Stories from the Sales Frontlines

13093103123143152003

Comments

  • 8sparkplugs8sparkplugs Member Posts: 111
    I would think a car salesman would love people like this. I hear alot of complaining about grinders and mini deals on this thread. I would be willing to bet in this cycle of negative equity, there were some pretty fat commissions made off of these people. Alot of the time your home run deals are at the cost of families like these people. I'm not saying you shouldn't do a deal, but do you ever do any that make you feel bad for doing them? I would never fault the fox for eating the hen, I just don't plan on letting them eat mine.
  • madmanmoomadmanmoo Member Posts: 2,039
    The reality is that these deals are no good for the salesmen. You can't make any money on the deals because of carry from the bank. It's very rare to see any money made.

    There are deals that I have definitely scratched my head over. /shrug It's there money. They can spend it however they want.

    -Moo
  • graphicguygraphicguy Member Posts: 14,142
    Good point. Great cars...good looking....nothing else on the road like them at the time. They were a lot simpler than anything I had ever worked on before. I can't tell you how many hours I spent "fiddling" with the carbs, and tracking down electrical gremlins (all attached to two 6 volts in the back seat).

    When they ran, they were a blast!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Sold my '69 MGB and jumped from the frying pan into the fire buying a Fiat 124 Spider ('81 model if memory serves). That yielded to an '82 Fiat X 1/9. All of them were well used by the time I got them, so wrench turning was a prerequisite.

    kyfdx should remember this but the local MG dealership I bought parts from turned into a Yugo dealership. I think it's now a Saab dealership. Don't know if there was poetic justice in that, or not.
    2024 Kia EV6 GT-Line AWD Long Range
  • metro123metro123 Member Posts: 100
    I don't know if this deal is a "fat commission" deal for the salesman or not but I do know that these customers are usually a dealerships dream. These people did't do their homework and have obviously made some poor decisions on the previous car purchases. (10K negative on an Explorer).

    Having the dealership figure out which car they can sell you is never a good thing.
  • 8sparkplugs8sparkplugs Member Posts: 111
    I wasn't really saying that there was alot of money on this deal, I don't know. I was saying that there have been alot of bad decisions made by these customers to get into the mess they currently find themselves. I have employees who go to the dealerships and come back with a vehicle that I know from day one they can't afford. Sometime these bad decisions are the reason they can't afford to buy a house, other times they are the reason that they can't afford to stay in school. I know its their decision, but it seems crazy that the want for a new car can cost them so much.
  • madmanmoomadmanmoo Member Posts: 2,039
    They are a dream if you're the first person to get to them. And no, it's not normally a good thing if the dealership has to pick out your car. That means that you are completely buried in your vehicle, you're a bogue, or you shouldn't be driving in the first place. Almost always it is a headache deal with little money back for salesmen's time.

    -Moo
  • madmanmoomadmanmoo Member Posts: 2,039
    /agreed
  • kyfdxkyfdx Moderator Posts: 267,543
    No idea which dealership that is...

    I remember when Tom Sweeney had the MG/Triumph/Jag and BMW dealership. I think it was where the Parisian parking garage sits at Kenwood Towne Centre..

    Did Schoonover have Saabs? Or was that Subaru? Or both? I think I remember them being down and across the street on Kenwood Road..

    Heck, it's only been 32 years, or so...

    Or, maybe we are talking about another side of town?

    regards,
    kyfdx

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  • im_brentwoodim_brentwood Member Posts: 4,883
    Yep... 144 months actually.

    http://www.woodsidecredit.com/

    They do it. Hey, who needs to ever see daylight as long as you can drive a Ferrari/Lambo?

    Now, to be fair... if you are one of the lucky few who can buy a new V8 Ferrari, who cares if you never build equity off of the contract amount, you can sell the car a year or two later for what you paid for it or more.
  • british_roverbritish_rover Member Posts: 8,502
    That is very true about the V8 Ferraris. My client with the two F430s got a call about two months after he bought his first one that he traded his Arnage T for.

