Monthly Archives: February 2017

True Car Buyer Bonus

Insurance,

TrueCar Certified Dealership Logo
Easterns Automotive Group is proud to be a TrueCar Certified Dealer. This program allows customer to shop through their preferred lenders, insurance companies, employee buying programs, and more! We are committed to serving all the TrueCar Customers and the customer from their partners. A benefit of the TrueCar Program is the TrueCar Buying Bonus.

What is Buyer?s Bonus?

Buyer?s Bonus is an exclusive program, fully funded by TrueCar, that is made available to members of certain affinity auto buying sites. It is designed to further reinforce the value of working with a TrueCar Certified Dealer for the member?s next vehicle purchase.

TrueCar Buyer?s Bonus benefits could be worth more than $2,000

Depending on the partner, the member is eligible for the following in the 1st year of car ownership:

Auto Repair Expense Reimbursement

Reimburses 20% of the payment, if any, made to repair the vehicle purchased through the car buying program. Covers up to a $500 reimbursement on repair (parts included), 2x a year.

Service not available in New Hampshire or New York.

Auto Deductible Reimbursement

Reimburses what the member paid, if anything, for their insurance deductible when they file a claim. Covers up to $500, 2x a year.

Service not available in New Hampshire or New York.

Auto Expert Opinion

A member can talk directly to an ASC-certified mechanic to discuss questions they might have on recommended repairs and cost, sounds their car is making, etc. Unlimited use.

True Car Buyer Bonus Participation

What Do Customers Need to Do?

Customers will receive an email with information on how to activate Buyer?s Bonus once they submit their contact information to connect with Certified Dealers who have the car they want. They can also visit the ?Report Your Purchase? page of their auto buying program?s website for additional information.

To receive their benefits, a customer must:

Purchase a Vehicle

Customers must buy or lease a new or used vehicle from a TrueCar Certified Dealer through a qualifying TrueCar-powered affinity program to qualify. Purchases from Dealers who are not TrueCar Certified will not be eligible for TrueCar Buyer?s Bonus benefits.

Report Their Purchase

After purchasing a vehicle from a Certified Dealer, customers must return to their affinity auto buying site?s ?Report Your Purchase? page within 45 days and enter their email address to get started. They should have their VIN, Dealership details and personal information handy to complete the process.

Access Their Benefits

Once a customer reports their purchase, they will receive a confirmation email with instructions on how to access their Buyer?s Bonus benefits. Whether they use one benefit or use them all, there?s no additional cost to the customer!

Throwback Thursday Clip of the Week ? Easterns Training Camp (Day 3) with LaVar Arrington, Carlos Rogers, Clinton Portis, and Sean Taylor

Throwback Thursday,

In this funny clip, Sean Taylor is seen tackling a car salesman. He then proceeds to stress the importance of customer care. At Eastern Motors (Easterns Automotive Group), the customers are the number one and top priority. It was truly refreshing to watch Sean Taylor in this clip because as most know he passed away back in 2007. Though the clip was funny, it was also informative about the Easterns brand. There isn?t much footage of Sean off the field so this is definitely a rare gem. We are sure that both fans of Sean Taylor and the Washington Redskins will fall in love with this skit. On behalf of Easterns Automotive Group, we continue to send our love, prayers, and condolences to the family, friends, and fans of Sean Taylor. As a company, Easterns will continue to praise his good work.

Throwback Thursday Clip of the Week ? Easterns Training Camp (Day 2) with LaVar Arrington, Carlos Rogers, Clinton Portis, and Sean Taylor

Throwback Thursday,

In this clip, LaVar Arrington is seen reinforcing the importance of customer service after seeing a salesman take a call while conversing with a customer. This is definitely something that should never be done. Eastern Motors (Easterns Automotive Group) prides themselves on being a company that provides excellent customer service. LaVar did a great job stepping in to discipline the salesman because it shows customers that Easterns will not stand for anything they do not believe in. This clip also shows our customers that Easters will not tolerate unacceptable behavior from employees in the workplace. Customers and their needs are always a first priority. All of these are reasons that Easterns has continued to be one of the one of the top car dealers in the DMV (DC, Maryland, and Virginia).

