A Bad Car Deal Gone Good!

Every one of us has a story to tell when it comes to purchasing a new or used car at a dealership.  Most of the stories don’t have the greatest ending.  Well, here is one that actually turned out very well.

My lady, Laura has never bought a car from a dealership in her entire life…ever!  A couple of weeks ago her loyal 1998 Honda with 289,000 miles on it decided it was time to quit.  Laura was in a quandary; buy a used vehicle privately with lots of miles or bite the bullet and get a lower mileage vehicle at the dealership.

I know the car dealership business rather well having been involved with the internet side of the business for many years.  I recommended that she look around at a few dealerships, which she did.  She decided that she wanted a Hyundai Elantra.  She checked out several and test drove a few at Gettel Hyundai in Lakewood Ranch.

I told the sales person from the start that I had a lot of knowledge regarding how dealerships sell cars and asked that they make this a pleasant experience for Laura.  We told him what payment she could afford along with finance options.  So, as many of you know who have purchased from a dealer, it can be a long drawn out process.  It was the same for us!  

Without going through every detail I will say that there was a point that I told the sales person and General Manager, “Thank you, but we can’t make a deal with you.”  Laura thought I was crazy as we were walking out the door.  Well, the GM asked me to come into his office, which I did.  We had a nice long chat and, believe it or not, Laura got the car she wanted at the exact price and payment that she could afford.

At the end of the day the GM, Mark Bedell, and the entire staff at Gettel Hyundai went out of their way to help.  I was really impressed.  Laura drove home with the car the same day.  

Congratulations to the team at Gettel Hyundai…you put a smile on a really nice lady’s face!