by kennethfsk

Created on: July 30, 2008   Last Updated: November 07, 2008

How do you know if you are being treated honestly by a dealer? That can be a tough one to figure out, but I will give you some helpful hints. The biggest way to figure out where to do business is ask people who have done business with them in the past. How did they get treated during the sales process? The next question you should ask is, have you heard from your sales person since you bought the vehicle. Although that is not a definite indicator as far as the dealership goes, it should shed some light on their professionalism.

A truly honest dealership will have honest sales people working for them. I know that sounds crazy, but they are out there you just need to find them. The best way to do that is look for a family owned dealership. Most of them take a lot of pride in how their customers are treated. One reason is because they will run into these people on a daily bases, and don't want people to think bad about them. These owners live in, and do business with the local community. They know a lot of people that do business with them, and it's their name on the sign, and their reputation at stake. The bigger dealers who are owned by large corporations don't tend to think that way. They are more concerned about the bottom line.

Before you start to do any business with the company, pay them a visit if you have the time. Wander around looking at all the aspects of the business. See if you can tell if the employees are happy another good sign. Talk to people in the waiting areas. Ask them how they have been treated. Would they buy there again? Talk to a sales person, and see if you feel comfortable. You don't have to tell them you are in the market for a car; just tell them you have one in service. They wouldn't know if you do or not.

Another great way to feel out the dealership is ask to speak to one of the managers, see if one will take the time to talk to you knowing full well you are not in the market for a car. Should he or she be too busy, and there doesn't look like there is much going on then it's a good sign they don't care a whole lot. As I stated earlier these are not full proof methods. That manager may very well be busy, but just stay alert, and you will be able to tell.

One sure fire method is to ask to speak to the owner, see if he or she will take the time out of there day to talk to you. If the owner does come out, and meet with you this is a real good sign, and at this point you may wish to divulge your intent of doing business with them, but you where airing on the side of caution. I can pretty much bet you will get a good deal at this point, because you just put his or her reputation on the line with anything they just said to you.

If you don't have the time to do all the other things then just ask up front if they have any problem with showing you the invoice on the car you select. If your sales person starts to do a two step be careful. However if he agrees then proceed, but keep him to his word when sitting down to negotiate. If the manager does not allow him to show you the invoice then you know he just lied to keep the sale moving forward.
Even armed with all this information they may still not be as honest as they seem, but if you get this far and everything looks good you should do business with them. If you go to two or three dealers, you will see the different reactions to these requests, and with a little common sense, you will figure out who is honest, and who isn't.

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