To buy now or wait till later......
I was faced with this dilemma this morning with a previous customer of mine. Mother has bought two Grand Cherokee's ,brother owns a Wrangler, and she came in to trade her 2006 Liberty. This will be the 5th Jeep I have sold this family. My customer "Kaitlyn" came in to trade her Liberty wanted to see the 2012 Liberty and possibly look at the 2014 GC. A 2012 with 3k in rebates would have fit her budget. She had never heard of the 2014 Cherokee . If I wanted to I could have easily sold her a 2012 Liberty. She came in and was ready and capable of buying a new Jeep today. But after sitting down and discussing her needs and wants I knew the 2014 Cherokee would suit her needs better.
She looked at the 2014 and LOVED the interior. She wants ,better fuel economy, navigation and backup camera. Would like a V6 but that is not a deal breaker. She never goes off road but wants 4x4.
Now...... because I am their "Car Guy" I had to put her needs over the wants of my dealer principle. He(the owner of the dealership) definitely would rather have had me sell her a 2012 Liberty today. However I knew the 2014 Cherokee would suit her needs better. There is nothing wrong with her 2006 she is just ready for a new Jeep. She wants to spend less than 30k but loves the 8.4 nav in the 2014GC.Grand Cherokee seemed too big to her. I showed her pics of the 2014 on my computer and she loved it. Now all we can do is wait.
Kaitlln and her family are loyal Jeep customers. I have no fear of them going to go see another salesman at another Jeep dealership. I will probably sell mom her 3rd GC later this week. But the Cherokee is 3-5 months away. My fear...is that between now and then she doesn’t look at a Hyundai Tucson, Escape,Rav4 or other CUV. Right now she wants a Jeep...but I am not so arrogant to believe that we are the only game in town.
I am comfortable with my decision to point her towards the right Jeep for her. However I would hate to loose her as a customer to another brand. Ill keep in touch and keep my fingers crossed
I hope the Cherokee launch is not delayed.....