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Our Only Price Philosophy
"Our customers told us that they wanted to eliminate 'price haggling' from their car buying experience. So we did something about it."
- Don Pascoe
President & CEO, Serra Chevrolet
Why our customers like our "Only Price" approach to buying a car:
Imagine walking into a place of business and asking a salesperson what an item is going to cost – and not being able to get a straightforward answer! Suppose they answered by asking how much you "wanted" to spend on it, or some other evasive comment. That way of doing business has always kind of astounded me.
I can go into any department store, look at a shirt on the rack, and ask the salesperson what that shirt is going to cost. And they'll say $24.95, or whatever the price is. And I can do that at most places of business. But the idea that the salesperson has to go check with the manager…or it depends on whether I'm going to trade something in or not…or if I'm going to finance the purchase or pay cash…well, that really sets off a lot of alarm bells and red flags. It just can’t be to my advantage if that's the way the system is going to work.
We've done customer surveys and just talked very frankly with our customers for many years – and we've been in business for a long time. Everyone said that they enjoy doing business with us. They felt like they were treated well. Generally, everyone thought the experience was good. With one significant exception…people generally didn't like to negotiate the price of a vehicle. That's the one thing that consistently made people uncomfortable in an otherwise low-key and friendly environment.
So we eliminated price negotiation from our sales process.
In 1992, we decided to make buying a car at Serra Chevrolet the most forthright buying experience possible. You don't have to spend an hour-and-a-half talking with 3 different people to find out what a vehicle is going to cost. That's the basic difference between our philosophy and the typical dealership approach.
You'll find our selling price – our "best" price – posted right on the window sticker on each and every car, new or used.
We felt it was better to give all customers our best price right up front, based on what we would sell the vehicle for. So we eliminated the negotiation process, and, as a result, changed the way we do a lot of things.
For example, we also had to change how we pay our salespeople. Because at a traditional dealership, you're going to talk with a salesperson who gets paid a percentage of the "profit" they can make on each vehicle. So they're motivated to sell you a car for as much money as you're willing to pay. Clearly, in that situation, you're not dealing with someone who has your best interest at heart.
So, unlike other dealerships, our salespeople are paid a salary. They're not paid on commission, and do not earn more money by quoting you a higher price on a car … or persuading you to buy a more expensive car. Their only interest is in helping you find the vehicle that best suits your needs and your pocketbook. They focus on making sure you are completely satisfied.
Also, our customers don’t have to wait for a "sale" to get the best price available on a new or used vehicle. We always establish – right up front – our best, fairest price that we're willing to sell a vehicle for.
Customers never have to wonder if they could have gotten a better price.
Our "Only Price" approach removes any chance that an inexperienced or less aggressive car buyer might be taken advantage of by a salesperson who just wants to get the most commission possible. Nobody gets taken advantage of – or has any reason to feel that they've been taken advantage of – because everybody can buy our cars for the same price as the next person.
We’ve been an "Only Price" dealership since 1992. Although, I suppose there are some people who want to come in and haggle out a price. They're not happy unless they can get some concessions or a better price than another guy off the street can get. Be we don't – and won't – do business that way. So, naturally, we don’t appeal to a customer who wants to haggle. But for the vast majority of car buyers, they prefer our "Only Price" way of doing business.
So, if you don't like the negotiating process … if you'd rather just go in and have somebody say, "Here's what it costs." … then we're the dealership for you.
You can look and see the prices. You can buy a car or go shop around. You can do whatever you want. Our approach appeals to a lot of people. There are more than 40 dealerships in the Dayton area, and we're the only dealership, to my knowledge, that will actually post the sales price right on the car for you to see.
It's the best way we know to do business. And our ever-growing number of repeat customers tells us we're doing the right thing.
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