Buying a new car
So I bought a new(used) car today. It’s nothing fancy but it is far newer than anything I have ever bought before. I would have to say the service and professionalism that I received from the dealer was unmatched by any one I talked to about buying a car. The dealer’s name was John Kelly, and did everything he could to get the car I wanted down to the price that I needed. Now you might say “so what, that’s what he better do if he wants to sell a car in this economy”. To that I say “This dealer has been ranked first or second in customer service and satisfaction for over forty years”, and from my experience I can see why.
Now before you just dismiss this as ad for the dealer read this story from my trek to find a new car. I began my search at a bigger dealer in my hometown. So I pull in to the lot with my older brother (who used to sell cars in his younger years). We got out of the car and a salesman was all over us. I was honest with him about what I was looking for and what my price range was. This salesmen proceeds to show me a ‘99 Honda Civic EX. I then ask him how much he wants for it and it’s about $2000 higher than what it’s really worth. But I play along for a little bit and ask a few more questions, and then he goes inside the dealership to get the keys. After a couple of minutes he comes back with a set of keys, but not the keys for this car. Rather than going in and getting the right key, he tries the wrong key over and over again. Finally realizing that he has the wrong key he goes back in to get the right one. With the right key in hand he gets the car open and I get a good look inside, and it’s pretty clean. So I pop the hood and take a look at the engine, also clean (probably pressure washed). Then he proceeds to say “I’m going to earn your business and you’ll come back”. To that I respond “Well that is the general Idea”. This throws him for a bit of a loop and he gives me this puzzled look and then repeats his line. Then he asks if I want to take it for a test drive, that’s when my brother says that we don’t have the time because he has to pick up his son from school (a white lie, but who cares). So he says “let me give you a business card”, and pulls out a wallet that does not have a card in it. So he goes inside to get a card and takes about five minutes, or longer, because at that point I said screw him let’s go.
Now my experience with John was far more satisfying. He wasn’t all over me like the first guy and he showed me a few different cars in my price range. He let my brother and I test drive the car of my choice and put absolutely no pressure on me. But the cars that he had available were not really what I was looking for. So we left to look at some other places. As we pulled in to the lot with the crappy salesmen I talked about before, he called and said he had another car that be of more interest to me but it was at the top of my price range but he would do some work to get it down some. So I drove back by myself a little later to see what he had to offer. When I got there he handed me the keys and a dealer tag and told me to take it for a ride. But he also said before you fall in love with it, it is a little over your highest price. I was fine with that because I was pretty sure that I could get a few hundred dollars more from the bank if necessary. Well, I liked the car, and the price was great for the year and mileage so I had him write up a bill of sale so I could get the loan. I drove the car off the lot the next day.
All in all this was the best experience I’ve ever had buying a big ticket item and I would recommend John at Bob Kelly Chevrolet in North Baltimore Ohio. If you need a car, they will do their best to get you the best deal they can and keep you with service after the sale. After all, that’s the most important thing about buying a car in my opinion
