Stories from the Sales Frontlines

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Comments

  • epineyepiney Member Posts: 462
    I never said it was a "lousy $100-200" You guys did. My point was you want it both ways. Complain about the people that want to shop for that last hundred, but you don't want to give it either.

    At least don't complain about the few that do or share a story or two about them (without complaining :P )
  • fezofezo Member Posts: 10,386
    Nice car! They building a refinery behind it? :P
    2015 Mazda 6 Grand Touring, 2014 Mazda 3 Sport Hatchback, 1999 Mazda Miata 2004 Toyota Camry LE, 1999.
  • snakeweaselsnakeweasel Member Posts: 19,592
    All I keep reading on the CTS board is people getting brand new 08 CTSs for $2k-2,500 off.

    I hate to tell you what I paid for mine a few years ago. You would never believe it. :shades:

    2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D

  • snakeweaselsnakeweasel Member Posts: 19,592
    At some point you have to say "no".

    I agree with that, you have to draw a line at some point that you will not cross. A ceiling that you will not go above if your buying or a floor that you will not go below if you are selling. You can easily say "Its only $X" your way to the poor house.

    2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D

  • jipsterjipster Member Posts: 6,299
    You would never believe it.

    Sure we would! Just scan a copy of your sales agreement and post it here. Otherwise... you could be one of those "fakers" we were talking about earlier. :P
    2021 Honda Passport EX-L, 2020 Honda Accord EX-L, 2011 Hyundai Veracruz, 2010 Mercury Milan Premiere.
  • british_roverbritish_rover Member Posts: 8,502
    The new CTS is supposed to be about as far away from the old CTS and the old CTS was from the Catera.

    You can't really compare prices on the two.
  • isellhondasisellhondas Member Posts: 20,342
    I'm no Cadillac expert but I think the old CTS was about as popular as a Carera or a Cimmeron. The managed to have a huge hit with the new CTS.

    HUGE difference!
  • im_brentwoodim_brentwood Member Posts: 4,883
    Actually sold quite well.. I remember hearing 60-70k per year. Not a bad car at all. The new one is amazing.
  • british_roverbritish_rover Member Posts: 8,502
    My boss has been wanting a nice big American sedan since well they stopped making nice big American sedans. He will probably get a new CTS or maybe a G8 once they come out in larger numbers.
  • metaldavemetaldave Member Posts: 8
    According to a New York Times article a month ago:

    "But, to some dealers' chagrin, cash deals are up in 2007. Some 11.7 percent of buyers paid cash for cars in the first half of this year, versus about 8 percent over the last few years, according to a survey by CNW Marketing Research, which studies car buying habits.

    In all, about 26 percent of buyers are bringing cash to the table, whether it is out of their bank accounts or in pre-arranged loans through their credit unions, banks or home lenders, according to the Power Information Network, the research arm of J. D. Power & Associates."
  • epineyepiney Member Posts: 462
    Thanks... our guess was pretty good at 10% The other 90% keep Joel busy ;)
  • epineyepiney Member Posts: 462
    For me if I give up $200 on every deal then I have gave away $32K in a months time

    160 cars a month ... 5 or 6 a day. How large of a dealership is that relative to the average?
  • roadburnerroadburner Member Posts: 18,394
    Them's a few to consider

    Yeah, I knew about the SA 745i and the 320is; I suppose you could go all-out and include the E30 M Technic Cab as well as the 1994 M Technic 325is. They didn't have real M motors, but then neither did the US E36 M3 and the early M Roadster and M Coupe... :P

    Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
    Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
    Son's: 2018 330i xDrive

  • hansiennahansienna Member Posts: 2,312
    My nephew bought a NEW 2005 Odyssey November 30, 2004 for about $ 3,000 below MSRP. I went to that Honda dealership and asked for their salesman by name but was told he no longer worked there.

    Salesman did not believe the price so I gave name of nephew and wife and their street address and said I did not know why they would lie. He got curious, went and looked, and came back with a sheepish look and said "that was a slow month so we made some extra good deals to bring up the sales".

    I later learned that the salesman WAS still working at the Honda dealership and have stopped in to meet him. I NEVER buy a vehicle from a salesman or dealership until I become acquainted and feel I can trust both. I always tell a salesman up front that "I am NOT buying today."

    WHY can't salesmen believe a customer and just let them browse the inventory until ready to buy? :confuse:
  • chikoochikoo Member Posts: 3,008
    u lost me.