Throwback Thursday Clip of the Week ? Easterns Training Camp (Day 1) with LaVar Arrington, Carlos Rogers, Clinton Portis, and Sean Taylor

Throwback Thursday,

It is clear to say that starting in the 2000s, Eastern Motors became a phenomenon. Rarely do you see a branch of car dealerships become a household name both locally and nationally. Easterns had the ability to do what most brands and companies couldn?t. They are most known for their catchy jingle and hilarious commercials with celebrities and major sports players. The Easterns Training Camp series is a compilation of skits and comedic monologues staring LaVar Arrington, Carlos Rogers, Clinton Portis, and Sean Taylor all formerly of the Washington Redskins. All players were playing for the Washington Redskins when this was recorded. Eastern Motors nicknamed these guys according to their role in each skit. LaVar Arrington aka ?The Enforcer?, Clinton Portis aka ?The Predator?, Carlos Rogers aka ?The Interceptor?, and Sean Taylor ?The Punisher?. In Day 1 of the training camp, the guys are seen talking about whooping the new trainees into shape on behalf of Easterns. As most know, Sean Taylor is no longer with us so we continue to send our thoughts, prayers, and condolences to his family, friends, and fans. The legacy of Sean Taylor will live on forever and he will always have a special part in the hearts of everyone.

Easterns Automotive Group Wins Several Awards from Dealer Rater AGAIN!

Award

Every business wants to be connected to their customers. Some just do not know how. In terms of the automotive industry, a company by the name of Dealer Rater has created the formula to do just that. Chip Grueter, the founder of Dealer Rater, noticed the void in the market for car dealerships reviews back in 2002. During that time, there were no websites that connected car dealerships to their customers and allowed customers to voice their opinion about the dealer or the customer service that they received. Over 15 years later, Dealer Rater has over 2 million customer reviews and more than 14 million customers. It has become the global hub for car recalls, research, and service & dealer reviews.

The owner of Easterns Automotive Group, Robert Bassam, knows the importance of his customers having a voice. Easterns implemented Dealer Rater into their online repertoire. Easterns has 8 locations in the DC, Maryland, and Virginia area. It is imperative that all these customers have a voice and a platform to speak on their experience with Easterns. More importantly, it’s vital that the staff do their job and represent the company to the best of their ability. The overall goal is to have customers speak highly of your company, not negatively.

Dealer Rater gives out awards at the end of the year to deserving dealers. The first awards are the Dealer of the Year awards. These awards are given to a select number of car dealerships located in the United States and Canada for outstanding customer satisfaction. The winners of these awards are chosen by the amount and quality of the customer online reviews. Easterns of Temple Hills was announced as the Dealer of the Year for used cars in the state of Maryland. This is definitely a major accomplishment that the whole team is proud of. Easterns won big because that was not just their only award. Dealer Rater also issues another annual set of awards for Consumer Satisfaction. These awards are given to the top tier car dealerships. Easterns of Hyattsville, Easterns of Laurel  and Easterns of Baltimore all received Customer Satisfaction Awards for the third year in a row! Easterns Automotive Group is a true testament that caring about your customers and making them your number one priority pays off.

Benefits of Buying a Car through us vs. Buying from a ?Buy Here Pay Here Lot?

Easterns Automotive

Here at Easterns Automotive Group, we take our customers? needs very serious. We understand the importance of excellent quality service. The major key for us is open and honest communication with our customers and treating everyone like family because that is exactly what we are. Our customers are our first priority so we never mind going the extra mile, unlike our competitors. Our vehicles are in immaculate condition, with all being 2 years old or less than 35,000 miles. Over the past 25 years, we have managed to build an excellent reputation as well as an A+ rating with the BBB (Better Business Bureau). We have six dealership locations located throughout the DC metro, Maryland, and Virginia area and over a 97% customer approval rating. The credibility that we have established has enabled us to be one of the prestigious and well-known automotive groups in the DMV.
Buying a car can be a very a very stressful task depending on where you are purchasing a vehicle. Easterns strives to provide a smooth, easy, and time efficient car buying experience that everyone can enjoy. We understand that everyone coming to purchase a vehicle does not have all of the cash in his or her pocket. The reality is most Americans choose to finance their vehicle. Variety is very important to us when it comes to our customers choosing a lender to finance their vehicle. This is why we offer 30 credible lenders to our customers such as Ally, SunTrust, TD, Wells Fargo, and Capital One Bank just to name a few. Each bank and financial institution is different and certain lenders may be a bitter fit for customers than others. A big factor that goes into deciding APR (Annual Percentage Rate) for an auto loan is a person?s credit score. Having a good credit score means that banks are more willing to work with you because of you previous track record. Your monthly payment is most likely to be lower when you have a better credit score. When banks see that you have a higher credit score, they tend to give people a higher rate because to them that you are a financial risk resulting in a higher monthly payment. Our new website allows customers to fill out the finance application online before they even come in to any of our 6 locations.
The pros to choosing Easterns are endless. Every one of our vehicles goes through a thorough 110-point quality certification. They all come with a free CARFAX Vehicle Report that reveals the truth about used cars including previous work performed on the car, hidden problems, and recalls and safety related issues. We also offer a limited time warranty and gap coverage on every vehicle. Customers have the option to purchase extended warranties and gap coverage through Easterns. It is important to us that our customers are happy with their vehicle. We give them a 7-day window to enjoy the vehicle and make sure that they are in love with it, consider this like a trial run. Our 7-day return policy allows customers to swap their current vehicle for any car or truck at Easterns that matches their budget and credit.
Buying a vehicle at Easterns is very different from buying a vehicle at a Buy Here Pay Here (BHPH) lot. A BHPH is type of dealership that targets people with bad credit that have most likely have tried to purchase a car elsewhere. Majority of the BHPH dealerships offer customers high interest rates with high payments. They tend to take advantage of their customers? financial situation because they know that they are in need of a vehicle. In fact CARFAX published an article discussing what should be avoided when buying a car from a BHPH lot. They urge customers to watch out for the ridiculous terms such as ?long loans and sky-high interest rates?. It?s important that potential car buyers have the proper information before signing something without knowing exactly what they are getting themselves into. Another thing to watch out for is overpriced cars. Vehicles at these lots typically are not the best quality, yet the prices are marked up so it is best to ask for a CARFAX or vehicle history report. The biggest thing car buyers should know is the importance of knowing their finances and what they can and cannot afford. Having this type of knowledge can prevent someone from making a financial mistake that could have been easily avoided.

