New or Used?

What do you sell New or Used? Many salespeople will say they sell both, however, when you look at their sales numbers, they are very lopsided. Either the majority of their sales are New, or the majority of their sales are Used. Sure, technically the sprinkle in a New car here if they primarily sell Used or the stumble into a Used car customer there if they primarily sell New. Very rarely do I ever meet a salesperson that averages a one-to-one ratio.

I have always found this interesting, so I asked some salespeople. Some of the most common answers I heard when it came to selling more New cars:
“New cars are easier to sell.”
“More inventory.”
“We are buried in all of our Used cars.”

And the most common answer I heard when it comes to selling Used cars is:
“There is more gross in Used.”
“Used car customers are easier to deal with.”
And one of my favorites, multiple salespeople told me:
“No CSI Surveys on Used.”

No matter your focus and no matter your reasoning for it, you are missing deals because of it. In a lot of industries, it pays to specialize, however, not in automotive sales. You need to be a Jack of All Trades. You need to know how to sell everything, because you never know what your customer is going to want. You will also run into situations where a customer cannot buy what they want. Due to budget, credit, or any number of reasons, you may have to sell a customer a New car when they want a Used one, or vice-versa you have to sell them a Used one when they want New one.
In order to maximize your sales and commissions you must understand the advantages or benefits to the customer.

9 Benefits of Buying New

1. Get the Exact Vehicle You Want – Buying New allows the buyer to get exactly what they want. Finding what you want in a used car can be much more difficult.
2. Not Used – There is just something about buying something new, knowing that no one else has ever used it before, especially a New car.
3. Covered Under Warranty – People love the idea that if something goes wrong with their car that they will not have to pay for the repairs. This gives them a sense of security and peace of mind about their purchase.
4. Equipped with the Latest Technology – Some people must have the latest and the greatest. Look at mobile phone user. With technology moving forward so fast some people will be trading in their vehicles faster than ever.
5. Latest Safety Features – This as similar to people who desire to have the latest technology, however instead of focusing on gadgets it is focusing going safety. Investing in a new vehicle with advanced safety features is easy for a customer to justify paying for, as it is hard to put a price on the safety of a person’s loved ones.
6. Higher Fuel Efficiencies & Lower Emissions – Getting better fuel economy can cover the price of admission all by itself. If a customer’s payment goes up by $50 per month, however they will save $1000 a year in gas, the new vehicle is actually cheaper than the current vehicle when you consider total cost of ownership. Additionally, some customers want to do what is best for the environment by driving cars with lower fuel efficiencies or going zero emission by driving electric.
7. Factory Incentives & Better Financing – Manufactures need to keep selling new vehicles and in order to do this, they incentives customers with factory rebates and special financing rates as low as 0% APR.
8. Lower Maintenance Costs – New cars can go longer intervals for maintenance and require less work. Lowering and even eliminating some standard maintenance costs can also lower a customer’s total cost of ownership.
9. Less Legwork to Buy – With New vehicles being mass produced, typically, it is easier for your customer to find exactly what they want and requiring less effort to acquire the vehicle.

9 Benefits of Buying Used

1. More Bang for Your Buck – A one- or two-year-old Used vehicle can offer significantly more features at significantly less money than buying new. Customers interested in value will find significant value in this fact.
2. New Cars Depreciate – Most people are concern about what their vehicle will be worth after they purchase it. Typically, when a customer buys a new vehicle, it will take it’s largest depreciation hit in the first two years. So, purchasing a car that is a year or two old will have already taken this depreciation hit.
3. Certified Pre-Owned – Certified Pre-Owned vehicle offer a warranty similar to a new vehicle, offer the best of both worlds. They also go through more stringent inspections in order to meet these standards and qualify for the special warranty.
4. Vehicle History Reports – Vehicle History Reports have changed the game when buying a Used vehicle. They let your customers know about things that have happened with the vehicle, such as: Accidents, Maintenance, Number of Owners, and more.
5. Less Expensive Cost of Ownership – As a vehicle ages it’s value goes down. This is a natural occurrence. In accordance, things such as Registration and Insurance go down as well. Therefore, causing the Used vehicle to cost less over the lifetime of ownership.
6. Long Lasting – Car are just lasting longer than ever before. In fact, the average vehicle lifespan is up to over 12 years. The is due in fact to vehicle are just built better and they are more reliable.
7. Avoid Hidden Fees – Used vehicles typically do not have add-ons or addendum stickers. Nor do they have additional fees such as a Destination Fee.
8. Aftermarket Service and Repair Facilities – More aftermarket service and repair facilities have the ability to work of used cars. With more locations servicing your vehicle becomes more convenient as well as with more competition comes lower servicing and repair pricing.
9. Used Car Reviews – Used car reviews are everywhere. You get to learn about actually customer experiences before your buy. Things like Safety, Reliability, Major Issues Over Time, Owner Feedback, and more. Knowing this information before for you buy can give extra confidence in the decision you are asking your customer to make.

Whether your customer is looking for New or Used or if you have to switch them from New to Used or vice versa, you must understand why someone should want to buy whichever you plan to show them. Because if you do not understand why they should buy New over Used or Used over New, depending on the customer, they never will and you will end up being one of those salespeople who think they sell both, but in reality you only sell either New or Used and end up missing deals and commissions.