Recently, Yelp informed me I’d become an “Elite” member. Being an Elite’r means that not only am I writing reviews for the businesses I visit, I’m also reading reviews of those I intend to visit.
Over the years, I’ve developed a few quick methods to ascertain what to expect at a business beyond what their overall star rating suggests. Usually, I find that looking beyond the surface has its rewards. For instance, if I’m reading reviews of a dentist and I see one complaint about the waiting room amongst great reviews for the dentist himself, I’ll pay less attention to the waiting room review. After all, I’m looking for a great dentist, not a great waiting room.
Here’s some tips on finding the right dealership for your new car purchase, whether you consult reviews from Google, Dealer Rater, Yelp, or Yahoo.
5 Kinds of Reviews to Skip or De-Value
Skip service reviews.
Since you’re buying a car, skip over the reviews about service and parts. Save them for another day.
Skip very old reviews.
Personnel can change at a dealership, and with personnel changes can come positive or negative shifts in the dealership experience.
Skip newer reviews that retell an experience from over three years ago.
It’s unlikely that anyone mentioned in the review still works at that dealership.
De-value the negative reviews about specific car deals.
Some reviewers may say that 1.) The salesman didn’t give them a deal over the phone or 2.) The salesman was short with them. In reality, the salesman could have simply been telling the truth.
De-value positive reviews that are too general.
For instance, if the review says “My family has bought five cars from xyz saleswoman and I’d recommend her to anyone,” this was probably more of a favor for the salesperson rather than an actual experience.
Now that we know what to skip over, what’s left?
5 Kinds of Reviews to Focus On:
A review that explains a situation.
It’s helpful when the reviewer gives a personal experience and goes into detail on how their situation was handled positively or negatively by the dealer. This could be anything ranging from collecting a price quote to an issue after the purchase.
A review that shows something changed.
If you see a fairly consistent and recent pattern of people complaining that their deal changed when they arrived (price higher or car no longer in stock), a similar type of experience may just be waiting for you, too.
A review that shows nothing changed.
I love car dealer reviews where nothing changed – where the deal the salesman promised was the very same when they arrived.
A review with personal details.
If a reviewer quotes something the salesman said, or even knows some personal details like the kind of dog they have, you can be confident that it’s an authentic review.
A long, detailed review.
When a review is long, you know the reviewer was passionate about their experience at the dealership – they’re going to great lengths to let you know. So make sure to pay attention.
Buying a car is a big purchase, so there’s no reason you shouldn’t incorporate dealer reviews as part of your shopping process. And don’t forget: CarWoo! helps simplify it by providing you with an awesome car shopping platform that’s even integrated with DealerRater reviews.