    How were u going to get to the bank? Walking?

    If u took the truck that the salesperson was following u with, what were u driving to begin with?
  • chikoochikoo Member Posts: 3,008
    Honda might have had some retro money on the car which means if the dealer sold 60 crv's they would get $500 a car retro money which would equal $30,000. If they 59 CRV's they get nothing.

    yup...that is called a "Ship & Debit" in the distribution industry.
    Thw manufacturer will debit the dealer's account after he sells/ships/invoice certain qty of product in a predetermined amount of time.
  • obyoneobyone Member Posts: 7,841
    I had my own truck and was planning to go to the bank which was 3 minutes away. Our worker was on his way down to the dealership to pick up the truck I had just purchased. The ASM insisted that the salesperson follow me to the bank to get the check and deliver the vehicle.

    I explained that someone was coming down to pickup the truck and that I would return with the check. BUT NO...the salesperson had to follow me for the check AND deliver the vehicle.

    So what I ended up doing was going to a branch that was 12 miles away and make the saleperson wait 45 minutes while I was in the bank. He then followed me to the office, waited another 45 minutes for our worker to get there to take him back to the lot. His other option was to catch a cab cause I had no intention of taking him back to the lot.

    More I thought about it, the more I thought it was funny cause he really didn't know if he should've caught a cab or not as I didn't say much to him after I gave him the check. And yes I understand he was just doing as he was told.
  • chikoochikoo Member Posts: 3,008
    Our worker was on his way down to the dealership to pick up the truck I had just purchased.

    and what would happen to the worker's car? leave it at the dealership?
    And you would be anyways be coming back to the dealership to give the check to the SM. So why would the salesperson be stranded?
  • obyoneobyone Member Posts: 7,841
    Worker's wife was dropping him off at the dealership.

    I was to get the check, drop it off and leave. But at the insistence of the manager, the salesman HAD to follow me to the bank AND deliver the truck to our office. So how was the salesperson to get back to the dealership after delivering the vehicle? They had made no arrangements to have the salesperson picked up. They assumed someone would bring him back. Again the word is assumed.
  • nj2pa2ncnj2pa2nc Member Posts: 811
    yes but noone loves their car more than a mercedes benz owner- hope that one ends soon
  • british_roverbritish_rover Member Posts: 8,502
    Depends on your market segment.

    They do 160 or so a month and we do just a little more then that a year. I think last year we did 115 new cars and another 70 or so used.

    This year will be much higher since we have four models to sell and we have increased our used car inventory significantly.

    We will do 220-250 combined this year.

    Joel's Ford dealership is probably about averaged sized. My Land Rover dealership is about average sized. There are some dealers that are much larger then us but the majority of Land Rover dealerships are within 20% of our volume size.
  • isellhondasisellhondas Member Posts: 20,342
    A deal like that would have mad NO SENSE whatever at that time so I'm not surprised that salesperson didn't believe you. I wouldn't have either. 2005 Odysseys were red hot and nearly impossible to keep in stock at that time so the questions is...WHY? Why would ANY store take a loser deal on a hot car?

    Do you have any idea how often I hear...

    " A friend bought one for XXXX"

    Just like some of the so called Prices Paid numbers.

    I mean, a store could give one away I suppose, but WHY?
  • isellhondasisellhondas Member Posts: 20,342
    Wow, I would fall asleep!

    I think we ended up with something like 330 new this month.
  • kiawahkiawah Member Posts: 3,666
    Wow....330 sales a month, I can't imagine the size of the service dept to support that volume of customers with their ongoing service needs.
  • jescuejescue Member Posts: 521
    330 new cars? Mr. Opportunity must live at your dealership! If we do 30 new cars between 4 franchises we have had a great month.
  • british_roverbritish_rover Member Posts: 8,502
    Yeah but we have had this discussion before. We only have between two and three sales people.

    In the nearly three years I have been here we have never had three sales people for a whole calender year. The third guy always quits or moves to another dealership at some time during the year so that yearly number is divided by 2.5 or 2.25 people.

    Then our grosses are, in general, much higher then yours. Finally our deals just take longer. Most of my customers come in two or three times before they make a final decision. I have had a several people come in a dozen or so times over the course of a year before they finally decide to buy. Rarely do we sell a car to a person on their first visit. With the LR2 that is happening more but even on that car it only happens less then 25 percent of the time.
  • im_brentwoodim_brentwood Member Posts: 4,883
    That's huge, but there's still bigger.