Bad Credit Car Dealership | Buy Here Pay Here

Eastern Motors attends the 2017 Washington Auto Show

Events

The winter months are always an exciting time for car enthusiasts. Any and everybody that loves cars know that this is car show season. This is the time when consumers are able to see the current, upcoming, and concept vehicles of just about every manufacture. It all begins in early January of every year at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit. They choose to start in Detroit because it is so imperative to the automotive industry. This is where majority of the world?s top automotive executives reside so it?s only right for everyone to get together to share their big announcements with the world. At NAIAS, everything is announced from changes to current vehicles, new body styles, technology, and new models. This gives consumers something to look forward to since the car show travels to multiple major cities in the United States. Consumers are able to see everything first hand when they attend the auto show. That?s just what we wanted to do!

The Washington Auto Show came to town during the last week of January. It was only right that we (Easterns Automotive Group) went to see everything and learn more. When we got there, we were surprised to see the crowd there on a weekday. This event truly brings out everyone from the DC, Maryland, and Virginia area. Our first stop was the 2018 Toyota Camry which offers a complete redesign from the current 2017 body style. With Toyota being the best-selling car in America, they had no choice but to really hit it out of the park with one. Some notable changes for 2018 are the redesigned body, new sleek interior, 2 new engine options (depending on the model), updated safety features, and of course updated interior technology.

(Photographed ? 2018 Toyota Camry Hybrid)

 

The luxury floor was next on our list so it?s only right that we share some of our favorites. Almost immediately the 2018 Lincoln Navigator caught our attention. It literally looks like something out of a movie. One long side door is offered for each side to out both front seat and back seat passengers. The doors go up like a Lamborghini which is pretty impressive for an SUV. The back trunk area is a basically an on the go closet area which is super convenient for those constantly on the road.

(Photographed ? 2018 Lincoln Navigator)

 

Mercedes-Benz has an awesome coupe line-up for 2018. At first glance, the GLC, GLA, and GLE look very similar but they each have their own role. It?s really great to see Mercedes giving their customers variety to choose which one fits them the best. It really depends on what the particular person is looking for. The price range of this line up starts in the mid-40?s.

(Photographed ? 2018 GLC Coupe, GLA, and GLE Coupe)

 

Our next stop was of course the exotic floor. On this particular floor they had everything from Rolls-Royce, Lamborghini, Bentley, and Aston-Martin just to name a few. The quality of these cars is just on a different level. This is definitely the floor where most people send the most time day dreaming about their personal favorite ride. A personal favorite of mine was the Rolls-Royce Wraith. It has such a bold design and while it is luxurious, it offers a sense of grit. The Wraith is also owned by favorite notable celebrities such as Odell Beckham, Khloe Kardashian, and French Montana.

(Photographed ? 2018 Rolls-Royce Wraith)

 

We enjoyed attending the 2017 Washington Auto Show! It is clear that 2018 is going to be an exciting year for the automotive industry.

DC Car Show | Washington Auto Show