Stories from the Sales Frontlines

joel0622

We have had great luck with all of the pre-owned ones we have sold in the past. No major service headaches with them. We were selling allot of the 2002-2004 starter kits for awhile. There must have been lease deals on them because there used to be allot of them coming through the Ford Lane at the Auction. Not so much any more

jescue

They were running a $299 lease on them in 03 for a base model.03 was a great sales year for x-type but they have slowed drastically since.

british_rover

We had the same problem with the 2003-2006 Range Rovers no matter how many times we told people not to leave the key in the center console people would still do it. That is one of the reasons the moved the ignition up to the dash to keep it farther away from where people lay the key.

jescue

With the XK you cant even leave it near the car. The remote and car will communicate if within range and leave the electrical systems on. I found this out on our showroom car. It was parked next to the key closet.

roadburner

Your experience may not reflect that of other owners.

True enough, but it's also true that the majority of people who chant the "BMWs are gosh-awful expensive to fix" mantra usually aren't even owners. In most cases they have no personal experience with owning, maintaining, or even driving a BMW. They are usually relying on second, third, or fourth-hand information- "My cousin's dentist had a patient who knew a friend that talked to some guy at a party, and the guy told him that he overheard somebody at Walmart say that they read somewhere on the internet that it cost $1500 to change the oil in a BMW."

mackabee

Well, something was bound to happen. I didn't have a warm fuzzy when all this began. :sick: Mark just called me and asked me if there was another car at another of our locations if I could be the salesman so I would get the commission. I told him it depends on the vehicle brand. We can cross sell just about anything except the new high line makes like Porsche, Audi, etc. Mark tells me he saw a Honda Accord V6 Hybrid they are interested in. :confuse: I thought we had a deal last night!
Mackabee

joel0622

My cousin's dentist had a patient who knew a friend that talked to some guy at a party, and the guy told him that he overheard somebody at Walmart say that they heard it cost $500 to change the oil in a BMW."

Hey I know that guy, he is friends with the mailman that delivers mail to my daughters orthodontist who lives next door to a guy who's brother bought a 4X4 crew cab 5 years ago for $28K OTD and he wants the same deal today.

jescue

i know him too. He keeps looking for a 911 for $30,000.

roadburner

LOL!!! That guy sure gets around!

british_rover

Ahh I guess the new XK key stores a lot of information for the driver like radio presets and such and so is communicating with the car ahead of time to deliver that information?

RE: BMW expense....

Exactly the 6 cylinder BMWs, excluding M models, are fairly cheap to maintain considering what you are getting for the money. The V8 models and M models are the ones that somewhat deserve that pricey maintenance rep and the 7 series deserves it entirely.

jescue

I think it has to do with the hands free entry system. It senses the key and unlocks the door,or locks it with the button on the doorhandle. The car will progressively shut down if the key is absent.

I had a 318i in college that I loved.The engine and transmission were bulletproof. I did have AC and electrical problems. When the power steering went out and I got an estimate, I cut the belt and did without it.

jimbres

Excellent point. FWIW, my 2001 330i has been out of warranty for over 2 years. During that time, I've spent a total of $1200 on repairs over & above routine maintenance. That's $600 per year or $50 per month. To my way of thinking, that's a bargain for a car that gives me as much pleasure today as it did when it was new.

I have no plans to replace it.

british_rover

Ah another reason not to like those credit car style keyless entry/starting systems.

A 318i doesn't really need power steering.

roadburner

To my way of thinking, that's a bargain for a car that gives me as much pleasure today as it did when it was new.

Exactly!

mackabee

It looks like the "ultimate driving machine" needs about $2500 worth of work. In a way I'm glad the customers are squirreling out on me. I get to go home on time today!
:shades:
Mackabee

