Putting the Vroom Vroom in the Car Buying Process: Going from O to Keys

Your time is precious and you don’t want to spend hours in a car dealership hunting for your next vehicle. There are some key ways to avoid wasting time and energy on your next purchase.

Do Your Homework

Before you even step foot into a dealership, narrow your selection down to a few vehicles. Read Car and Driver, Auto Week, Consumer Reports and other reputable car magazines to educate yourself. You can also go online and begin your search by reading up on the latest models on manufacturer websites as well as car forums and blogs.  

Ask yourself these questions to help you narrow what you are looking for:

• Are you searching for a family sedan or an SUV to haul your family around?
• Is fuel economy your main reason for buying a new vehicle?
• Do you haul a boat or trailer and need more power?

Having these answers will help to define your search and let you zero in on the vehicle you need.

It’s all in the Details

Once you have narrowed your selection down to a few different vehicles, compare the different features offered. Your local dealership’s website is a great source for information. You can compare the features, fuel economy, and prices on all their models. Decide what features are important to you.

If you are trading in your vehicle, go to Kelly Blue Book and look up your vehicle’s trade-in value. This knowledge will prepare for the negotiating table.  

Financing

Go to your local bank or credit union and see what rates and deals you can obtain before you go car shopping. You can even do some of this research online, including using a local dealership’s online finance tools and calculators. Knowing your budget will assist you in your selection. It will also speed up the car buying process when you come in pre-approved.

If you would rather have in-house financing, be aware of your credit and budget when you shop. This way there will be no surprises. You won’t have to spend precious time waiting while the dealership locates a lender that will work with you.

Test Drive  

You have the car you want in mind. You show up at the dealership and get dazzled by a make and model that is not want you are looking for. Don’t waste your time test driving vehicles that don’t fit the bill. Keep focused and only test drive what you want. This will keep the vehicle purchase on the right path.

Closing the Deal

You have done your homework, secured great low-cost financing, and test drove your dream car.  Now it’s time to make a reasonable offer both you and the dealership can live with. A little preparation will go a long way in shortening the time you spend buying your next car. Have in mind where you would like to end up on the final price and realize that the dealership wants to work with you to close the deal and hand you those keys.

What’s Your Experience?

Tell us about your experience when buying a vehicle? Did you have an exceptional customer experience with Melloy? Or, do you have questions about what else you can do to prepare for a vehicle purchase? Let us know below.

Come Join Us at the New Mexico State Fair!

Melloy Dodge is hosting a booth this year at the New Mexico State Fair. We are also the proud sponsor of the PRCA Rodeo this year.  Our knowledgeable staff will be on hand to greet you and show you around. The Melloy Dodge booth will be overflowing with our latest Dodge cars and SUVs and Ram trucks. Come on down and check out our great selection of high-quality good looking vehicles. Our extensive inventory makes it possible to give you the best prices around. 

Inventory Galore

Here is a peek at some of our inventory.

• Dodge Avenger Lux: This sleek sedan features a 3.6L V-6 engine that purrs while enjoying a healthy fuel economy. Its 4-wheel independent suspension glides over the roughest roads.  
• Dodge Challenger R/T Coupe: Get your motor running and slide into this retro Challenger and feel the wind on your face as you fly pass the competition with 372 hp under the hood.
• Dodge Charger: Dodge brought sexy back with their 2012 Charger that leaves you breathless. Its 5.7L V-8 gives you power you want to handle any course.  
• Dodge Nitro Heat: Loading up the family and heading out for an adventure has never been this easy. Dodge Nitro seats 5 people comfortably and there is plenty of storage for all your gear. This handsome vehicle comes standard with a 36 month/36,000 mile warranty.    
• Ram 1500 Laramie Truck: This powerhouse is sure to satisfy. Featuring 8,350 lbs. of towing capabilities with a 5.7L V-8 engine. This truck performs beautifully under the most strenuous conditions.
• Ram 3500 Big Horn Truck Mega Cab: Are you looking for bad boy? Our 2012 Ram 3500 Big Horn Truck features an impressive 6.7L I-6 cycle engine that delivers 350hp @ 3,000 rpm. Now that’s performance.     

Rope Your New Ride

Come on down and join us for some great family fun and rodeo excitement at this year’s fair. Bring the kids and head over to our booth and talk to one of our knowledgeable sales staff and find out how easy it is to get into the car, truck, or SUV you love today.

Our hot summer deals are running on an assortment of quality new and pre-owned Dodge and Ram vehicles. Incentives are available to put you in the vehicle you’ve had your eye on.  We offer financing from top lenders bound to meet your monthly budget and work within your credit qualifications.  

 The fair runs through September 25, 2011. See you there!

Using Melloy Dodge’s Vehicle Finder Feature

While some of us know exactly what type of vehicle we want, others are not so sure. Whether you know what you are after or not, there is still a considerable amount of research to be done. After all, you want to get the best price and you may even desire a specific color or have a list of features that are important.



It would seem though that the search for a vehicle and knowing what you want is not the easiest part of the vehicle purchase process. According to Kelley Blue Book and Kelley Blue Book Marketing Research, approximately 80 percent of vehicle shoppers who use the Kelley Blue Book website have not yet decided on which model they will buy and fewer than 50 percent even know what it is that they are even interested in. That means they spend a lot of time doing research and comparing makes and models.






Ways to Research and Compare Vehicles

There seem to be a wide range of ways to compare and research available vehicles, their features, costs, etc. Numerous websites use their own software and search engines to help consumers look at retail pricing, safety data, consumers and industry reviews, technical specifications and more.



