Car dealerships in the United States

In the United States and Canada, a franchised new-car and -truck dealership is a retailer that sells new and also possibly used cars, including certified preowned vehicles, employs trained automotive technicians, and offers financing. In the United States, direct manufacturer auto sales are prohibited in almost every state by franchise laws requiring that new cars be sold only by dealers.

Used car dealerships carry cars from many different manufacturers, while new car dealerships are generally franchises associated with only one manufacturer. Some new car dealerships may carry multiple brands from the same manufacturer. In some locales, dealerships have been consolidated and a single owner may control a chain of dealerships representing several different manufacturers.

New car dealerships also sell used cars, and take in trade-ins and/or purchase used vehicles at auction. Most dealerships also provide a series of additional services for car buyers and owners, which are sometimes more profitable than the core business of selling cars.

Most car dealerships display their inventory in a showroom and on a car lot. Under U.S. federal law, all new cars must carry a sticker showing the offering price and summarizing the vehicle's features. Salespersons, usually those who only work on commission, negotiate with buyers to determine a final sales price. In many cases, this includes negotiating the price of a trade-in—the dealer's purchase of the buyer's current automobile. Negotiation from the dealership's perspective is the actual to-and-fro that occurs when a salesperson works out a deal to a point where the customer is seriously considering the vehicle and makes an offer on the new vehicle, often including the customer's current vehicle as part of the deal. The salesperson then brings the offer, plus a sign of good faith from the customer, which can be a check with a deposit or a credit card to the sales manager where the monthly payment options and various pricing options that result are returned after the sales manager enters the information received from the salesperson into a CRM (customer relations management) computer program. The result is referred to as "desking" the deal. This is the final step of negotiation process. The information generated during the desking phase includes payment and pricing options and it usually requires the customer and sales manager to sign off on the option chosen. The next step is a purchase and sales agreement or a sales agreement and the actual monetary downpayment is generated. The manager and customer sign this paperwork and then the customer is handed off to the "box" or the finance and insurance office where various add-ons are often sold that include special waxing, wheel protection, or often, extended warranty services. The final paperwork is also printed out at this phase. While some may believe that desking is part of the negotiation process, it only occurs once the salesperson has a legitimate offer on the vehicle from the customer and is able to hand the sales manager a token of good faith, as noted.

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