Rosemary Cheramie
October 25, 2016
Used car dealers say local market remains steady
October 25, 2016
Car dealerships all have their slogans and their talking points.
We see and hear them all literally every day in newspaper advertisements, on billboards and on TV/radio commercials.
But this week, folks in the Houma-Thibodaux area told us what really matters most to them when they’re attempting to buy a vehicle.
The Times spoke with 12 people this week who identified that they either recently bought an automobile or who will be buying one in the next year.
The small sample shed light on the things that are most important to them when making a major purchase – a wide-ranging list that isn’t far off from the conveniences that most local dealerships offer throughout the Houma-Thibodaux area.
AFFORDABLE, NEGOTIABLE PRICE
Of course, everyone wants a good price.
Literally every, single shopper sampled this week said that affordable, negotiable pricing was a huge factor in the car-buying process.
Houma native Joe Stanton said he thinks area dealerships do a fair job of offering sales throughout the year to make prices more affordable.
Thibodaux native Betsy Reeves said she and her husband decide on a dealership based on how negotiable the salesperson is at the point of a sale.
“They have to make money to stay in business,” Reeves said. “And I respect that. But, if you’re not going to be willing to work with me, then I don’t want to work with you, either. For one of my cars, we got $2,500 off the sticker price. For another, we got even more. To be flexible and to be willing to help out is something that we look for, and I think it’s something that everyone looks for, as well.”
Houma native Ross Verdin agreed. Verdin said the downturn in the local economy makes pricing far more important to his family than ever before.
The Houma native said he values dealerships that offer trade-ins as down payment toward the purchase of another vehicle – a convenience that has grown locally in the past several years.
“Not everyone has the money to just put three or four grand down up front to lessen the note,” Verdin said. “But if they allow you to trade in your older car, or offer ways to try and help out with that down-payment, then it’s very appealing to me – especially as long as the work is going to be slow and the price of oil is going to be as low as it is.”
SERVICE AFTER THE SALE
Automobiles are intricate machines. Today, they’re filled with computers, sensors and other bells and whistles that, if not properly functioning, can set of a check engine light or even worse, can leave one stranded on the side of the road.
Because of that inevitability of something happening, customers sampled said it’s important to them to have the option to have service after the sale.
Raceland native Rose Berthelot said she bought a car when living in New Orleans, and it was a lemon.
“The whole first six months, I was in the shop every, other week,” Berthelot said. “Something was wrong with the internal computer, so it would trigger off things left and right,”
In that bad experience, Berthelot said she nearly had to get lawyers involved to finally get a new vehicle.
Because of that, she said the first question she asks at the car lot is about warranties, and how will things get fixed if something goes wrong.
“Once you get burned once, you put things in motion to make sure that you never get burned again,” Berthelot said. “I learned my lesson. You think buying a car is going to be a joyous time, and 99 times out of 100, it is. But I was on the wrong end of that one time where it goes bad, so I want to always make 100 percent sure that plans are in place, in case something goes wrong.”
Houma native Brantley Fabre agrees. He said that he wants warranty support, but also a dealership that can fix it themselves if something goes wrong.
He said he only shops for automobiles at places with full-service repair shops. Fabre added that the ability for a dealership to stay close to him after the sale is more important to him than any other element – including price.
