I recently purchased a car, and it was an experience, to say the least.

But buying a car has always been an experience, and I've bought several. Recently, the process has been made even more confusing because, as business advisory firm McKinsey & Company's new report finds, despite new technology that provides buyers more information on the automobiles they desire, dealers are still very much the key to transaction.

Thanks to the Internet, along with TrueCar, General Motors' Shop-Click-Drive and the plethora of other channels available online, car buyers are becoming more self-reliant, informed and impatient. For auto dealers, this can be a problem.

Not only are long-trusted techniques no longer proving to be viable, but they actually may be turning away business. It's this conflict that leads to frustration on both sides of the line when sales fall through.

At least that was my experience — and it led me to choose one dealership other another.

Do understand buyers' empowerment

According to the McKinsey & Company report, the Internet has forced people to change how they buy new cars and trucks, and these changes are having a profound effect on the iconic American pastime of automobile haggling.

Although more than 80 percent of customers take test drives while purchasing a car — underscoring the continued strategic importance of dealers — the average number of customer visits to dealers before buying a car has dropped from up to five to frequently just one for some brands in some geographies.

McKinsey's 2013 Retail Innovation Consumer Survey showed that over 80 percent of new-car customers and nearly 100 percent of used-car customers now begin their journey online, meaning that dealers have lost their role as the primary source of information as well as their power over the information shared and their ability to influence the customer.

Like it or not, buyers are now smarter and more empowered than ever.

"The Internet's where most people are shopping," said Ben Stark, an automobile dealership Internet director. "It's very important that dealerships constantly keep an [online] presence.

"There was a time when people would drive 100 miles to buy a car on invoice. You don't see much of that anymore," Stark laughed.

But there is truth in the jest. Thanks to online tools such as Edmunds' True Market Value pricing system and TrueCar, people are more educated and entitled. This has indirectly led to a lack of loyalty between car buyers and dealerships.

"There was a time," Stark began, "when, if you had first contact with a potential car buyer, you were more than likely making the sell. Now, a $50 difference in pricing will cause people to switch dealerships."

Speaking from personal experience, my wife and I have wasted quite a few weekends in the process of dealership hopping. We were the king and queen of the land of Indecision. We could spend months visiting every car dealership in our region just to decide that the time wasn't right to make such an investment.

But like millions of other car buyers, when we decided to purchase a car, we decided to cut our time on the sales floor. To do that, we needed to be prepared.

Online, we quickly found the price for the make and model we preferred. Along with cost, we checked its durability, its reliability and how it stacked up against the competition. A task that once required us to sacrifice entire weekends was accomplished online in minutes.

After some time, we chose a small, black 2013 Elantra coupe. We chose it for its fuel efficiency, maneuverability and for city parking. Mostly however, we chose it because my wife has a thing for coupes.

We knew what we wanted and how much money we wanted to spend. What we didn't know was which auto dealership was going to work with us — the new us — to get us what we wanted and which would have the best offer.

Don't underestimate your value

No matter how much information we were able to find online, we still wanted to test drive. And for good reason.

My wife is a small person, so no matter how great a car looks in the digitally-generated universe of auto dealership websites, we still needed to see the car. When my wife actually sat in the driver's seat of one of the cars we were comparing, it was evident. Some of the cars had long dashboards, and her field of vision was cut short. Other cars had side mirrors with an obstructed view; these are things that don't come up in an Internet search.

Despite the growing trends toward digital shopping and purchasing, the report reminded that dealers are still an important commodity to buyers. Unfortunately, some dealers underestimate their own importance.

Once, my wife and I visited a dealer and had the pleasure of meeting the most ecstatic and sadly oblivious salesman we had ever come across. He was a tall gentleman with gangly limbs and an easily accessible smile.

The car we were exploring was actually on the lot, and when we asked to take a test drive, he happily obliged — with one caveat: he would be the driver. As nice and amiable as he was, we were immediately turned off.

My wife took shotgun, and I slid into the back as our driver took us around the town, all while describing how incredibly the car handled the road. Of course, we would have to take his word for it.

According to the McKinsey & Co. report, "Unlike in other industries such as electronics or publishing, where the importance of traditional dealerships has diminished, bricks-and-mortar car dealerships will remain a crucial customer touch point."

There are at least three reasons for this:

• Most customers will always want to physically experience the vehicle before purchase as it is typically one of their largest investments.
• They also frequently seek expert advice on optional equipment and further services (such as insurance and financing options) as well as detailed information that is either not available or not conclusively answered online.
• Both OEMs and customers continue to value the personal aspect of the sales process, which forms the basis of brand representation, customer retention and service offerings.

Stark agreed, saying that "a good salesman should be able to know how to show you your car."

"Especially with all the new technology, [it's imperative] that you show them the car," he said. "And that’s one thing the Internet has never changed: the salesman's ability to sell a car in person."

No matter how much time a buyer spends online, at least 80 percent will still come to the dealership for a test drive. Then there's the 40 percent who will find their way to a dealer, with the specific intent on answering "questions and doubts that neither the online configurator, the OEM website, nor the various car forums or third-party websites are sufficiently able to clarify," the report notes.

Dealers would do well not to totally abandon the old ways.

Don't create unattainable expectations

In the end, our journey to find a new car led us to two different dealerships.

We received a phone call from one, telling us that our car was waiting on their lot. All we needed to do was to come by and claim it. The second dealership, on the other hand, simply told us the truth.

When all is said and done, there is something to be said for honesty. And although we can all appreciate the "just get them to the dealership" mantra of some salespeople, straining the trusts of potential buyers with impatient tactics can have unintended negative consequences.

"In any sales job, there's a sense of urgency to make the sale," Stark said. Still, he admitted, car buyers don't like to be strung along.

Buyers don't want to show up at the dealership and realize that the rebates and pricing deals that drew them there don't apply to them. Each dealership has methods to appear cheaper than their competition. However, if your sales approach focuses too much on misleading offers, buyers can be put off.

"Let them know you want their business," Stark said.

As a car buyer, you get defeated at some point if every dealership you visit offers deals that either fall through or end up not applying once you actually get to the lot. Eventually you'll develop a resentment and mistrust of car salespeople.

This mistrust can then turn around and hamper the success of salespeople who have to battle the mistrust and preconceived notions people develop about the car buying process. For this reason, it's best to not take too many liberties with what you can provide buyers to get their business.

Being able to meet a car buyer's expectations helps create repeat business, Stark said.

When we arrived to the first dealership, we found that they did not have the car, and it wasn't even in the state. We were asked to put down a "holder's fee" of sorts for when the car finally did arrive, whenever that would be.

My wife and I didn't hesitate in walking out.

We decided to go with the dealership that had told us the truth; that truth being that they didn't have the 2013 black Elantra coupe, but they could get it in a few days. In the meantime, if we wanted, they had a 2013 platinum Elantra coupe that was on the lot.

Our salesman had someone pull the car up to the window next to his desk where we were sitting. At this point, there wasn't much of a decision. In our mind, it was all about respect. Our salesman respected what we knew, what we wanted and met our expectations.

"That's one of the bigger things, there's an art to selling," Stark continued.

In an industry where people can often leave with a sour taste in their mouths, it's the salesperson who knows how to make a customer feel good that will always be successful.

Stark recounted the story of a woman who had bought a car at a dealership he was working for. After she signed her papers and received her keys, she was bubbling and out of control with glee, "Does everyone feel this amazing after buying a car?"

"Yes," he told her, "it should always be this amazing."