    Longo Toyota in Southern California is supposed to be the biggest in the country, supposedly they do 1,000+ a month.

    Heck, I remember when I was at Lexus of Orlando we did 200-220 a month and we were a joke compared to JM Lexus in South Florida.. they did up to 700 a month...
  • isellhondasisellhondas Member Posts: 20,342
    I know.

    I also know I lack the patience that would be required to deal with your customers. We have 25 salespeople including my Internet Dept. We also move 150 used cars in a typical month.

    2.25 people? How do you ever cover the shifts?
  • isellhondasisellhondas Member Posts: 20,342
    Yeah, I was in Longo when I was in the tool business.

    Just unreal, and a BIG TIME liner-closer store. They don't mess around, they just cram cars. I heard they have a HUGE sales staff and a huge turnover that go's with that.
  • joel0622joel0622 Member Posts: 3,299
    Those are the numbers we will be doing this time next year when we get the new store opened. With our planning volume we will be looking at 275 to 325 new and around 150-200 used. We are shooting to be the biggest in sales volume in our region.
  • jmonroejmonroe Member Posts: 8,989
    I have had a several people come in a dozen or so times over the course of a year before they finally decide to buy.

    Are you SERIOUS ? You have to have lots of patience to do that. If I were in the biz I would only be able to do 3 or 4 but a DOZEN, wow !! :confuse:

    jmonroe

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

  • hansiennahansienna Member Posts: 2,312
    Since I knew the husband and wife names, town, street address, date of sale, color, model, and price paid it was not difficult to verify. I also thought the price was too low to be true until it was confirmed with the caveat "You will never see a deal that good again". I will NOT buy a vehicle with interior or exterior colors I don't like even if it were sold $ 5,000 below MSRP. ;)

    BUT, it has been explained in this forum how and why there are a few exceptions to the normal selling price.

    (BTW, my nephew did NOT get a deal as good when he bought a new 2007 Honda Accord this year which I have not yet seen).
  • epineyepiney Member Posts: 462
    If we do 30 new cars between 4 franchises we have had a great month.

    That's like 7 cars per franchise. At $10,000 gross each that's only $70k per month. Must have a good used and service business. Hard to keep the lights on with those numbers :surprise:
  • jescuejescue Member Posts: 521
    You are right-used is about the same number, and the money is made in service and parts. That number is down from a few years ago when Jag was doing well. When the new XF comes out we should do much better.
  • hansiennahansienna Member Posts: 2,312
    When I am "looking", I tell the salesman up front that I am only looking and that he/she should wait on any prospective customer until I am ready to buy. I have purchased 2 NEW vehicles from each of 3 salesman who believed me. Sadly, all 3 have died so I am in process of finding another honest salesman who sells a vehicle which I want.

    IF Honda builds a white 2008 Odyssey LX with gray, green or blue cloth interior with separately controlled temperature for the driver and front passenger, I will trade in my 2006 white Sienna after January 1, 2008.

    I won't buy another NEW vehicle on the first visit. Had I seen my 2006 Sienna outside in the light of day I would have noticed the annoying glare off the shiny circles around the gages and the shiny surfaces on the dash. It was a BIG mistake to purchase it the first day I saw it. :sick:
  • british_roverbritish_rover Member Posts: 8,502
    What shifts?

    We are closed Sundays and most major holidays.

    We open at 8:30 Monday-Saturday

    Close around 7:00 or so Mon-Thur, 6:00 on Friday and 5:00 on Saturday.

    Everyone takes one day off during the week and one early night where we leave around 5:00.
  • epineyepiney Member Posts: 462
    I’m sure that’s the case a lot of the times but if you want to nail them down, try this:

    When going to that board, if you want to carry on a discussion just ask the poster what their OTD price was.


    JM,

    Check out post 5297 from the Acura MDX Prices paid. At first read it looks like a big money loser on a 2008 that's not on the ground yet. OTD means tax, tags and everything else to me.

    If you read the clarification post a few later, it starts to make sense. First the margin between invoice to list did not make sense, it was too big. In this case the OTD price really meant price before TTL. Then it included over $1,000 of accessories. We all know the margin on those is way higher than the vehicle. Lastly it's a lease, so the "OTD" price is really the cap cost for the lease. Don't know what back end gross was in the lease. Bottom line, it was still a very good deal, but not the screaming money loser it looked to be.