    The dealership wanted to know if he would sell it back to them for 15,000 more then he paid for it. They had somebody who was hot on that particular color combination with the special features he had ordered and didn't want to wait for one. I am not sure how much the dealership was going to charge the other guy for it but I am sure they were going to make another 15,000 or so in markup.

    Re ultra negative equity deals:

    In my experience I have never made a ton of money on deals where I am burying a ton of negative equity. Maybe the Finance guy makes some decent money if they can grab a point on a ton of amount financed and if they get gap and an extended warranty but the front end profit is always kind of low.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] ColoradoPosts: 0
    Just a quick note since you brought up the F430s ;)

    I stopped in to our local Ferrari delaership last week to take a peek at one. I think they came and talked to me out of obligation since I'm sure I didn't look like I could afford one, which I can't. But I just explained that I wanted to see one in person before having the opportunity to actually be in one that weekend. I'm not sure if anyone has seen the ads for the World Class Driving events that tour the US, but they provide the opportunity to drive some exotic cars for a day, for a fee of course. The cars we drove were an F430, Lambo Gallardo, Porsche GT3, SLR MacLaren and a Noble M400. It was an awesome day for it, in the 90s, sunny, a 150 mile route through the Colorado rockies. Here's the website if you'd like to check it out: World Class Driving. Anyway, the salesman said all of their Ferraris were pre-sold like 6 years in advance. Does that seem right or was he blowing smoke up my you know what? I don't know if I could spend that kind of money and not see anything for it for 5 years, let alone 5 days!
  • michaellnomichaellno Member Posts: 4,120
    You know I live in Denver, too?

    And you didn't email me to tell me about this event?

    I thought you were my friend in CarSpace.

    :cry::cry::cry:

    ;)
  • british_roverbritish_rover Member Posts: 8,502
    He might have been exaggerating a little bit but they are normally pre-sold a long while in advance. One of my clients was told 18 months wait for his F430 and then another 6 months because he wanted a manual.
  • lrguy44lrguy44 Member Posts: 2,197
    Ditto, Ditto, Ditto
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] ColoradoPosts: 0
    Yes, we buzzed through your town to get to the Springs. The event originated out of the Broadmoor, went out 24 to 67 to 126 up to Pine and back, stopping every 20 minutes or so for snacks, pictures and to change cars. It was kind of a last minute deal for me, but had a great time.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] ColoradoPosts: 0
    Yes, you too. :) We'll all start saving our pennies now and hook up there next year, deal?
  • lrguy44lrguy44 Member Posts: 2,197
    deal
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] ColoradoPosts: 0
    well, us computer geeks will save our pennies, you just sell a vehicle and set it aside ;);)
  • lrguy44lrguy44 Member Posts: 2,197
    You forget I am Married. I will have to rip the dinero out of her grasp. But we could ride down on the Harley to get in the mood. You could call it a warm-up.
  • jmonroejmonroe Member Posts: 8,989
    The cars you could drive for $598 a month. Doh!!

    WOW...payment buyers get sharper every day.

    BTW, if you spelled it DUH you could buy 2 Hyundais throw-aways for that price and you would have a rolling spare. :surprise:

    jmonroe

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

  • mackabeemackabee Member Posts: 4,709
    "I do know that these customers are usually a dealerships dream."

    May I ask how you arrived at that conclusion? :confuse:
    Anytime there is negative equity involved it's difficult to put a deal together unless there's money down to cover the negative. With no money down some of the negative gets eaten up by the gross profit if any and the rest gets put on the new loan. They signed up last night and also bought a maintenance plan and gap. I'm not making a "fat commission".
    On the bright side this is my third used vehicle sale this month which gets me to a bonus level, plus they financed and bought a service plan and gap so I get a percentage as long as I sell the required units.
    I went in this evening to stock in the two trades and to get their Prius cleaned up and filled with gas. I sent a lot attendant to get the Bimmer since the husband is legally blind and not allowed to drive at all. They are happy with the car.
    :)
    Mackabee
  • madmanmoomadmanmoo Member Posts: 2,039
    Porsche interview went well. I actually did all three interviews at once. GM, SM and a finance manager. I was talking with them about 2 hours. I THINK it went well. I'm crossing my fingers b/c I believe this is a great opportunity. Again.... thanks for the well wishes and encouragement from some of the guys in the biz. It made me feel good to know that I'm making a good decision based on their previous experience with highline.

