Got a Quick Question for a Car Dealer?

jayrider

What about used car sales? Heard that was way better. I always figured that the big sellers where community networkers who don't rely just on floor traffic to generate income. If you could make 50-60k a year on walk-ins, that would be decent but I doubt that is the case. The new hires are probably sold on that projection and it's no where near reality or turnover wouldn't be so high and you wouldn't see all those young clueless sales associates selling from memorized scripts. Just throw them off their shpiel and watch them call for help.

madmanmoo

I love torment.

lrguy44

Moo, you forgot about the newbee syndrome. The first 2 months when he knows absolutely nothing about selling cars, he will make $10,000 per month. It is not until he knows something that he gets to the $25-$43 per unit.

chuckfromli

Sorry if I offended you madmanmoo. Maybe I was too blunt. I have been accused of that in the past : ) I was trying to phrase my questions properly.

But, similar to what jayrider says in a later post, there does seem to be a two tiered structure of salespersons. I can hear the screaming already, but from what I've seen in buying 6 new and 2 used cars from new car dealers over the past 29 years, I want to buy from the middle aged white guy. The younger persons, persons or color, and females I've dealt with seem to have less knowledge of the process and less knowldge of the product, and less knowledge of what is an actual fair price that they can sell the car for.

Again, you can scream all you want, and maybe it is just that these OWG old white guys) have been there longer, are more experienced, or whatever, but it seems to me that I can better communicate with them. The younger ones sound like telemarketers.

So, can I request my salesman, one OWG to another? LOL

Mr_Shiftright

You know, this is more about dealer management and training than age or other demographics. Drop into a place like San Francisco Toyota on Sacramento St. Nary an OWG in the place (a few), all young, male and female, very nicely dressed. Let me tell you, them may not know everything but they SNAP TO! They are efficient, courteous and totally hip to all the new tech. It's very obvious they have been well trained to sell and to try and please the customer.

jipster

Sorry if I offended you madmanmoo

Don't be sorry, throw some zingers right back at him. He's a masochist remember, loves the sting of the verbal whip just as much... I am told. :P

madmanmoo

It's okay. The answer to your questions just seem very obvious.

micosilver

Is it something that a person could do for thirty, thirty five years, have kids, provide for a family etc.etc?

The reason I ask is that it seems to attract many younger adults, and I have the feeling they don't stay. But I do see a large contingent of middle aged professional men too.

Are commissions that low that the new car industry can't attract a stable base of people who make a profession of it?

What exactly is the range on commisiions. I mean money in the salespersons pocket? I realize this could vary greatly.

About how many cars can a salesperson expect to sell per month? Again, I realize that this could vary greatly and am just wondering about an average range.

First of all, you answer most of your own questions: everything varies. Average car saleperson sells 7 cars a month, and makes $30K a year.

Second of all, like in many other skilled proffessions (doctors, lawyers, proffessional salepeople of any kind) - it works by 20/80 rule: 20% of people make 80% of the money.
The potential is unlimited regardless of the brand and location. There are people that sell 50 cars a month. There are people that make $300K a year. There are people that work part time, in small towns, selling Fords and Chevys - and make $100K a year.
And there are people that have been selling cars for 20 years, bounce from one place to another, and barely make minimum wage.
It's almost like proffessional sports - you can sit on a bench and make a living, or you can play in a Superbowl and make millions a year.

car_chick

hey mico... that's soo very true. this industry is full of order takers and entrepreneurs.... not much in the middle. when u're in this environment, u truely get out what u put in. not willing to do the work, take care of your folks, sell honestly and ethically? i'm sure there's a vacuum machine company that's got a briefcase and front door for u to knock on in the background just waiting for ya...

jipster

i'm sure there's a vacuum machine company that's got a briefcase and front door for u to knock on in the background just waiting for ya...

I guess you're talking about Kirby, the best vacuum cleaner known to man. From what I understand, and personal experience in buying one, it would be much more difficult selling vacuum cleaners door to door than selling automobiles.

car_chick

lol... i have alll the respect for them and the fuller brush men of the world. i'd have to massage my wrists w/ a sharp object if i had to get into that line of work.

lrguy44

BR - FYI we just got or first 2010 RR. WOW!!!!!

oldfarmer50

"...Commissions typically range from $25-43 per car..."

$25-43 thousand? I knew it. All that talk about minis was just to throw us off. :mad:

Finally, a salesperson who is honest about all that double secret handshake bonus money.

What will it take for you to show me the secret handshake? :confuse:

lrguy44

I think he charges between $25-$43 Thousand. But you must have 5 sticky fingers.

oldfarmer50

"...I want to buy from the middle aged white guy..."

I have found that those are the guys to avoid. Especially if they are wearing a plaid suit. :surprise:

british_rover

Oh that is exciting. How does that new 5.0 drive? I gotta swing by our rover store next week and see what they have in now. They don't have a 2010 yet but should be getting them soon now that you have them.

