Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see the latest vehicles!
Why don't dealers want to make money?
I am absolutely beside myself with how much dealerships get away with and how people have just come to accept it. When's the last time you heard the term 'car salesmen' and immediately you thought of all the good things about your dealership? Ha, me? never. And after doing some research on here and on http://www.dealerrater.com I see that I'm not alone. I've probably read through 200 reviews on that site and another 50 or so threads here(yeah, I'm that bored and my job is that slow right now 
) that I know I'm not alone....which while comforting, is also pretty freightening.
I've had my car dinged, scratched and torn whilst at "my" dealer, and that was just at my 15,000 check up. They denied all three accounts until I showed them the pictures I took before it went in and the day I picked it backup.
Why did dealerships get such a bad rap? Gee, tough one. To spend $25,000, $40,000 $80,000 dollars on a CAR to only be treated like you just did THEM a favor...uhg
In case you want to read specifics:
http://www.dealerrater.com/dealer.asp?dealerid=116
Sorry for the ranting, I just dont understand how a dealership can stay in business with these types of stunts...imagine if your company treated customers like dealerships do
Thanks for listening.
) that I know I'm not alone....which while comforting, is also pretty freightening.I've had my car dinged, scratched and torn whilst at "my" dealer, and that was just at my 15,000 check up. They denied all three accounts until I showed them the pictures I took before it went in and the day I picked it backup.
Why did dealerships get such a bad rap? Gee, tough one. To spend $25,000, $40,000 $80,000 dollars on a CAR to only be treated like you just did THEM a favor...uhg
In case you want to read specifics:
http://www.dealerrater.com/dealer.asp?dealerid=116
Sorry for the ranting, I just dont understand how a dealership can stay in business with these types of stunts...imagine if your company treated customers like dealerships do
Thanks for listening.
Tagged:
0
This discussion has been closed.
Comments
No thanks. I'll pass.
Is this good or bad?
I asked if she thought everything was alright. She replied, without shame, "he marked the tires with grease pen to make sure you people did your jobs".
My technician had noted the grease pen marks and had cleaned them off - he also cleaned (very well), the back side of the wheels (not something most owners can do without a major effort).
The guy stormed in, mad, and demanded to know what happened to his marks.
I told him we cleaned them off, not realizing that was his way of trying to catch us not doing our jobs.
I refunded the $16.00 for the tire rotation and asked him to never come back again. My people work hard, are honest, and don't need to deal with people like that.
Sorry to out you, wasn't my intention. I know not all dealers/service shops are bad, I think it's just my kharma =/
"forced" to take such measures? Please, he wasnt forced into anything.
It sounds like that guy went to that place with his mind already made up that the job wouldnt be done properly.
They did however have a listing for my previous dealer I left 4 years ago. Unfortunately, they went out of business 3 years ago.
I'm betting you have found a way, in spite of this missing data, to exceed expectations & make money doing it. I know we have.
That's what a good relationship with an independent mechanic can do for you. Life is too short for that kind of BS.
IMO, the type of person that takes "before" photos is just looking for a fight wherever they go.
Guess you've never been burned like that before?
It's called risk mitigation - it's actually a very smart thing to do. Doesn't hurt anyone except a sleazy business.
Sometimes you have very few choices as to where to take your car for service. And who's to say he's taking the car back to a business that burned him before - that would be stupid - more than likely he's just trying to prevent getting screwed again.
Go to the service department on a Monday or Friday and see how many people have issues with the place - are there a lot of "comebacks"? Are people having to argue with the service advisors?
Does anyone freak out over their bill being higher than they were told?.
10 minutes in the place as a fly on the wall can tell you a lot.
So many folks are into this top-secret research instead of just doing 10 minutes worth of personal homework.
There are all kinds of issues that arise with cars after the sale. Some of them are legitmate and some frivoulous. No matter which yours is, when you go into the dealership, they try to fix it. Initially, the dealership will do their best to fix it. They will go out of their way to please us.
It's crazy to think that a scratch that may or may not have been noticed on your car during a service was put there intentionally. The fact is that the scratch was probably there when you brought it in. You only noticed when you picked it up because now your scrutinizing your vehicle. You probably only wash it once a month or less.
My opinion is that car dealerships are credible and outstanding examples of successful businesses and business practices.
Been there, done that. In fact, I overheard a conversation at Home Depot the next weekend about how the guy pulled one over on the dealer - he told the whole story to his buddy while we were all (3 of us) in the tool section.
I introduced myself after he finished his story, then talked to our comptroller the next Monday and billed him for the repair.
Now, why someone will care so much about their tires is beyond me. Same with oil changes - I've seen discussions where people will spend a lot of time, energy and money in taking oil samples, sending them for analysis, interpreting the results and what not. I guess a simple oil change is just not enough for some people.
