Stories from the Sales Frontlines

perna

i told her if I mailed them and they were lost it would be her responsibility to file for lost tags and to replace them, she said "I won't pay for chit, its not my problem if they are lost" So I told her that this would be my last phone call, apologized for bothering her.

Strange, I've bought around 8 cars from dealerships in my lifetime, and every single one has just mailed the plate/tags to my house (generally with a letter thanking me for the business). I never had to request it either, I just assumed it was something that was done to save customers from having to make another trip out to the dealership. Maybe it's a Michigan thing?

jmonroe

I have to admit there's a certain feeling you get from holding 20K in cash in your hand that you don't get from a check.

Yeah ...... FEAR.

jmonroe

joel0622

Different strokes I guess. Every business has different policies. If we were to mail them and they got lost we would be one of those dealers they are talking about in the CSI score thread on how long it takes to get plates That and I would guess it cost around $1.75 to mail a plate, that adds up over time.

bobst

The dealers around here give us new tags when we buy the car and put them on the car for us.

We have never liked driving around with temporary tags.

joel0622

Ya I know in some states MD for instance they issue you your plates and registration right there at the dealership the same day you buy the car

isellhondas

We issue temps.

I know in some states the plates stay with the customer, not the car.

lrguy44

In Colorado, we issue a 60 day temp tag. Customer then gets their own plates. Don't blame us, it is the law here.

nthe

i had a guy pay about 9 grand for a down payment in cash. after agreeing on figures, he goes home, and comes in with a plastic sack of various bills. He was a russian musician, although i think he had ties with the russian mafia.

nthe

in alabama, if they trade a car in the plate transfers to the new vehicle and they just have to pay the tag fee at the state office. Renewals here are based on the first letter of your last name.

1racefan

In NC, the tag is transfered from one car to the next if you are doing a trade in. Dealers (really the state) charge a transfer fee when you are trading in a car to transfer it to the new car for you (through the state DMV). This fee isn't very much - I want to say $25 or less.

If it is a new car, with no trade, they give you a 30 day tag, and order a new plate from the state. The tag fee for this is higher than the fee charged if you are just transferring a tag from a trade to a new car - I think closer to $50 maybe.

Some dealers will call you to come pick up your plate when it arrives, and some just mail them.

oldfarmer50

Regarding school bus drivers. No school bus driver on this planet has enough cash to by a bicycle let alone a car. 90% of school budgets go toward teachers salaries. School bus drivers average 10K to 20K a year.

There are two types of school bus driver who could afford a nice car and a big cash down payment: 1) the type you describe who has lots of dough and just drives for fun. 2) the type of driver who worked for one of our local bus companies who was selling crack out the bus window as he drove his route.

snakeweasel

Most bus drivers are either retirees making a little extra $'s or house wifes (house husbands?) wanting to make a little extra $.

tidester

90% of school budgets go toward teachers salaries.

Actually, it's closer to 60% but I'm not sure how any of this relates to what school bus drivers earn or to the issues here.

tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper

cotmc

"...I'm not sure how any of this relates ... to the issues here."

I'm sorry, but what are the issues here, again? :confuse:

Oh, wait... I must have stumbled upon the "How does your state handle license plate transfers?" forum!

boomchek

Here in British Columbia, the maximum allowable cash payment is $8000. anything over that and a special form must be filled out and sent to our CCRA (Revenue Canada) as to where the cahs came from.

I had some creative customers who brought in the cash for a downpayment, and paid for everything else seperately (accessories, chrome wheels, protection packages, etc), in order to dump as much cash as possible without having to be reported.

I hate to say it but a a big chunk of drug money keeps the economy turning here (especially from marijuana grow-ops, with BC being one of the most popular places in Canada for that).

explorerx4

you wil be getting a phone call from your boss: "there are some men wearing dark suits and sunglasses here that would like to speak with you".

snakeweasel

"there are some men wearing dark suits and sunglasses here that would like to speak with you"

You mean these guys?

oregonboy

What a great movie!! :P

"We're on a mission from God!"

james

boomchek

No, I mean we go by the rules, and tell the customers what the rules are for accepting cash.

