Oppo: Bought car from a dealer/planning to? Help me with my job?

"As Du Volant" (skuhnphoto)
09/18/2014 at 12:08 • Filed to: stealerships

Hey Oppo- looking for a little input here. I'm online operations manager for a large-ish auto group, which means I'm responsible for pretty much everything we do on the internet, websites included.

I'm in the middle of a months-long quest to improve the quality of our websites and third party listings (think cars.com) to capture more peoples' attention and bring more people in the door/increase our rate of phone calls and emails from the sites. And I want to do it without using any of the typical shady dealer tactics- we run an honest business here.

So, my question is: If you're looking at buying a new or used car from a dealer, what sort of things can we do/put on our website to make you interested in doing business with us? And yes, we do already advertise our best prices online without any gimmicks or bogus rebates.

Feel free to rant and complain about prior experience as well, I'd love to hear about things I can do to not piss off our customers- but remember this is for online business only, not the sales/service process itself.

Thanks, and here's a Hellcat shooting brake for your trouble:

DISCUSSION (34)

Osiris - I can haz Euro spec? > As Du Volant
09/18/2014 at 12:14

And yes, we do already advertise our best prices online without any gimmicks or bogus rebates.

I'm so glad you do this. I hate when I'm looking for a car and I find one that I like, and then it says Call For Price. I personally like to save the webpage of the cars I'm interested in so I can compare between the cars I've chosen and then call the dealer that I like. Price is a factor.

For Sweden > As Du Volant
09/18/2014 at 12:15

A couple of things:

I would like to see a list of all the options without having to search for the window sticker, or have a link to the window sticker right on the car listing.

This may not be you, but if I look at a car online, don't cold-call me an hour later asking when I'm ready to sign.

Sn210 > As Du Volant
09/18/2014 at 12:17

I like lots of pictures of the actual car, not stock photos. A link to the carfax report is a plus if it's used. Don't list your prices and then have a disclaimer at the bottom that says "price reflects $3000 down or trade", that's annoying!

As Du Volant > Sn210
09/18/2014 at 12:21

Already done. Actual photos of all cars, new and used, free Carfax link right on the ad. Price listed is the actual price, no cash down, no trade money, no gimmicky rebates.

FJ80WaitinForaLSV8 > As Du Volant
09/18/2014 at 12:22

put used cars up on a lift and take photos of the underside.

As Du Volant > For Sweden
09/18/2014 at 12:22

Thanks. I'm actually investigating vendors that will do a window sticker breakdown right on the ad page, but for now if we want it we'd have to type it manually- which isn't really an option with 1000 cars in inventory. As it stands now we have the link to the window sticker clearly marked though.

Doug DeMuro > As Du Volant
09/18/2014 at 12:24

Put. Up. Pictures. Of. New. Vehicles.

It blows me away how many dealers don't get this.

For Sweden > As Du Volant
09/18/2014 at 12:25

I thought of another thing; is it possible to filter a search by a specific option?

If I'm looking for a Mustang GT with the performance pack, I'd rather not click every window sticker.

As Du Volant > For Sweden
09/18/2014 at 12:29

Yes and no. The third party sites like Autotrader and Cars have check boxes for the usual stuff (sunroof, nav, etc) and a keyword search for something specific. The main dealer websites are stupidly simple though- they're actually built according to manufacturer-specified templates and we have very little control over the site programming itself. Far as I know we don't have the ability to do this.

deekster_caddy > As Du Volant
09/18/2014 at 12:30

Things that make it nice

A "low pressure" test drive - a button to click "schedule a test drive" might be nice.

The "Clean" look - it's often very difficult to find a car without sifting through lots of crap.

Good information about what is (and isn't) available at the dealership. Service wait times, by appointment only (if appropriate), free coffee, free wifi etc.

