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Stories from the Sales Frontlines
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To bad you can't do that when you have a tailgater. Thanks for the chuckle.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Looking back, this wasn't a nice thing to do. We could have given someone a heart attack.
The fun stopped when fuel injection replaced carburators.
I wonder if she was charged for the towing bill?
This local story reminded me of a Chevy dealership in town that had microphones located at the salesman's desks to listen to the buyers when the salesman left to discuss the deal with the manager. That dealership is out of business now.
You would shoot rodents out the exhaust system? :surprise:
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
'punk call' to you store in case you were not working there anymore.
My wife had a summer job cleaning out rental cars. The worst things she found were used diapers under the front seats and used condoms in the back seat. Keep in mind this was around San Antonio in the middle of summer. Blech.
When my wife and I test drove the Si earlier this month, the sales guy was begging us to get on it. He figured (rightly so) that if we saw what the car would do, we'd be sold. He was right. Looks like we'll be purchasing next week.
I'm actually suprised that salespeople go with people. Especially in some areas of the country. The whole getting in a car with strangers thing would creep me out. I'm sure there's some great stories out there about that.
on a 98 mazda 626 v6
what can cause it 2 run
hot and power down and
then run 2 days then just run hot and not
lose power and not crank or turn over any more?
Kids this is why remote starts are dangerous.
A guy was parked in front of our show room with a pretty nice tricked out Mustang. He had come to look at some of our high performance stuff. When he got ready to leave he was leaning out side the dealership against the glass wall that looks into our show room. He also happen to be standing in front of his own car when he hit the remote start button and the car started and then started moving. He left it in gear. He hit himself with his own car and pinned him self between his car and the wall. Busted the crap out of the framed glass. He is OK, though I am sure he will be sore in the morning. He signed a release from the paramedics and got out of dodge after we got a police report.
Just another day in the car biz.
I trust you to do your job of selling cars for the most you can. That is why the buyer must do at least a little homework. I trust you are at the top of your game in the selling business and look forward to the interactions and challenges every working day.
I really enjoy the stories of these interaction between buyers and sellers in one of the few markets where negotiations on price occur on almost all deals.
PS I did say the microphone dealership went out of business. They had to after some court cases were filed on privacy issues.
You've touted Honda's ever since I've been here and with good reason, they're very good cars.
Now we find out Honda's are even good as rat food.
I doubt that any domestic car salesperson could lay claim to that.
When will the benefits of owning a Honda ever end?
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
Regarding the customer who drove many cars, for several days - I'm not a doctor, but I bet this lady has had a stroke. Based on your descriptions of speech problem (inability to speak a certain word, but able to 'describe' it), indecisiveness, and then becoming emotional about the overall process. I've known stoke victums with these type symptoms.
Had an interesting middle aged lady customer today, who came in with her elderly parents. The car was for her and they came to help, but they just confused each other more than anything. She and her folks had a bit of trouble understanding "trim levels" and "models" when I was describing cars to her. Even when I had the cars parked side by side "the cars look the same."
Had to be really really really patient when showing some Civics (which I don't mind cause not everyone is car saavy or knows in depth features of cars, and I do have a ton of patience). But these folks, even though they were super nice, just didn't really "get it" as to how the cars differ. And to add to the confusion, her bil, told her if she was to buy a 4 banger, then it has to have at least 160hp. Why, I don't know. So her mom, was pointing at every car in front of us and asking if that one had 160hp.
I told them the MPG figures (answer was "I don't get it"). I explained: "Well MPG is how many miles you can drive on one gallon of fuel" She said that doesn't mean anything to her, neither does horsepower or engine size. (She didn't know if her own car had 4 or 6 cylinders).
Anyhow we manage to pick out a car, sit down, and went to appraise her 97 Sebring, with 250k KM (150k miles). Looked half decent but it's a 10 year old high mileage Chrysler with a cracked windshield for which she didn't have a claim.