It is not by job to be an investigator and figure out where the cash is coming from.

And besides, I like using cash for all my purchases as well, it is still legal currency ther last time I checked :P

cotmc

But whose job is it to ensure none of it is counterfeit?

boomchek

I think the business office has those bill scanner thingies.

explorerx4

i did not even think of that, but i had a similar poster in my room until i moved out of my parent's house.
i look like more like elwood than jake. love than movie.
my sister used to liver in chicago. when i went to visit her, i almost crashed when i realized i was driving on 'lower whacker drive'.

tallman1

Whenever you rent a car, you sign on the form saying that you decline the extra insurance, etc.

nj2pa2nc

I live in NC. when I bought my car in PA they put on a 30-day temporary plate. The expiration is bright and bold on it. I was at the walmart the day before the plate was expiring. I parked next to a car with a NC temporary plate. I looked at it, very hard to read but it was expired for almost a year. In Pa you get the license plate when you buy the car but it has a T on it. When the registration comes in the mail you get the date to stick on the T.

jmonroe

In Pa you get the license plate when you buy the car but it has a T on it.

This is correct.

When the registration comes in the mail you get the date to stick on the T.

This ain't.

When you get your registration in the mail, you get a sticker that has the year on it (exp. 2007) to put over the "T" (temporary sticker). This new sticker is good until you register the car for the next year.

Sorry to be petty about this but this is Edmunds so we just gotta be right about this stuff.

PA taxpayer (for a long time),

jmonroe

nj2pa2nc

I looked at the many Pa License plates we have (we did not turn them in) the month and year example 8-06)expiration date little square sticker on it. we have the old blue and gold ones and the newer ones. we also have a dare plate. Lived in Pa for 12 years (the poconos).I lived most of my life in NJ tho. Still own property there.Oh yes, that is what I was trying to say about the sticker. Have a great weekend fellow keystoner

jmonroe

Lived in Pa for 12 years (the poconos).I lived most of my life in NJ tho.

That's a clever handle you have (nj2pa2nc). I was sure I had it figured out.

Originally from New Joysee moved 2 PA then moved to 2 North Carolina ....huh.

Have a great weekend fellow keystoner

Just for you, I will. U2.

jmonroe

kiawah

What part of NC are you at now?

We're pa2de2pa2nj2nc (pgh->wilmington->paoli->harrisburg->ramsey->raleigh) with long commutes to nyc and pok splattered in

ray80

When we bought a vehicle in NY (we are in CT) about 5 years ago we were given a 'transport' tag while the dealer took care of real reg (wasn't pleasant experiance). I didn't realize till much later the paper tag wasn't acceptable in Ma (where we travel quite often) as registration (didn't get caught)

jmonroe

Don’t make me use some of Mrs. jmonroe’s decorating money to go out and buy a car but if that’s what it’s going to take to get things moving here, I will.

Just keep in mind that I won’t be able to get back to you right away because I won’t be able to sit upright in my chair nor will I have the hand dexterity to use a keyboard for a while. Come to think of it this won’t help much afterall.

C’mon guys ….. a little help here ….. OK ?

jmonroe

nj2pa2nc

nj- new milford, demarest, monague,toms river and blairstown then Pa- east stroudsburg, now NC Hampstead(between Wilmington and Jacksonville) I drive to NJ alot especially during the summer months (Jersey shore)

perna

Different strokes I guess. Every business has different policies. If we were to mail them and they got lost we would be one of those dealers they are talking about in the CSI score thread on how long it takes to get plates That and I would guess it cost around $1.75 to mail a plate, that adds up over time.

Honestly, I think your CSI would IMPROVE since you're not making the customer come back to get their plates. Send them their plate with a free oil change coupon and a "thanks for your business" note, and I can't think of anyone who wouldn't be tickled by this.

I'm not in the car business but I do work for a business, and it's the small touches like that people remember, tell their friends about, and get them to want to come back.

isellhondas

In 12 years, I have never, once had a customer complain about having to come in to have their plates installed.

Sometimes, when we call to let them know their plates have arrived, they will ask us to mail them and we are happy to do this.

joel0622

Well, its worked for 28 years and our scores are always higher then the regional average and national so I guess its th old if its not broke don't fix it adage.

