Stories from the Sales Frontlines

fezo

This reminds me of when I bought a used Sentra in a hurry back in 87 (my 80 Accord had been declared not safe to drive and I was leaving for Maine the next day). Anyway, I go to a local dealer to find something that will do the trick and end up with this Sentra. The sales guy (who I bought from again later and still run into) had this kind of goofy schtick going that made him seem new, especially with the sales manager around.

After we agree on things I end up in his office and here are all sorts of sales awards including more than one trip to the Super Bowl on GM's dime for sales volume.

I learned right not to judge appearance or act.

i will say I ended up with a decent deal on a car that filled the bill at the time. Only ran the car to 134K but that was only because it got drowned. I seem to attract that.

mako1a

Isell, what's the deal on the Honda Element? I saw one for sale, thought it might be a fun vehicle for the country roads playing with the HAM radio and getting lost in.

The one I saw is a 2006 LX AWD. I offered him $9k off the top of my head and he said no. Seems he wants something well over that. Are they worth that much? Is there something I don't know about those vehicles. Looks kind of kooky with the multi color plastic, but why is a 5 yr old vehicle with 85k on the clock still reaching for big bucks?

driver100

I'm curious - is "sight" the way that Canadians spell "site"?

"Sight" is the way Canadians spell "site" when they have worked for 5 hours and then took their wife's car in for an oil change and servicing which took 2 hours. Then drove through rush hour traffic to get home in time for dinner.

Also, of about 12 salesman I saw at the BMW dealership, 9 had shirt and ties and 1 had that plus a sports jacket and 2 were women.

snakeweasel

Batteries sitting in anything will eventually leak and destroy what is holding them.

However since I have no use for wrist watches I most likely would never use them in any case.

sterlingdog

I keyed in all of your information for the Honda Element and got these results: Edmunds retail for a clean one is $11,500 and NADA says $13,900. These figures can really surprise you. Posters here were amazed that I got $6K for my '03 Explorer with 111K miles. Edmunds said it was worth $5K and NADA said $7K. I guess the dealer decided to split the difference and give me $6K. I had been offered $4,500 by the Chrysler dealer when we were considering the new Grand Cherokee. When I arrived at the Cadillac dealer, I had my fingers crossed for $5K. I was so pleased when they offered $6K. You just never know.

Richard

sterlingdog

Batteries will leak even when carefully stored.. I had a plastic bag filled with AAA's and AA's in a kitchen drawer. I went to get two of them for a wall clock in our laundry room. Several of the batteries had leaked. I had to trash the whole bag.

Richard

isellhondas

" Why is a 5 year old vehicle with 85K on the clock still reaching for big bucks?

Because it's a Honda.

No other car that I know of will bring crazy money as a used Honda.

Heck we couldn't even buy that element at an auction for 9000.00. It's a Honda, not a Kia!

And, actually, elements aren't all that sought after. They appeal to a very small slice of the market.

Looks kind of kooky? That's because it is. Not my favorite car they produce.

Mechanically they are the same as a CRV.

sterlingdog

What did the women wear---skirts, dresses, slacks, suits?

Richard

isellhondas

2 were women.

Are you sure one of those "women" wasn't a guy in drag?

jimbres

Are you sure one of those "women" wasn't a guy in drag?

Now that would have been a sight.

mako1a

It is most fun to buy when paying cash with no trade-in from a private seller.
Only problem is when they owe more than they're willing to sell for.

Ebay now gives vin data thru auto-check. Like a carfax on every vehicle.
That sure eliminated a lot of the trash being peddled.
I think all that salvage/repaired trash is now on Craigslist and Auto Trader.

I see Costco, Sams Club and Price Club being the next new car sales hubs.

mako1a

Because it's a Honda.

I guess I deserved that. You'll have to excuse me as I have never owned a Honda.
Until my Ridgeline test drive I had never driven a Honda.

I seem to have fallen into the Toyota abyss and am now finding my way out. :shades:

driver100

And yes I was moved back in to sales last month....

Nice to hear from you greenpea. You have some catching up to do. You are replying to an email from July 25th.

Glad to hear you are back in sales....good luck, I am sure you will like it more, but working in service was probably an excellent experience.

driver100

What did the women wear---skirts, dresses, slacks, suits?

One wore a dress, the other wore a skirt and jacket (but I wasn't taking much notice-ha ha. They do have some attractive women working at this BMW place).
My wife's car needs an hours more work done to it...now that I think of it, maybe I will volunteer to take it in for her.

driver100

2 were women.
Are you sure one of those "women" wasn't a guy in drag?

isell, .......they were definitely women (no adams apple).

jipster

You guys believe when a customer says, "I'm all in", meaning they will offer no more money on the price of a vehicle? I saw the tall guy say this on "American Pickers" last night over a motorcycle engine. Hobo Jack said he wanted more money to "think about it", and the tall skinny guy increased his price $500, which was then accepted. But, to me skinny guy has just lost all credibility. :sick:

imidazol97

I'm glad to know someone else watches that show besides me.

