The Body Shop

A body shop is the only piece of the dealership puzzle that's optional. Body repairs aren't needed to sell new cars and they aren't included in service warranties. Collision damage is common, however; according to the NADA many dealers maintain a body shop. This is an expensive investment, so most such dealers usually have one common body shop, located at either one of the dealerships or at a standalone low-rent location, to service customers of all its brands. After all, why have a body shop occupying pricey real estate on the local "Motor Mile" alongside showrooms, when you can locate it in a nearby industrial park where the overhead is lower?

Finally, each dealer maintains an administrative staff that serves as the glue that holds all the other departments together. Someone has to track employees' timesheets and cut the paychecks, ring up customers' service bills and keep the big windows clean. While the accounting department doesn't contribute to the dealer's bottom line, it keeps all the other departments working by handling the flow of money into and out of the dealership.

You may not be planning to open your own dealership anytime soon, but understanding a dealer's inner workings will help demystify the process when you go shopping for your next new vehicle and relieve some of the anxiety about the unknown. But you'll still want to decline any invitations to see the wine cellar.

-Dan Carney

A veteran automotive journalist, Dan is a regular contributor to IntelliChoice and Motor Trend.