What is the car dealership hierarchy?

The car dealership hierarchy deals with four main departments typically - sales, finance, accounting, and service. Here is a closer look at the four departments within a car dealership hierarchy:

• Sales team. This department is the one most people think of when hearing about a car dealership. It consists of the salespeople on the showroom floor trying to sell people vehicles.

  Sales teams can have a hierarchy, with more experienced members at the top and less experienced members at the bottom.

• Finance department. When customers decide to purchase a vehicle from a car dealership, they must speak with one or several finance department employees.

  These professionals help customers understand their options for payment plans. Finance managers tend to be the higher-level professionals in this department and oversee other members.

• Accounting and billing department. A car dealership's accounting and billing department handle all the paperwork that comes with making a car sale.

  Professionals in this department focus on keeping sales records, customer car service records, repair bills, and processing any warranty claims. Workers in this department mostly do bookkeeping and data entry.

• Service department. The service department of a car dealership is composed of mechanics and technicians qualified to work on cars in need of repairs, maintenance, or upgrades.

  Service advisors tend to be at the top of this department's hierarchy as they interact with the customers and try to sell them maintenance packages.