Did you recently take on (or consider) a loan of 84 months or longer on a car purchase?
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Why don't dealers want to make money?
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Now I don't assume that other people are like me, but I know that I still go to a particular furniture store in the area as they have been wonderful in their service to me. They're not the most expensive in the area, but certainly not the least expensive either. But when I walk in, I get treated well by everyone there, especially the sales rep we work with each time (my wife can't seem to let us out of the store without buying something *LOL*). But after the time spent with them and the time they've spent with us, I wouldn't even consider purchasing something before at least giving them the opportunity to find something similar and come close on price.
Just different viewpoints on the purchase process I guess.
I did have a good day today, BTW. Didn't have anyone purchase a Toyota, but had a repeat customer call up and met them at our Buick store and they purchased a Rendezvous from me. So it all works out in the end.
Ken
You don't need a customer like this...move on!
Ken
Employee pricing is easy to verify. Every vehicle has it's S-Plan price clearly stated on the factory invoice. This is the same price which I would pay if I was purchasing a new Mazda. You would also receive any applicable incentives as well. Simply ask to verify pricing by requesting to view the factory invoice. If everything is on the up and up, there should be no problem at all.
The biggest difficulty I've had is the mindset of the consumer. Many times the S-Plan has been given, then the rebates, then the MAC bonus cash, only to have the customer respond with,"THAT'S IT?"
I truly do what I can to earn my "mini" commission of a $100, including top notch service and treatment, product presentation like no other. However, consumers also need to realize your not going to get a $10,000 discount on every car, truck, van, or SUV.
I suspect that they will only allow you to use one coupon, which would probably throw a monkey wrench into your plan. But if you can do it, more power to you.
For people who don't want the hassle of arguing about coupons or haggling over the price, the S-plan is pretty darn good I'd have to say.
Do they not make enough money to care to learn about what they are selling?
They should at least know basics on a vehicle plus know how it matches up against competitor vehicles. Or is this just not necessary any more?
What are your thoughts?
If you need any info about a car you might want to buy, then do your own research.
I like car sales people and enjoy talking with them, but I don't expect them to know anything.
Salespeople are basically employed to play games with the customer and waste as much time as possible until the customer gives in, resulting in more profit for the dealer (and a bigger commission for the salesperson, I suppose).
Funnily enough, in more than a decade of buying new cars, the only time I had a salesperson who actually knew about the product was at Saturn in '94. There have been a couple of new Toyotas, one Subaru, and the Acura since then, and all those salespeople were "clueless".
Actually, what irritates me more than a clueless salesperson is one who will start to make up answers to your questions, sounding knowledgeable the whole time. I don't know how many times I have been on ride-alongs with friends buying cars, and had to call the idiot on something he/she had just made up.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
"What's your favorite color?" (Maybe that's all most buyers care about.)
How many salespeople can quickly and logically explain the model line they are selling? Explain at a high-level how features work within a specific product line?
My guess is not too many...
Is the job not profitable enough to make them care?
I don't think that is what the plan is upon employment, but in some cases and in the eyes of the consumer this is possible. I have had said many times before, that often times its is not the fault of the salesperson, it is the culture and the lack of training from the dealer. Go to an Audi store and unless the salesperson is brand new, it is required at that level of that the salesperson be knowlegeable about the product and if a question is asked that the salesperson does not know the answer, he or she knows where to find it. A good salesperson does not waste the customers time, because the more time that is wasted, the less likely the customer will commit, and the worse CSI is. There are many good salespeople out there, and the ones that are successful, did not become successful being "clueless" and waste customers time.
I've also met some who would be better salesmen towards appliance-shoppers than towards me. But since most people are appliance-shoppers, I think those salesmen are good to have. A car nut will probably earn distrust upon going into detail...
Air Bags?
Xenon Headlights?
Autodimming mirror?
What options there are for satellite radio?
Maintenance Schedules?
What's important and what's not?
They should know if it HAS the items you mentioned, or if not then whether they are options.
They should know some basics - how many cylinders does the engine have? Approximate power output? Timing chain or belt? How many speeds in the auto tranny? What is the basic and (if applicable) powertrain warranty? Just for starters...
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
Why can't any of them explain what the 'post-sales' pitches are? Undercoating? Leather treatment? Exterior paint protection? Tire Warranty? Extended Warranty? I'd like to know if my monthly payment is going to bump up after I negotiate the sales prices.
Because most likely the salespeople don't care about this stuff...the F&I manager that "closes out the deal" with the paperwork is the one that pitches all of this stuff to the customer and makes commission off of it. I have had friends that sell cars tell about how they have lost money from the original deal they negotiated with the customer after their customer went in to meet with the F&I guy. In other words, the F&I guy lowered the price of the car that was negotiated between the sales person and the customer (therefor lowering the salesperson's commission), but then added on a the leather treatment, paint protection, etc... and made a commission off of it himself, and still increased the overall profit to the dealership.
