I just bought a new car (SUV) and I can say this process was different from my previous purchases. Actually this will be my wife's car. I generally have purchased GM vehicles although I have bought at least 1 new vehicle from all the U.S. Auto makers. Since 1989 I had worked for a division of GM, so I get the GM employee pricing. Not as good now as it was in 2009 when GM meant Generous Motors, but still something off the sticker. Since I have retired we decided we wanted to travel. We had always flown to destinations, but I'm tired of airports and rental cars. Time was the main reason we flew, and now that is less important. We had a 2004 Buick Lesabre with 86000 miles to trade in. Nothing wrong with it, just wanted something new with added safety features for long trips. We have always great luck with Buick, so we went see if the Enclave would fit our needs. Very nice vehicle, great ride, features, however for us it was much bigger than expected or needed. We then drove the Buick Encore. Not bad, but a little smaller then we wanted. End day 1. We went back the next day and told the salesman neither of the Buicks was the right choice. He then suggested the GMC Terrain. Somewhat between size compared to the Buicks. So we drive the Terrain and not bad, ride was good and the Denali had all the safety features we wanted. So we went home again, thinking we needed to decide between the Enclave and Terrain. Terrain seemed to be the winner. Being it was it was a Buick, Cadillac, GMC dealership, we thought what heck let's look at the Cadillac SRX. We drove the SRX, great comfort, good power and handling. Definitely more money. We had them put the Terrain and SRX side by side for a good comparison. Is it worth the price? I don't know, but I definitely like it and will feel good traveling in it on long trips. So we bought the Cadillac. Never thought I would buy a new Cadillac!
Unlike previous purchases where I felt pressured to make a decision and a sales manger asking what needs to be done to make this happen now, this dealership didn't ever pressure me to make a decision. I think the salesman would have showed me every car on the lot if I asked. The biggest surprise was I actually got a fair trade in price for my 2004. I knew the range for my car and they actually offered toward the higher side of the book value. That was definitely a first not having to argue what my trade in was worth. Kind of like buying a new tool, look at all the reviews, safety, and getting the best price for what you want.