    I think the OP was just very happy about the deal and there was no attempt to mislead. In fact he provided details very quickly. Just goes to show the different reference points people use when they discuss prices.
  • epineyepiney Member Posts: 462
    Those seem like pretty good hours for this business. What do you do for vacation coverage?
  • isellhondasisellhondas Member Posts: 20,342
    Honda SHOULD put grey interiors in their white Odysseys but, for some reason, they choose beige. I hear it's because in the hot climates, people demand light colors and light colored interiors? Grey would definatly sell better where I am located.

    Don't look for seperate temperature controls on a lowly LX model. Is that really THAT big of a deal? Most of my cusotmers don't seem to care at all about this.

    But then, we sell VERY few LX's.
  • british_roverbritish_rover Member Posts: 8,502
    Well we have two managers so we can usually struggle through.
  • jmonroejmonroe Member Posts: 8,989
    OTD means tax, tags and everything else to me.

    That’s what it means to me too. Why should that be hard for anyone to understand?

    In this case the OTD price really meant price before TTL.

    When you create your own definition it confuses those who are listening. Kinda proves my point about what you hear on those boards.

    Lastly it's a lease, so the "OTD" price is really the cap cost for the lease.

    If you say so. I never rented leased a car so I don’t know anything about these kinds of deals. I have to keep things simple...pay cash and drive away.

    I think the OP was just very happy about the deal and there was no attempt to mislead.

    I understand that people get very excited about their car deals and want to shout it from the roof tops but there are plenty of people like me who want to hear the particulars before we get excited. Again, proves my point about those boards.

    Whether by being deceitful or ignorant of the facts, bum dope is bum dope !!!

    jmonroe

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

  • micosilvermicosilver Member Posts: 212
    Just unreal, and a BIG TIME liner-closer store. They don't mess around, they just cram cars. I heard they have a HUGE sales staff and a huge turnover that go's with that.

    This is how this dealership work:
    A salesman that's "UP" greets you, asks what model are you interested in. You get into a golf cart, and drive to the model on the lot. He shows you the car, and asks if you would buy today. If yes - he takes you back to the office.
    If not - he drops you right there, and you have to walk back to your car.
  • hansiennahansienna Member Posts: 2,312
    I would expect it to be much less than 50 %.

    Do you have any idea what percentage would be repeat customers or a friend of a satisfied customer? :confuse:
  • isellhondasisellhondas Member Posts: 20,342
    Yeah, I've heard that. Same applies to other CA dealers.

    If you are there to kick tires or test drive cars or gather information, they will drop you like a bad habit. They simply don't take the time to mess around with non-buyers or people who aen't ready to buy NOW!

    They also don't care about repeat or referral sales. It's a NOW business for them and in that marketplace, it works!
  • oldfarmer50oldfarmer50 Member Posts: 24,295
    "...he drops you right there and you have to walk back to your car..."

    Anybody getting that treatment ever kick the salesperson's a** and take the golf cart for a joyride? I would be tempted. :mad:

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

  • nj2pa2ncnj2pa2nc Member Posts: 811
    when I bought my acura in november from a dealer in PA i did not pay any tax or tag fees. since it is not an otd price what would you call it. I thought it still would be called otd but i see i am wrong. i learn something new everyday but that is a good thing at my old age. I paid all those lovely fees when I registered the car in NC
  • joel0622joel0622 Member Posts: 3,299
    Wow, just think of how many cars they could sell if they were nice to people.
  • isellhondasisellhondas Member Posts: 20,342
    You know, I don't know...the So Calif marketplace is a strange, almost hostile enviroment. I'm from there and I can attest to that. It's all about PRICE down there. It is REALLY cutthroat and dog eat dog.

    I don't know if they would sell any more cars. People expect to be mistreated I think.

    It's all about volume, not building trust, relationships and future business and, you know, for a lot of customers, that's fine with them too!
  • oldfarmer50oldfarmer50 Member Posts: 24,295
    These TMV discussions got me thinking...For the average NEW car does Edmunds TMV leave enough profit so that the salesman makes more than a mini?

    I know there are exceptions for exotic or limited production cars. I'm talking about cars like Chevy or Mazda.

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

  • isellhondasisellhondas Member Posts: 20,342
    The only frustrating thing for customers and salespeople alike is when the TMV won't buy a car. I'll never know how these numbers are arrived at and I have quit asking.

    Sometimes, they are realistic and other times not.
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