5 Ways to Shorten Your Car Dealership Experience

Buying a car can be a very time-consuming experience. Market research company Lab42 discovered the number one frustration of car buyers is “spending time on the process.” It’s not unusual to spend two to four hours in a dealership once you’ve decided to buy a car, new or used. Some of the complexity of the process just can't be avoided – it takes time. But, there are strategies that you can employ and actions that you can take to cut this time down to size.

Here are five ways to shorten your car dealership experience.

Before you go to the dealership and before you decide which car you want to buy, you have to take a good hard look at your financial situation to make a realistic assessment of how much you can afford to spend. Will you be paying cash? Decide how much you want to lay out. Will you be financing? Use Autobytel's payment calculator to estimate the total purchase price you can afford based on your available down payment, desired monthly payment, annual percentage rate you qualify for, and term of loan. If you’re honest with yourself about your budget, you can nail down the upper limit of your price range before you ever start shopping – and save yourself a lot of time in the dealership.

The biggest advantage that present-day consumers have over consumers of a previous generation is the access to information. No longer do you have to rely on a car salesman to be an expert, you have instant access to detailed vehicle specifications, pricing information, and a host of trusted expert opinion. You can even set up your own comparison among vehicles with the “compare cars” tool on Autobytel.com, creating an easy-to-read table comparing and contrasting prices, specifications and features among vehicles that you’re considering. When you’re ready to go to the dealership to negotiate a purchase, you’ll already be armed with a significant amount of information – a big, time-saving change over the shopping experience of the pre-internet days.

You’ve done your research, and you know how much you can afford to spend, and which vehicles meet your requirements and budget. Don’t fall into the trap of relying on the dealership’s finance office to arrange your car loan. Not only will this cost you a lot of wasted time, it can also cost you money. Dealerships make money on financing, taking a fee or a cut of the deal from the lender, so their incentive is to get the deal done – not to save you money. Use a tool like AutoGravity to secure financing before you step foot in your local dealership. Install the AutoGravity app on your smartphone, and follow the four steps of the AutoGravity process: Choose Your Car; Find a Dealership; Apply for Financing; and Select Offers to prepare for your dealership visit.

Dealerships have multiple ways to make money during the purchase process, and not all of them are transparent to you. Confining the negotiation to just one variable makes it possible to avoid a confusing morass, and to save time in the dealership. The only variable you should be negotiating with a dealer is the bottom line purchase price. Even though it’s tempting and easy, resist the urge to trade in your car when you buy a new one. Sell your car yourself, or sell it to a vehicle wholesaler or another dealership. As soon as you involve your trade-in, you’ve given the dealer a fudge-factor to improve their own profit at your expense. By undervaluing your trade-in, they can assure profit when they sell it on to their next buyer or to a wholesaler. That’s easy to see. But they can also over-value your trade-in on paper, and then charge you more for the new car than you would have paid if you were not encumbered by a vehicle that you needed to dispose of. If saving time is important to you, don’t add complication to the process.

Use the tools that you can find on Autobytel.com to determine which car you desire and can afford, then use the AutoGravity app to find the car you want at your local dealership, and arrange financing offers. You’ve sold your old vehicle to a solid citizen at a fair price (above wholesale). You’re now empowered to negotiate the purchase price and delivery of your new vehicle. If you’re really confident about your vehicle choice, and you don’t need to test-drive in order to make a final decision, you may be able to elevate your game to expert level. You may be able to arrange for a new vehicle to be delivered to you at home along with paperwork for you to sign, sidestepping the dealership experience entirely. Ask your local dealership if they are willing to provide this service. If you live close to multiple dealerships, let them know that the dealer who is willing to bring the car to you is the one who will get your business. Congratulations: You’re a car buying expert.