Consumers' Ideal Automotive Salesperson Is a Negotiator to Help Get the Best Deal

In the eyes of consumers, a salesperson's most important role in the new-vehicle purchasing process is that of negotiator, according to 46% of purchasers of new vehicles in the United States. Those purchasers prefer their salesperson serve as a negotiator to help them get the best deal on a vehicle, rather than serving as educator^[1] or facilitator, according to the May 2015 PowerRater Consumer Pulse. Consumer Pulse is a monthly analysis developed jointly by J.D. Power and DealerRater. Another 42% of new-vehicle buyers prefer that their salesperson act primarily as an educator, while 12% prefer them as facilitators.

The percentage of U.S. buyers who prefer their salesperson to be a negotiator is slightly higher among mass-market vehicle buyers (47%) than among luxury vehicle buyers (43%). At the brand level, buyers of Nissan (53%) and Kia (53%) vehicles are among the most likely to want their salesperson to be a negotiator, whereas buyers of Subaru (35%) and Audi (40%) are among the least likely to want their salesperson to be a negotiator.

"Given that people so often turn to the Internet and smartphone apps to research vehicles--and can even see what others have paid for a similarly spec'd vehicle--the results of our analysis were somewhat surprising; but it's clear that consumers still want salespeople to be part of the overall purchase process," said Gary Tucker, chief executive officer of DealerRater.

According to the 2014 U.S. Sales Satisfaction Index Study, 55% of new-vehicle buyers indicate they received a lower price through negotiations.^[2] Study data also suggests that satisfaction with the overall purchase experience is lower among new-vehicle shoppers who attempt to negotiate a better deal than among those who don't (793 vs. 844, respectively, on a 1,000-point scale).