    I know that there is not a position available immediately. GM is making some changes though and wanted to make sure he was getting a great salesman. I think I'll make him and I a lot of money. Selling is selling. I'm presentable at least! =)

    -Moo
  • im_brentwoodim_brentwood Member Posts: 4,883
    dad23,

    Depends on the models. I know a few Ferrari dealers... the 360 Spyders were sold out before they were first delivered.. for years. 360 coupes were unobtainable, 430s? Forget it.

    The V8 cars are just unobtainable, and it's not even a matter of getting one at MSRP.. you can't just waltz into the local Ferrari store, order one at MSRP and wait a few years... see, the dealers only get just so many cars, allocation and all, and, well.. they save em for their clients. In other words, if you aren't a good customer of theirs, you aren't getting a car.

    Now, it can be different with V12 cars... especially the last of the 456s.. there were some dealers even discounting those, and you could find them in ground stock. V12s depreciate, V8s appreciate.. although this new 599GTB has them all nuts and they are unobtainable all of a sudden.

    Fuiiest exotic car sales story ever? Guy comes in on a Gallardo Spyder... he'd been in before, could not afford one, but wanted to act tough in front of his girlfriend. He wasted my time, I embarassed him.

    "So, will you show me your invoice on the car?"

    "Absolutely, why not."

    "Here you go sir, a car like the one you want is $218k MSRP and invoice is $197k." (It was in that ballpark).

    "How close can you get to invoice on the car?"

    "I can do $21,000 over invoice and can guarantee delivery within 18 months, perhaps sooner if you aren't picky on color and equipment IF I get a cancellation, which I doubt".

    "Look, I never paid sticker for a car in my life and I am not going to pay sticker much less wait for one"

    "Well then you're in luck, I have a used one for $239k that you can have right now, takes care of both problems, shall I write it up? You can take delivery today"

    heh heh heh.... good thing I don't sell cars anymore, sometimes illness is a blessing
  • metro123metro123 Member Posts: 100
    Dealerships dream, salesmans nightmare.

    The customer that hasn’t done their homework, doesn’t know what they want and has a history of making poor car purchases leaves themselves open to be taken advantage of. (Not saying that was the case with you.) Your job is to sell them a car and not to be their financial advisor and I understand that completely but your customers made a terrible deal and will pay for it down the road. They have already made some poor decisions and I'm sure they were taken advantage of on some of their previous deals. (10K negative on an explorer.) A dishonest dealer could have really taken someone like this to the cleaners.

    At the same time, the store made a profit on the car, financed the deal, sold gap and service contract. Everyone goes home happy.

    By the way, I didn’t say you made a “fat commission", that was somebody else. I hope you made good money, it sounds like you earned it.
  • oldfarmer50oldfarmer50 Member Posts: 24,284
    "...interview went well..."

    Did they give you a pencil and tell you "Sell me this pencil". I hear that is standard in the car biz. :shades:

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

  • joel0622joel0622 Member Posts: 3,299
    Did they give you a pencil and tell you "Sell me this pencil". I hear that is standard in the car biz.

