Stories from the Sales Frontlines

1racefan

"Lexus is the same way as the same company makes both nav systems"

Is the manufacturer Nakamichi by chance?

british_rover

No Denso.

madmanmoo

Are all Honda automatic trannys the same way?

Not that I'm aware of. I'm sure that there is a different tuning on the TL. There is a noticeable lag on the newer TL's as well. I think that's just the way they are designed.

I haven't noticed that on our Honda V-6's. They are smooth and responsive. IMO, nothing compares to Nissan's VQ series. Powerful and smooth engine. I think Honda's forte is in their 4 cylinder.

_moo

boomchek

Ha ha good story. Reminds me of that scene from the movie Suckers.

Here's a short story that happenned a year ago:

Guy pulls into our dealership in a mid 90's Taurus. He wants to look at the Oddysseys. I show him the van, do a presentation, and when we get to the engine I tell him about Honda's VCM system and how it shuts off 3 cylinders at a lighter load to save gas.

He says "My Taurus does the same thing"

I say: Ford Taurus never had that feature where half the engine shuts off to save on gas.

Him: Yeah they do, well mine does, sometimes when I drive it runs on three cylinders to save gas.

Me: If it does run on three cylinders it's not supposed to, you need to get your engine checked (and your head)

Him: No no, it's supposed to be like that.

I stopped arguing with this guy over his misfiring Taurus cause he didn't get it, and he left. :confuse:

madmanmoo

Greatest Story EVER.

This has never happened to me. Now that I'm married, I hope that it doesn't start. I'd like to think that I would have taken the opportunity to enjoy that woman's amorous advance. However, in a similar situation in college, I passed. I also thought something was 'Hinky'.

Good story though.

-Moo

phinneas519

One of the best stories I've heard on this site. I'm not married yet and though I've got a Women's Studies minor under my belt I still would've happily complied with the woman.

After all, the customer is always right!

mikefm58

Now, being 22, there was an impulse to hit that like the fist of an angry god

ROTFLMAO, great story, did you tell your SM?

Kirstie_H

autoscoop, "Talk to AutoScoop! The radio show for car buying" #13, 13 Nov 2006 9:58 am

gogiboy

"Yup that is a major problem with evaluating CRs "statistics" you don't know how many respondents they got for a particular vehicle."

True, but what alternatives exist? JD Power? I don't think they divulge how many respondents rely to their surveys either. In fairness, CR has some threshold beneath which they won't rate a car and will insert either an asterisk or other disclaimer. Niche cars, particularly expensive ones, frequently fall below this threshold and one often sees "incomplete data" or some such disclaimer.

I don't subscribe, but my folks get me a subscription every year and have for almost 20 years. Since I don't work for CR I can only speak frankly about my experience which includes a great variety of purchases beyond cars. Of all the purchases I have made after consulting CR I have only had one disappointment, a portable phone. Others may have different experiences, but CR has been helpful to me, especially with my last three car purchases. They have also been spot-on with any noted trouble spots. I know CR's usefulness is endlessly debated on these forums and there will always be the touters and doubters.

Gogiboy

robr2

Yup so are the Rover ones but the moment you start moving everything but the SOS features is disabled.

Too bad as the Honda/Acura units still let you use the voice recognition while driving - hit the button on the steering wheel and talk away.

british_rover

Oh no no all of the voice features still work but you can't do enter any destinations on the screen.

blkandblu

Yeah. He seemed to think it was the right call, though he gave me grief. Truth was, she was probably just a swinger or something, but she could have been planning to threaten to claim sexual assault or something like that and extorted me or the dealership. Way too much hassle, and I wasn't that hard up.

I have some stories about the girls at the Hooters across the street and the strip club next door, but I think this is a family forum...

jipster

I guess you were absent that day I asked if any salespeople had had customers dress provocatively in order to negotiate a better deal. I think the incident you described would more than qualify. This story may also qualify for the, "Buying Tips: How Do I Get the Best Deal" discussion.

snakeweasel

I have some stories about the girls at the Hooters across the street and the strip club next door, but I think this is a family forum...

Well what about posting them late at night when all the kiddies are in bed? :P

snakeweasel

Well I have had people I was interviewing for jobs come in dressed provocatively. At that point its pretty much go through the motions but they blew the interview right there and then.

1racefan

"This story may also qualify for the, "Buying Tips: How Do I Get the Best Deal" discussion"

Or for the "Real World Trade In Values" forum if she was looking to dump the hubby at the dealership as well for a newer (younger) model.

isellhondas

Yes, I am in sales but I'm pretty close to the guys in the shop too.

Sometimes I will read in these forums of certain problmes wiht Hondas. Others will chime in with their "me too" postings.

