Bob Dittel is the owner of Car Buyer’s Advocate, a Twin Cities company that helps clients save money when they purchase a new or used vehicle from a dealership.
A St. Paul native, Dittel’s father had German ancestry, and his mother was of Mexican descent.
“My dad liked women with dark skin and dark hair,” Dittel charmingly bristles, his humor evident as soon as we sit down in a packed Bloomington Starbucks on a sunny Wednesday morning.
In high school, Dittel was a track star, which drew the ire of competitors across the Twin Cities.
“The kids at opposing schools hated me because they couldn’t beat me,” Dittel proudly shares.
After graduating high school, Dittel reveals that college was never part of his plans, adding that the neighborhood he grew up in was rougher than some might expect.
“We were skeptical of people who shook hands, and a lot of people didn’t plan to live past forty,” he says, but Dittel was never one to seek out trouble, so he enlisted in the military, serving in the Gulf War.
Representing the United States of America overseas showed Dittel the power of a unified team, but he also witnessed atrocities that he says led to later battles with PTSD.
In the years following his stint in the military, Dittel worked at the post office and the Air Force Reserve, never truly finding a career path that suited his talents, but he always wanted to help people.
Able to work his way around an engine, plus converse with a humble elegance, Dittel eventually became a salesman for a local car dealership.
“I lasted about six months,” the St. Paul product deadpans, noting how the arguably unethical gamesmanship employed by car dealerships was too much for his moral compass to bear.
“I witnessed firsthand how the car dealerships took advantage of people, and I was appalled.”
Much of Dittel’s dissatisfaction could be attributed to the fact that he routinely saw how dealers drastically manipulated prices to their advantage.
For the record, Dittel understood that car dealerships needed to make money in order to keep their doors open, but often the way they conducted business was devoid of any real human element.
There was little attempt on the part of the car dealer to deliver a positive customer experience, and everything was about maximizing profits to the fullest degree.
After Dittel left the car business, he then had people contacting him and asking for help with purchasing a vehicle, the prevailing notion being that Dittel had knowledge that could help them avoid getting hosed and ultimately save money at the dealership.
Of course, Dittel did have those insights, and he was more than happy to help out his friends and family.
“I knew how to get new vehicles for the price of a used vehicle,” Dittel says.
At first, assisting people through the car buying process was more of a hobby than a full-fledged business, with people typically paying him a percentage of the money he saved them.
But it wasn’t long before Dittel realized he could create a company whose sole mission was to help clients save money on their car purchases, and so in 2012, Dittel founded the Car Buyer’s Advocate, a most fitting name for an LLC.
“Little by little, I started getting business,” Dittel recalls of the early days.
When Dittel wasn’t being referred by past clients, he often went to networking events so that he could get in front of as many people as he could and share his unique value proposition.
For context, when working with Dittel, customers select several cars they are open to purchasing by going on the Car Buyer’s Advocate website.
From there, it usually takes Dittel about 4-6 hours to set up a deal.
“I save time, money, and stress,” Dittel says of his process, which includes then sending the client a list of cars and price points to choose from, based on their prior selections.
At that point, once the customer has an idea of which car(s) they want to buy, Dittel and his client go to the dealership to test drive the vehicle(s).
While onsite, Dittel will perform an extensive inspection.
“I’ve been working on vehicles since I was fifteen,” he reminds readers.
“The only thing I can’t see is the timing belt because it is internal, but if there is anything that I find wrong with the vehicle, then I get the dealer to fix it.”
Adds Dittel:
“This entire process is about getting the customer the car they want. It’s not about what car the dealer wants to sell. It’s about having a really good plan already arranged so that when we go into the dealership, we are efficient and able to secure a deal on the exact vehicle that my client wants.”
With over twelve years in business, Dittel’s processes are extremely refined.
This not only aids in getting a deal inked, but it alleviates the concerns of clients, many of whom, perhaps rightly so, simply don’t trust car dealerships.
“Everything, from start to finish, is an extremely streamlined process,” Dittel emphasizes.
“I want the customer to feel comfortable at every step.”
It should be noted that partnering with Dittel isn’t just for peace of mind.
Historically, Dittel says that his clients save 18% on new vehicle purchases, and 25% on used vehicles.
“This is because, due to the way dealerships price their vehicles, they don’t actually know what they have invested in the vehicle,” Car Buyer’s Advocate’s founder says, which in turn leaves ample room for a skilled tactician like Dittel to come in and negotiate down prices that are overinflated.
“Sometimes dealerships are giving you a great deal on a car, but often there is room for interpretation, and so my job is to either expose that and balance out the price point, or confirm that my clients truly are getting the vehicle they want at a fair price.”
Looking ahead, the soon-to-be septuagenarian doesn’t envision slamming the brakes (no pun intended) and halting the progress of Car Buyer’s Advocate.
“I’ll probably do this until I’m in my nineties,” he confesses, which is why Dittel is currently leveraging his longevity and industry expertise to expand his online presence, knowing full well that the more eyeballs he can attract, the more people he can eventually help.
“People will never stop needing help purchasing a vehicle. I don’t proclaim to be the smartest guy in the room, but I know cars, and I know when dealers are trying to pull one over on the people who walk into their showrooms, and as long as those two things remain true, I’ll be around to serve others.” QS
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