2,370 viewsI’ve learned so much about solutions for car dealers since I became a 360.Agency employee, working as a translator, just over a year ago. One of the aspects of my work that intrigues me the most is the world of online vehicle sales.
Is it really possible to carry out all the seemingly complicated steps of searching for a vehicle, negotiating the cost, figuring out a payment plan, and booking the test-drive online?
To find out how easy it really is to buy a car online, I decided to see how well our online vehicle sales tools perform, from the buyer’s point of view. So, read on to follow the adventures of how a 40-something mom buys a car online for the first time. You might be encouraged to try to buy your next car online, too.
Why buy a car online?
I’m a mom to two young kids, trying my best to raise them in an ever-changing pandemic life. My current car is on its last legs and is getting too small for my rapidly growing family. I’m looking for something newer, without breaking my budget. With a busy lifestyle and kids at home while I telework, I don’t have time to go to a dealership. I am hoping to do some of the legwork online, avoiding a visit to the dealership until the test-drive.
In the past, I have had some less than pleasant interactions at dealerships– once, the salesperson walked away once they saw that I wasn’t ready to buy then and there. Moreover, with our current health situation, it just makes sense for me to do most of my shopping at home, including buying a car online.
Why buy a car online?
I’m a mom to two young kids, trying my best to raise them in an ever-changing pandemic life. My current car is on its last legs and is getting too small for my rapidly growing family. I’m looking for something newer, without breaking my budget. With a busy lifestyle and kids at home while I telework, I don’t have time to go to a dealership. I am hoping to do some of the legwork online, avoiding a visit to the dealership until the test-drive.
In the past, I have had some less than pleasant interactions at dealerships– once, the salesperson walked away once they saw that I wasn’t ready to buy then and there. Moreover, with our current health situation, it just makes sense for me to do most of my shopping at home, including buying a car online.
Once I’d put my kids down to sleep for the night, I decided to browse different car brands on a wild and crazy Saturday night during curfew! I saw a vehicle I liked, a 2020 Kia Sorento. I went on to look at a few more crossovers, like the sweet Mazda 6. Once I started to shop on manufacturers’ sites, I saw that it was possible to buy my car online. Amazed that the future indeed is now, I decided to take the plunge and see if I could buy my car online and googled “Kia buy online”. It turns out that many dealerships offered this option, which strengthened my resolve to try online buying.
Next came the fun part! I am quite the comparative shopper and I soon had multiple open tabs on my browser, looking at manufacturers’ websites as well as the dealerships I had had good in-person interactions with when I shopped for my previous vehicle. Over the course of the weekend and a couple of hours researching vehicles, I had settled on a dealership and was debating whether to go with a 2020 Kia showroom model with no mileage or the newest 2021 Sorento.
Choosing my car
I ended up going with a popular, reputable dealership that sells new and used cars situated within a few kilometres of my house. In case I wanted to pop in the dealership to see my car in person, it seemed like a reasonable idea to shop online at a dealership near me.
As I was selecting my car’s colour and trim, a service representative appeared in an instant messaging chat box, asking whether I needed assistance. The chat functionality was really easy to use, and I asked the service representative a few questions about mileage and availability for the models I was interested in, but overall, everything I wanted to know was available online.
I could view the car in my virtual garage, change the trim and colour of it, and visualize the car in its 360 degrees of beauty. I also decided that I wanted a couple of accessories: I splurged on a roof rack and heated seats!
Once I’d put my kids down to sleep for the night, I decided to browse different car brands on a wild and crazy Saturday night during curfew! I saw a vehicle I liked, a 2020 Kia Sorento. I went on to look at a few more crossovers, like the sweet Mazda 6. Once I started to shop on manufacturers’ sites, I saw that it was possible to buy my car online. Amazed that the future indeed is now, I decided to take the plunge and see if I could buy my car online and googled “Kia buy online”. It turns out that many dealerships offered this option, which strengthened my resolve to try online buying.
Next came the fun part! I am quite the comparative shopper and I soon had multiple open tabs on my browser, looking at manufacturers’ websites as well as the dealerships I had had good in-person interactions with when I shopped for my previous vehicle. Over the course of the weekend and a couple of hours researching vehicles, I had settled on a dealership and was debating whether to go with a 2020 Kia showroom model with no mileage or the newest 2021 Sorento.
Choosing my car
I ended up going with a popular, reputable dealership that sells new and used cars situated within a few kilometres of my house. In case I wanted to pop in the dealership to see my car in person, it seemed like a reasonable idea to shop online at a dealership near me.
As I was selecting my car’s colour and trim, a service representative appeared in an instant messaging chat box, asking whether I needed assistance. The chat functionality was really easy to use, and I asked the service representative a few questions about mileage and availability for the models I was interested in, but overall, everything I wanted to know was available online. I could view the car in my virtual garage, change the trim and colour of it, and visualize the car in its 360 degrees of beauty. I also decided that I wanted a couple of accessories: I splurged on a roof rack and heated seats!
