Internet Car Buyers Are Driving Past Their Local Dealerships To Buy Volvos From One Woman

Car buying is stressful for the consumer -- and sales people can be ruthless when it comes to competing with each other for customer's business.

And sometimes, one person can outduel even the sales staffs at local dealerships. Even luxury brands like Volvo sometimes have dealerships that don't earn high marks for customer service.

Look what I found in the Volvo Owners of North America, where a user, named Howard, posted the following message (I lightly edited his post for grammar and clarity).

There are times here when people have posted issues they have had in interacting with their local Volvo dealer, and we all know the stress we have encountered looking to negotiate on a car purchase or lease. We all know that getting a new Volvo should be an enjoyable experience but with some of the arm-wrestling involved sometimes [it's] not so pleasurable.  

I am on Long Island, and over the years I have encountered all of that and then some. Then, something odd happened. When I was going thru all that grief of trying to negotiate a new lease, I had gone onto the Volvocars national website, to better define options and colors etc ... My info was forwarded to a lady that was a sales person at a dealer in NJ -- Tina Bilokin at Prestige Volvo in East Hanover, NJ. She reached out to me, and, as pleasant as she was, I had no real interest in driving an hour and a half to get a car. She had explained that she had never lost a deal for price and that people come to her from out of state often, and that recently a guy had flown in from Texas for a rare R model in an unusual color. I found myself getting more of a runaround from local dealers and decided to reach out to her and give it a try. Its now been several leases in succession, now my daughters and friends [are using her for car buying] and each time we are treated far better than I can ever remember over time.

Tina got promoted from internet sales person to sales manager, and it started to feel like the showroom was her living room, we were treated so graciously. And, something I never expected -- Tina might look like she just stepped out of Cosmo but she knows these cars better then most of us that just think we are car nuts. Now, you say, why I am now posting this? Tina, now Tina Heunemann, has been " promoted". She is now the General Manager of Open Road Volvo, not far from where she was before. She reached out to me. My daughter's lease is up soon, and she is now in charge of the whole operation. I would say, if you have any Volvo dealer needs, reach out to her, whether is sales, leasing, service or parts. I am sure that she will go out of her way to help and if not herself, assign one of her staff to help you. Give her a shot -- what have you got to lose? She has been great to me, for some time now.

What Torque News Saw In The Replies

Commenters below piped up. One said it was a shame that most Volvo dealers seem to be struggling with customer service, while another mentioned a similar salesperson in the Midwest.

The former: 

It’s a shame the “bad” dealers won’t wake up. I bought my Volvo from a dealer out of state. I didn’t have to drive there, he had the car delivered to me. That was in 2014. I’m currently looking for another car and dreading the process, although I’ll do the same thing if need be.

And the latter:

Glad to know you've been able to find a diamond in the rough. Here in St Louis, we have someone similar, Tom Calkins. He has been Volvo's #1 sales person in the US for several years in a row now, over 600 cars per year, selling to anyone in the US who wants to buy. Majority of his sales are referrals from his customers.

Torque News Says Young Sales People -- And Customers -- Can Learn From This

If you're reading this and you're in car sales, and relatively new to it, you can learn that taking care of customers and competing on price will probably bring you more success -- and thus, more money -- than if you engage in shady sales tactics. Sure, there's a chance you will get some short-term success that way, but you'll do better over the long run by treating people well. Think about this Volvo sales woman. She's getting folks to not only drive across the tri-state area -- and deal with its nasty traffic -- but she's getting folks to come in from farther away than that.

As a consumer, the lesson here is that it might be worth driving a little farther to find the right salesperson. Being treated well and being offered a great deal is one thing -- these folks may also be able to find rare trim levels for you.

The price you pay in fuel -- or, in rare cases, airfare and perhaps a hotel -- might be worth it if the deal you get is good enough.

So, shop around. If all the dealers in your area are difficult to deal with, expand your search. Yes, traveling farther is a pain in the butt, and gas isn't cheap these days, but again, it might be worth it if you can snag a great deal.

Now, getting the car serviced at the same place might be another matter.

About The Author

Tim Healey is an experienced automotive writer and editor from Chicago. He has covered automotive news at Consumer Guide Automotive, Web2Carz, AutoGuide, and was the managing editor at The Truth About Cars. Tim is a member of the Midwest Automotive Media Association. You can find him on Facebook, X/Twitter, and on LinkedIn.