Keeping it local

People talk about buying locally and supporting their local community all the time. Are we only talking about the local farmers and fishermen? What about the small business owners, i.e. local bakery that a young couple has started up? Or the small town coffee shop trying to compete with the big fish franchise? Don’t they deserve to be supported locally and thrive?  Help make our local communities an even better place to raise our families, grow old, and improve our home values?

The answer, I feel, is unequivocally yes! The mom and pop restaurant that has always served comfort food (even before the large chains moved in, renamed it “rustic”, then charge you $29.95 a plate) should be the place to go for mac n cheese and country fried steak!

Just like with the local car dealership. Why would anyone waste their time and gas (at just under $4/gallon), to drive to a dealership 4 hours away just to save $200?  Think of the miles you add to your new car driving back from that dealership that saved you $200. (Translation: that much closer to your warranty expiring.)

AutoPark Honda of Cary is proud to say we have been the Highest Volume Dealer in the Triangle for 10 Years now.  We want to earn your business! The higher the volume of cars we sell, allows for more savings passed along to you, our customers. Doesn’t it just make sense to buy locally in your own backyard dealership? 

So keep it local.

Buy local.

(Oh, yeah, same goes for supporting local farmers, coffee shops, and restaurants, too!)

YOU Are YOUR Best Car Buying Guide

Is there really such a thing as the best way to buy a car or the right way to buy a car? No, there really isn’t. The only right way to buy a car is the way YOU feel is best. Am I right? Or am I right? Because you are different from everyone else out there buying a brand new car. How can there be a science to buying a car when we are all different with different personalities…and don’t get me started on the person assisting you with your car purchase. That adds a whole new dimension to the  process

You may not care what you get when buying your new car, as long as it’s the best price OTD and the negotiations happen the way you envision from reading all the guides, articles, and books on car buying. But there is no science to this. Maybe a little math.

So take the equation: shopper + car + price = happy customer. How can you honestly configure a way to make this equation work perfectly every time? You can’t. I’m not saying it’s impossible…wait…maybe I am. But we are emotionally made up human beings. Otherwise, we would all drive the same car, in the same trim, with the same color. That’s not going to happen because I want to stand out from you. Ha! Ha! Ha! And we aren’t Vulcans.

Car buying guide at it’s best:

• Do your homework on what you need for your driving lifestyle.
• Then…and only then…go and test drive and get a feel for the car you want.
• Lastly, the math…add it all up just like Mama always said, if you have the money for it, you buy it. If not…get what you can afford. You remember the saying about hamburger and filet…

So trust YOURSELF when buying YOUR next car…not someone else. Because it’s YOUR car, YOU drive it, and YOU pay for it. And if all else fails…go in with YOUR best price. Because YOUR best price isn’t the same as my best price or ayone elses. Therefore,  the dealer’s best price doesn’t matter, it’s YOUR price that counts.

Animals aren’t the only things that are going extinct!

One of the most important things to me is customer service. I feel like it is going extinct. Between automated voices and smart phones…you can’t replace the human touch.

Don’t all of you hate having to push button after button to get to the right menu or option to have your question(s) answered? And doesn’t it just drive you insane that on some menus 0 [zero] is no longer for Operator, but an invalid response!?!?!

We are an instant gratification society, from weight loss to quitting smoking! So to use technology as an avenue for faster, better customer service…seems like a paradox. How can an automated voice get offended when I am yelling at them? I want a human now!

How can you expect to want “it” now and get “it” fast then complain about customer service? Buying a car is MAJOR! Just like buying a house…it is HUGE! Why would you not want to make the time to see the car, sit in the car, test drive the car, and meet the person you do business with? Think about it. Not take the time, but actually make the time because your car is worth this investment and so are you.

Your time is valuable and can never be replaced, I get that. I also get that I would not want to rush into making a MAJOR purchase without being thoughtful and concise.

That is where customer service comes in…having a professional to guide you, advise you, research for you, and work for you…no computer can do that (because it would actually be you pushing the buttons on the phone, and looking things up on the internet by typing). And who would you yell at if the car you bought didn’t have the rear arm rest in it because you thought you knew what you were getting when you read the website offering this for that on the car you want?

That’s right, people! There will always be competitive pricing, competitive products, but it’s who you want to do business with. It’s about who has the best customer service. Wouldn’t you agree? Good! Now, let’s start up our save customer service fund!  Why? Because you deserve it!

Winds of March

Here in Cary, North Carolina, March did not roar in like a lion. It came in with clouds and really cold temperatures. That doesn’t seem like a lion’s roar as much as a hyena laughing.

But here at AutoPark Honda of Cary, our first day of March roared in like a lion. The showroom was bursting with people and noise. It was very carnivalistic. (I love blogging because you can create words.) And cars were being sold left and right. It seemed like people thought it was the end of the month, at the end of the year of a model being discontinued and the prices were slashed!

This is what car dealerships like…hustle and bustle, people, noise, energy…and don’t forget the smell of popcorn. We have that popping all day long at AutoPark Honda of Cary!

The winds of March may not have ushered in like a lion weather-wise, but it sure did roar in at AutoPark Honda of Cary. Looks like it will roar out going into April too.