mackabee

You guys and gals may remember about the practical joke I played on Frank last week. Well he almost got me yesterday except I didn't think it was very funny.
I have a repeat customer that's a royal pain in the derriere. Sometimes I don't feel like selling him a car. He gets deals around invoice and complains about everything but he gives me excellent on the surveys every time.
I worked this past Sunday and while I was on a test drive he calls me. "Are you working today?" says Jimmy (not his real name) "I'm on a test drive. What's up?" I ask. "I'm here on your lot looking at a 4runner. My wife wants to get rid of her jeep. She misses the 4runner I traded in on the Tacoma."
I get back to the store and the customers on the Avalon don't want to close the deal. The lady thinks we are not giving her enough for her trade. (Dang! Those darn trades!) She's looking at an Avalon Ltd which we discounted $1500.00 and gave her $7800.00 for her Caddy DeVille DHS. It's a nice car but has been hit on the driver's front. Carfax has it on record. They leave and I tell her I will call later in the week to see if we can work something out since she says she can sell the car tomorrow for 10 grand.
I get back to Jimmy and he's been eyeballing the new Highlander and asks me if he can take it home to show it to his wife. "Sure, go ahead." I tell him.
He comes back and we start working figures after appraising the Jeep. We are not discounting the Highlanders much if at all and he doesn't like it. I tell him to come back on Monday since the GSM will be in and we can probably work him a better deal.
He comes in on Monday and we look at three different 4Runners. He wants to see which one will be a better deal. Two are the sport model in the V6 and the other the V8. However comma the V6 does not have a moonroof which he really wants. While I'm chasing keys and mileage on the trade and the new vehicles he's roaming the parking lot as he always does in the past when buying vehicles. When he comes back in I see him and Frank is right beside him.
I walk up and say to Jimmy jokingly; "Is this guy bothering you?" "No, you won't believe this. Frank sold us the jeep almost three years ago." replies Jimmy. "Really!" ................
To Be Continued....

mackabee

I spoke too soon. Mark just called me and now they want to trade a Ford Exploder XLT 2WD which they are 10k buried in (according to him). They want to consolidate to one payment. He told me if we can get them in something economical, fun, and gas saver, he's ok paying up to $550.00 per month. He's wife's picking him up at the mall in about 5 minutes so I told him to stop by to have the Exploder appraised.
Stay tuned...\
Mack

isellhondas

Well, I'm not surprised.

This is exactluy why we NEVER sell a used car we haven't inspected.

joel0622

You have lost me brother. You got more loose end hanging around here then a finance office on the last day of the month

sidious6688

I think I understand completely. I don't fault you for taking the actions that are in your best interest

metro123

They want to consolidate to one payment. He told me if we can get them in something economical, fun, and gas saver, he's ok paying up to $550.00 per month.

I see a Matrix in their future, $550 per month for 60 months?....no problem

joel0622

The only problem is that the first $225 of that $550 each month will be needed to cover the neg equity.

lrguy44

So, If I understand you correctly, you have it all approved but $225?

joel0622

So, If I understand you correctly, you have it all approved but $225?

Its Mac's deal not mine but hell, send them my way Mac. I will get them handled and send you a $200 Bird Dog if it goes down the way I would like it to.

With the paper I have looked at today I would love to have a shot at a deal that the only problem was $10K Neg.

Todays 10K neg is the same as $5k neg several years ago.

chikoo

Sales is about patience, unless you are working the window at a fast food restaurant. Even the high end restaurant need a good waiter (host) who knows the chef's style and speciality and matches them with the customer's appetite.
It the customer does not know what he wants, it is the Salesperson's skill to extract that information out of him. If you can't then you are in the wrong place.

madmanmoo

Thanks for taking the time to read my thesis then. And thanks for understanding.

-Moo

mackabee

They're in the box right now. I put them in an 06 Certified Prius with 7200 miles on it. Loaded! Leather, nav, bluetooth, the works. $27,990.00 selling price, discounted to $26,990.00 plus ttl, less 7k for the bimmer, plus the trade balance on the Exploder. They are more like $12k upside down. So we are looking at a payment of $598.00 for 72 months with a grand down.
We fought over the down payment for a while. Back and forth for more on the trade, less on the price until we ended up where we are now. I'm so glad I'm off tomorrow. At one point they wanted a cheaper car. I told them it didn't matter if I found them a cheaper car. The issue is the negative equity (boy, that's an oxymoron).
Finally I had a finance manager come over and tell them the same thing I did. They don't want to put any money down so finance told them to do 75 months and may work out at the $598.00 per month. If they don't sign up tonight I'm done with them and I told them so. This is two nights in a row I have stayed past closing time. :mad:
Mackabee

geffen

Wow $598.00 a month for 72 mos on a Prius? i'm surprised they'd want to be wedged into such a loan, How did the $12k in negative equity get buried?

cotmc

They are more like $12k upside down. So we are looking at a payment of $598.00 for 72 months with a grand down.

Wow! That is just... Wow!! :surprise:

How does one get $12K upside down in an Exploder, anyway?

More serious question: How do you write up this loan on the $27K Prius purchase? It sounds like the loan is going to have about a $40K principal. Can you dealers write a $40K loan for a $27K car purchase? How does that work?? :confuse:

metro123

So we are looking at a payment of $598.00 for 72 months with a grand down.

Good lord people are stupid. Mack, I hope you make the sale because you deserve it but that is insane. The cars you could drive for $598 a month. Doh!!

marsha7

if they bought GAP insurance and then totalled the Prius, would GAP really pay out the difference between the (somewhat) depreciated Prius, say, $22-24K, and the amount of their loan at $40K, a diff of about $16-18K???

kyfdx

Can you really get them a $40K loan on a $27K new car?

fezo

But no doubt they'll save the $598 a month on gas.....

