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Car Dealerships Offer New Perks

From Florida to California they are luring buyers with on-site coffee shops, pedicures, wedding chapels and haircuts.

By Claire_Martin Jul 2, 2012 10:56AM
Image of a Lexus dealership from Tyoron2 on Wikimedia Commons under Gnu Free Documentation License.Gone are the days when a fully stocked vending machine and a cable-television hookup were enough to keep would-be car buyers happy -- or so a growing number of dealerships have come to think. 

According to The Car Connection, dealers around the country are providing buyers with increasingly elaborate amenities. You now might stumble upon an espresso bar while selecting your new Honda Civic, or ink a lease deal on a Cadillac Escalade after getting your hair cut at the in-dealership barbershop. 

Restaurants are perhaps the most popular of these new perks. A Honda dealership in Fort Worth, Texas, serves lunch and dinner. The Corvette Cafe at a Dallas Chevrolet dealership accommodates customers who bring in their cars for early morning servicing and also want a pancake. And you might drive away with a Reuben sandwich and an oil change from the Honda dealership in Norman, Okla. 

Buyers can multitask in more varied and highbrow ways at the Cadillac dealership in Highland, Mich., which has a hair salon and a boutique. Lobster and filet mignon are possibilities at the North Hills, Calif., Ford dealership, which boasts the first-ever in-house dealership restaurant: the Horseless Carriage, opened in 1966.

Practical tasks such as paying traffic tickets and renewing driver's licenses can be done at the six-story Honda dealership in Davie, Fla., which houses a satellite county clerk's office. But this dealership throws in a splash of romance, as well. You can obtain a marriage license from the county clerk, and then step over to the dealership's on-site wedding chapel to seal the deal. If you were then also game for a cross-country road trip, the Lexus dealership in Escondido, Calif., would happily host the reception. Its penthouse restaurant has great views, fine dining and 20,000 feet of banquet space.

How common are such in-house amenities? Not very. We can say with full confidence that they're not the next Starbucks. But speaking of Starbucks, the company's first full-service cafe did open in a dealership recently. Buyers in Van Nuys, Calif., who are looking for a Jaguar, Volvo or Lincoln -- and a Starbucks Caramel Frappuccino -- are suddenly in luck.
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dachikin
Jul 2, 2012 5:30PM
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It just goes to show how competitive and creative car dealerships have to be now. I really enjoy it, and every time I stop by my Honda dealership I get a free Starbucks drink and complimentary car wash! 
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