Stories from the Sales Frontlines

jescue

I like the V8 and Turbo, but am not a fan of the V6. They changed the 2008 models and added a sport button which starts the car in first gear rather than second.This lets you take off agressively or slowly without the jerking. The previous models defaulted to second gear,and if you gave it the gas it would slam down into first.The air suspension which is standard on the turbo makes for a much better ride also.

british_rover

Yeah that jerky start off was the worst thing about it. If you let off the gas to try in coast the engine braking gave you reverse whiplash.

I haven't driven one of the air suspension equipped models but I understand what you are saying. I assumed they would drive better but we never taken one with air suspension in trade.

stickguy

I spell that right?

Anyway, the problem is obvious. It is a Porsche, and is supposed to have a manual tranny. Which would solve the whole problem, unless the poser (er, owner) was really bad handling a clutch!

british_rover

Well you can only get a manual in the V6 Cayenne but I have never even seen a Manual transmission Cayenne. I bet they make less then 5 percent of cayennes with a manual.

The Cayenne probably saved Porsche from being bought by another company and gave Porsche Dealers something to sell in the winter but it still an abomination. :sick:

jescue

We have never ordered a manual- it would be saleproof here.

I would not call the Cayenne an abomination, but I am biased. It gives 911 owners something to drive the kids around in.

kyfdx

If their own dealers don't want the used cars on the lot, why would Land Rover want them back after a lease?

From a sales standpoint, it must be frustrating, but it doesn't surprise me.. :surprise:

british_rover

If their own dealers don't want the used cars on the lot, why would Land Rover want them back after a lease?


I am confused. Why do you think that?

tgkoenigsegg

I think they take the cars back so they can just sell it and make money. Land Rover has trouble selling cars so the more they have, the better chance they have of selling one

british_rover

Err can someone translate I am confused???

Land Rovers global sales are up 8 percent through the first half of the year

US sales are up 2.4 percent We aren't even in our busy season yet. I figure Land Rover will finish five or six percent ahead of last year. Sales were up 18.9 percent for July of 07 Compared to July of 06.

jescue

I wish those were our numbers.

kyfdx

From your own post....

"Macabee RE: Freelander.

Tell your UCM to wholesale it away as fast as you can. They are not worth the trouble to deal with. We have refused to sell used Freelanders now for about a year because they are so much trouble.

Tell me how many miles this one has and I will give you the short list of all the things about to break on it."

british_rover

Oh yeah but thats a Freelander I was talking about leasing programs on Modern Land Rovers. A freelander is just a disaster of a car. The engine and transmission are guaranteed to fail somewhere between 40,000 and 60,000 miles. No way around it and the next engine/transmission will fail again at about the same time.

kyfdx

Well.. those Freelanders are still coming off lease for another year or two.. If you worked at the finance company and had to unload them, you might have second thoughts....

joel0622

Land Rover has trouble selling cars so the more they have, the better chance they have of selling one

Land Rover has no problems selling cars, it is just that they have a select customer base to sell to. They do a fantastic job with the base they have.

british_rover

Ah I see what you are saying they are covering their bets on the older less desirable inventory by jacking up the rates on the new inventory.

There is probably a little of that but there were not many freelanders leased the last two years it was out. I doubt that many 2005 MY freelanders were leased at all since the leasing program on those cars was almost non-existent. Most of the Freelanders sold were between the fall of 2001 and the fall of 2003. By the time the 2004 MY cars were out production was way down because everyone realized how bad of a car it was.

I can't even remember the last time we got a Freelander lease return. It was probably at least six months ago and that was a 2003 MY car.

Jescue:

Yeah Jag is in big trouble. It wouldn't surprise me if their August sales were down 50 percent compared to last year. Oh and a 38,000 dollar LR2 also leases for around 700 bucks a month so I feel your pain on the X-type. They are even built in the same factory but don't share any components as far as I know though.

lrguy44

The Freelander was the only a North American disaster - it was a good car in the rest of the world with the diesel engine. The sold unit number was VERY low, and only represents a small number of off lease Land Rovers. I still cannot get enough used Discoverys and Range Rovers to fill demand. Also, Sports were new in 06 so used are almost non existent.

nthe

These 2 people pull up, an older woman probably in her 70s, and a guy in his 50s. The guy is wearing a purple polyester shirt with slacks, and has bloches of orange all over his arms (from cheap tanning lotion not rubbed in all the way). He looks like a very poor gigalow. He proceeds to "tell" me how much the womans car is worth, and they want a tiburon for 15K. i do have a used one that would be close, IF her car is worth what he thinks. We go for the test drive, and he makes a few racial slurs. We get back and start going over the numbers, and of course her car is worth about 2k less than what he thinks. I show them KBB (thats what we print, sry edmunds) and he then starts to tell her something about how this is all bull #$@!, so I hand her keys back and said we're done, you guys have a good day, there is the door.

jipster

so I hand her keys back and said we're done, you guys have a good day, there is the door.

hmmmm, sounds like the beginning of a story to me. This "couple" didn't have any choice words, or display any significant "sign language" as they were exiting?

geffen

Is there a To be continued? How did they leave? were they angry and yelling at you? :shades:

obyone

I'm more curious as to what the salesperson said to you after you made your offer then reneged on it. Was he speechless? Did he ask you to leave and to never return? Or did he say I'll be right back leaving you sitting there? Just curious...

toyota2lexus

Problems arise when you "eyeball" qualify the person in front of you that you're trying to help.

