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Stories from the Sales Frontlines

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  • joel0622joel0622 Member Posts: 3,299
    Boy the dealer just can't win. If they sell the car there wrong and if they don't sell the car there wrong :D:D

    Maybe they should keep the car till the last day of the sale so that way any one that comes in will see that it does exsist. Everyone interested puts there credit app in a hat and at the end of the sale the highest credit score wins the right to buy the car :D

    Sounds like some one was in the right place at the right time.

    BTW as far as the little Ford dig goes...... That Fusion is as good or better then any Import or Domestic in its class. :D;)
  • british_roverbritish_rover Member Posts: 8,502
    BTW as far as the little Ford dig goes...... That Fusion is as good or better then any Import or Domestic in its class.

    Well that is cause it is really a Mazda 6 underneath. ;)
  • user777user777 Member Posts: 3,341
    my mom had a 289 mustang, '66. it had belts.
  • mikefm58mikefm58 Member Posts: 2,882
    Maybe they should keep the car till the last day of the sale so that way any one that comes in will see that it does exsist.

    At a Toyota dealership where I bought two vehicles they do exactly that with the vehicles advertised in their Saturday morning newspaper ad. One stipulation in the ad is that you can't take delivery until Monday so that potential buyers can see that it is legit. As soon as a vehicle is sold, they do throw the sold sign on it though.
  • joel0622joel0622 Member Posts: 3,299
    Dang, that gives the buyer 2-3 days for the buyers remorse to kick in. You don't own a car till you drive it off the lot.
  • tayl0rdtayl0rd Member Posts: 1,926
    Thats actually WKRP instead of WKPR

    Not to nitpick even more, but it was "WKRP in Cincinatti." I believe. :confuse:

    Let's see if I can remember the theme song:

    Baby, if you ever wonder...
    Wonder, whatever became of me.
    I'm living on the air in Cincinatti.
    Cincinatti, WKRP.

    I've spent time and time packin' and unpackin'.
    Town to town, up and down the dial.
    Maybe you and me were never meant to be.
    But, baby, listen to me once in a while.

    I'm at W K R P in Cin-cin-at-ti.


    I think that's it. :shades:
  • mikefm58mikefm58 Member Posts: 2,882
    Even if all the paper work is signed?
  • joel0622joel0622 Member Posts: 3,299
    Even if all the paper work is signed?

    Ya it does not matter how much you signed. Until you take physical delivery you don't own the car.

    On numerous occasions we have had Greenpeas let a customer run home while there new car is in Clean-Up and all of the sudden the dreaded remorse kicks in and they never come back.

    Don't know if that law varies by state or not but that is how it is here in TN
  • grandtotalgrandtotal Member Posts: 1,207
    On numerous occasions we have had Greenpeas let a customer run home while there new car is in Clean-Up and all of the sudden the dreaded remorse kicks in and they never come back.

    That must happen with experienced salespeople too. If a buyer is intent on doing that there isn't much anyone can do to stop them, is there?
  • joel0622joel0622 Member Posts: 3,299
    I think, (and this is a personal opinion with no way to back it up) that 80% of people go through some type of buyers remorse after a major purchase. The difference being that if they already have taken delivery of the car it passes quicker then if they have not.
  • isellhondasisellhondas Member Posts: 20,342
    This shouldn't happen with an experienced sales person. We can spot the stop signs and we can sense it when fear takes over. I make sure several different times to make sure the commitment is still there.

    And, yes, the cars have to roll before ownership takes place.
  • boomchekboomchek Member Posts: 5,516
    My customer was in 2 weeks ago. He said his friend had the car for a few years now. I'm guessing it might have been a late model Celica.

    As for the Altima coupe we haven't gotten any just yet.

    2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX

  • british_roverbritish_rover Member Posts: 8,502
    It happens to us all the time because we can't spot deliver cars.
  • isellhondasisellhondas Member Posts: 20,342
    Why is that?
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] ColoradoPosts: 0
    I guess that's a high line thing ;) which I've never experienced. Every car I have purchased went home with me that day!
  • british_roverbritish_rover Member Posts: 8,502
    The shop and detail are too backed up to ever get a car out the same day. They can sometimes have a car ready for the next day but it generally takes them two days.

    I have only ever spot delivered two cars in over two years. I can only think of us spot delivering a dozen or so cars in those two years for all the sales people.
  • Kirstie_HKirstie_H Administrator Posts: 11,242
    Except they would probably just go ahead and use the standard & accepted spelling of Cincinnati :P

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  • lrguy44lrguy44 Member Posts: 2,197
    We spot a lot more than we used to. I just had a customer who wanted us to hold the car for 2 weeks. Did paperwork and then he drove it off the lot. We are now storing his car.
  • oldfarmer50oldfarmer50 Member Posts: 24,212
    "...remorse kicks in and they never come back..."