I enjoy seeing what they dig up as antiques. I believe some of the "bidding" is faked. I don't really think this is real time. I put it in the category with lots of the court shows on TV during the day--staged.

It's interesting how they use that Mercedes truck to haul things around. How does it all fit?

604doc

"Until my Ridgeline test drive I had never driven a Honda."

Just curious, what did you think of the Ridgeline?

deltheking

Mako,We had a discussion with Volvomax a year or so back on the Real world Trade value thread about this. When Vmax was giving the auction prices on a Honda Element,it appeared high considering it`s MSRP or Invoice is not that high. And when queried, Vmax did say that Elements have the highest trade in value compared to it`s original price followed closely by the CRV and higher than Civic or Accord.Probably b'cos it`s target used car audience is quirky plus it`s an AWD.

And CRV's too -they just dont depreciate that much .You can see Honda dealers asking almost new car prices on 2-3 yr old CRV's with 20k-30k. That is insane.. :shades:

deltheking

Richard, As all other salesfolks here will tell- Edmunds,KBB ,NADA are book values. And as the name implies--just that. They are not the actual sales auction prices. These are just a rough guide for you to make an informed decision. In your case,you knew that the value for your Explorer was between 5k and 7k based on Edmunds and Nada. So you figured the trade price to be somwhere around 5k-6k,maybe 5.5k.So you have a fair idea about it`s worth. :P

Problem comes in when the dealer really lowballs you like say 3k or the customer has a very high expectation ,say 8k or 9k-- that`s where these guides come in handy. They will give a ballpark estimate-- atleast a rough idea based on which you can negotiate. :shades:

But they are no way accurate like auction data. And Edmunds,KBB or Nada retails are just too high.KBB trade in is quite low.. Edmunds TMV values infact are more accurate if you dont select any add on options when appraising a used car. Just pick the trim level and the mileage and maybe 1 or the most 2 options-- select average condition for any car over 20k miles and it`s a pretty good estimate.. That`s what I noticed though. Also these books are not updated real time and can be back by a few months. That can throw a spanner.And personally I think your Explorer is at 5k or maybe 5.5k and not 6k. But you got a great price on that SRX. I think you got a damn good deal though.. So ,how is the Mrs. feeling about the SRX??

tidester

Maybe 20% wear a wristwatch...

That's an interesting coincidence. I gave my students a simple geometry problem involving clocks (the kind with hands!) to work on tonight. I was a bit surprised to find that only a few of them wore a wristwatch. Your 20% figure isn't that far off!

FYI - one question was "What is the angle between the hour and minute hands on a clock at 12:30?

tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper

deltheking

Mako,It`s more of a media hype than anything about Toyota SUA .You know that ! :P
But you have the best upscale sedan in the Avalon-- no other car comes close to it . Trailing it would be the Maxima followed by Taurus and then the distant Chrysler 300 !!

sterlingdog

Goodness. Based on what you pointed out, it's difficult for a guy to know what his car is worth or what his purchase is worth. Is there a place that shows those auction prices? I'll remember in the future to just list the trim, mileage, and one or two options. You would think that Edmunds, NADA, and KBB would warn us about such things. Still, I'm glad that I had an idea in mind about my trade and about my purchase when I went to the dealers. Common sense told me not to accept below the minimum or expect the maximum for the trade. I was worried about the asking price of the SRX, but I managed to get it down with a little work.

As for the wife, she loves the new ride. When we head for the garage, she immediatley says that she wants to drive. We've started parking at the far end of the shopping malls. It's amazing. The walk isn't that far at all, yet most people try to park near the door. Since we refuse to smoke in the car, we can have a short one on the way to the mall entrance. Another positive is that she isn't using my convertible. Considering her past experiences with it, that is a good thing.

Next week will be the big test. We'll take our first trip in it to the mountains. I'll let you know about performance, gas mileage, handling, etc.

Richard

sterlingdog

Are you teaching adults or high school students? Based on your homework question, they sound more like 4th graders. :P

Richard

deltheking

Or Richards - just do the simple thing and pop a question in the Real world Trade in Value thread and get set ready !!!