As an example, there were a rash of people complaining about A/C compressors failing on CRV's. Since I drive a CRV and I hadn't heard anything, I asked the guys in the shop. We have a VERY busy shop and they remembered a total of one A/C compressor failing.

Hondas aren't perfect, they are machines with a lot of moving parts and complexity. Things go wrong but overall, they are pretty reliable.

jasmith52

She gets in the backseat and the next thing I know her dress is over her head and I'm being propositioned!

Oh sure ! You expect us to believe this ?

Is this the car salesman fantasy test drive, or is it the very best negotiating tactic that there is. Now how could you not give them a great deal after this ?

Maybe you should have made her out as a really hot blonde with her sugar daddy aging husband.

Weird part was, they bought the car, negotiated the 2k premium down to 1k.

Well I'll believe that they bought the car. Especially after that negotiation trick.

tayl0rd

But keep in mind that all the Honda/Acura nav systems are voice controlled.

No they're not. My girlfriend's '05 Pilot doesn't have voice activated nav, and all functions are available while flying down the freeway. (I wish mine were. :sick: ['02 Chrysler 300M Special])

jipster

... had people I was interviewing for jobs come in dress provocatively.

With some of these people I don't know if they are just hoping a little eye candy will enhance their chances of getting the job/sale etc.. or they just don't have a clue.

In my line of work, dressing right wing conservative is a nessecity. Yet, you will still get these young ladies , as well as older, wearing low cut tops and skin tight sweaters... and uhhhhh... what was I talking about again??

snakeweasel

or they just don't have a clue.

My guess is that most don't have a clue. I once saw my niece leaving for a job interview with a rather large CPA firm dressed in a high skirt and a low blouse. She had no ideal how to dress for a job interview, she looked like she was going out on a hot date.

jb_turner

Lets look at the whole picture and not one item.

I can care less about prices for "mop and glo" or ADM... what I am concerned with is the OTD price.
Example:

Dealership A has a car for 20k OTD (no ridiculous charge for "mop and glo") Drive away.
Dealership B has same identical car for 16k not including their 3k "mop and glo"... total OTD price 19k Drive away.

In this case I will definitely go with "B" the car with "mop and glo" because the TOTAL price is cheaper

You see do not look at bits and peices of the price.. look at the "whole" picture.

dino001

Yeah, but that never really happens. I don't think spread between the nominal prices is larger than $500-$1000 on $20K car. Mop&glo, "fees" and other stuff can overrun it pretty quickly. Moreover, ADP/ADM stickers "assume" that MSRP is already applied, as there is no reason for ADP if you can't charge full sticker first.

Every time I go to a dealership and see mop&glo on all their cars, I'm likely to run away before I even get to a salesperson, as it is a good indication that there will be major trickering involved. If they try to charge $799 on paint sealant, it's pretty much given everything else will be the same way.

cole

I'd guess that a dealer with $3k in mop & glo isn't going to be cheaper than another dealer worth their salt. I might pay a little more to another dealer given the m&g dealer was being shady on the front end. Peace of mind is worth something.

robr2

Oh no no all of the voice features still work but you can't do enter any destinations on the screen.

Hmmm. I was under the impression that you could verbally enter new destinations while underway. I'll have to check it out further.

tsgeisel

"We're doing the route and she says, 'Oh, hey, can we pull in here. I want to have a look at the back.' "Sure lady, whatever you want. So she pulls into this office parking lot that's deserted, and climbs over the console showing me a bit of panty flash. She gets in the backseat and the next thing I know her dress is over her head and I'm being propositioned!"

Probably for the best that you didn't do it - just another thing for you to be marked down for on your customer service survey.

"Did the sales meet all your expectations?"

No pressure there at all.

tsgeisel

The main Edmunds (or Inside Line) site is doing a long-term review of the Kia Sedona. Check the log book entries for it; other than a completely unresponsive dealer that they're working with, it's been getting a great response from the Edmunds folks.

madmanmoo

ROFL!!!

grandtotal

Thanks for the skilful reply. I think that I may safely disregard your testimony if you do not generally hear of any problems. FYI the Odyssey (the example I know best) has had problems with it's transmission and the guys in the shop where I had mine replaced have done many of them.

151ranch

Do you guys use A/C up there? Just kidding, I know you must have to defrost occasionally.

FWIW, we have already had two a/c failures on our Element in 70k miles. The stores here in Texas say they have lots of CR-Vs in the shop with the same failure. I do know we got Honda to buy both out of warranty so there must be something wrong with them....

isellhondas

Yes, some of the Odysseys did have transmission problems and so did some V-6 Accords. The percentage of cars affected was very low but still uncharactistic for Honda.

Honda stepped up and extended the warranty on these.

isellhondas

That could certainly have something to do with it. I run mine most of the time to degog my windows this time of the year but rarely use it in the summer. A HOT day here might get in the eighties.

snakeweasel

Yes, some of the Odysseys did have transmissions and so did some V-6 Accords.