Car is worth $500 tops. I come back with that figure, and all of a sudden she becomes an expert on used car values, and thinks it's worth waaaay more than that.
So I give them info and send them off, as the trade value prevented the deal from happening. I should have known from the start before I spent 1 hour with them on a busy Saturday.
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
Astronauts?
Then she got going on color.
" I wanna come in later today and I want you to have a row of them ready for me to see. One of every color, sitting in a row"
Bear in mind, our lot is PACKED with cars and even if I were wiling to do this, I would have had to move at least 50 cars!
I explained to her that doing this would be almost impossible but I would be happy to load her in a golf cart and drive her around the lot so she could see the colors.
" Oh...well, I would rather see them sitting in a row so I can compare"
Then she went on to ask me about financing, what her interest rate would be and if her recent BK would effect her interest rate.
???????
-Moo
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
a appointment (by the sales guy)at a local Chevy dealer on Saturday. Only because the new 07 2500s are not on GM buypower so its a "work the phone" deal to find one.
Of course I should know better of a Sat. visit but the draw of a FREE $25 gas cert. and a nice Chevy jacket was too much to resist with a test drive!
Besides a nice stylin' Chevy jacket is the perfect spring
gear here in redneck land !!!!!!!!! :P
But these guys had the only Black x-cab within 50 miles !
Not to mention I bought my 01 there...........
It was a nice sunny day here after a long dreary winter so I figured what the heck!
Of course the place was swamped......So The salesguy greeted
me and I told him heres my trade have your guy appraise it
while I eyeball the unit you have I want..........
He was working 2 deals so he just tossed me the keys and
a dealer plate and told me to drive the new one if I
wanted...........
Meanwhile the GM was out back eyeballing my 04 Chevy trade
while I was wandering the lot. He was SCREAMING at the 2
new car prep guys to GET MOVING and quit screwing around
because he had 3 unit going down the road in 20 minutes !!
Did I mention the place was swamped?
I laugh and head back inside after eyeballing the new 07.
Yea.......Its the one that will work but didn't drive it
cuz it was parked in a muddy wet area and I didn't want to
get soaked................
So I decide to wait and am overhearing the OM/FI guy
working over a few folks.........
Man what LAYDOWNS !!!!!!!
2 of them went for choke n croak and rust n dust and 1
deal was a lease ! Not to mention long monthly deals to
keep the payments low!
So my guy comes back in between his 2 other customers and
asks what would I like to do? I mention "hey your swamped
lets talk Monday". He sez no problem and sez the boss will
go $20,500 trade for yours would you like to take the 07
home? No, Thats fine...How about talking turkey Monday?
He mentions they are open Sunday. I know it will be a
madhouse so Monday will be fine...........
He says don't forget your gas card and jacket ! I won't !
See ya Monday at noon? Fine he answers...........
The GM yelling at the prep guys was a riot! :P
It was so much easier when cars had real names.
I told her....last day of the month....good time to shop. When she told me she was ready to buy a car, I thought she meant she knew exactly what she wanted. That's not to be.
We hit two Nissan dealerships to look at Altimas. As I told her, the cars aren't going to change from one dealership to the next. But, somehow she got it in her head that different dealerships carry different colors from the manufacturer. Anyway, Nissan has done a good job with the redesign. You all are right. The Altima is a nice car. I liked it. She didn't......it's too big....so she says.
Off to aonther Honda store. This time, she wants to look at a Civic (not an Accord, which was her first choice). She decides that the front is too stubby. OK....no sense in doing a test drive, but she insisted. How about the Accord? Nope....she didn't like the experience she had with me at the first Honda store, so she's damned all Honda dealers. Why did we go in the first place?