In a situation like the man and woman that you describe it's obvious that the guy is trying to prove something to the lady, how great of a negotiator he is and how much he's going to protect her money, he probably sold cars for a few weeks before he decided he couldn't make money at it and went back to painting houses.

You were right in showing him your factual data but wrong in reacting to his nasty remarks, in situations like that I try and keep the teflon coating intact and go get a T.O. person, if he wants to blow out the customer than I keep the door open to call the lady back and invite her, minus Orangeman, to go over the figures one more time.

geffen

You may want to check out the other forum from months ago to re read those old postings, this is "Stories form the sales frontlines" The trolls must be getting hungry again :surprise:

8sparkplugs

this is "Stories form the sales frontlines"

Man, I thought it was "Stories from the sales frontlines". Where do I go to fill out the form?

nyccarguy

My wife and I really liked the LR2 when we sat in it a few times at various car shows. If we were in the market to BUY a new car, the LR@ would have been at the top of the list (obviously we'd have to drive it first). Her car went bad on us before we anticipated, so we ended up leasing. We got an X3 for $471/ month 36 months with $0 cap cost reduction.

obyone

LOL!! Isn't that where your story originates? On the sales frontlines? That would make it on topic eh?

graphicguy

and a 38,000 dollar LR2 also leases for around 700 bucks a month

YOWZA.....you're kidding me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :surprise: :surprise: :surprise:

I could lease some mighty fine iron for that kind of money.

british_rover

Yup a loaded LR2 SE with the Tech package stickers for 39,950 and if I strip it out completely so that I make no profit it leases for 690 a month including property and sales tax. :surprise:

That is with 1,200 dollars out of pocket.

Its stupid and makes absolutely no sense. I have lost at least seven or eight sales since the LR2 came out because of the leasing program. There are some people who will only lease cars and if they can least a similar vehicle for 100 bucks a month less then they will.

Kirstie_H

Hey toyota2lexus, welcome to the Forums! Hope you've got some stories in the making.

geffen

I will just say I have never been fired by a salesman which is on topic

mackabee

Rover, I can't get to the inside yet but it's an 05 so the miles shouldn't be too high. Looks clean.
Mack

joel0622

OK, had a young man who choked on plastic while he was in college and had a 542 Beacon. Got him done on a 2005 Ford Taurus for $310 a month for 60 months @ a 16.5% APR.

Told him he would need to drive the car for 18 months, make the payments on time along with every thing else then he could possibly re-fi. He says THANK YOU, this will help get my credit rebuilt blah blah blah, I will be there at 5:00pm.

Well I was busy Monday night, off yesterday, and it dawned on me today he never showed up, so I called him.

He told me in a very defiant tone that I was trying to rip him off and he went to a BHPH and got a 1993 Neon (I didn't even know they made Neons in 1993) for $100 a month and it is only for 48 months and the rate was only 15%. I asked him how this would help his credit and he said the lot promised to give him a letter saying he paid good.

I said, wow thats great, and just think, in the year 2012 you will still be paying on a 1993 model car.

There was a stunned silence and he hung up on me.

lemko

Shoot, I'll be surprised if that Neon is still running in 48 days let alone 48 months. Did he go to J D Byrider? May God have mercy on his soul!

jipster

A $100 a month payment on anything sounds to good to be true. But, considering it is a Neon... he's probably still overpaying. If it is indeed a 1993, I would expect that car to "de-materialize" any day now. "You are from the earth... and to the earth you shall return." :sick:

edited: Lemko, the JD Byrider store in Louisville went bankrupt after being sued for fraud in a class action case.
Opened back up as something called "The Car Store"... how imaginative.

I remember I pulled into a JD Byrider store many years ago, during my pre-Edmunds years. No joking, I had driven no further than 15 yards onto the lot than a salesman came charging at my still moving car with a big grin on his face... like a hungry lion after a buttered down wildebeaste. Instinct took over at that point, I did a complete 360 degree turn, probably pulling about 3 g's... and escaped capture. I can work with a hungry salesman... but only to a certain extent. :sick:

joel0622

I just called him to see if the deal stuck or not. It was a 2003 with 155K miles on it, and he had to put a $1000 down. He told me his dad said he was a dumb [non-permissible content removed] for doing it.

greanpea68

He told me in a very defiant tone that I was trying to rip him off and he went to a BHPH and got a 1993 Neon (I didn't even know they made Neons in 1993) for $100 a month and it is only for 48 months and the rate was only 15%. I asked him how this would help his credit and he said the lot promised to give him a letter saying he paid good.

