AutoMall. It is probably a wash - as the Auto Mall keeps far more cars in inventory that they have to debt service.

@TomM Hitting the Jack Daniels again I see.

The Brand. I can buy the same car multiple dealerships, so if one is bad, on to the next. A dealership can get my loyalty though.

If the dealer is good for me, I'll stick with them. I have no dealer loyalty.

If the brand serves me, I'll stick with them. I have no brand loyalty.

A bad dealer leads to a bad brand experience. Most dealers earn and deserve their bad reputations. Only one dealership out of dozens in my area has earned my loyalty. All the rest have always acted in a greedy money grabbing dishonest fashion with little regards for the customer.
Sad. Worse of all is that they treat you badly then kiss up to you begging for a good rating when the manufacturer sends out a survey.

There is nothing worse then when they ask to rank all 10s. It completely defeats the purpose of the survey and its intention for the brand to fix what is wrong.

The research shows it's a bit of both. An excellent dealer experience creates repeat business, but so does a manufacturer that delivers an excellent product. The the intersection of both is pure profit.

Can always change a troublesome dealer but cannot change the brand of your car.

Haha that's my dealership in the pic above accompanying this article. Hate the dealership experience when purchasing but love it when I'm getting service. Infiniti of Ardmore is on the Main Line suburbs of Philadelphia (tons of money) and they really take care of you and make sure you feel really comfortable while getting serviced, snacks, coffee, interior/exterior mini-detail, rides to the train if you don't take a loaner, etc. They always look to see if there is a coupon, discount offer, or some freebie thrown in for the service I'm requesting, which causes me to use them even for basic things like oil changes and tire rotations which I could get elsewhere a lot cheaper. I remember getting insurance work two Q70s (M35/37s) ago and they gave me a new QX56 loaner for a week instead of making me use the rental car company to get some Hyundai or whatever. Great all around service.