Having this type of information at your finger tips is ideal, seeing that the more new models appear each year with hundreds of makes and models now available to select. Finding the right one that fits your lifestyle and, more importantly, the one that goes with your budget, is ideal.



Melloy Dodge’s Car Finder

Because technology is truly changing the car, truck, and SUV search for consumers, helping to save them time while also giving them greater access to more comprehensive information, dealerships are also enhancing the vehicle search experience. Our feature offers you a way to reduce your research time and let someone else do the searching for you.





Melloy Dodge now offers a free, no obligation, and confidential CarFinder tool. This helps you describe what you are looking for in a desired car, truck, or SUV. This is then submitted electronically to us so we can start working on locating that ideal vehicle. Once we are able to find that car, truck, or SUV for you, then you automatically receive the details about the potential vehicles that we found. The descriptions often include photographs so you can be sure it’s the right one for you or you can choose between the many potential vehicles we found on your behalf.



The CarFinder tool asks for some general contact information. You will also have a chance to fill in vehicle information, including the preferred type (make and model), range of years, preferred mileage (also as a range), price (also as a range) and any comments where you can provide some more details on what you would like to find. Other options that help narrow the field of choice include body style and transmission. Your last options on the CarFinder tool are the number of weeks allotted to conduct the search – from one week to eight weeks. All of these choices help Melloy Dodge focus on getting the right vehicle for you. It saves time and money as well as provides a way for a dealership to offer a value-added dimension to their relationship with you as a vehicle shopper and buyer.





Have You Found It?

If you have used the CarFinder tool, please tell us how it worked for you. Or, if you have questions about how it works, leave those concerns below and we’ll be happy to contact you with answers.

Aftermarket Accessories: Do They Affect Your Vehicle’s Value?

Depending on the vehicle you bought and your budget, it’s always been easy to add some extra value into the mix, including air conditioning, power steering, power doors, and sound system upgrades. Now, there are even more options available when you buy a vehicle at the dealership.

However, not all of these items have to be installed at the time of purchase. That’s because a whole new market has developed in the last few years based on the consumer desire to customize their car. This is the aftermarket accessories industry. While it’s great to have the ability to bling out your car or add more bells and whistles, the question is: Do aftermarket accessories affect the value of your car in a good or bad way? Let’s find out.

Aftermarket Fun

There is a wide range of possibilities now available through aftermarket companies. You can add a wide range of cool gadgets, such as in-car navigation, a DVD entertainment system, satellite radio, in-vehicle Bluetooth technology and back-up cameras. Or, if you prefer to add a special look to your car, you can install alloy wheels, performance suspension packages, special paint jobs or heated leather seats.

As cars have become more cookie-cutter in their shape and look, consumers have been driven to customize and individualize their rides. Others want to make their vehicles more fun since they have to commute or they want their kids to be entertained while on long road trips. Other aftermarket accessories aid in safety by providing direction or a way to call for help, if necessary.

The Specialty Equipment Market Association, or SEMA, reported that the average U.S. consumer spends about $2,000 on customizing their vehicle within the first year of purchase by adding aftermarket accessories.

But, Where’s the Value?

However, the real question is whether spending all this money on aftermarket accessories offers a return on investment by raising the value of the vehicle. There are two ways to respond to this question.

The first response is somewhat negative. Some believe that the value can be diminished if a person customizes their car so much to their own personal taste that no one else may want to buy it. This is similar to a house where rooms might be painted canary yellow or bright pink versus a soothing shade of beige. If a vehicle has seats with a person’s initials in bright green or skulls and flames are painted on the hood, there might not be a wide market of interest if that vehicle goes up for sale.

However, it’s important to know what adds value and on what type of vehicle. For example, a consumer will expect that a luxury vehicle like a BMW or Cadillac will already have certain features on it. So, if they don’t, they may not sell for as much in the resale market.

Therefore, there are ways to enjoy that special look and still make it highly valuable for sale. One of the best ways to do this is to add accessories that the majority of other consumers like or want. For instance, rims, also known as custom wheels, are popular, easy to add, and are an attractive upgrade to another buyer. Not only do they look great, but they add to the performance and handling, which adds up to a good return on investment.

Another area that is believed to add to a vehicle’s value is most aftermarket accessories that involve mobile electronics. This would include the highly popular aftermarket GPS navigation systems, hand-free devices, DVD entertainment systems, and aftermarket stereo systems (however, stereo systems may soon be replaced with more devices that allow for MP3 plug-ins versus the old school CD player). There are other aftermarket accessories thought to add value, including leather seats and leather interiors, sunroofs and moon roofs, intelligent keys and body kits (bed liners, grilles, step-bars, fascias, running boards, legal window tinting and taillight kits).

Aftermarket Advice

·        When considering what aftermarket accessories to add and how much to upgrade or customize your vehicle, the best advice is to not go overboard.

·        Keep the accessories within reason for the type of vehicle you have, what you do with the vehicle, and in line with your plans for how long you want to keep the vehicle. If you only plan on owning it for a few years, don’t put that much into it. However, if it is your fun car or weekend ride and you’ll be garaging it for years, then make it your own.

·        You may also want to take care that the accessories you add will not void the warranty.

·        Be careful what you add in terms of over-personalizing it because a dealer may not be able to sell it and may only offer you the base Kelly Blue Book value. Or, even worse, you might not be able to sell it at all.

·        Consider sticking with the factory option packages provided by the vehicle manufacturer because these are often the attractive extras that will help when reselling a vehicle. And, in the meantime, you can enjoy the added comfort and convenience afforded by purchasing these option packages.

What’s Your Aftermarket Experience?

What is your experience with aftermarket accessories? Have they helped or hindered the sale of a vehicle? Have you bought a vehicle because of the extras? Tell us below.