Where to now? Well, that would be to the Hyundai dealer. I'm not going to get into the debate about which car is better...an Accord, an Altima or a Sonata. It's her choice. Very friendly people at the Hyundai store, shich was a stark contrast to the folks at the first Honda dealership. She found a robin egg blue Sonata that she fell in love with. "Is this the car you want?" "Yes!" OK, time to get to the negotiation table. I offered them $100 over invoice...she keeps the rebates....one time shot. Dealer balks. I get up to leave. She grabs my arm and drags me back down to sit. Now, she just broke my cardinal rule. If I'm negotiating, let me do my "thing". She wants THIS car, at this dealership. OK....here we go. I ask them to counter. They offer up $750 over invoice, she keeps the rebates. She clearly doesn't have the stomach for this. To me, it's a game. After 30 minutes of bump-resist, bump-resist (those of you who are familiar with how I work, I don't like to get into protracted negotiations, but she's forced my hand), we end up $213 over invoice, she keeps the rebates.
Moral of the story? She would have bought the Accord if the SM would have played nice with me. As it stands, she bought the Sonata, not because the deal was good, but because they WERE nice to her (and me), and she liked the color of the car. She would have bought it at MSRP. based on those two factors, alone.
She didn't like the Civic because the front is "too stubby".
Ah...well...haven't heard that one before but WHY would some insist on driving a car that they KNOW they aren't going to buy??
Not to stereotype but I have a clear picture in my mind.
A Hyundai? Well...good.
Boom - you're to be commended for taking the time with these folks, but may have neglected to determine the buying motive and the buyer up-front (I know, easy for me to say in hind-sight.) Another thing that came out of your story was the acronym language. Using language the buyer understands rather than acronyms always helps. ( Example: I'm in propane and the term COT stands for customer owned tank as opposed to a lease tank customer. When I was in the military and worked in the DC area, COT stood for civilian oxygen thief.
Thanks for sharing!
Where to now? Well, that would be to the Hyundai dealer. I'm not going to get into the debate about which car is better...
I would have just taken her to a HONDAI store and showed her one of those and if that didn't work you could have always gone to a HUNDA store.
I don't envy the experience you had.
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
My wife is the emotional type. The last time we went to a lot to look at wagons and compact SUV's. We're walking across the lot and she points to the Civic Si and says "ooh, that's pretty". A 10 minute test drive later and she had her new car picked out.
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
Since I've got my own fish to fry I'm not paying much attention to the father and two daughters working with a salesman at the next table. I do catch my student making a lifted eyebrow gesture so I tune in to the conversation that my student has already been enjoying. The father is having a hard time reaching a deal on a new car for his 16 year old daughter who has just gotten her license. It's clear that there are a couple of snags and the father won't buy today because "he can get a better deal 4 hours away in Dallas." The real kicker though, is the daughter doesn't want what he picked out because it lacks leather seats. Obviously, dad is denying her birthright by not moving up a trim line or getting the optional package. She's not pitching a noisy fit, but she is insistently whining that she "needs" the leather.
Finally the salesman realizes there is no deal to be made and leaves and the dad with daughters in tow exits the dealership. My student and I exchange knowing glances of amazement. We both conclude that she will either have a misadventure in the high school parking lot or a french fry and catsup fight with her friends within the next 6 months and that interior and exterior on her new wheels will give new meaning to the word depreciating. The proud father will pat himself on the back for getting daughter a brand new car that will ensure that a proper appearance within the exclusive community is maintained and conclude that money was well spent. For me it was a brief glimpse into what propels the US economy forward these days. All and all quite entertaining.
Gogiboy
It sounds like your wife knew exactly what she wanted, despite your researching method. She just had to get you to a lot so she could show you.
You were making it more difficult than it had to be. :confuse:
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
I love to hear that! that gives me hope that the entire business will never go completly to the internet. People still don't know what they really want till they get out hear and see the cars. Glad you wife found her dream car.
LOL, my wife is exactly like that. She couldn't be bothered with resale value, expected reliability, or value. But if it looks good, that's all that matters.
The color and lines are why the Civic caught her eye. The interior is what made her want to test drive it. The exhaust note and slot car handling is what hooked her. After the test drive, I asked her what she liked about the Si. Her response, it didn't feel like "just a car, it felt special." Can't argue with that.