So ,you are also following my tradition of parking far away at the malls.. But atleast you dont take up 2 parking spots unlike me to prevent any dents or dings.. Snakeweasel doesnt agree with me on this and opines that I am being inconsiderate.. Well it`s OK -- If I ,being inconsiderate ,prevent any damage to my personal property , and avoid paying for some other guy's stupidity or recklessness ,then so be it ! LOL! :shades:

To Snakeweasel- Snake, I have a couple of questions to you regarding Saturn maintenance on my '02 Saturn S series with 90k miles .. I know your Saturn has 160k miles. So what all maintenance did you do?? And is the tranny flush and other fluid changes difficult for non dealer service tech? And do they need to be done regularly or religiously on the Saturn??? It`s a very low tech car though and crude--but in a way,it`s fun just pretty much ripping it on the NYC roads ! :P

mako1a

Just curious, what did you think of the Ridgeline?

I liked it. Extremely stable on any terrain, gravel and hills alike.
IRS made for a smooth ride. Power was good, uphill was easy.
Cabin felt comfortable and secure with easy access controls.

What turned me off was that I had buy bid on the Avalon and the
Honda dealer wanted me to cash it in or take his trade
offer which was less than my buy bid. Silly boy. I left. He called,
I told him I was less motivated than he was by his failure to do his job.

kyfdx

165 degrees?

driver100

165 degrees?

I think from 10 to 2 is 1/3 of 360 degrees so it is 120. But then I am not great at math. Ask me a question about books and I might get it.

Did Richard say this was a grade 3 question?

I am wondering how many car salesman can answer this question too?

jipster

165 degrees?

You've been in school that long?

I'd say 180 degrees. 12:00 (the small hand) would represent 0 degrees, and the :30(big hand) would represent the halfway point to 360... which is 180

or, knowing tidester it may be a trick question, as there is no real angle... it is a straight line. :P

kiawah

But when it's 12:30, the hour hand would have moved halfway between 12 and 1. Each hour, on the face dial, is 30 degrees, so half of that angle would be 15 degrees. So the angle measurement between the hour hand and minute hand would indeed be 165 degrees (180 - 15 ).

Apple to kyfdx

sterlingdog

No, I said 4th grade. That's where they begin learning fundamental geometry facts. Though I majored in English and history, I do remember that a right angle is 90 degrees (12:15 on the clock). At 12:30 on the clock, it's 180 degrees. I'm not going to get technical like Kyfdx, though she knows Tidester better than I do. He could be pulling a fast one. I can't wait to find out the age group of these students. If it's adult high school, I might understand. I taught that night program years ago, and you have to understand that they have been out of school for a long time. If these are regular high school students, they should know this by now. Then again, we do live in an age in which we are "dumbing down" American education. Take their calculators and they can't add 2+2.

Richard

jwilliams2

But when it's 12:30, the hour hand would have moved halfway between 12 and 1. Each hour, on the face dial, is 30 degrees, so half of that angle would be 15 degrees. So the angle measurement between the hour hand and minute hand would indeed be 165 degrees (180 - 15 ).


I agree with kyfdx and kiawah. Someone needs to go back to school. :P

driver100

So the angle measurement between the hour hand and minute hand would indeed be 165 degrees (180 - 15 ).

I agree. I foolishly read it quickly and was thinking about 10am and 10 minutes after 10 (I know, how do you get that from 12:30, but the short answer is the dog wanted to go out and I forgot where I was at). That is the position your hands are supposed to be in when driving (I taught high school driving at one time)

So, how many degrees is that?

graphicguy

My late Father was the real "Watch guy". He never had a Rolex, but had some really nice (and vintage) Movado, Tag, etc automatic watches.

I inherited them. Cost a small fortune to get them "refurbished" and in working order as for many years, he lost interest in them as he became ill. Still, they are a nice remembrance of him when I do wear them.

First watch my Dad gave me was an automatic Hamilton, lo those many years ago for my Confirmation. It has been lost to time (pun intended). Wish I still had it, though.

I've bought some of my own. I like swills made watches, but every once in awhile I find something that strikes my fancy that doesn't cost a lot.....like this.....

http://www.timex.com/dp/B000VTDDWM?extid=proDemo_MensSLSeriesAutomatic-T2M517

tidester

At 12:30 on the clock, it's 180 degrees.

No, it's 165°. The minute hand is on the 6 and the hour hand is halfway between 12 and 1. My students are adults and they invariably jump to the same conclusion you did. We're sending you back to remedial fourth grade math! :P

tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper

lemko

Heck, the watch I wear daily is a Pulsar I purchased over 18 years ago at the Caldor on Roosevelt Blvd. near the Nabisco plant in NE Philly for $32. The store building and the Caldor chain are long gone, but the watch is still with me. I have changed the band at least 5 times.

driver100

No, it's 165°. The minute hand is on the 6 and the hour hand is halfway between 12 and 1.

