Buying a car can be a really stressful event, right? Not many people actually look forward to going into the car dealer and getting the high-pressure sales pitch then having to sit through a torturous negotiation process.
So when you hear the phrase “car dealer,” it probably has a lot of negative connotations. Who wants to go to the “car dealer”??
Not me.
I don’t think the problem is the “car” part … it’s the “deal” part. Pretty much everything else we buy in life (aside from cars and houses, mainly) is pretty easy: There’s a set price and you either pay it or you don’t. It’s easy.
But making a “deal” isn’t easy. It’s not fun.
So, at the risk of sounding like Andy Rooney, have you ever wondered why the auto industry hasn’t tried to change the name of its businesses? Rather than “car dealer,” I think they should call them car stores.
Car store.
Doesn’t that sound so much less intimidating? A lot of people enjoy going to the store. No pressure. No negative connotations.
“Let’s go to the Chevrolet store and see what they have.” That beats the heck out of “I have to go to the dealer and look for a car.”
I really think they should start rebranding the whole experience now. And start with the name. They’re car stores, not car dealers. (It would also help if they’d get rid of the high-pressure salespeople and the insufferable process that buying a car entails, but hey … gotta start somewhere.)
(Stock photo from Shutterstock.)
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