Yes. Quite. However is it that important if the shop swapped the front and rear tires but failed to cross them left to right, or whatever they actually do? There is always a small chance they won't be rotated exactly right, but it probably makes very little difference in the long run.
My point was that if someone wants to be absolutely sure the tires were rotated correctly, there's nothing wrong with marking the wheels. You can blame them for being anal but that's about it.
Only in recent years have the tire gurus recommended cross-swapping radials during rotation. The tires on his Saab were directional and could not be cross-rotated.
You mark the wheels if you think you're going to be lied to - I don't lie to my customers; never have, never will.
I was offended, I was also offended for my shop guys who work hard. I asked him not to come back. My shop, my choice.
I also noticed they show MSRP for the Acura RSX with leather, great little car's, but dealers will cut em' from the herd for $200/$400 over .. good vehicles, well built, but not selling ...
Terry.
You are my hero.
I'm impressed the dealership followed through with it. Nobody needs customers like that.
I'll say this, though: When I take my car in for warranty work, I expect the runaround and I'm rarely disappointed. Had a new Prizm and the steering was "ratchety". I complained and they rotated the tires. I KNEW that wasn't it but I let them go through with it anyway, it's part of the drill. When the problem persisted, they were perfectly happy to swap in another steering rack for me. $15 well spent on my part for the rotation; everybody happy.
Except: I learned later that the "problem" was really a "feature" of that model... all Corollas/Prizms I've driven are like that, just more or less pronounced. But dangit, I didn't know that -- and neither did they. Oops.
Another day in automotive service.
-Mathias
Many don't even make an effort. I've seen it - it's a bummer. (I'm talking about new car dealership technicians, not private shop guys)
Many folks look up a TSB, do what it says, never do a real diagnosis, and ship the car so they can do a used car prep/inspection or a brake job or alignment and make some real money.
It's a true bummer that we have more "parts installers" than technicians/mechanics nowadays.
Unfortunately, they also sometimes live by the quote, and a lot of guys have "low" prices and have to get by with slipshod work to make a buck in the end.
I never second-guess my mechanics on their estimates, and sometimes I'll come back and they'll say, well book was 3 hours but I found a way to do it in 90 minutes, so you got off easier today. Also, they know when to use OEM and when aftermarket, they know what mainenance to do, what to skip, and when a check is in order. Dealership guys have a bigger arsenal, but a lot less flexibility.
In any case, a bit of mutual trust goes a long way. -M
That question is loaded. I don't think we want to talk about patriotism. I do, you don't.
In a time of national crisis the big 3 contributed millions for the people affected. The two biggest foreign auto influences here in America contributed ZERO. Who made these companies successful? Was it the Japanese consumer? They should have been first to step up to the plate.
If people bought American made products, those workers building Hondas in Ohio would be building Fords.
I'm actually curious as to how many the percentage of chevy, dodge, etc sold in the us are built in the us.
*Honda gave $1.5 million to the Red Cross and the United Way of NY's 9/11 fund
*Toyota gave $1 million to the Red Cross, plus a match of all employee contributions
*Nissan gave $1 million to the Red Cross and Twin Towers fund
These are almost exactly the same as GM's $1MM Red Cross donation, and Ford's $1MM Red Cross/Salvation Army donation.
Just my 2 cents. I'm a hard-core patriot and veteran, but I respect when ANY company does the right thing in times like those.
So, now that we are clear on the contributions, I'd like to address this issue of where the vehicles are built.
Foreign autos built on U.S. soil are still foriegn autos. Conversely, American autos built outside of the U.S. are still American. The bottom line is that the profits still go to the manufacturer. Sure, they pay their employees here in the us and benefit our economy in that way. While other countries live off the fat of our citizens by selling their cars to us, they finance wars, and atrocious acts of violence.
If they don't do such things directly, they do it indirectly, by not supporting U.S. policies and efforts. They may not agree with us but they should display unconditional compliance.
WHY do you think these people are buying the Hondas, Nissans, etc and not the Fords in the first place?
Thats not what I was asking. I was inquiring to superchrgd as to why people(who buy imports)do so instead of a domestic.
The import companies were standing by watching the market, they realized that the cars had to be made better. Well, because some Americans had already purchased these imports, which was taboo at the time. They began to stand behind their decision to buy these cars. The import companies took notice and used them as advocates of their products.
Imports aren't better than domestics, they are only percieved to be. They have been hyped up, people go to great extremes to validate their anti-american purchases. So they file reports saying these cars are great.
