Your Acura dealer is generally your link between you and that Acura you have your eye on. For instance, you may be able to get a discounted special price using a dealer closer to your location. Before plunking down for a new car, do the research; a car is a huge investment. This is easy if you already know what make vehicle you want. Also, bear in mind that after paying for the car there are other costs involved, registration and licensing being just two.

When you go to your Acura dealer, remember that he wants your business. Knowing this and the fact that there are other dealers out there will take away the stress of shopping for a new car. Before even venturing inside the dealership, get quotes from other dealers for the same vehicle and let the dealer know that you have this information. Showing that you did your homework will enhance your bargaining power. You may even get quotes over the telephone or internet from the Acura dealer you will be visiting.

Don�t feel bad about bargaining, the sticker price is not the best price that the vehicle can be sold for. Ask questions if you are unsure of terms used and what you are getting for your money. The following tips can help you in getting the best deal:

Visit Edmunds.com and look for the True Market Value of the car you want. Calculate the advertised rebates (if any). Ask them for their best price based on what you know

Finally, if you are not comfortable doing business with a particular dealership or salesperson, take your business elsewhere. You cannot function at your optimal level if you are not comfortable with the person you are dealing with. Once you are satisfied that you are being offered a fair price, it’s time to seal the deal.

Once you have decided on getting a new Acura, visit the manufacturer’s website for details on what is available and how to locate the dealers closest to your location. With this information you are ready to start getting quotes so that you can begin the process of financing your car.

There are a wide range of payment options that you can explore to find the one that best suits your circumstances. The main ones are:

·Pay cash This is a quick alternative, but not many persons are able to come up with the full payment price for a new car. If you pay for your car up-front, you may be able to get an even better deal. Also, ensure that your dealer gives you a good warranty.

·Leasing This option allows the consumer to lease the car they want through a leasing company. Most choose a set period for the lease. This period is normally the length of the car’s warranty. With is arrangement, the leasing company will buy the car and you pay an agreed upon monthly payment. Generally this monthly payment is less than if you take out a personal loan. Once the lease period is up, the consumer can either opt to purchase the car for themselves or go into another lease arrangement normally for a newer model vehicle. As an added bonus, some leasing arrangements take the hassle out of car maintenance as the leasing company is responsible for this.

·A loan Another popular financing option is taking out a personal loan from a bank, credit union or other financing agency. The consumer will need to make an agreed on monthly payment to the lending agency for the life of the loan. Once the loan is paid off, the car is yours.

·Trade-in of your old car Trading in a used car can also help with financing a new car as the funds obtained can be used to make the down payment. Some of these options are easier than others based on your credit rating.

According to the new Luxury Customer Experience Index survey (LCEI) from the New York-based Luxury Institute, Lexus trounced the competition as the luxury automobile brand that delivers “the best customer experience“ as rated and ranked by their own wealthy customers. Porsche came in second while Acura was a close third. Notably absent from the top four were Mercedes and BMW which have previously ranked in the top three in the Luxury Institute’s Brand Status Index surveys.

Wealthy customers rated the top eleven luxury automobile brands based on their direct individual experiences. These included (in alphabetical order): Acura, Audi, BMW, Cadillac, Infiniti, Jaguar, Lexus, Lincoln, Mercedes, Porsche and Volvo.

The Luxury Institute surveyed a nationally representative valid and reliable statistical sample of more than 2,100 households with a minimum of $200,000 in gross annual income and net worth of at least $750,000 (including home equity).

“Lexus won by a wide margin, achieving a top rating of 88 vs. 83 for Porsche and 82 for Acura,” said Milton Pedraza, CEO of the Luxury Institute. “Lexus customers rated it most worthy of a price premium by a 5-point margin above its nearest competitor. The brand also posted the highest ratings by a comfortable margin in the critical Customer Retention and Customer Referral indexes.“

Lexus also won every category of Customer Experience Drivers including brand effectiveness, and brand attitude, which included top scores in “most enthusiastic, most polite and most trustworthy representatives.” It also overwhelmed the competition, including Mercedes, on brand environment (dealerships). Acura had the lowest incidence of reported problems although its problem resolution scores were below most other competitors.

“The alarms should be going off very loudly in Germany”, said Milton Pedraza, CEO of the Luxury Institute. “In the recent Luxury Brand Status Index (LBSI) surveys, which measure brand reputations among the wealthy, Lexus was rated number four while Mercedes and BMW rated among the top three, along with Porsche. However, in our new Luxury Customer Experience Index surveys, Mercedes and BMW do not even make the top four in customer experience. These metrics, all among America’s wealthiest consumers, indicate significant discrepancies between target market perceptions and actual customer realities for Mercedes and BMW. One thing is to talk about it in the abstract; another is to measure it precisely. Interestingly, in our brand reputation surveys, Lexus was rated by far the up-and-comer, and now it is clear that, with its run-away customer experience rating among the wealthy, Lexus has arrived.”

This new survey, called the Luxury Customer Experience Index (LCEI), creates a set of measures and indices that capture the critical drivers for Customer Experience, as rated by each brand’s own customers, and goes far beyond traditional customer satisfaction measures. The LCEI delivers a critical set of metrics based on the four “pillars” of a Customer’s Experience including: Experience Drivers, Price Worthiness, Customer Retention and Customer Referral for each brand in a category. The Experience Drivers section includes the brand’s effectiveness, brand attitude, brand environment, and the brand’s problem resolution index.

As the trusted and respected Voice of America’s Wealthy, the Luxury Institute is the pioneer in developing objective and independent customer-centric performance metrics for the luxury goods and services industry. The new Luxury Customer Experience Index survey (LCEI) complements the Luxury Institute’s reputation survey (Luxury Brand Status Index survey, or LBSI). Together, these surveys measure the differences between a brand’s reputation among the target market and the actual experiences of customers. [PRWEB]

tagTRAX: luxury brand | brand attitude | brand | lexus