    Is that why some salespeople don't like to order car, longer time for the remorse gremlin to screw the deal?

    By the way, I read somewhere that the typical car buyer watches the commercials for his car twice as often AFTER the sale as before. I guess this is to convince himself that he made the right choice.

    2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible

  • lrguy44lrguy44 Member Posts: 2,197
    Because of people backing out on ordered cars, we have now instituted a NON REFUNDABLE deposit policy.
  • greanpea68greanpea68 Member Posts: 1,996
    In Mass. you legaly own a vehicle once it is registered. If you drive it off the lot on Saturday and wait to transfer plates on Monday Legaly you can back out of a deal on Sunday because the car hasn't been registered. But once you have taken delivery dealerships will make it difficult to take back.
  • lilengineerboylilengineerboy Member Posts: 4,116
    Because of people backing out on ordered cars, we have now instituted a NON REFUNDABLE deposit policy.

    Wow, I thought I read in here in past posts that wasn't legal in some states.
  • lrguy44lrguy44 Member Posts: 2,197
    We will return only if financing cannot be worked out - they are perfectly legal here and in most if not all states that I know of.
  • isellhondasisellhondas Member Posts: 20,342
    As soon as our new cars are delivered, they get gassed up, detailed and PDI'd. They are usually ready to drive homw within two hours.

    When we sell new cars we rewash them and make sure they sparkle.

    Of course when you sell 500 cars a month we have to do things this way!
  • verdugoverdugo Member Posts: 2,288
    In CA there are several notices all over the dealership saying that there's no cooling off period. You sign for it, you own it.
  • british_roverbritish_rover Member Posts: 8,502
    Yeah that makes sense in your situation.
  • isellhondasisellhondas Member Posts: 20,342
    But, why can't you do this too?

    Just makes sense.
  • joe131joe131 Member Posts: 998
    Well, that is one way to find out what you could really buy a car for. Maybe the shoppers went to another dealership and then offered less than the deal they reneged on.
    I would not recommend the practice though.
  • british_roverbritish_rover Member Posts: 8,502
    Three dealerships all trying to put their cars through one detail department. That same detail department also does the service washes for our service customers and the recon for all the used cars for the entire autogroup.

    They have way too much volume for the amount of employees there.
  • lrguy44lrguy44 Member Posts: 2,197
    We rarely spot delivered until a couple of years ago - since we do our own F&I it is harder to spot, but it is good to have the deal done. Now on a new car, they watch the delivery DVD while waiting for paperwork. It makes the in car training much easier.
    Let me know how things went.
  • joel0622joel0622 Member Posts: 3,299
    Ya, could be. It is funny though because the majority of the time they have to come back for something but they are afraid to. Either the title to there trade, a registration, down payment check etc. I am usuallly the nice guy and just mail it to them unless they were some one I had to work real hard to get done then I make them come back and face me :)
  • british_roverbritish_rover Member Posts: 8,502
    Yeah I started doing the delivery DVD thing too. Hey should I email you at work or home now?
  • lrguy44lrguy44 Member Posts: 2,197
    at work for another 1 1/2 hours
  • isellhondasisellhondas Member Posts: 20,342
    It takes a real lowlife customer to do this but it has happened. A few people are so rotten they will do ANYTHING to try to save a lousy buck.

    A few years ago we had a hard working, very nice salesguy spend at least four hours with a family. This was on a VERY busy Saturday. The kids were loud and obnoxous. They drove FOUR cars before settling on one. They they ground the last dollar out of us.

    The sales guy scrambled to get the paperwork together as the kids screamed and tore his desk apart.

    As they were ready to go into finance, they said they were going to run down the block to get their kids fed. They would be back in a half hour fo finish the paperwork.

    We got the car washed and ready to go. An hour turned into two hours and more. Finally the salesguy went home.

    Repeated calls to their home were ignored until finally, a kid answered..." Oh, we HAVE our new Honda!" " Oh, when did you get it?" " Last Saturday night".

    Nice, huh? We lost that salesperson soon afterwards. I think that was the final straw.

    For some people, a handshake means nothing.
  • oldfarmer50oldfarmer50 Member Posts: 24,212
    "...For some people, a handshake means nothing..."

    That's so true. We have become a nation of selfish, childish whiners who take no responsibility for our actions.

    If I were to buy or order a car it would not be some spur of the moment impulse. If I put down a deposit I would not expect it back if I changed my mind. How could you jerk a business around like that.

    Unfortunately, I have customers like that who place special orders and then never show up. Drives me nuts.