Not that easy to design, but it would be nice to select a model, then check off options and see the selection narrow down. It would also be nice to have "do not include" options. I was specifically trying to find my car's model without the factory NAV system. It's easy to option up, it's hard to option down. That said, often times the manufacturer's site often lets you do that already, then shows you the dealership's inventory, so maybe you don't need that level of complexity. But even with the OEM's website, it would only show me the minimum options I had selected and above. I could tell by the MSRP which ones had the NAV added, so in my case I was able to figure it out. For a more popular model, I might want to do "show me anything with the good stereo except the red paint"... If you have that kind of power, I think it would be helpful.

As Du Volant > Doug DeMuro
09/18/2014 at 12:32

Same here, but I love it when our competitors don't bother because it makes our job easier. We've had actual photos of our new cars for years now.

Yesterday I noticed one of our biggest competitors only puts two photos of each used car online- front 3/4 and rear 3/4.

Kinja'd!!!

Thanks for sending customers my way buddy!

As Du Volant > FJ80WaitinForaLSV8
09/18/2014 at 12:33

Thanks.

Will see if we can work something out with the shop. Current issue is that 5 out of 6 of our shops are running at 110% capacity and we never have empty lifts.

bob and john > As Du Volant
09/18/2014 at 12:34

price
motor
trans (and dont just say like auto or man, give # of gears)
fuel econ
options
VIN code

As Du Volant > deekster_caddy
09/18/2014 at 12:38

Thanks for the suggestions.

We do have a "schedule test drive" button but it's almost never used. Maybe if I change the label on it it might get more attention.

A few months ago I made a change to all the site layouts to put the year/make/model search box right in the middle of the front page. It now gets 10x more clicks than everything else on the homepages combined.

We do have a service appointment scheduler app on the site, as well as a list of amenities. We've also added a dedicated "quick lane" service with no-wait oil changes and inspections- works as fast as Iffy Lube but we actually have people smarter than trained monkeys doing the work.

Unfortunately I do not have the power to customize the option search like that.

FJ80WaitinForaLSV8 > As Du Volant
09/18/2014 at 12:45

Understandable, I'm sure from a $/time analysis, that these lifts are much more valuable helping with repairs than taking pictures.

jariten1781 > As Du Volant
09/18/2014 at 12:45

Don't have a stupid paragraph that says something like: "Are you looking for a car that has get up and go, stirs your soul, gets good gas mileage, is smart looking, sticks to the road, is luxurious, will make your neighbors jealous, etc etc then this XXXX is for you" then stick it in all your listings slightly modified for everything from a ford transit to a roller. I hate having to filter through those stupid things to find out real info on an actual vehicle.

E92M3 > Osiris - I can haz Euro spec?
09/18/2014 at 12:47

A to the MEN! Nothing is more annoying than "Call for price". I WILL NOT call you for a price. If you want to sell a car list the price.

Other than that my other pet peeve is dealers using stock photos or even worse NO photos.

yamahog > As Du Volant
09/18/2014 at 12:54

Between you actively seeking out advice to improve your business and the answers you've been giving, sounds like you're already doing a great job :) If you were in SE Michigan I'd give you my business.

Also, do you have a Yelp/Google review presence? If someone has a negative review (almost inevitable for dealerships) and the dealer responds to their concerns well, that can help me decide what dealers I'd like to interact with.

As Du Volant > jariten1781
09/18/2014 at 12:54

Thanks.

Our ad descriptions are set up as follows, in this order...

New cars: Explanation of how our pricing works (everyone qualifies, no gimmicky rebates), names of who to contact in the internet department, phone number (again), and a very short blurb about the dealership.

Used cars: Option list (not every nut and bolt in the car, but all the major points), anything else of note that makes the car special (low miles, special package, etc), contact names for the internet department, phone number again, warranty info.

I love it when it's so obvious that they're using a generic template... like the ad I saw last week for a PT Cruiser saying it was fun to drive and got great gas mileage.

As Du Volant > yamahog
09/18/2014 at 13:06

Thanks.

