For many dealers, the hardest part of selling a new vehicle is reaching the part where you offer a vehicle service contract.
At this point in the sale, the customer has already had to make many decisions – including the actual decision to buy – and often find it very easy to decline politely.
4 Reasons to Always Opt for the Vehicle Service Contract
This should rarely – if ever – happen, though.
If you’re able to explain the four benefits of vehicle service contracts below effectively, your customers should have a straightforward time accepting your offer.
1. Problems Happen
Aside from the additional cost, the main reason it’s often hard to sell customers vehicle service contracts is that you just spent all that time convincing them that the vehicle they purchased was a high-quality automobile.
If that’s the case, why would they need to prepare for potential problems?
Nonetheless, customers have to realize that the unexpected can happen even to the best of vehicles. Read over the service contract so they understand what common problems it covers. This will go a long way toward increasing its value in their minds.
2. Quality Assurance
One very underrated benefit of these contracts is that, to the customer above’s point, they imply the vehicle must be reliable and well-constructed. After all, if it’s not, the manufacturer wouldn’t offer one. Every time they need to pay out for a problem, their ROI for the vehicle drops.
The same holds true for a third-party that offers service contracts. They are offering the contract based on the vehicle’s performance. It must perform well, or they wouldn’t do it.
That’s a critical difference between auto service contracts and insurance. The latter is issued based on the driver, but the former is issued based solely on the vehicle’s reputation.
3. Affordability
With that in mind, let’s return to the standard question: “If the vehicle is so reliable, why would I need extra coverage?”
The answer is because vehicle service contracts are very affordable.
While it’s difficult to find an accurate estimate on how much repairs cost for problems not caused by the driver (and, thus, not covered by insurance), AAA places the amount for the average repair bill at between $500 and $600. A third of those who incur these costs can’t do so without taking on debt. With that perspective, a vehicle service contract becomes a complete no-brainer.
4. Increased Resale Value
Although this isn’t always the case, many vehicle service contracts are transferable. This will increase the resale value of your vehicle when you decide to sell – an especially attractive advantage when you consider how much cars depreciate.
A Vehicle Service Contract Is an Easy Investment to Justify
With all the different costs involved with buying a vehicle, it’s often easy for customers to immediately ignore an offer for vehicle service contracts. It can just seem like one more thing to pay for after a long list of so many other things.
However, when you think about the peace of mind it provides, taking out a service contract should be one of the easiest decisions when buying a vehicle.