From the beginning of the process, people typically spend about 14 hours researching their vehicle purchase. From there, an additional couple of hours are typically spent contacting dealerships, and qualifying which one to visit. The actual time spent at the dealership can range from a half hour to a full day, depending on how much of the process is completed ahead of time, and no unexpected surprises happen. The overall average amount of time spent at a dealership purchasing a car is 3.6 hours.