Sure it does. She wanted something “pretty” and we all know that all cars ain’t pretty. :surprise:
However, I don’t have this problem, Mrs. jmonroe lets me do the choosing, that’s our understanding. I don’t choose couches, drapes, carpeting, etc. and she doesn’t get to choose the cars, other than input as to color and possibly an option. She knows I know my car stuff and that’s the way it is here.
I’m in charge and she knows it. Gotta run, I think I hear her coming, see ya.
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
See, my problem is that I actually have an opinion about interior decorations of my house, which drives Mrs. michaell absolutely crazy.
But, on the flip side, she has an opinion about what she drives. I try not to interfere too much in the process. When we bought her last car (a small SUV), we looked at and drove the following:
Hyundai Santa Fe (old body style)
Ford Escape
Chrysler Pacifica (well, not small and not an SUV, but she liked the looks of it)
Ford Freestyle (see comments for Pacifica)
Mitsubishi Outlander (old body style)
Saturn VUE - this is what she ended up getting. Why? Two primary reasons - the dent resistant door panels and the purchasing experience. Oh, and the pretty blue color that reminded her of the VW New Beetle she once drove.
I didn't say I didn't have an opinion about the house stuff, it's just that in the end, I don't make the final call. To be honest we pretty much agree on that stuff too but I'm in total command of the car stuff.
Gotta go. I hear something again.
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
The only exception is if the Motor Co just had a price increase.
Where they are always wrong is that they don't account for the manufacturer advertising charges that are built in to each car.
These charges can vary from region to region.
My wife and I were looking at small wagons & SUVs, and we were at a Subaru dealer checking out a Forester. Even though we didn't have kids at the time, we were trying to start a family and so we had borrowed a friend's car seat and brought along their son, Mitchell, because we wanted to see how easy/difficult it was to get a car seat in one and also to get a kid in and out of it (my wife has somewhat of a bad back). We had a fun time test driving and Mitchell had a ball, too. Got to actively appreciate the power window lock feature since it was raining that day and Mitchell wanted to get wet!
Anyway, this particular Subaru dealer was partnered with a Pontiac dealer. When we were back in the showroom, I was walking Mitchell over to the drinking fountain, and as we approached a brand-new Pontiac Aztek, he stopped, got a weird look on his face, and with absolutely no prompting from me whatsoever, pointed and said, "that car is NOT good"! I about cracked up. You know you've got design problems when 3-year olds are repulsed by your vehicle.
well one could argue the most wasteful use of one's hard earned money is not spending it at all
I suggest you base your offer on the Edminds or KBB invoice.
Unless someone else is buying the stuff you'll need in life, most people don't have to be concerned with spending their money, it just comes natural.
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
Customers flat out lie all of the time and I suspect most of the ones that do this would never lie in a different situation.
It took me quite awhile to get used to this.
I wouldn't argue with that at all. However, it seems to be a very common tactic to rubbish any figures that the customer obtains from the internet. Probably a good indicator of how negotiations will go from that point on.
I'm sure that the customer sometimes has incorrect information, and I'm equally sure that the more ethical dealers here will correct that honestly, rather than trying to put the customer down with "All those internet prices that the public can access are wrong", that I've heard so many times before.
how do you propose a salesperson say this then? what use is it to dance around the subject. many times, the online numbers do not take real world situations into account, and many of these online numbers are reference points. invoice is tricky because there are a lot of regional fees that cannot be listed on a national site - there is no way to cover all the different variations. of course, even though edmunds gives the disclaimer that there may be other fees, etc that are regional, people call dealerships liars when their invoice doesn't match exactly to edmunds because of the regional fees.
people only believe what they WANT to believe...and if they believe wrong, well then its someone elses fault. simple as that.
anyways, my two cents...
-thene :shades:
I don't know isell, I'd guess that if a lie comes so easily when buying a car it comes just as easily elswhere. Maybe the type of customers you're referring to are polite and personable, and we don't like to think that people we can relate to would lie to us.