Changes in technology, new customer expectations, and personal integrity have transformed many segments of the automotive industry, so much so, that some “Best Price” dealerships really are no haggle and trustworthy.
For example, at Maverick Car Company, we value integrity in price above all else, and have four specific principles —including integrity— that guide our car and truck pricing philosophy.
Unfortunately, this is not always true for every car dealership that claims to offer its “Best Price” or promises “No Haggling.” But for the most part, auto shoppers can, in fact, trust “Best Price” dealerships and stop haggling or negotiating on car prices.
Before we explain why this is the case, let’s take a moment to consider how we got to this point.
Bad Car Salespeople
After decades of high-pressure sales, lies, and con-artist-style persuasion techniques, car salespeople had earned a very bad reputation. So much so, that they became a cultural stereotype.
As evidence, consider Robert Zemechis’ 1980 film, Used Cars. The dark comedy shows off some of the car industry’s worst practices. This is evident even in the movie’s trailer, which begins with text moving across the screen like the opening of Star Wars.
“At last, a controversial new motion picture that dares to deal with a serious contemporary problem which every man, woman, and child must come to grips with at least once in their lifetime…” the scrolling text read.
Next, a lemon appears. It is so close you can see the dimples and divots on its skin. You hear car salesman Rudy Russo —played by a young Kurt Russel— say, “They don’t make them like this any more. Why don’t you go ahead and sit inside, go ahead.
“There is new upholstery and just 27,000 miles, and we just gave the engine a complete overhaul yesterday. Go ahead, kick her over.”
We hear the engine. It sounds like someone gargling sand. It won’t turn over. A second time the engine whinnies. It won’t turn over. A third time, we hear the engine struggling. It is weaker now. A fourth time, and it simply dies.
An enthusiastic Russo says, “Isn’t that the quietest engine you’ve ever heard in your life?”
Next, the trailer shows us a series of “sales.” Each time the salesperson says, “trust me” as a shopper drives away in a car while its door falls off, its rear bumper drops in the mud, or the tailgate gives way.
As exaggerated as the trailer was, it still represented how folks used to feel about car sales folks.
What Changed?
At the beginning of this article, we said that car salespeople (and the dealerships that employ them) had changed and that so-called “Best Price” or “No Haggle” dealerships were trustworthy. This begs the question, what changed? What transformed an industry and a profession?
Litigation
First, bad car salespeople and bad car dealerships got sued. In fact, in the movie Used Cars mentioned above, as a further example, the dealership is under fraud investigation.
Litigation is a powerful tool to limit or discourage dealership fraud. Put another way, good business folks understand that they cannot cheat their customers without consequences.
The Internet
The rise of the internet had led to unprecedented price transparency and an eruption of business rating and review websites.
Both of these trends helped to improve the car sales industry. For example, now, if you wanted to shop for a used Ford F150, you could look on the Maverick website. You could visit Autotrader, Cars.com, or CarGurus. You could also look at dozens of other dealer websites, Craigslist, Ebay, and more. The truth is that if a dealership jacked up its prices artificially, you would know it the moment you compared those prices to every similar vehicle shown online.
Thus, “Best Price” dealerships simply understand that you will have no problem finding a fair price for any vehicle, so why not show you, the customer, the very best price right from the beginning. Price transparency has really eliminated the need to haggle over price, and dealerships that are haggling might have something else to hide.
Next, as mentioned above, it is also very easy to rate and review a dealership. Every time you search for a dealership on Google, for example, the search engine shows you how other shoppers rated the dealership. If a dealership was acting badly, Google would know.
Professionalism
As litigation and the Internet pushed bad actors, if you will, out of the industry, good business people came in.
“Best Price” dealerships like Maverick, employ real professionals. These are folks who might have as much experience in customer service or retail sales as they do with car sales.
Our salespeople are not paid a commission based on how much the dealership makes when you buy a car, so they have no incentive to “put” you in a particular vehicle or encourage you to spend more. They are professionals just like any others.
For all of these reasons, you should really be able to trust your local “Best Price” used car dealership.