Many motorists have learned the hard way that you should not walk into one of the many Holden dealers here in Auckland unprepared. No, not that the dealerships are out to fleece you. Far from it. In fact, their professional sales reps are always on their best behavior, waiting on you hand and foot.
Well, if all is nice and dandy on the dealership’s end, what could be the problem? Well, read on to find out.
A dizzying variety of cars
As one of the largest and oldest car manufacturers in the country, the General Motors – Holden company carries an impressive range of vehicles. The showrooms are chockfull of both locally manufactured models and exotic imports. They sell just about any make and model you’d wish to buy or own.
And therein lies the problem. A quick tour around the dealership can quickly turn into a kid in a candy store situation. Moving from one beautiful car to the next can quickly muddle up your decision-making abilities.
Add a skilled sales rep who’s waxing lyrical about the virtues of each make and model to the mix and down the rabbit hole you go. The ever-helpful sales rep will answer and just about every question you have, leaving you bewildered and confused.
They supply you with all the necessary information, and patiently wait for you to make a decision.
Decisions, decisions, decisions
So here you are, a starry-eyed car buyer faced with almost a limitless choice of vehicles. What do you pick? An Astra sedan or a hatchback? A Trax or an Equinox? A sedan or a Commodore? Maybe a majestic workhorse such as a Colorado? The struggle is real, and soon you realise why most people dread buying a new car.
Sometimes dealerships run an offer on some great models to create room for incoming stock. And so, you begin examining the hot offers. Do you take the pricing discount? Or are you better off with seven years of free servicing? Or do you opt for five years unlimited km warranty and three years of free servicing? At this point, your head is spinning, and you’re ready to give up.
You have one of two choices, make a buying decision on the fly or take some time to process all the information flying around your head. Savvy buyers tend to realise their mistakes and live to fight another day. This is not the time to feel in the dark, not when tens of thousands of your hard-earned dollars are on the line.
How do you go about buying a new car?
A seamless car buying process calls for systematic planning to help you address all the critical issues. For starters, create a detailed car-buying budget down to the monthly payments. Next up, figure out your transportation needs then figure out which models fit the bill.
Now get on the internet and find the makes and models that fit both your budget and transportation needs. Examine the merit of each of these models and pare down the list to a few cars.
Go to the dealership and ask to test drive the cars on your list to get the feel of their handling as well as any available offers. Now you are ready to make a decision.
