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How I Used LinkedIn to Buy My New Car

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When my 2003 Buick Century got rear-ended at a traffic light, and I took it to a body shop and discovered the damage was more than $4,000, I decided Time For A New Car.

Step One turned out to be checking the Enterprise Rental Car sales lot when I picked up a rental car. I drove the Hyundai Sonata, which was the featured car that month: 33,000+ miles for $13,000.

I actually liked it, and if I’d wanted another A-to-B car, I probably would have bought one of them.

But my birthday was a week away and I thought to myself,

“If I don’t buy a more luxurious car now, then when .  . . “

Step Two: So that’s when I decided to go to LinkedIn and post this question in my favorite LinkedIn group Linked Local Marin [a site with about 1,700 fellow Marin business people]:

The discussion drew 21 comments! Check them out: http://www.linkedin.com/groupAnswers?viewQuestionAndAnswers=&discussionID=32722052&gid=2190523&commentID=25081803&goback=.gmp_2190523.amf_2190523_18815785&trk=NUS_DISC_Q-subject#commentID_25081803

The one I “went with” was from my friend Philip Baldwin who first suggested the Hyundai Sonata, which I had driven . . . and then he said that what he’d really wanted was a Hyundai Genesis.

Hyundai Genesis?

Never heard of it, that is, until I test drove the Kia Amanti and was told that (a) Hyundai had bought Kia and (b) Hyundai discontinued the Amanti in favor of their luxury model, the Genesis.

Step Three: I drove one and was hooked.

. . . that is, until I discovered the Genesis came in both a sedan and a coupe, which were really two different cars. But before making the decision on 4-door or 2-door . . .

Step Four: Another round of LinkedIn.

This time I posted a question in the Answers section:

Next steps: Doing research online and on “lot” and test driving several models. Then “walking away” from the car I really wanted. Four telephone calls from that dealer [and more than a dozen from other dealerships], I visited my car a second time and “split the difference” between the dealer’s  lowest offer and mine.

I’m a happy camper . . . or should I say 2010  Hyundai Genesis coupe driver.

Next LinkedIn move?

Sharing this post with my LinkedIn groups

🙂

BTW, there’s a “slideshow” of my car on my DRIVING MISS SHARI post: “My new Hyundai Genesis .  . . almost”

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5 thoughts on “How I Used LinkedIn to Buy My New Car”

  2. Hi Shari,

    Don’t you love driving a new car? Love the new car smell :). We did extensive research online when we purchased our last car too. With the internet, it’s so easy to find what you need and research before you get to the showroom. The internet has shifted the marketplace online in a big way.

    Thank you for sharing!

    Janette

    1. Hey, Janette. What kind of car did you find and buy? I just love my Hyundai Genesis!!!!! Every day more and more.
      🙂
      Today two people asked if it was a Ferrari
      🙂
      Yesterday someone stopped me to ask about the car because he and his wife wanted something just like it.
      🙂

  3. Hello Shari, This is a very interesting post, and it is great that you share this information. It is a good reminder that we can research items on-line first, as those of us who spend time on-line sometimes forget that we can use it for everyday things.
    Keep up the good work! 🙂
    All best wishes, Diane

    1. Never ceases to amaze me how I learn new and exciting ways to use technology . . . almost on the “hour” . . . let alone daily.
      🙂
      And one of the reasons for this is how generous we all are in sharing what we discover.

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