How to choose between 2 car dealers when buying a new vehicle

We finalised the Tata Safari. Both dealerships had been similar in various aspects, including the final price of the SUV. And so, I was in a dilemma.

BHPian alphamike_1612 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Hello T-BHP,

After 7 blissful years of owning a Honda, we decided to change our car to a 7-seater to include the recently expanded family and allow us to go out in 1 car instead of having to deal with the headache of using 2 cars all the time.

We narrowed down on the Safari and will be booking it soon. This deserves its own post and that is a few weeks down the line.

In this post, I'd like to talk or rather ask for advice on how to choose the dealership from which you buy the vehicle.

TL;DR -

How do you choose between 2 dealers who are similar in:

1. Distance from your location.
2. Courteous and knowledgeable Sales Advisors who aren't pushy.
3. Offered TDs without hesitation (one right to my house).
4. Similar in pricing (less than 5k difference).
5. Similar delivery timelines.
6. Accepted for a PDI.

What else do I need to look for in a dealership before I choose one?

Context -

Now, I am relatively young (mid-20s) and I have the privilege of being able to negotiate and strike deals on behalf of my father (who is the one who will be paying for the car).

Up until the last purchase, it would be my father who dealt with dealerships and got quotes and did everything that needed to be done.

This time, since I was home and my father was a little tied up in his office, I took it upon myself to deal with dealerships and the only thing my dad would need to do, would be to sign on the dotted lines. This was made easier by the fact that there is no loan involved and the only negotiations would be on the on road price of the car and the accessories.

The matter at hand -

In the course of checking out 7 seaters, we visited several Tata Dealerships on Sundays and at most places, there were no test drive vehicles available or even display models for the Safari. When asked, most responses would be that the dealer has outlets in 8 or 9 locations across the city and only 1 TD vehicle will be rotated between all of them. As a result, I called every Tata dealer who was within a 10 km radius of my home and asked who had the Safari that day and whether it was available for TDs.

By doing this, I was able to find dealership A which was not very far away and we were greeted by a very enthusiastic Sales Advisor who patiently guided us through the features of the car (A dark edition Safari Accomplished Plus AT), offered a TD that was some 10-15 minutes long and was knowledgeable enough. This was in stark contrast to other Tata dealerships where we had cold or lukewarm responses at best. We had expected the same kind of treatment here too and hence were pleasantly surprised when the experience was different.

We informed him that we were yet to make a decision on which vehicle to buy and once we did we'd reach out to him. He didn't follow up on us after that and this was something I appreciated. In contrast, other Tata dealers who didn't have the cars would frequently call me and ask me when I was planning to get the car.

In the course of finding a dealer who has the car immediately (on Sunday), I seem to have called Dealership B whose Sales Advisor called me back on Monday. This chap was also courteous, mannered and seemed to know about his product. I told him that I had already checked out the car at dealer A, but I had not decided whether I would be taking the Safari. He understood and told me to reach out and that he would get me the best deal. This man also did not follow up and was something I appreciated.

2 weeks down the line, my mother had come back from a trip and we wanted her opinion on the cars we had shortlisted. I called the SA from dealer B and asked him to get a TD vehicle to my home. He agreed and showed up in the evening with a Cosmic Gold Safari Accomplished Plus AT. Both the blokes who came with the car were courteous, knowledgeable and if they didn't know something were upfront about it and we had a nearly hour-long TD on peak traffic city roads. This again was not what I experienced with the other Tata dealerships. They asked for a booking amount that day but weren't pushy and immediately left it when I told them we hadn't decided which car to get.

We then decided on the Safari and I called both A and B dealers and told them to give me the final quote and that I wasn't interested in pitting them against each other and to give me the best quote that was possible and then I'll decide basis that and that I don't plan on re-negotiating once the deal is stuck.

Both of them sent me quotes which were similar in price (within 5k of each other). I then asked them both to send me a quote inclusive of all the accessories I had chosen and once again this was similar to each other. Both of them asked for the other's quote which I denied sending but told them that their prices were similar. I asked my dad and he too was okay with the prices so there was nothing else to negotiate on. I told both of them that I would need the evening to choose between the 2 of them and whichever one I chose, I'd call for a final TD and proceed with the booking to show the entire family, since I didn't want to give hope to either of them by asking for a second TD.

My father left the choice entirely upto me to choose whichever dealer I wanted. I compared reviews on Google (with a pinch of salt), both had similar ratings (4.7 and 4.9), both the SAs were courteous and well mannered and I was unable to differentiate despite nitpicking. My father suggested writing up the names on a piece of paper and picking one and going with whichever one we chose.

Doing that resulted in dealer A getting the deal. I called the bloke up in the morning and told him to get the TD car so that the entire family could check it out and that I'd give him the booking amount the next day (for auspicious reasons and also to allow the rest of the family to play the devil's advocate). He readily agreed and got the car and the family was happy with the choice.

