Thursday, June 23, 2011

Survey Says Car Dealership Professionalism Trumps Price

I have believed this for a long time, but, today, a survey was released by CarWoo.com, an automotive marketplace website.  This study, using transactional and behavorial data, shows that 54.6% of the time the lowest price offer was not the one the buyer took.  That increases to 57.5% when eliminating cases where buyers received only a single offer. 

Behavorial data also indicates that prices is not what drives a buyer's opinion.  In giving 5 star reviews, highly satisfied buyers ranked dealer professionalism as the most important factor 47% of the time and price only 14%.  When dissatisfied buyers gave dealers 1 star reviews, they cited unprofessionalism as the reason 44% of the time, and, blamed price only 19% of the time.

Only when buyers gave a middling 3 star review did price become a driving factor, ranked as primarily 52% of the time.  These reviews, while ostensively neutral, where often negative in tone, much more akin to a grade of a C.

We have thought this all along at Premier Subaru which is why we strive to exceed the expectations of our clients each and every day.

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Subaru of America Sales Rise Nearly 8% Year-To-Date

BRANFORD, CT, June 1, 2011 - Subaru of America announced today a nearly 8% year-to-date increase with 20,036 units sold in May, 2011 - resulting in a total YTD sales of 112,255. However, while Subaru Legacy and Outback models experienced year-over-year growth, sales of Forester, Impreza and Tribeca decreased due to inventory limitations.


"While we have had a very strong start to 2011, and demand for our product in dealerships remain at record levels, we are now experiencing a slowdown in deliveries following the disruption to vehicle and parts production in Japan as a result of the March earthquake and tsunami", said Thomas J. Doll, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Subaru of America, Inc. "We expect this to continue in the short term while the production situation in Japan returns to normal. Even allowing for this temporary slowdown in deliveries, we still expect 2011 to be the second best year ever for the Subaru brand in the US."

Like Subaru of America, Premier Subaru in Branford, Connecticut continues to post record results. This is due to the company's business philosophy and desire to exceed the expectations of their clients. Premier Subaru is the only Subaru dealer in the State of Connecticut that is both approved by the AAA for Automotive Repair and Service and has received the A+ designation by the BBB