People go and get all the scheduled maintenence so that they don't lose face when their import breaks down. People who own american vehicles are a little more lazy, they don't get oil changed regularly or get their scheduled maintenence. Hence, these cars are prone to more problems.
Right now, I own one domestic (new) and two imports (older, used).
I've had much more trouble with my new car than the old imports have given me.
And yes, I'm very patriotic - I choose to give my life and skin, instead of my kid's college fund (shellign out money on car repairs) to show my patriotism.
So of all the cars I have owned I guess Im just imagining that my Max is one of the most trouble free, best built cars I have owned. Is that going to extremes?
Im just one person, but I d be willing to bet that you wouldnt need to look hard to find another person who has a had similar experience as myself.
"People who own american vehicles are a little more lazy, they don't get oil changed regularly or get their scheduled maintenence. Hence, these cars are prone to more problems. "
Aside from those who might find that comment offensive, ANY car will be prone to more problems sans proper maintenance. Where do you get this stuff? Sweeping generalizations are not real productive and dont give your arguement much credibility.
When I lived in Detroit throughout the '80s, I drove domestic vehicles. Not because they were good cars. Not because the dealerships could service them properly - often, they did not. I bought them because I was afraid that if I bought an import, that they would be vandalized by some UAW thug. It happened to my friends and it happened to my neighbors.
Once, my battery in my CHEVROLET CHEVETTE (produced in Wilmington, DELAWARE - one of the fifty US states) went dead in Norwood, OH about a mile from the Fisher body plant (GENERAL MOTORS). A guy offers to help UNTIL he sees the car. He and his friends were going to bust up the "[non-permissible content removed]" car until I pulled out the sticker and showed them that it was produced in the US.
You can sit there all you want and dismiss foreign competition as "not better." However, I will say this. Why don't the domestics improve their manufacturing processes to make sure that their products improve each year? What bothers me with GM, for example, if that in you drive a 1980 Chevette and notice the problems, you can be certain that the 1984 model will have the same problems. The weaknesses in my 1989 Ciera are there in my 1996 Ciera. Can't they fix them in SEVEN model years? I am sure that Toyota does.
My buddy in Cleveland used to replace transmissions in a two-bay shop and lived in a 80k bungalow in the city ten years ago. Now he has a new facility with 10 bays and a $400k palace in the suburbs. I asked him how he did it. He smiled and said "Ford". Seems like him and a dealer friend would go to the auctions and buy ONLY Taurus and Windstars with blown trannies and he would fix them. After a while, he would get a lot of business from Ford dealers because he was better at it.
I am no great Honda or Toyota fan. Look back at my last 300 posts to see that. However, I won't let any of my drivers select another Taurus and a couple of teh other problem models. They are too hard to sell at the end of the lease at a reasonable price.
Your argument lends credibility to mine.
Here's your argument, as percieved by me. You think that Japenese cars are better than ours, you spend your money on them. You know exactly where the profits of that sale are going, pretending it benefits American's more than Japenese is ridiculous. You would like to discredit my point of view, saying that my sweeping generalization aren't productive. However, you believe in imports because of sweeping generalizations about American made cars.
You said yourself, your friend has made a respectable living for himself, he credits that to Ford. He wouldn't be in that PHAT house right now had it not been for people's refusal to buy imports.
Your opinion has greater , because you can determine what car others drive. I'm sure thats because of your position in your company. You shut out the Taurus because of your opinions, I know a lot of people who think Taurus is the greatest car in the world. Let your people drive domestic cars, like the Taurus. Support our economy, I'm sure it supports you.
"You would like to discredit my point of view, saying that my sweeping generalization aren't productive."
YOU are discrediting your own pov- not me
with comments, ie sweeping generalizations such as-
"People who own american vehicles are a little more lazy, they don't get oil changed regularly or get their scheduled maintenence. Hence, these cars are prone to more problems."
I once asked him if he thought it was better to buy an American branded car made in Mexico or a foreign nameplate made in the US. With much hesistation, he said he would prefer to see someone buy an American-made "import".
His reasoning, which I agreed with, is pretty solid. When you buy a Mexican-made Focus or Avalanche, for example, you're rewarding the elimination of US manufacturing jobs. When you buy a US-made Accord, you're rewarding the company for the *creation* of US manufacturing jobs. Which in the end, is what makes the economy go 'round.
Well, If one of the people he works for heard him say that he would lose his job.
Let's just stick to the facts and not imagine interesting statements and then call them quotes.
That said, I would still prefer buying a Japanese car made in Japan. I had a Mazda Protege5 and my current MX-5 both felt more solid than the Honda Accord that was built in Ohio someplace. My Japanese made 92 Accord has 206,000 miles on it and still drives like new (except for the struts that I haven't replaced).
BTW, YMMV...LOL