The New Car Sales Department

The primary function of an employee in the new car sales department, also known as a salesperson, is to familiarize you, the customer, with the cars available at his dealership. He will give you an enthusiastic rundown of all the latest features and try to get you to take one of the models out for a spin. If able to successfully sell you a car, he will then demonstrate to you how to get the best out of that car and, hopefully, impart to you a thorough understanding of its controls and features.

As the middleman between his manager and you, the salesperson may have your back more than you know. Although his main incentive is to sell, salesperson commissions on new cars are quite low – sometimes only close to $100. He also wants great referrals from you and may have in the back of his mind the latest sales incentive from his dealership that could win him a trip to Vegas if he just moves a few more models. These sales races usually come at the end of the month – a great time to start looking for a new car.

Once you have shaken hands on the final price of the car you want, you will be sent to the department of financing and insurance to arrange the final details. Savvy buyers work out their financing plans ahead of time in a separate location and are thus able to skip this often painful part.

The Pre-Owned Department

The pre-owned vehicle department is an essential part of any healthy dealership. This department is in charge of handling and moving the used cars traded in by their customers for a discount on the price of a new car.

With one of the trickiest jobs in the business, the manager of this department has to figure out which trade-ins to keep on the floor and which to send straight to auction. He will usually only keep and resell pre-owned cars that are compatible with the new ones offered by his dealership. Large dealerships with a large selection of used cars often assign full-time salespersons to this department, while smaller dealerships may not.

The Finance and Insurance Department

The big money boys of a dealership, this department provides financing services to customers who haven't already arranged their financing with their own credit union or bank. Employees of this department are highly trained and are responsible to be aware of current interest rates as well as the credit ratings of their customers. Although clients with good credit ratings usually receive better rates, some dealerships specialize in clients with poor credit ratings.

This department is also able to provide insurance policies to clients who don't already have their own insurance agent or company.

The Service Department

Working together with the warranties provided for new vehicles, the service department of a dealership fixes things that go wrong with the new cars sold. Because the manufacturers are the ones offering the warranties, they are the ones who will ultimately pay for any repairs covered under the warranties they offer.

Apart from warranty services, this department is also equipped to provide maintenance for the new cars sold. This will cost the customer – and may cost him dearly – but can be a reliable way of getting his oil changed and his brakes, hoses, belts, and tires checked if he doesn't know much about cars or mechanics himself. The service department can help boost customer satisfaction as well as provide quite a bit of supplementary income to the dealership.

Service departments must keep on hand a large stock of the most common replacement parts for the cars sold by the dealership in order to be able to make quick repairs on any cars that come in. They may also be able to equip cars with any aftermarket styling or fancy accessories that the customer may want, including dealer-installed options, upgrades, and even simple afterthoughts. Many service departments pride themselves in their huge inventories of car parts, ensuring clients never have to look further than their original dealer for any repairs their car might ever need.

The Body Shop Department

Although this department is a rarer find as doing body work is not usually an essential part of selling new cars, many dealerships invest in a body work department. The body shop department may be found at only one of the dealership's offices or even in a separate location entirely.

The Administrative Department

These paper pushers serve as the thread that binds all the departments together. In this department, the timesheets of the employees are tracked, the paychecks are cut, the service bills of the customers are calculated, and the windows are washed. The accounting department is included in the administrative workings, handling the dealership's money flow and keeping track of all earnings and expenses.