Did they leave that dual view NAV/DVD screen in place or pull it for the US market?

lrguy44

Not sure about the DVD yet - the car just got here and is still in transport mode. I did get to play with the dash. The stuff you can do because of using LED instead of gauges is cool. The voice activation actually works well. I'll let you know more.

jayrider

Forget the plaid suit -- the sales magnet for me is the big shiny pinky ring.

volvomax

It would seem to me that working at a dealership thats sells say, BMWs, Lexus, or even Toyotas or Hondas is pretty much a no brainer. I think the cars sell themselves.

Nothing sells itself. Often times the reason for buying a Honda say over a Toyota comes from the skill of the salesman.


I realize that there is competition, but I would think that if the price is fair, and the deal is transparent, the customer would buy from wherever he or she is treated fairly and the dealership is convenient.


You would think that. And sometimes that does still happen. However, shop till you drop is the most common occurance today.

jayrider

If a sales force didn't mean a better bottom line for manufacturers and dealers -- there wouldn't be any folks in those jobs. There is too much emotion in buying cars to overlook the potential to work the human psyche. People don't usually buy what they think they want to buy. Why do you think there are sales people selling household appliances? Same thing on a smaller scale.You listen and steer folks to the best features. Heck -- you even get the upsell routine at the movies --- " a large bucket is only 50 cents more sir ." It started at the point when the human mind realized the concept of status and ownership. When Ugh escorted his new wife Ughletta to the cave over the hill to show off her polished rock on a leather rope necklace, the stage was set. I propose a toast to those prehistoric sweethearts. Here - here !!

british_rover

You would think that. And sometimes that does still happen. However, shop till you drop is the most common occurance today.

Yes, that still does happen. The best thing is when someone shops themselves right out of a good deal. I have a couple people here that were shopping, shopping, shopping prices on S60s and now all the S60s are gone.

You still have any left?

volvomax

Nope, been out for a couple weeks now. Have a couple of loaners in the fleet but they won't be out for a while yet.

british_rover

I have one loaner I could take out on the 31st and I do have one guy on it. He won't commit to anything just like the other people so he will miss out for sure. He has an old Caddy Deville that amazingly gets 19 mpg so doesn't qualify as a clunker.

It needs a tranny very soon so is only worth 500 bucks. Sucks for him.

chuckfromli

Being retired young and having a pension is nice, but I've always been into cars. When I bought my last car I told my salesman, who I liked very much, that I would probably be retiring soon and always liked cars and I asked him if he thought I could sell them part time. He said no. He said you really have to be there and put in the hours to make the sales.

Any thoughts? And would I have to deal with a high pressure, get them to buy today, atmosphere?

I would only want to do this with a sales manager that I trusted. I have no objection to charging someone list price or close to it, if they seem clueless. I realize everyone has to make a living, but I would like to avoid any place that does bait and switch, jacked up finance rates, high pressure sales, and really abuses the younger buyer who has never been through this before.

How could I avoid ending up in that kind of dealership?

98eclipse1

Does anyone know when Mitsubishi is going to release info on the 2010 Mitsubishi Eclipse? I have a '98 Turbo Red Eclipse, with 98,000 miles on it. Great shape still, but interested in the 2010 Eclipse or Hyundai Genesis. Hope you can help.

chuckfromli

Why not e mail Mitsubishi?

Although Dodge is not very helpful about production of the 2010 Challenger. I find more info on the Brampton, Ontario plant opening, closing, reopening, in various newspapes that cover Brampton and the midwest, as these plant openings and closings affect their readers.

Maybe you'd need a Japanese newspaper!

chuckfromli

I did find that other forum on Edmunds, the one about car sales as a career. Someone had posted the link earlier.

Thanks.

oldfarmer50

"...info on the 2010 Mitsubishi Eclipse?..."

Try the "Mitsubishi News" forum. Some of those folks keep pretty good track of things.

Question: Why the interest in a 2010? Mitsu just did a minor refresh for 2009 so the 2010 should be almost identical except for minor stuff. With sales in the dumper your dealer should be very willing to deal on a 2009. Last year when I bought my 2008 they had a 120 day supply which is huge.

volvomax

A part time career just won't work. Salespeople need to work their shifts on the floor, you have to have time to do follow up with prospects and owners. You have to be available to meet with clients on THEIR schedule. You have to be available to coordinate on deliveries and accessories with the service dept. It is a full time job.

As for finding the right place, thats not hard. Just stay away from stores that do "screamer" type ad's or that run ads constantly for salespeople or that are part of chains with poor reputations.

micosilver

Being retired young and having a pension is nice, but I've always been into cars. When I bought my last car I told my salesman, who I liked very much, that I would probably be retiring soon and always liked cars and I asked him if he thought I could sell them part time. He said no. He said you really have to be there and put in the hours to make the sales.