I am waiting to see how Richard gets out of this one. Any 4th grade student could do it! :P

lemko

Anybody remember the Scotty pocket watches? I had one of them when I was a freshman in college.

fezo

You have more expensive taste in Timexes than I do. Mine is like lemko's Pulsar - maybe $35. This is my second of this sort. The first lasted 18 years through 3 straps and maybe 3 or 4 batteries and kept time like the Naval observatory. The original had both the indiglo button and an alarm. The current one lacks the alarm.

Despite the lower market part i do share a fascination with watches.

604doc

Just curious, what did you think of the Ridgeline?

I liked it. Extremely stable on any terrain, gravel and hills alike.
IRS made for a smooth ride. Power was good, uphill was easy.
Cabin felt comfortable and secure with easy access controls.

Thanks for the info. It's on my short list to replace my Cherokee that I just sold.

Personally, I think it's kind of ugly, but could be the perfect vehicle for me. I need a car 90% of the time, and a truck 10% of the time.

It doesn't snow much here in Seattle, but the all wheel drive would be nice to have when it does, and of course for heading to the hills for snowboarding.

Everyone that I've talked to that has one loves it.

Thanks again,
Nelson

driver100

First watch my Dad gave me was an automatic Hamilton,

It is surprising how many people like watches and how important they are in our lives, and it is the perfect item to pass on. I am also surprised when I see so many expensive watches advertised in newspapers and magazines, sometimes every day. My watches last at least 10 years, so I wonder who buys all these watches.

It would be a nice extra if the car companies let you choose a watch when you buy a car. It would also be great advertising for them. For example an SRX watch to go with the car. Not sure about a Kia watch...........

lemko

My great-grandfather worked in the NE Pennsylvania coal mines way way back in the day. The first thing he bought with his first paycheck in 1900 was an Elgin pocket watch at a jeweler in Freeland, PA for the princely sum of $10. This watch was later passed down to my Grandpop when my great-grandfather passed away in 1975. My Grandpop passed away in 2008 and the watch was passed down to my uncle. I don't know if the watch still runs or not. I know if they gave it to me I'd most definitely would get it working.

isellhondas

I enjoy watching American Pickers and Pawn Stars too but I'm convinced the whole thing is staged and not real at all.

The Pickers will buy something for, say 200.00 and project it to sell for 250.00.

That wouldn't be worth the effort or expense.

Still enjoy those shows.

isellhondas

I have a Tavarnes watch that belonged to my grandfather and a Lord Elgin that my father bought around 1950.

A few years back, I had them reconditioned but I don't wear therm.

I think I have something like 30 watches. I know...nuts!

sterlingdog

I should have known---picky, picky, picky. :P I was thinking in terms of a pie, not minutes on a clock. How about my Barbara Ferichie pecan pie? You could eat it as you illustrate various angles. I use freshly shelled pecans with lots of brown sugar and butter in a vanilla hand made double crust to hold the heavy filling. One slice and you would do a 180 degree turn from other pecan pies.

Richard

sterlingdog

Wow. I didn't know that Timex even made a watch that cost $200.

Richard

mako1a

You have to be on your toes with Honda dealers.
They'll try to short your trade. (I'll bet Mopar will really take it in the shorts).

I got $10k from Toyota for trade on a Mustang compared to Honda who offered $5k.

I bought 4 New Toyotas since then. (Would have been Hondas if they would do fair trade-ins) I have never bought a Honda and remain skeptical to this day because of their low ball trade tactics. Except for the media hype, I still think Toyota is the best out there. Can't get past Honda roadblocks. New=no trade, used=no bargains.

sterlingdog

As you can see in post 59293, I wormed my way out of it. I follow your method---just BS or double talk it to death. :P

Richard

fezo

Wow. I didn't know that Timex even made a watch that cost $200.

I was thinking the same thing.

I'm kind of in the old "My grandfather, on his deathbed, sold me this watch" mode....

graphicguy

Richard...Timex makes some expensive (expensive for Timex) watches....

http://www.timex.com/b/2224433011?searchRank=-price&searchPage=1&field_availabil- ity=-1&field_launch-date=-1y&field_browse=2224433011&searchSize=12&searchNodeID=- 2224433011&refinementHistory=watch_movement_type%2Csize_code%2Cband_material_typ- e%2Cdial_color%2Cprice

Fact is, they're also discounted quite a bit. I own the first one I posted about. I think I paid $99 for it. Still kind of expensive for a Timex, but it's built as well as anything I have that was made in Switzerland (and better in some instances).