Also when you come back to pick up your tags if your sales person is worth his salt at all he will make sure that you understand your operating features, make sure nothing is going to bite you on the survey, ask for referalls, and explain his Bird Dog program if he has one. It is just one more chance to leave a lasting impression with the customer. many are amazed that we go out and put the tag on for them.

isellhondas

I agree with all of the above except they get the damm survey calls before the plates arrive!

obyone

many are amazed that we go out and put the tag on for them.

Is that with or without the dealer's license plate frame?

joel0622

We don't do frames. We do put a Dealer sticker on the trunk/lift gate and a Dealer Plate on the front if there is a front liscense plate bracket, that is done when the unit first arrives and goes through PDI. Both will be taken off at the customers request

lokki

I don't mind dealer plate frames and I don't usually mind dealer stickers but the place I've bought my last 3 cars has had a big chrome honker of a dealer emblem shaped like the State of Texas! This thing is a little smaller than the palm of my hand, but still pretty big.

Now I understand 'bout TEXAS, and all, but if you really think about it (say for a nanosecond) Texas is a pretty ugly shaped state. So here is this fancy car with aerodynamic elegance and understated design, and muted colors, and then sticking out like a gold tooth (OK, chrome tooth) is this !%#$ dealer emblem. I just have to take it off. Too bad, too, because I like this dealer and I've used the same saleman 3 times. Their competitor uses little 3 colored Texas flags as a dealer logo - much classier.

nj2pa2nc

the dealer (Vinart Dealerships) that I have bought many cars from goes out of their way. Whenever I bought a car they would put the license plate on (with their frame-no stickers) and even would put on my personal plate on the front. Everytime I go back their for service, it is like old home week from the sales manager, service manager salespeople and service advisors. They are very friendly. I guess that is why I keep going back even if it is 700 miles away from me now. I get to visit my brother while I am there. He lives nearby.

lilengineerboy

I am okay with a license plate frame, but if they put a sticker on my car, they get to split the "advertising fee" with me. This has yet to be an issue.

bobst

"We do put a Dealer sticker on the trunk/lift gate"

Gag me with a spoon! That is so like the 70's.

madmanmoo

Gag me with a spoon!

And which era might this phrase be from?

-Moo

exb0

It’s funny. When I was purchasing my last car, the F&I lady told us a story that there was a case where a woman sued a dealer for advertisement for a few thousand dollars because she was driving a car with dealer’s logo on it for four years. Now that’s creative!

joel0622

I like the thing we stick on the back now. It is not made out of metal or alluminum like the old one was, I hated those because a shammy would alway get caught up on the edges of them.

It really does not matter to me if some one wants it or not on there. It sure gets our owner fired up though. He is adament about it. He will go up the street to a hair dresser where allot of the older ladies in the area get there hair cut and if there are any cars in the lot with our logo on them he will go inside and pay for all of there hair appointments. They eat it up.

joel0622

Did they win?

exb0

Did they win?

I don't know, I didn't ask.

isellhondas

If someone stuck a sticker on my new car, that wouild really tick me off! We install plate frames and I think maybe once I had a customer ask that I install their chrome frames instead. No problem.

joel0622

They are not really stickers, I don't know what to call them. I would post a pic of one but that would violate the TOS and look as though I was trying to solicite business

They are more like a raised embelem made out of a soft plastic

jmonroe

He will go up the street to a hair dresser where allot of the older ladies in the area get there hair cut and if there are any cars in the lot with our logo on them he will go inside and pay for all of there hair appointments. They eat it up.

It doesn't sound like your dealership does very many "mini's".

jmonroe

michaellno

The Saturn dealer where we've gotten our last 3 cars uses a similar item -- molded plastic glued onto the trunk lid.

In the case of my L300 and the wife's VUE, I pried it off and used some 'goo gone' to remove the glue residue.

With the daughter's ION I just left it on .. she doesn't care and since she is going to college 100 miles from where we live, it's unlikely that anybody who sees her car will use theat dealership.

In California, they use plate frames rather than decals or the molded dealer logo.