    I think some of these people get a perverse kick by screwing with another person's livelyhood. Maybe they felt that the sales staff didn't treat them right and this is their way of getting back. Who knows.

    2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible

  • geffengeffen Member Posts: 278
    Four hours with one family? I've never been inside going over a deal that long, usually once my price is right i'm ready to buy. I'm just curious what did his boss think of that transaction? or what happens after all of that time was wasted where the salesman could've been selling a few cars in that time frame?
  • british_roverbritish_rover Member Posts: 8,502
    Bah disregard domestic duties interrupted what I was doing.
  • jmonroejmonroe Member Posts: 8,989
    By the way, I read somewhere that the typical car buyer watches the commercials for his car twice as often AFTER the sale as before. I guess this is to convince himself that he made the right choice.

    I have a slight twist on this. When I bought in June 2006, as regulars here know, I started via the internet. In the mean time the dealer advertised an “internet special” (son #1 called to inform me of this) and although this price was a little bit better than the e-mail response I had received I called the dealer to see if they could do better than their “internet special” because while they were now closer to my price they were still a little bit too high as far as I was concerned (about $200 if I remember correctly). To make a long story short they met my price, so I bought that day and drove home.

    My son calls the next day to tell me I did alright because the “internet special” the next day was $300 more than the “internet special” the previous day when I bought (everyone here knows I’m really pretty shrewd). :) For the fun of it I check the “internet special” the following day and now it’s up another $200. Now I’m even shrewder, right? :):)

    The only thing I can derive from this is, I must have beaten the guy up pretty bad and now they had to raise their prices so they could make up for their loses on subsequent buyers. :surprise:

    jmonroe

    '15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl

  • lrguy44lrguy44 Member Posts: 2,197
    either address ok - now home
  • marsha7marsha7 Member Posts: 3,703
    me about all this is that you automobile salespeople actually expect to be paid for selling cars...what's up with that???

    OK, OK, I was just kidding...really...:):):):):)

    I will say this about my admiration for you guys and ladies...I would never spend four hours with a client waiting to hire me and, hopefully, pay me...while consultations are free, I can usually determine if I can help them within 15-30 minutes...once I tell them, "Yes, I can help you...do you wish to hire me to do ???

    The answer is yes or no, and we either sign a contract or I tell them to go home and think about it, I am here if they wish to retain me...

    For me, they are either impressed enough to retain me, or they aren't...simple as that...for me to waste (yes, waste) any more time after the initial consult is annoying and rarely productive...

    And if they are still indecisive after spending 30 minutes with me and see how I work with them, they need to go somewhere else...not because I can afford to lose the business, I can't...but some folks are so indecisive, they need 2 hours to decide on a blue or red tie...spending more time with them simply wastes my time and make them no more decisive...they can "think about it" at home as easy as they can at my office...

    I have found from past experience that if they are "convinced" faster than they are actually ready, they will simply fire me the next day and cancel the contract...plus, those folks often cause the worst headaches, with the most complaints, and if you won them a million dollar settlement for a pinky hangnail, they would complain that the money didn't come in before they bought the kids new school clothes...

    We have a saying, sometimes we make more money by sending the business to our competition, let HIM deal with the PITA, I have other clients to meet...

    Conversely, it is also possible that the indecisive client was simply not a personality match for me (just like everyone you meet in your life will not end up being your friend), but he was a great match for the atty down the street...either way, getting rid of him was the best thing for the client and for me...
  • boomchekboomchek Member Posts: 5,516
    Ouch, that must have sucked.

    Didn't he get a deposit at least?

    As for spot deliveries, the Honda store where I worked at almost never did spot deliveries. And I think it hurt them. The business office and the boss made excuses how it's not good for NVOI (the F&I scores sucked anyways), how they won't take personal checks, how approvals take 1-2 business days, etc etc.

    The business office was so backed up that deals canceled because people waited 1-2 hours to see them initially, then waited another 3-4 days for answer on approvals, then waited another 30 min-2 hours to pick up the car even though an appointment was made.

    That store does volume but they don't want to hire the people to support that volume and roll things.

    It got to a point that some business office managers had their nose stuck up so high, they were acting like they were doing the customers a favour by seeing them on time.