Yikes!

lemko

Aaaaghhhh!!! $598 a month for 72 months...in a Prius? I hope they really, really, really like the Prius. I wouldn't pay that much a month for a Lexus LS460! I think they're going to find the Prius' cramped quarters tough to live with for six years coming from a Bimmer and an Exploder.

lemko

Shoot, I could've had a new Cadillac DTS for less than that a month, (and a significantly shorter term) and I still walked. Anything over $500 is too much to finance. Five hundred a month goes a LONG WAY toward household expenses and those nasty surprises that come up. My girlfriend needed two tires for her car this past weekend after she ran over construction debris. It cost $285 and she was worried about paying for it, but I was able to rescue her without resorting to the plastic.

210delray

Stupid is too kind for these people. Trading in a BMW 5-series after only a few months and losing thousands in the process. And then upside down on an Explorer to the tune of $12,000. Of course, just as isellhondas has often noted, these people had to get a Prius with all the goodies.

I suppose the daughter should forget about any college savings fund from her parents!

joel0622

I will try to answer several of the questions asked here.

Gap will cover (depending on the underwriter) 150% of the original MSRP or NADA Retail on a used car. The policy holder is responsible for anything over that. Some companies will not let you write the policy if you exceed that limit at point of sale.

How do you get $12K neg in an Explorer
By living the American beyond your means dream. It is a vicious cycle that comes about by continuing to buy cars with out putting money down. You buy car #1 and finance the whole thing including taxes. You drive it for 18 months and trade it. You put no money down, now you are carrying over $4K neg + tax, 18 months later you do it again, and then again. before you know it you are $12K out. If these folks hooked up last night I have no idea how far they are out now. Like some one else said, I sure hope they love this car.

Will banks really finance that much

With good credit they will do it all day. the shambles the car business is in right now from the standpoint of 70% of the people being out of equity is a joint venture of the dealers, the banks, and the consumer. The banks keep lengthening the loan terms, the dealers keep offering it, and the consumers continue to sign up for cars they really can't afford.

The longest term I offer is 72 months, there are dealers in town doing 84 and 96, I have also heard that some high line stores out west are doing 120 month loans. Don't know if it is true, it is just something I have read in magazines I get.

isellhondas

That is just NUTS!

bobst

"I'd like to know what the bobst method is for buying a USED car."

That's easy, Metro. We asked how much the car costs and we paid that amount.

Yep, that's how we bought a used Volvo in 1973. That is the only used car we ever bought.

However, I think I would do things differently now. Someday I will buy my dream car, a used TR6.

qbrozen

Don't forget about the $7k for the bimmer and the $1k down. So they actually are only burying like $4k. Add taxes and fees and maybe its like $5500.

graphicguy

bobst....TR6? Cool if you can find one in decent shape.

I banged an awful lot of knuckes on a similar MG.

metro123

I wonder what the payment on a new Corolla or new Matrix would have been. Anyone care to guess?

How long does the Prius battery and charging system last? Will the battery hold up for seven years or the entire length of the loan? I guess it doesn't matter, they'll just trade more negative equity anyway.

british_rover

I think the batteries are warrantied for 10 years on the prius.

The longest loan we will offer is 75 months and that doesn't happen very often.

Brentwood was talking about 120 month loans for Lambos and Ferraris back a few months ago so they are out there.

nwng

a TR6???

just make sure you have your chiropractor's number handy. Or instead of putting money into someone else pocket, you could have a lift in your garage.

nwng

I thought lambo/ferrari owners just call up their banker and demand a $300k line of credit instead of taking a auto loan

bobst

"I banged an awful lot of knuckes on a similar MG."

Yeah, but at least those cars were so simple we had a chance to fix them. My TR250 had a one page wiring diagram.

Triumphs are just absolutely beautiful cars.

Kirstie_H

I had a 70-something TR6. A friend of mine was moving to Australia and had tried to sell the vehicle prior to moving, but she couldn't find a buyer she felt comfortable with. On the day before she left, she sold it to me for $800.

Lotsa work that I just didn't have time for, but I drove it for a year, parked it for 2 more, and finally gave it away.

joel0622

Bob to be truthful that is one foriegn car I would probably let sit in my drive way. I have always liked them, and I have never even drove one.

chetj

never heard of her..this will give me something to look up

chetj

jeezis the money they are spending on interest...they ought to just keep the ford and bmw...or buy a focus like i did for $9800 brand new and almost paid off...i would buy a new caddy or lincoln navigator if i was going to blow $598 a month...amazing