Just some? I would have thought Honda would have put transmissions in all their cars. Tell me the ones that didn't have transmission have the option to get one? And how much? Which trim level didn't have transmissions?

Ducking and running

isellhondas

Don't you just love a smarta**?

Back to edit my post!

snakeweasel

Sorry Isell I just couldn't resist.

I actually had to read that twice to make sure it said what I thought it said.

lilengineerboy

But keep in mind that all the Honda/Acura nav systems are voice controlled.

No they're not. My girlfriend's '05 Pilot doesn't have voice activated nav, and all functions are available while flying down the freeway. (I wish mine were. ['02 Chrysler 300M Special])

Thats 2 years old now...I believe the Honda/Acura one is an Alpine unit. I know the TSX has voice control, some of my friends still in grad school were doing some testing with it and had people of various ethnicities and localities talk to it to see how it worked with an accent.

lilengineerboy

I can care less about prices for "mop and glo" or ADM... what I am concerned with is the OTD price.
Example:

Dealership A has a car for 20k OTD (no ridiculous charge for "mop and glo") Drive away.
Dealership B has same identical car for 16k not including their 3k "mop and glo"... total OTD price 19k Drive away.

In this case I will definitely go with "B" the car with "mop and glo" because the TOTAL price is cheaper

You see do not look at bits and peices of the price.. look at the "whole" picture.

I feel bad for dealers with local sales tax or milage added on to the sale price. If the base sales tax is 6% but local or regional taxes increase it to 10%, that is starting to be a big hit, and its totally out of the dealer's control.

jmonroe

I have some stories about the girls at the Hooters across the street and the strip club next door, but I think this is a family forum...

Go for it, see how far Security will let you go.

Hope they don't have a tracer on this post. You know, guilty of trying to incite.

BTW, great post about that test drive. Come to think of it, you ain't supposed to be talkin about test drives, remember. So, like I said go for it, what's another guilty conviction on your record. They can only ban you once, right?

jmonroe

tidester

Go for it, see how far Security will let you go.

I think we've had enough diversion. Think "family friendly site ..."

tidester, host

jmonroe

I think we've had enough diversion. Think "family friendly site ..."

Yeah, that's what I was trying to say. We need more of that around here. I was just having trouble putting it into words. Your vocabulary is better than mine.

Thanks,

jmonroe

snakeweasel

I think we've had enough diversion. Think "family friendly site

I did tell them to wait until 11PM when the kiddies have gone to bed. :P

british_rover

Yeah just delete all of the posts by morning. :shades:

jmonroe

Yeah just delete all of the posts by morning.

Very good 'rover', that's the best way.

We won't have long to wait now (10:23 here)

jmonroe

british_rover

About bed time for me have to get up early for work tomorrow.

I actually have a story or two from clients of mine that would be considered inappropriate.

jmonroe

No they're not. My girlfriend's '05 Pilot doesn't have voice activated nav, and all functions are available while flying down the freeway. (I wish mine were. ['02 Chrysler 300M Special])

I must be missing something. Can you explain to me why you feel it is necessary that "all functions are available while flying down the freeway". Don't you consider this to be just a little unsafe?

I know, I'm showing my age but I hope you can do better than this with your explanation.

jmonroe

jipster

I would think anytime you have a strip club, a Hooters and a car dealership right next to each other... well, you are going to have some interesting stories from the frontline.

Using politically correct terminology and a bit of discretion, any "inappropriate" story can be written to be acceptable/non-offensive.

jmonroe

Using politically correct terminology and a bit of discretion, any "inappropriate" story can be written to be acceptable/non-offensive.

jip,

You must have some stories like that, so lets give it a try. Just be sure you put in something about cars. You'll have a better chance of getting it through Security that way.

We're waiting,

jmonroe

jipster

You must have some stories like that...

I wish.

Actually, I'm about tapped out when it comes to stories that involve anything other than a Kirby vacuum cleaner.

Anyone out there care to take this "inappropriate" story telling burden off my hands... if not it's on to Kirby!!

lemko

I don't know how many of you guys watch "The Simpsons," but has anybody encountered or worked with a guy like Gil, the hapless salesman based on Jack Lemmon's character from the movie "Glengarry Glen Ross," in the auto sales world?

Here's the Wilkipedia file on Gil:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gil_(The_Simpsons)

bigdveedubgirl

I have a theory.....Every dealership in Dallas FT Worth is with in a 2 mile radius of a Hooters or a Strip club. This dealership has 2 down the street from here. Most broke car guys always hang out at them.....(broke because they spend their money there) Although I must say I have participated in more that one WED night 25 cent wing night afterwork.....