We do have presence on Yelp and Google as well as other review sites. Probably going to have to give Yelp money though, we were wondering why only our negative reviews were showing up even though the positives outnumber them 5 to 1, and we just got our answer the other day: http://drivingsalesnews.com/california-cou…

Flugtechnik > As Du Volant
09/18/2014 at 13:36

I didn't bother to read all of the other comments, but I recently bought a used car from a dealer and during my search, found some issues with listings.

I think someone already said this, but yes, put a price on each car, even if it is high, put something. I don't even bother looking at "call for price" or "request quote" ads. If I wanted to talk to you, I would have just called to see what you have.

Also, pictures of the actual car. I don't need to see every detail and a close-up of each tire, but I would like to know what the exterior and interior generally look like. I also skip over all stock photo ads.

List the key features of the car, highlighting the ones that set it apart from others. You don't need to tell me that it has air conditioning and safety glass, unless it is 20 years old.

Most importantly, list the details of the car correctly. When I was looking for my car, I was looking for something very specific, the most important feature being that it had a manual transmission. That was my main search criteria. After pouring through all of the manual cars in the search results and not finding what I was looking for, I started looking at automatics. I found several manuals that were listed as automatics. In fact, the car I ended up buying was listed on the dealer's site and autotrader as an automatic, but the interior pictures clearly showed it was a manual. If I had not reconsidered my criteria, I would never have known the exact car I was looking for was only an hour away.

computiNATEor > As Du Volant
09/18/2014 at 13:44

I just bought a car from a dealer (pics and writing at some point in the future), but I didn't find it through the dealer website. I found the car through Craigslist! Included in the CL post was a link to the dealer website, where there were more - MORE - pictures, and a free AutoCheck report. That free AutoCheck/CarFax does a lot to persuade me that the seller wants to do business with me, and that they stand behind their cars. Also listing the VIN is a good sign.

Make sure to put your cars up on search engines like CL, Cars.com, and AutoTrader.com, as I looked there with saved searches to find the makes and models I wanted in the right price ranges. Include most information there, but put more up on the dealer website so that an interested party can easily learn more. Make it easy to find phone numbers and if you have maintenance records POINT IT OUT!

Osiris - I can haz Euro spec? > E92M3
09/18/2014 at 13:51

Well hell, in my experience, when I have called for the price all I get is: "Oh, I'm sorry. We've sold that car, but what we do have is...blah blah blah.". Nothing upsets me more than a fake ad or an ad that they already sold.

Tapas > As Du Volant
09/18/2014 at 14:40

I'm sure some of the following are covered by other commenters, but here's my list of things I'd like to see:

1. No zany COME-CHAT-WITH-ME-HERE-NOW pop ups. A large button on every page with the chat option is alright.

2. New and used inventory with correctly listed factory options that can be searched/sorted.

3. Correct final out-of-the-door price (with itemized break down of charges, if possible).

As Du Volant > Tapas
09/18/2014 at 15:04

Thanks.

Our current chat setup- small button at the top of each page, small-ish widget that stays at the bottom right as you scroll. It's small enough to not obscure any page content and doesn't ever pop up in your face- just sits down there at the corner.

Sadly our website architecture does not allow searching/sorting by option. The manufacturers have us hemmed in with very specific templates that we can only alter so much. We have our ads set up so our used cars can be sorted by option on all the third party sites though. Our new inventory is so large it'd be too labor intensive to do it manually, so I'm looking at services that will do option lists for us.

