Car Buyer Labs

Car Buying Advice, Tips, and Reviews

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What Even is a Dealership? Making or Breaking Your Auto Sales Experience

You need a car, and you want it now, or maybe you need to get rid of the one you have, but no matter how hard you try you cannot find a suitable dealership. The fact of the matter is, you don’t even know where to start looking.

Dealerships in Charlotte, North Carolina are big on variety and quality. Maybe this is because it is an immense, beautiful city filled with museums, entertainment hubs, historical landmarks, and speaking of cars, the NASCAR Hall of Fame itself. There is no better area than Charlotte’s own walls to try to acquire not just a vehicle, but any vehicle you can imagine. Even selling can be a breeze for dealerships in Charlotte, NC. But, why just tell you all this? Let us start with the enlightening.

 

What Dealerships are in Charlotte, North Carolina?

Sometimes you want to know your options. Whether you’re a Fordian or a Chevite it never hurts to know what dealerships are in your area. After all, convenience is key. So, here are the dealership types you will find in Charlotte listed by approximate most to least amount of dealerships in the Charlotte, NC area:

  • Chevy
  • Ford
  • Honda
  • Dodge
  • Nissan
  • Subaru
  • Hyundai
  • Toyota

Now that you know your options, it is time to know exactly what to be looking for within this wide-open city.

 

What Makes a Buying Experience?

Whether you are searching dealerships in Charlotte for a new or used ride, there are a few important things you should definitely know about the dealership before even thinking about a purchase. Making a smart buy is 80% knowledge, 20% instinct.

 

Know About The Business

Everything from the years they were open to the hours they are open. Read every review you can find and be sure to look at their online site to check for clarity, quality, and variety.

 

Ask Questions

Not just a few questions, but every question you can think of. Questions on warranty, packages, past customer service experiences, and so on. Only a phony dealership will be aggravated or confused by well-placed questions. Knowledge is always a weapon that you should bring, and a dealer should never fear.

 

Know What You Want

You should have a good idea of the car you desire even before going in. From the make, model, year, and product code they use you should have it down flat. You can always have options though, and never be scared to get a dealer’s opinion as long as it helps your own going-in goals. Also never be scared to walk away. No matter what anyone says, you can always go back or find a better dealership.

 

What Breaks a Buying Experience?

The biggest breaker of a buying experience is discovering the dealership lacks reliability and service options.

 

No Reliability

If the dealership doesn’t have positive reviews anywhere, or even worse no reviews at all, you may have found a dud. It never hurts to check it out with your own eyes though to further inspect and ask questions. Just be prepared to have to make a bold escape if things become too pushy. “Pushy” is also something you should never put up with.

Another sign of bad reliability is a lack of communication outlets. Most decent dealerships will not only provide in-person meetings but phone conversations and online live chat options.

 

No Variety

It’s pretty simple; you can buy what they don’t have. A dealership without enough cars to make you at least look at a few other options on the way in is probably not in its prime. If it does have your desired make, model, and trim that is fabulous, but still be on guard with a low stock dealer.

 

What Makes a Selling Experience?

Just because buying can be confusing does not mean selling can’t be just as difficult. It still requires a ton of knowledge and experience that most don’t have. So here are a few selling tips:

  • Research the Kelley Blue Book value, and only accept comparable offers
  • Don’t always sell to the first or most enthusiastic buyer
  • Avoid the headache of a private sale altogether
  • Add value through easy cosmetic changes (cleaning and tune-ups)

 

What Breaks a Selling Experience?

These are some things you need to look out for when attempting to sell your pre-owned vehicle in a Charlotte Dealership:

  • Inconsistent fees and money order offers
  • Low variety
  • Lack of reviews or information
  • No consistent organization of time and availability

 

Why a Dealership in Charlotte North Carolina?

Other than it being a fabulous big city with a respect for automotives, Charlotte has a few benefits some places do not. First off, if you live in Charlotte going out of the city to buy is extremely illogical. It will cost the most since it is an out of town purchase, you will have to drive it all the way home, you will have to drive it all the way back if it problems occur, and you will gain no benefits other than a mini vacation you wouldn’t of had to take otherwise.

Secondly, Charlotte is a big city, and as such offers a wide variety of dealership options with every brand. Not only that, but it has a lot of people to keep tabs on what’s reliable or not.

Lastly, it is a dynamic area that is always growing, and dealerships thrive off of that type of environment since they too are a dynamic industry that must constantly adapt.

Don’t allow your next auto purchase or sale be a complete bust, because it is a completely avoidable fate. When it comes down to it, you are the one that makes or breaks a dealership.  Find a dealership, learn about it, and follow what your instincts tell you about it. You will be fine.