    Imagine buying a car and waiting a long time to get the transaction done. Sort of like a doctor's appointment. Even if you want it right away, you can't have it, it's not doable. :surprise:

    The Nissan place I am at right now do spot deliveries all the time which I love. My 2 trucks I sold were delivered on the spot. One didn't even have the factory stickers taken off the windows, but my customers wanted it anyways (they bought 2 Hondas from me at the Honda dealer, so they knew me well) so they were ok with it. They brought it back 3 days later for a full detail and accessories. :shades:

    2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX

  • user777user777 Member Posts: 3,341
    FWIW: some of us are information gatherers, and some are list-makers / decision oriented people. information gatherers are not bad people by any means. neither are the decisive folks. some of us have a healthy blend of the behaviors, and some are rigidly one or the other.

    outside of your domain, i trust you may switch your mode from time to time, knowing when you've optimized the problem.

    possibly you became apoplexic once or twice in your life.

    if you haven't already encountered the situation, trust me, it'll happen to you...
  • graphicguygraphicguy Member Posts: 14,121
    isell...regarding the customer who spent 4 hours in the store and agreed to a sale, and then bolted.....

    Just a common courtesy call, at the very least, would have been in order to let the sales person know they decided to do business somewhere else. That's true of any high buck business transaction.

    You know better than I do, but I think a lot of these people are scared and ashamed to let another dealership know they decided to business somewhere else. I don't understand that. If you want to shop more, tell the dealership that.

    If the roles were reversed, and I was at a dealership for 4 hours to close a deal (something I'd never do to begin with), and the sales person left, only to come back and say they'd sold the car to someone else, I'd be pretty irritated.

    It's just common courtesy. Treat others the way you want to be treated, and all should be well.

    That's why I've always been a big proponent in telling a dealership up front....this is what I want...here are all the terms of the deal (including price)....deal, or no deal? If it's no deal, then both sides know why.
    2024 Kia EV6 GT-Line AWD Long Range
  • thenebeanthenebean Member Posts: 1,124
    amen graphicguy!

    i never understood why when i made my follow up calls that they just couldn't answer the phone and say "listen, we bought somewhere else, thanks for your time" and be done with it. when my hubby and i were looking for his car (looking for a used 2005 Saab 9-2x) we ended up finding one online and driving out to pick it up. we called all the local dealers we had spoken to while we were shopping to thank them for their time, and to let them know we had made a purchase elsewhere, but will keep their place of business in mind when we needed service or parts.

    its just the courteous and right thing to do.

    too bad people don't do the right thing that much anymore...they only do what is right for them, screw everyone else...

    sad sad world :(

    -thene
  • smithedsmithed Member Posts: 444
    Why anyone would look for at a vehicle without knowing what Edmunds saying what it is worth (trade in, private, dealership) is beyond me. How do you feel about showing someone a car, having them go home and research it, then coming back with a reasonable offer? So it takes a few hours or days, that sure seems reasonable to me as a buyer.
  • marsha7marsha7 Member Posts: 3,703
    Your point is certainly well taken...no one HAS to retain me, and they always have the right to shop price, just like with buying a car...

    But when they are unemployed, credit card debt upwards of $50,000, being sued by three of those credit cards, nobody will loan them $$$, including family/friends, and they are still questioning whether bankruptcy is an option, I almost have to grin to myself...

    But, still, they do have the right to decide whether they want ME to do it or not...but they also do not need to sit in my office for four hours, they can be just as indecisive at home...:):):)
  • lilengineerboylilengineerboy Member Posts: 4,116
    If you are shopping used cars, you don't always get to pick the exact make, model, trim level and miles you are going to find on the dealer lots. It would help if dealers would actually put accurate information about the vehicle in the ad mentioning things like trim level, engine and transmission, and miles. I think they don't do that because they want to get the buyer in the door, but then don't complain when the buyer needs to look some stuff up.

    With new cars, when I am just there to look and see if I like the car before doing all the research on it, I say that ahead of time - then they either just give me keys or send the lot kid with me.
  • british_roverbritish_rover Member Posts: 8,502
    Man that is an old post. That was from over a year ago.
  • user777user777 Member Posts: 3,341
    my wife mediates. it amazes her what people get stuck on. it could be who gets the riding lawnmower, or if the starwars figurine collection is liquidated and divided.

    ultimately, people are not machines. they may be similar, but they are unique. there are reasons why people are what or the way they are. you just don't have time, inclination, nor reward to figure it out. :blush:

    she tells me all the time how it's logical to cut to the chase and get on with the process of dividing the assets and agreeing on fair visitation since it's over. but some people come in mad, hurt, confused, etc.

    they want to make a point or two, be validated, transfer that pain to the other person, and they are willing to pay my wife, and their lawyer MORE MONEY to extend the experience beyond what objectively you or I would consider reasonable.

    i'm glad you don't grin to yourself, because that population of clients you describe are in a different world with lots of problems. maybe they are self inflicted problems, maybe not.

    i try to see things from a compassionate perspective... dealing with lawyers, car salespeople, dentists, doctors (insert profession) can be troublesome for many people, often for good reason. some of the behaviors don't make sense, unless you have time and a reason to know and understand them.
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