Modification and update to the requirements for the Project

READ THE PROJECT DESCRIPTION AND WHAT EACH PHASE OF THE PROJECT ASKS FOR

THINGS YOU NO LONGER NEED TO WORRY ABOUT:

• the car dealership no longer leases cars, they only sell new cars
• the car dealership no longer deals with contracts

GENERAL ASSUMPTIONS:

• you cannot assume away a requirement
• credit checks and interactions with the DMV and bank (for getting a loan) are beyond the scope of this database system.
• the dealership already has a stack of temporary tags, they do not need to contact the DMV for them. They will need to be able to print out a report of what temporary tag numbers were issued, and when they were issued, and insure that every temporary tag issued is different from every other one given out in the last 30 days.
• the dealership may buy cars from more than one manufacturer, thus they may be selling more than one make of car. For example, Chevy dealerships also service and sell Geos; Dodge dealerships also service Plymouths, and so on. The number of different car manufacturers sold will be small (1, 2, 3 … not more than about 5 or so maximum)
• the dealership only sells new cars, but it still deals with used cars when they are traded in. These cars are immediately shipped to a used car dealer which is conveniently located next door, so the new car dealership does not have to worry about keeping track of this used car on the lot.
• Negotiations with banks for car loans are not handled by the dealership. Either a person buying a car will already come in with a loan from a bank, or some standard car loan methodology occurs that does not require any interaction with the database. From the perspective of the dealership, any car sale (regardless of loans) is like they are buying the car in full with cash.
• the service department will work on cars that were not bought from the dealership, as long as it is a type they are able to service. For the project, you can assume any car brought for service will be a type of car they can work on.

DATA ASSUMPTIONS (and hints):

• all vehicles have VIN's (vehicle identification numbers) which are 17 alpha-numeric characters, so they will have to be input by a user.
• customer identification numbers are NOT social security numbers.
• links to other data are usually done by using key(s), so be careful for redundant data when a link via key(s) would be simpler. Data redundancy will bite you later on.
• haggling is not part of the database, but a new car will have two prices associated with it: the manufacturers suggested retail price (MSRP) and the price the car was actually sold for. The cost of the car (how much the dealership paid the manufacturer for it) may be entirely different from both the above prices. Cars being repaired, but not bought from here will not need a price for the car

TASK ASSUMPTIONS

• when ordering a vehicle from a manufacturer, you will not get immediate feedback. It is sort of like ordering from a paper catalog, you send in what you want (and your money) and eventually, you get what you ordered or a note saying it is out of stock. The actual transfer of money will be dealt with by the external billing system, but you must generate a record of the transaction when you make the order, and update it when the car comes in.
• in order for a customer to by a custom car, either fixed up at the dealership or straight from the manufacturer or both, they have to buy the car first.
• remember, there are two ways to customize a car: customize a car on the lot or order a custom car from the manufacturer. It is possible that customization will be done both ways for one car.