    Come on Old farmer this is a Porsche Store. It would have to been at the least a Mont Blanc Pen :D
  • jescuejescue Member Posts: 521
    It may have been more like how to overcome the objections of Porsche options pricing. I know of no other car where you can pay $130,000 and the floormats are extra. :surprise:
  • british_roverbritish_rover Member Posts: 8,502
    The Porsche option list is about the stupidest I have ever seen on any vehicle. You need a Porsche engineer just to explain the options list to you.
  • jescuejescue Member Posts: 521
    Yeah, it makes ordering a car for someone a very lengthy process.
  • british_roverbritish_rover Member Posts: 8,502
    I have mentioned before that once a quarter we have a Land Rover Way auditor come in to evaluate us.

    Well he is here now... :sick:

    Normally I don't mind I take my turn do the song and dance and always score a 100 but our Centre manager is on vacation for the last part of this week and I am supposed to be covering for him.

    Fine I can do that but that means I have to do his part of the Audit too which I have never done before and the sales guide that is supposed to be up for the Audit is also off today so I have to do his song and dance too. :mad:

    Then to top it all off it is an auditor I have never met before and he isn't being flexible at all. My entire day is probably shot now and I won't get anything else done.
  • houdini1houdini1 Member Posts: 8,356
    Could this get any worse?

    This poor guy is paying almost $600. a month for a Prius...and now we find out that he can't even drive the thing!! :sick:

    2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460

  • jescuejescue Member Posts: 521
    Thats a lot of green just to be green.. ;)
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] ColoradoPosts: 0
    Did they give you a pencil and tell you "Sell me this pencil". I hear that is standard in the car biz.

    Come on Old farmer this is a Porsche Store. It would have to been at the least a Mont Blanc Pen


    I'll take a stab...

    I'd accept the pen, clear my throat and look back at the manager. "It's a Mont Blanc, what color did you have in mind?" ;)

    Now when would you like me to start?
  • mackabeemackabee Member Posts: 4,709
    It's not as bad as it seems. They were paying $592.00 on the Exploder. They had 48 payments left. Fords are not known for their reliability you know. Their warranty would be up in another year. Their Ford loan was for 72 months. He asked for a payment of $550.00 which was lower than what he was paying on the Exploder. We basically got him back on the same payment with a Certified Pre-owned vehicle, a bumper to bumper 100k mile extended warranty, GAP, and a maintenance contract. Heck the certified warranty alone is better than a new car warranty. 7yr/100k mile power train warranty with 24 hour roadside assistance for the duration of the power train warranty. Substitute transportation (rental)and lodging if the car happens to break down and they are 150 miles from home. Their only concern is that it has so much technology they think of it as a toy. She asked me last night how fast it would go. "As fast as the speedometer says" I told her.
    Their problem is they had too many cars for only one driver. There was also a Ford Contour they sold privately so now they are down to only one vehicle.
    Mack
  • speterson1speterson1 Member Posts: 228
    Could this get any worse?

    This poor guy is paying almost $600. a month for a Prius...and now we find out that he can't even drive the thing!!


    Tell me about it! That family is paying $20 less per month than we are.... on our mortgage (and we've got a nice house)! :surprise:

    Yeah, yeah, I know, I'm talking about a 30-year mortgage, but still. Wow. I echo the comment of a previous poster - good luck to that 4-year old daughter they have, at this rate her family's going to be a financial wreck by the time she's college age.
  • robr2robr2 Member Posts: 8,805
    Porsche interview went well.

    Good for you - selling luxury products to people who can afford them and that are willing to spend the money is usually easier than selling volume.

    They have the money, are willing to spend it and value their time more than anything else.
  • metro123metro123 Member Posts: 100
    They were paying $592.00 on the Exploder. They had 48 payments left. Fords are not known for their reliability you know. Their warranty would be up in another year. Their Ford loan was for 72 months.

    So they were two years into a six year loan @ $592 per month and they were still 10K upside down? Yikes !!
  • stickguystickguy Member Posts: 53,544
    what people without common sense can get themselves into.

    Still, it sounds like overall, they are in much better shape now. Assuming, of course, they don't show up at the Ford dealer in 6 months, looking to trade into an Expedition!