"Car Sales" is about "Sales". It is not nearly as much about cars.
There are idiots everywhere, but good salespeople know their customers, and they know what they have to do... I'm sure good BMW or Porsche salespeople know their product, because many of their customers would value that.
I'm equally sure that the skills required to successfully sell Kias are different.
-Mathias
There are the few who appreciate the warranty and the price point..... :P
As for the salesperson...they are there to get the customer to commit which isnt that hard because like I said they are need buyers, It is a pretty easy job I can imagine. But You would have to deal with alot of BAAAAAAD credit.
When I went to purchase my first new car in 1995, I walked into the local Honda dealer, had a salesman walk up to me, and I told him exactly what I was looking for (95 Civic EX, red, manual). The salesman's reply: "you can't afford it" and he walked off without another word. I went to the next closest dealer and bought the same car the next day.
When I went to buy my current car, I knew exactly the car I wanted (Mustang SVT Cobra). I went to the closest dealer, was standing in the showroom for 15 minutes before a salesman approached me. I said that I was interested in the car and asked what kind of deal he could cut me. His response: "you'll pay sticker". Well can you get me another color, I wanted a yellow one. His response: "They don't make them in yellow (lie) and we can't get another one." I then asked if I could take a test drive His response "Sure, if you sign something that says you'll buy it." I asked him if this didn't defeat the purpose of a TEST drive and he just shrugged. I walked out and ended up getting a used one with 4K miles on it and saved $5000.
I wonder how many potential customers dealers just turn away. Every time I've bought a new car I've had to go to one or two dealers before I could even get a salesman that actually wanted to sell me a car.
I agree that salespeople should be well versed in their product and direct competition. But, based on my experience, the salespeople who have produced the best seem to know little or nothing about cars...they do know something about people and how to read people. That's not to say you can't be informed and good at sales.
Despite what some on edmunds would like us to believe...people buy payments, options and color more than those nifty features that a well versed salesperson can point out.
I am not normaly the top salesman at our store. Some months I am the top one but on average I am not.
Anyway, my main concern was getting an appraisal on my trade-in, since if they weren't going to offer me much I would keep the car, sell it for more on my own and come back with cash for the down payment.
To make a long story short, after about 2 hours of haggling on trade in and car price, we can't come to a deal as they don't want to offer anything close to the KBB trade-in value, which is fine. They had a price after trade-in that they wanted to go, and I had my price and they were about $500 apart. Fair enough. I thank them for their time, and after going through the "wait, my GM wants to talk to you, etc." and them playing "hide the keys" we finally leave.
Salesman calls back a week later, and basically says "we had your trade-in registration stapled to your paperwork and forgot to give it back to you. Can you come back down and get it?"
Of course I don't buy this for a second, they intentionally kept it so I would have to come back (numerous other unsavory tactics when I was there earlier confirm this in my mind). I told them I needed it because I had people looking at the car that upcoming weekend (true) let alone if I get pulled over driving and told them to FedEx it to me, and they said they would. Of course, 2 weeks later I still don't have it. Do I have any recourse here? I am not going to spend 1.5-2 hours of my time and gas driving back there to get my registration back.
Sure you do. Call the police and report that the dealer stole your registration. Then call the local investigative reporter at the TV station. Have the reporter go to the dealer with the cops. Should make for some fine TV.
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
-mike
You shouldn't have to jump through hoops to get your own registration back.
In about 30 years of driving only once did police ask for registration, that was in AL...not sure if they do that routinely or if it was because I was from out of state. It did not matter that I did not have the paper, he just asked if I was the owner and if the address on my driver's license was correct and then I think he was able to check out the registration from his squad car.
I think the only other states I've been pulled over in were IL and WI, never had request for registration in either one.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
But my way is more fun.
Seriously though, why should he have to pay anything? The dealer is just trying to get him back for more nonsense. Holding his keys hostage? Stealing his registration? He should have called the cops before he left the place.
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
and they compound. $180 for not having your reg with you. $180 for not having your insurance card with you. $180 for not having your license on you. That's a nice $540 bill for the forgetful sort.
and, mind you, for those outside of jersey reading this, it is not a fine for not having these things at all, but merely for not having them on you at the moment.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
A while ago I was pulled over by NJ state trooper doing 75 in 55 on the turnpike. The trooper asked for license and registration. I didn’t have the registration on me and told the cop that in VA we don’t have registration cards. He laughs and tells me: “Ye, right, like I have never pulled over VA cars before!” And, then he lets me go with a warning, not even a speeding ticket. :surprise:
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
I was disappointed when they took down the signs that would tell you what the fine for a specific speed was. Kind of a "choose a speed within your price range" approach.
PACED me huh? The issue I had was I wasn't going 82 (at least not at that point) and there were three cars that passed me two minutes before the cop stopped me. Either way, I only got a warning and it only held me up 10 minutes.