A buyer has been looking for a family car for weeks. At 10pm, they find exactly the right one on a local dealer's website: right age, right mileage, right colour. They have four questions. Is it still available? Would you take my current car in part exchange? What are the finance options? Can I see it on Saturday? If nobody answers until the showroom opens, they will keep searching, and they may find a similar car at another dealer that replies first.
Car buyers do most of their research online. The dealer website is the real forecourt.
How buyers research
Buying a car is a considered purchase. Buyers compare several vehicles and dealers over days or weeks. Much of that research happens on phones in the evening, which is when showrooms are closed. We covered how mobile visitors behave in mobile visitors and enquiries. By the time a buyer visits, they have usually decided which car they want to see.
That means the questions they ask online are the ones that decide which forecourt they visit.
The questions dealers get
The same themes come up again and again:
- Is this car still available?
- What is its history, and has it had one owner?
- Do you take part exchange, and how is it valued?
- What finance options do you offer?
- Is there a warranty?
- Can you deliver?
- Can I book a viewing or test drive?
"Is it still available?" is by far the most common, and it is the same question retailers fumble, as covered in is it in stock, the question retail websites fumble.
Being honest about stock
Stock moves fast. A car listed at lunchtime may be sold by evening. A website assistant can share what the site shows, but it should not promise that a vehicle is definitely available. A good answer says the car is listed, explains that staff will confirm before a visit, and captures the buyer's details so the team can follow up.
Buyer: Is the blue estate still available? Assistant: It's currently listed on the site. Cars can sell quickly, so the sales team will confirm availability before you visit. If you share your name, number or email and when you'd like to see it, they'll be in touch first thing.
Part exchange and finance
Part exchange questions are best handled by capturing the buyer's current vehicle details, such as make, model, age and mileage, so the team can give a proper valuation. Finance questions should be answered from the dealer's published information. The assistant should not give financial advice or suggest what a buyer can afford. Anything specific goes to the sales or finance team.
Answering at any hour
SpideyChat for automotive dealers and repair shops answers from your own website, including vehicle pages, finance information and part exchange details, and captures buyers' details at any hour. It replies in the buyer's language. Staff pick up captured enquiries with everything they need to follow up.
Workshop and service questions
Many dealers also run workshops, and service customers ask their own questions about booking, costs and courtesy cars. These should be separated from sales enquiries so each team gets the right leads. Genuine breakdowns and safety concerns should be directed to the right urgent route, in the same way other businesses handle after hours emergency triage.
Trade and fleet enquiries
Businesses buying several vehicles, or trade buyers, are a different kind of lead. They deserve their own route, similar to the partner enquiries covered in partner and reseller enquiries from your website.
Turning a question into a visit
The goal of every online answer is a visit or a test drive. Once a buyer's question is answered, offer the next step: a viewing time, a call from the sales team or a part exchange valuation. Buyers who have a plan are more likely to turn up.
Getting started
Check that your vehicle pages, finance information and part exchange details are clear, then let buyers get answers when they are researching. See the capture options on the features page, or try SpideyChat on your own site.