Since I was going to trade in my old vehicle, a 2007 Toyota, I input the information so that I could deduct the trade-in value of the vehicle from the final price of my new car. I spent some time playing around with different options for payment, deciding how many monthly payments I wanted to make and the length of time I would take to pay it off.
After consulting with my partner, we decided that bi-monthly payments suited our budget and lifestyle best. We are also going to put a good chunk of change as a down payment.
So, once I decided on my payments plan, I was happy to know that my new Kia would take us just three years to pay off.
During this stage of buying my car online, it got a little overwhelming to keep track of all the options when it comes to financing and payment schedules. I made notes on paper to make sure I wasn’t missing anything. Top tip: it helps to have a pen and paper on hand to note down the different payment options and schedules.
There was no way I felt comfortable buying without trying so I booked a test-drive through the chat function with my online sales rep.
Luckily, I was able to take a test-drive just a few days after my initial search. After driving both the 2020 and 2021, I decided on the newest model, the Kia Sorento LX with all-wheel drive in Black with my precious heated seats!
Booking a test-drive in advance, having already decided the payment plan for my new vehicle was so much speedier and way more convenient than waiting for the weekend to schlep my whole family to multiple dealerships. I mean, I love hanging out with my family, but spending an afternoon supervising my kids while trying to make informed decisions about a major purchase is not my idea of a perfect Saturday.
Since I was going to trade in my old vehicle, a 2007 Toyota, I input the information so that I could deduct the trade-in value of the vehicle from the final price of my new car. I spent some time playing around with different options for payment, deciding how many monthly payments I wanted to make and the length of time I would take to pay it off.
After consulting with my partner, we decided that bi-monthly payments suited our budget and lifestyle best. We are also going to put a good chunk of change as a down payment.
So once I decided on my payments plan, I was happy to know that my new Kia would take us just three years to pay off.
During this stage of buying my car online, it got a little overwhelming to keep track of all the options when it comes to financing and payment schedules. I made notes on paper to make sure I wasn’t missing anything. Top tip: it helps to have a pen and paper on hand to note down the different payment options and schedules.
There was no way I felt comfortable buying without trying so I booked a test-drive through the chat function with my online sales rep.
Luckily, I was able to take a test-drive just a few days after my initial search. After driving both the 2020 and 2021, I decided on the newest model, the Kia Sorento LX with all-wheel drive in Black with my precious heated seats!
Booking a test-drive in advance, having already decided the payment plan for my new vehicle was so much speedier and way more convenient than waiting for the weekend to schlep my whole family to multiple dealerships. I mean, I love hanging out with my family, but spending an afternoon supervising my kids while trying to make informed decisions about a major purchase is not my idea of a perfect Saturday.
As I headed home after my test-drive, excited to complete my purchase online, I was so relieved not to have to sit in the F&I office in an intense face-to-face negotiation at the dealership.
The last time I negotiated terms and payment, I was in the dealer’s office for more than an hour, heavily pregnant with a wiggly three-year-old distracting my husband and me.
With online shopping, I felt like I could really take the necessary time to check all of my options and what my monthly payments would look like depending on the down payment, the terms, and how often the payments would occur.
Another benefit of negotiating online is that most emotions are taken out of the deal. I had shopped around and had the MRSP so I just sent an email asking if they could knock anything off the price, and the dealership came back with an attractive offer for the model I wanted.
Once the terms of my purchase and my down payment had been accepted, I reserved my car. The next steps were easy. I booked an appointment by phone, as per the dealerships’ pandemic procedure, and picked up the car the next day.
Overall, this was the least stressful large purchase I’ve ever made. I highly recommend that you try it out when you buy your next vehicle.
As I headed home after my test-drive, excited to complete my purchase online, I was so relieved not to have to sit in the F&I office in an intense face-to-face negotiation at the dealership.
The last time I negotiated terms and payment, I was in the dealer’s office for more than an hour, heavily pregnant with a wiggly three-year-old distracting my husband and me.
With online shopping, I felt like I could really take the necessary time to check all of my options and what my monthly payments would look like depending on the down payment, the terms, and how often the payments would occur.
Another benefit of negotiating online is that most emotions are taken out of the deal. I had shopped around and had the MRSP so I just sent an email asking if they could knock anything off the price, and the dealership came back with an attractive offer for the model I wanted.
Once the terms of my purchase and my down payment had been accepted, I reserved my car. The next steps were easy. I booked an appointment by phone, as per the dealerships’ pandemic procedure, and picked up the car the next day.
Overall, this was the least stressful large purchase I’ve ever made. I highly recommend that you try it out when you buy your next vehicle.