I also called Dealer B and told him that I would be proceeding with dealer A. He asked me for a reason and I told him we discussed among the family and chose A (I didn't want to tell him about the lottery). He asked for another appointment to re-convince my parents and that he'd push for more discounts etc. I told him I had asked him to get the best quote initially itself and I wasn't interested in the price war and also that the price difference (5k) hardly mattered. He kept pushing for reasons and finally, I broke and told him that we chose basis a lottery because we were unable to decide between the 2. (This was a huge mistake on my part, I would very quickly come to realize brutal honesty is never good.)

The SA obviously became dejected and felt bad and I told him that I would get the 2nd beater car from his dealership. (We are also looking side by side at the Tiago or a hatchback for city duties). An hour later he called me back with a discount of ₹10,000 that would make his dealership's quote lower by 5k. I told him the 5k doesn't matter, I had already told dealer A that I would be getting the car from him and this was what I had told him when I asked him for his final quote. He agreed and kept the phone.

A few minutes later, his Team Lead called me and talked rough (or so I felt) asking me to reconsider and that they had put efforts into including a TD and computing the cost of the vehicle including accessories etc. I told him that a TD was something that every dealer is supposed to offer and if he felt that was too difficult, he or his team could have denied the request outright and also that I had been upfront regarding the price quote from another dealer and that as a consumer, the choice boiled down to me. I also told him that I had informed the SA that I would get the hatchback from him in a few months. He then started shouting to which I cut the call.

A few hours later, the Sales Manager of B called me and told me he'd reduce the quote by a further 10,000 as a special deal. I don't know whether he was in the loop when the TL was shouting at me. I informed him that I would no longer be dealing with his dealership in any capacity and that he lost out on a definite sale simply because his TL thought he could bully me into buying this vehicle.

My questions/takeaways from this experience:

1. Should I have stuck to my guns and stopped with "family decision" instead of breaking and offering that the lottery was the reason?
2. My reasoning for avoiding the price war was that I didn't want either party (me or the dealer) to feel aggrieved or lose peace of mind and a price war would definitely lead to the dealer resenting me since I ate into his margins and might result in poor after-sales service (which I didn't want to risk, considering Tata as a brand has poor QC as seen in the numerous complaints on the Safari thread) and besides my father was comfortable with the price. Also, a thread on T-BHP about how not to buy a Tiago had a post that mentioned that you are only strong at the first rebuttal and each further rebuttal puts you in a weaker position and that the dealer gains. Is this justified or should I have gone ahead with pitting them against each other?
3. Am I stupid in not going ahead with dealer B with the reduced price simply because the TL had decided he could shout and get away with it and also because I had verbally told A that I would conclude the deal with him the next day?
4. Should I have only dealt with dealer A for all TDs and only reached out to B when it was time for quotations? (Instead of asking both A and B for TDs)
5. What else could I have done to handle this situation better?

Here's what GTO had to say about the matter:

Think of yourself as a very lucky person! Most car buyers have trouble finding even 1 dealer who does all of this.

Choose between these 2 dealers based on whoever is offering the lowest price. He / she isn't your blood relative. It is purely a commercial give-and-take transaction.

Here's what BHPian xenon0025 had to say about the matter:

I will try to give my point of view based on what you have mentioned.

Based on dealer B's behaviour, I would say you should stick to dealer A only. The customer has all the right to choose the product from where he wishes and at what price he likes. You were crisp and clear with both the dealers from the beginning about your terms so there is no point in dealer B getting all restless.

• You chose to be transparent about your decision-making process but dealer B is unable to digest it. None of your problem.
• You chose not to pit them against each other for your peace of mind and not let either party feel aggrieved. They should be happy to have a customer who is very clear on what he wants and how he wants it.
• People have different priorities. You kept transparency and peace of mind above the 15-20k you might save.
• Nothing wrong here. You had clearly mentioned to them during the initial TD that you had not yet finalized which vehicle you would be buying.

I would say no point in interacting with dealer B. In case someone from them still reaches out to you, be firm in stating that you are not interested in having any interaction with them due to the unpleasant experience. And if TATA has some feedback mechanism, make sure to put forward your experience with dealer B.

There is no right or wrong here. You, as an individual still have every right to go ahead with any dealer you like based on what you feel is correct.

I wish you have an amazing ownership experience and looking forward to your new car ownership report!

Here's what BHPian deep_bang had to say about the matter:

When you decided to go with A, there was no reason to explicitly tell B about your final decision. B could have misunderstood it as scope to negotiate as you are still talking to him with details about how close the other offer was.

If B had called and you just mentioned that you have already gone ahead with another dealer due to various reasons that would have been the end of it. You don't have to justify your reasons.

Finally, these experiences are very valuable and will help you later in life, because these are about human behaviors. Kudos to your father for giving the reigns to you on this.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.