I agree with your salesman: you have to put time and effort into it, no one does it part-time.

sbelcher

I have a 1999 Isuzu Rodeo, which does qualify under the CARS Program. It had been rolled when I acquired it and has considerable body damage on the roof, fender and drivers door, so it would not bring much value other than CARS. I also have a 2006 Chevy Malibu Maxx that I still owe about $13k on. My question is, would there be any way to trade both of these vehicles in for a mini van or small SUV that could support three rear facing car seats and not loose my shorts?

tidester

You may want to ask your question in the Cash for Clunkers - Does it Work for You? discussion. I will point out that the CARS program only allows one trade per customer and requires that the vehicle you're trading must be in drivable condition.

tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper

mitchflorida

The depreciation of a Mitsubishi is quite high and buying a year old model will end up costing him an extra $2000. I would wait until the new model year comes out.

The 2010 Mazda6 is on its way to dealerships and will start arriving in the second week of August. I always thought they had to wait until September. I guess they can introduce the 2010 whenever they choose.

mitchflorida

I doubt if anyone really plans for a career in car sales. Mostly people who don't like to do manual labor and who remember the "good old days" when Car Salesmen could make a decent living.

My guess is that the average car salesman works about 55 hours a week and makes about $36,000. Those are the good salesmen. The otheres quit after about 2 months, if that long. Internet Sales Managers may make up to $50,000. I worked in car sales myself, and whenever I started making some good money, my pay plan was changed to lower my salary. Stay away from the entire business, if you are smart. Join the Air Force, Navy, anything would be better.

oldfarmer50

I have to ask the sales folks this question.

How will you handle the hoards of angry clunker owners who are going to start coming in to your stores today? They are sure to blame you when you tell them that the CFC program is already out of money.

Are you prepared or will we see a huge uptick in posts on the "My Salesman Mislead Me" board?

grandtotal

Have you checked this site? It seems to be saying that the fund still has $854M of it's original $1B as of yesterday morning.

sbelcher

THank you. I posted my question over there. The Rodeo is my daily driver so it does run. Is it possible to do it without using the CARS program?

volvomax

I'd tell them to call their congressman.

trant

Hi, we just recently bought a Camry 09, but during the talk with finance officer, he got us into buying an extended warranty to lower our interest rate. We later found out that the warranty does not help us with the interest rate, and tried to cancel the extended warranty (the warranty company is called Fidelity Warranty Services). We did the cancellation form, and expected everything to be resolved in 3 or 4 weeks. However, it has already been almost a month, and we checked again, and found out that he did nothing and the warranty is still in effect. We tried to contact him again, but the customer services either lied that he's not there or they tried to redirect me to another guy, and nothing is getting done. We also contacted the warranty company to cancel it directly, but they said that it has to be done through the dealership. So we tried to contact the dealership again, and the same thing happen, they redirect me from one person to another and then another to avoid my question. We're wondering what actions can we take to make them finally cancel my warranty, and if they still do not comply, what legal actions can we take? (we have already considering talking to an attorney as a last resort)

volvomax

There is usually a long lag time on extended warranties. Most dealers only send in paperwork once a month. Then the warranty company can take its own sweet time processing refunds.
Stay on top of the dealer.

mitchflorida

CarMax does like to hire sales people on a part-time basis. They are the only dealership I know that likes to hire part-timers. There are no price negotiations at a CarMax Used Car dealership, prices are as posted.

madmanmoo

That's called "Tying Products" and it's illegal.

Got a lawyer friend? Have them write a letter. Don't want to spend the money on that? Go down there yourself and start raising cain. They are wrong. You are right. They are avoiding you.

Good luck. I would like to hear how this turns out.

micosilver

My guess is that the average car salesman works about 55 hours a week and makes about $36,000. Those are the good salesmen. The otheres quit after about 2 months, if that long. Internet Sales Managers may make up to $50,000.

How do you put "average" and "good" in the same sentence?
You are right about the average, and you are off about the good by at least $50K.

My pay plan changed only once it the last four years, and it allowed me to make more money, not less.

british_rover

Agreed. My pay plan has only changed once in four years and that is when I switched stores. I will say the pay plan at our old store sucked but the new one is fine.

lrguy44

They changed ours recently - in agood month one should make more - in a bad month less.

british_rover

Simple but true. If you goof off or just have a bad month then you should make less money because that will spur you to do better the next month.

I know whenever I have a bad month I almost always follow up with a really good month.

oldfarmer50

"...it's illegal...start raising cain..."

What do you want to bet that all the tying products promises were verbal and the guy will now deny ever having said it.

mitchflorida

I can only speak about the South Florida area, and I know almost all of the sales people have seen their commissions reduced.

I am also sure there are some dealers who will keep the same pay plan during a recession . .and that is great. One car dealer actually stopped paying for mini-deals. If the New Car Sales Manager supposedly sold a car at a "loss" it came out of your pay check. Of course, there are secret rebates so the CSM never really sold them at a loss . . that was a way to con the sales people.

wlbrown9

"You may want to ask your question in the Cash for Clunkers - Does it Work for You? discussion. I will point out that the CARS program only allows one trade per customer and requires that the vehicle you're trading must be in drivable condition. "

IF Carmax would buy the Malibu (owe more than it's worth?) you could trade the rolled Rodeo in the CARS program perhaps and satisfy the one trade per customer. Might or might not be workable, but worth a try perhaps.

Bill

dtownfb

Make sure the car you buy in NC meets CA emissions.