The next time you are out looking for a car, would you, consider using a car consultant?

I recently left the auto sales business, and have been contemplating starting my own business. One of the ideas I have ran past people, is car consulting. I know how intimidating, frustrating, and time consuming the car buying process can be. So I am looking for feedback in a couple areas. Does anyone think they would benefit from a service like this? Would you personally use a service like this? Any ideas are welcome!

Adding details to get a complete picture of what people think....Here's why I was thinking this service...The dealership gives you the opinion they are paid to give you...what's in their best interest, not yours..you are asked to buy a lot of products in the finance office they you may or may not need, and probably don't understand completely, there are lot of different makes and models, all offering something different, and it can be time consuming, and overwhelming.....My job would be to find out what you are looking for, what's important to you, and then give you choices based on what you told me was best for you, non-biased because I work for ford, gm, toyota, ect....

It might be useful to luxury car buyers who don't have the time to shop and haggle over new cars -- in an area where there is a large population of affluent people.

The problem with trying to appeal to people who feel they might save money by using a consultant, is actually proving that they save money. They will wonder if the consultant was actually able to get a better price than they could have gotten themselves. How do you demonstate that? I think people will have unrealistic expectations about how much you are able to influence prices, and will often be disappointed in the results. How do you show that the price of the service is worth the benefit? It's tough.

Good luck.

I wouldn't, but some might.

I personally wouldn't use it..I think shopping for a car is fun. But I'm sure there are plenty of people who might.

This is probably going to be split 50-50...guys wouldn't use it, women would.

no way.

nope.
i can go to the car dealership and get that service for free.
Plus you can look online for free.
And get all the information you needed from DMV sites and title companies.
There are already circulars in the paper in the advertising section for new and used cars.

People feel like they are getting ripped off as it is when they buy a car... So adding a MIDDLEMAN (woman ;) to the process would SCARE ME AWAY!

I could only see that being both profitable to YOU and beneficial to your future clients if it was for VERY HIGH END vehicles and 'consultiing' for upperclass people... that MIGHT be a lucrative market... as for the middleclass and lowerclass... Don't think you'd make $One... and you'd have to work your butt of to do it for anything but the high end market!

I would use it as long as its free. You could probably work out a deal with dealerships that will pay you a commission if you bring them customers that buy. I had this idea for a business a while back too because I was looking for a car and wished there was a service like this. Its a good idea, good luck

i think so. it give poeple a better look at what can afford, what type, of car they are looking for and helps them better sound judgement on what they want.

My Credit Union offers this service. They do all the shopping around for you. Find the car you want and supposedly get the best price for you.

I've tried to use them twice to locate a specific used car I was looking to buy. They never delivered what they promised. I ended up finding what I was looking for myself. I think they are geared more towards new cars than the used car market.

I can see people who are either intimidated by the process or don't have the time using a service like this but I personally would never try it again.

Not only do you need to be a car consultant and locate the car they want, you need to be a financial consultant as well and get them the best LOAN too. So many people get taken advantage of at the Finance table that they have a bad sense for car shopping. They don't understand the loan process and an uninformed consumer can really get taken advantage of when they sign that contract. Read this forum long enough and you'll discover that 80% of the questions are from people who think they got a raw deal on the financing, not the wrong car or the wrong price, but the wrong loan.

The biggest hurdle to overcome as a consultant is the perception that your service would cost them more money. You need to sell yourself as someone who can save the consumer real money, time and hassles.

Interesting concept...it would depend on the cost but I would consider it.

I personally would not use the service either because I would probably end up paying the same if I were to hire a "consultant" for me to walk me through the car buying process.