Unfortunately we can't post an out the door price that would be accurate for everyone. Our market area straddles four different tax rates (two counties plus two other states), most stores only have to worry about two on a regular basis but we've got one that sees three different tax rates on a typical day. The same goes for license plate fees- three states, three rates. And then there's Pennsylvania's ridiculous title fees. They charge three different title fees- one for cash buyers, one for financing, and a third for out of state transfers. But wait, there's more! PA drivers can choose to register light trucks for different weight classes depending on how much they want to tow- so a guy who wants to tow an equipment trailer can register his truck at a higher rate than someone who's going to tow a boat, who can register his truck a different rate than someone who plans to not tow at all. So of course there are different fees for that, too! Thanks to our location and laws there can be a difference of nearly $300 in fees for the exact same vehicle purchase. We'll happily provide a personalized quote on request though, and our ads say that.

Tapas > As Du Volant
09/18/2014 at 15:20

I appreciate you taking feedback from people :)

Just....wow. That is very complex. And I understand the manufacturer guidelines for websites. The ultimate goal is that all information that a buyer is looking for is clearly available on the page.

It would be great if you could correctly list the factory options on new and used inventory on the car's page, along with car's price including all/any dealer options (without TTL) ...

E92M3 > Osiris - I can haz Euro spec?
09/18/2014 at 15:58

When I called (which was only once). They wanted all my info so they could call me back. Which means the salesman will call you every 2 days wanting to talk about that car or anything remotely related to the car you called about. Oh you called about an M3..."We just got a SRT8 in today on trade"

ljksetrightmemorialtrophydash > As Du Volant
09/18/2014 at 16:33

Don't demand my ZIP code or an e-mail address before you'll tell me the price. Don't make me call for a "quote." Just show the price.

As Du Volant > ljksetrightmemorialtrophydash
09/18/2014 at 16:38

We do show a price everyone qualifies for on every car, no special rebates or anything.

If you request a customized quote we do need a way to contact you, though- phone or email, you choose. We don't include any rebates in our price unless 100% of people qualify for them. Sometimes you can get additional rebates for minor things such as already owning our brand vehicle, trading a car in, or financing just to name a few. In order to find out if we can get you these we *do* need to communicate with you. According to FTC guidelines we can't post these incentives on our ads without full disclaimers, each of which is about half a page long, so to keep things easy to understand we just don't post them. ZIP isn't required but it helps because the manufacturer incentive plans are tied to location, and certain areas will have different rebates than others.

So to sum it up- you don't have to give us anything to see a sale price, but the price could get a little better due to special and/or regional incentives, so once you're serious it's best to talk to us via the contact method of your choice.

Collin > As Du Volant
09/18/2014 at 17:24

The thing that frustrates me the most when shopping for cars online is when a car is listed as a manual and then isn't actually a manual. Please, for the love of all that is good in the world, don't list any of your cars that have DCTs, manually shiftable automatics, or SMGs as manuals. Pretty please?

DanPadge > As Du Volant
09/18/2014 at 18:27

Have a professional company that does this sort of thing do an audit. You want usability, conversion and optimization based on keyword research. The company I work for charges between $5k-20k for this. Its worth it.

mad.anthony > As Du Volant
09/18/2014 at 20:29

Put milage in your used car ads. I've seen way too many dealers that don't, and put "low milage". Which to some dealers seems to mean "less than a million"

bingaling > As Du Volant
09/19/2014 at 19:08

Is there a way to do it where you can actually input a time that works best for you? When I see a link that says "schedule a test drive" I assume that really what they're going to do is take my contact info and then a sales guy is going to call me. Instead, I'd love to put my email *only* in and say I'll be there Tuesday at three. On Tuesday I show up and you've already got the car pulled around (though I do like hearing a cold start). This might just be a verbage thing too, where "schedule a test drive" is already the middle of the sales pitch and I'm just trying to get my butt in the door.

ThePro > As Du Volant
09/20/2014 at 18:15

Speaking of dealers, today I had the most shockingly annoying experience at a chevy dealer, so much that I'm turned off from buying a Chevy anymore. This saleswoman tells me the car has cupholders, radio and a glovebox. She also claims that the Cruze is sold for 20k (that's 1k over MSRP), I ask her even with incentives, she's like "what incentives"

Disgustng.