Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Buy a new car, save money, save humanity

I'm a car salesman.  I know that in terms of percieved honesty, car sales professionals are found at or near the bottom of the list (at least according to Gallup, 2010):
http://www.gallup.com/poll/145043/Nurses-Top-Honesty-Ethics-List-11-Year.aspx

I happen to be of the opinion that people can change, but that it takes a lot of effort to make cultural changes.
For my part, I have been working on a plan to overhaul the way cars are bought and sold.  If I am doing this by myself, so be it, but I think everyone benefits from the New Car Sales Revolution.

I put this in an email to my community a while back, posted it on Facebook, and have been talking about it very seriously since returning to the car sales business in 2010 after a 3 year hiatus.  I left the car business to pursue a career in residential energy efficiency, but discovered quickly that people would much rather spend $25,000 buying a new Prius or VW diesel Golf than spend $25,000 installing a solar array capable of generating 3 kilowatts of peak power.

Rather than fighting with the entire culture on the logical fallacy of saving money or the planet by buying a new car that gets 5-10 more miles per gallon on an instantly depreciating asset, I thought it would be better to climb back into the car business and see if I could change things from the inside.

Turns out, I NEED YOUR HELP.

Literally, I cannot change car sales or car buying by myself.  I need to make a very public, profitable, and transparent case for making a swift and comprehensive paradigm shift in the way that cars are built, sold, driven, re-sold, and eventually retired/recycled.  I know a lot about energy, material science, car sales, people, and commerce in general, but the best results won't come from my solo efforts.

Here's where you come in, dear reader.  Give me your minds!

I need real comments, with real opinions, from real people willing to sign their names.  Comments about what upsets you most about car purchasing and selling, comments about dealerships, comments about negotiations, comments about test-drives, comments about reliability, comments about mileage, comments about salespeople.  I know what you're thinking, "what's in it for me?"

I tell you what you'll get in return:  the rush of having a hand in saving humanity from itself.
Yeah, I said it.  Car sales can save humanity.
While saving humanity from itself, you'll get another bonus gift:  saving the planet.

While I could ask you for your help in explaining how humanity and the planet that supports it, I know I've  asked too much already.  Here's how you can take part in the global transportation revolution for free:

1.  Send me your car-buying stories, complaints, comments, and suggestions for me to post on my blog
2.  Describe your perfect car-buying experience in agonizingly awesome detail
3.  Come in to my dealership and shop for a car with me.  You don't necessarily have to buy a car, but it would certainly help.  Just give me an hour to listen to your car needs, and see if I can be of service.
4.  Come in to my dealership and buy a car from me.  I promise to treat you with respect, dignity, and appreciation.  If you come in with the explicit intention of buying a car while helping change the way cars are bought and sold, I will give you a better deal and spend more time with you.
5.  Sign up for my newsletter by hooking up with me on Twitter, Facebook Page, or LinkedIn.
6.  Pay for my breakfast, lunch, or dinner and I'll give you 90 minutes of car sales or car purchasing advice.

That's all you have to do.  Here's what will happen if you help:

A.  You'll feel awesome, and even awesomer if you buy a car in this new paradigm
B.  You'll support the new car sales paradigm directly
C.  You'll reduce the amount of cars sold to people who cannot afford to buy them.
D.  You'll support me and my family personally, and get our support in return
E.  You'll own your own car for longer, drive it more safely, enjoy it more thoroughly
F.  You'll directly reduce your carbon footprint and the carbon footprint of your community
G.  You'll support a high-integrity community car dealership in Seattle and beyond.

Send me an email, give me a call, post a comment to your heart's delight, and thanks for joining the high integrity car revolution!