    If nothing else, they should save some serious coin putting gas in the Prius instead of and Exploder. Plus 1 car on insurance instead of 3, probably lower maintenance/repair costs, etc.

    So, from a financial standpoint, getting into the Prius (if they can stay with it for the long term) was probably a good move overall, especially for their cash flow!

    2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.

  • Kirstie_HKirstie_H Administrator Posts: 11,242
    Good luck to you! And yeah, you're presentable. I saw your carspace photo :P

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  • geffengeffen Member Posts: 278
    Seems that they are stuck in that Prius for a long time, its a good thing they have GAP insurance. Do you often find customers getting buried in such a high payment when carrying that much negative equity?
  • joel0622joel0622 Member Posts: 3,299
    Do you often find customers getting buried in such a high payment when carrying that much negative equity?

    Yes

    You all would be amazed if I was to tell you the amount of Neg Equity financed in my office in a weeks time.

    Here is just a sample of some of the deals I am working right now.

    2005 Chevy Owes $26501 ACV $15000

    2002 Ford 0wes $11850 ACV $2500

    2005 Honda Owes $22850 ACV $12500

    Before the day is over I will have them all either approved or within a couple thousand of being approved. Then in the morning I will have 3 or 4 more just like it to start all over on again.
  • jescuejescue Member Posts: 521
    I have one now..2001 A8 owes $21,000 ACV $6500.
  • joel0622joel0622 Member Posts: 3,299
    Ouch

    The biggest I have ever seen that was not from a wreck was $22,800 on a 2 year old Dodge Truck. This cat was $22800 negative. Not counting the taxes and profit we were going to have to add to the next loan.

    I actually laughed at him when he stood up in my office and said, "with my good credit I have never had to put money down before" well duh, thats why your $22K neg. He had put 100K miles on this truck in 2 years. He was a builder and he chased storms.
  • british_roverbritish_rover Member Posts: 8,502
    Bah I got you all beat.

    Last year my Ferrari Collector had that Arnage T.

    2006 Arnage T owed $200,000 or there abouts I don't remember exactly how much it was. ACV was $165,000 from us and the Ferrari Dealership he bought his F430 from gave him $170,000 IIRC.
  • jescuejescue Member Posts: 521
    was that the Dodge from the movie Twister?
  • isellhondasisellhondas Member Posts: 20,342
    Why people do this to themselves.

    They buy someting on a whim, tire of it a year later and want out. Rarely do they have anything to put down and they are usually looking to LOWER their payments in the process.

    I always lay it on the line to these people and I try to explain why they shouldn't bury themselves deeper.

    At a point, I'll stop and I'll proceed knowing that if we don't sell them a car, they will go somewhere else instead.
  • british_roverbritish_rover Member Posts: 8,502
    At a point, I'll stop and I'll proceed knowing that if we don't sell them a car, they will go somewhere else instead.

    And talk bad about you to all their friends because you refused to sell them a car. :confuse:
  • micosilvermicosilver Member Posts: 212
    They buy someting on a whim, tire of it a year later and want out. Rarely do they have anything to put down and they are usually looking to LOWER their payments in the process.

    And usually those are the same people that say:
    "Lease?!? I am not stupid, I know - lease is a rip-off! I will not own anything after 3 years!"
    So instead they bury themselves for 6 years...
  • joel0622joel0622 Member Posts: 3,299
    Lease?!? I am not stupid, I know - lease is a rip-off! I will not own anything after 3 years!"

    Exactly, it is almost humorous when I have a customer and I suggest a lease and they say that. I have gotten to the point now where I just ask them. "Would you rather turn the car in and be at worst case scenario even, or be sitting here like you are now $8000 out of equity. I then explain that if they had leased the car they are driving now the payments on the car they are looking at today would be $160 cheaper.
  • jescuejescue Member Posts: 521
    I think its kind of funny. You mention lease to some people and they look like you threw a cockroach on them. Then they finance a highline car knowing they will trade in 2 or 3 years.
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