Unbelievable??!! :confuse:

People are retarded. In 4 years from now he will still ba at 542 score. only his repair costs will average about $200 a month.

Maybe it was TB. :P

Edit: even if it was a 2003 $4800 for a neon

sky23213

...who choked on plastic while he was in college...

I've wondered before if they learned anything useful there these days :sick: Not common sense for sure

volvomax

$1000 DOWN?
He probably paid for half the car right there!
what a moron.

british_rover

Yeah I saw that too WOW.

He paid 5,800 dollars for a 1,800-2,200 dollar car.

jmonroe

He told me his dad said he was a dumb [non-permissible content removed] for doing it.

Sounds like Dad just realized that he wasted some money on the kids college tuition.

Note, I didn't say "college education", caused he didn't get none of that while Dad was footing the bill. Maybe Dad's should get reimbursed when this stuff happens.

jmonroe

cotmc

Unfortunately, your story sounds too familiar with what we're now reading in the news. I'm referring to ignorant home buyers who opted for "special" 1.9% home mortgages -- mortgages that adjusted after the first month and are now at 8% or higher. Because people don't want to take full responsibility for their own mistakes, there are several lawsuits on their way.

Again, just imagine if car dealers offered adjustable rate loans with "teaser" introductory interest rates. What a mess that would be!! :sick:

oldfarmer50

"...who choked on plastic while he was in college..."

When I started college the only thing you could choke on was goldfish. By the time I finished people were choking on something with a flame on the end.

As to his deal. I'm not sure I would pay $4800 for a Neon with that milage. I'm not sure I would pay $18600 for a Taurus either. Man, what do people do to mess up their credit like that?

micosilver

I have a better one:
I girl I used to work with with bad credit score wanted a car. I called her for a few months after I started selling car trying to get her in, maybe put her in a Mazda - Ford credit will approve anyone these days.

Apparently, she decided that I wouldn't be able to help her, went to a used car lot and got her a car.
Used (around 2004) Saturn sedan, 5 years lease, $400 a month.
They also told her that those Saturns have an Audi engine.

Now I definately cannot help her - she's upside down about $10,000...

psorter

"As to his deal. I'm not sure I would pay $4800 for a Neon with that milage. I'm not sure I would pay $18600 for a Taurus either."

I was thinking that too, that's a 10-11K car dealer retail, less if a previous rental

lemko

Shoot, I didn't even HAVE plastic when I was in college. I didn't get my first credit card until about two years after I graduated. I didn't even use it for about another year after receiving it.

lemko

Dang! I wouldn't pay $4800 for a Lexus with that kind of mileage. Anything with 155K miles on it, save a semi tractor, is pretty much shot or going to need expensive repairs.

Kirstie_H

I did. Sears credit card with a $200 limit. I got it because they gave you a free Chik-fil-A combo meal for applying. I never expected to get it.

But wow... $200 whole dollars to spend on whatever my heart desired... at Sears. A young co-ed's dream fulfilled.

benderofbows

I don't know if they are still doing this, but the federal student financial aid system was predatory towards college students when I was there in 2000. They would grossly overestimate the costs of one year, and then approve you for WAAAY over that. I mean, enough to pay for tuition, books, room and board, and then some, and then some more. I didn't take all that they offered me (I would have really been living it up) but I know some who did, and I bet they are paying big time now. One guy had silk sheets, chrome rims for his car, lots of premium imported beer, and ate out every meal. All on student loans...

asafonov

I don't know if they are still doing this, but the federal student financial aid system was predatory towards college students when I was there in 2000. They would grossly overestimate the costs of one year, and then approve you for WAAAY over that.

Overestimating living expenses does not equal predatory lender behaviour. Sounds like a lack of judgement. When I was in graduate school, with most expenses paid by an assistantship, I applied and received loans that I invested, and repaid after graduation.

dino001

High approval limit does not make it predatory. High school education includes algebra and arithmetics, doesn't it? One should know what $50K (or $200K) debt at 5 (or 6, 7, or 10) percent means.

If somebody got silk sheets and imported beer they should pay through their nose - EVERY FREAKING CENT and more. I feel no compassion to people like that. Even more - I actually think banks would obviously make a better use of that money that those people pay in interest - so go banks

jmonroe

Shoot, I didn't even HAVE plastic when I was in college.

Shoot, shoot...I don't think plastic was invented yet when I was in college, but transistors were on the horizon.

jmonroe