You see, a few years ago I drove on out to Anchorage. I knew I wanted a different car and so I went through different parking lots at different dealerships. Now most can probably agree with me… shopping for a car is not typically a great experience. I know I go in to it with a shield up immediately. We’ve been exposed to what they will say, how they will say it and how they will try to get you to buy that car you aren’t even sure you want or can afford. After a couple of hours I did find a car that I could see myself driving. I was honest with the young man and told him I would not be making a purchase at that very moment and if I was serious about the car, I would be bringing my boyfriend in to look at it. I asked if I could sit in it… then I asked if I could drive it. Without hesitation the salesman gathered the keys and we took a short drive. Now I’m assuming he was not a seasoned car salesman. He was too anxious to get me to buy that car and when I told him again I would not be purchasing it right then… he seemed deflated.
The next day my boyfriend and I journeyed back to that dealer and caught up with the young man again. I made sure he understood we were still looking at other cars, but we were interested in the one I had test driven. So we went through the rounds again and after Mikes test drive, told him we were going to go out and look at some other cars but we would let him know if we were coming back for “that one”.
Long story short… somehow we ended up at Mercedes. We weren’t serious about buying a luxury car. Not at all! (we have 4 kids LOL) And we never purchased a car from the other dealer. In fact I'm sure the salesman felt the same way many of us do when we have dedicated time to helping buyers, only to find out they used another Realtor to write an offer. This is how it went:
We told the salesman WHAT we wanted, HOW MUCH we wanted to pay, WHY we wanted to do it and WHEN we would be ready and WHAT we wanted for our SUV. Within 20 minutes I was holding the keys to my new car, and I kid you not I was in shock at what had just happened!!! HE listened to our wants and needs, HE didn’t try to get us to spend more and they didn’t try to give us less than we wanted AND he found us the car we wanted for the price we wanted to pay… I got hooked on their service, expertise and the fact that they listened to us! I refer them to all of my friends, and don't plan on using anyone else...
OK, I know this was a bit long, but here are my thoughts and the reason for my post:
Had I simply visited the salesmen in person, determined their character and our ability to work together early on, I could have saved 2 DAYS of shopping!
It is more important to interview Realtors BEFORE looking at homes! Determine who is going to listen to you, who has the follow up and who is the best choice for you!
This is a huge decision you are making! Find the Realtor that is going to make it a comfortable process!
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