Stories from the Sales Frontlines

mackabee

Joel, what is this SYNC system I keep hearing about? What's it do?
Mack

lrguy44

Congrats! The nicest thing I learned about grandbabys is I do not have to change diapers, They are fun to spoil, and you can send them back home whenever yuo wish.

mackabee

Exactly! We had my grandson over for the weekend last weekend and on Sunday we drove half way to mom and dad's place and did the transfer.
Mack

jipster

I literally laughed out loud at picturing jipster in the middle of the night, half asleep and being laid into with that cast iron skillet. Thanks for the laugh.

It's funny till it happens to you. :sick:

Actually I prefer her titanium based non stick skillet over the cast iron. Doesn't leave as big a lump... and doesn't scrap the skin off like the cast iron does. But, don't tell my wife that.

I try to do like jmonroe and take a preemptive strike for mattress territory on some nights. I'll push her gigantic pillows over... lay in the middle of the bed and act like I'm asleep. Doesn't matter... she'll come back with onion breath and be breathing directly into my nostrils. Luckily for me my Mazda MPV, conviently located in the garage, has the fold flat 3rd row seating and the second row captain chairs are easily removed. Zoom Zoom! :P

madmanmoo

Congratulations!!!

May he grow up to be as good of a car salesman as grandpa!

-moo

greanpea68

greenpea - A Caloric? Wow! Yeah, I guess that has outlived its usefulness.


I am just glad some one else has heard of it ( Caloric )

Funny thing happened yesterday. When I came home my wife told we had good news. Of all things her parents want to buy us a dishwasher. ( We share a two family with them so they know we need one) This is out of the ordinary. The only thing I would bet is that my Mother - Law hit on a scratch ticket when she drove her Nissan Maxima ( staying on topic mentioning a motor vehicle ) to the convienece store. I can't believe it since we were talking about just yesterday. Maybe now I can get the bigger TV when the checks come. Of course I will have to drive my F-150 to pick up the TV this summer.

GP

greanpea68

"...I still need my handsome rest..."

Are you sure it's wise to lob softballs like that to all the heavy hitters in this room?

Since you mentioned it.
I'm sure he needs all the help he can get

GP

joel0622

This is the web site about it. It is the coolest feature we have come out with I can ever remember.

sync

estocker

I was just given an 04 Toyota Truck 4 cyl 25,000 miles and I took it for an oil change, got the dlx lube oil and filter service with 5W30 synthetic..

do i need to get this out of my truck? or is this the right oil?

jmonroe

Why pay a dealer $300 for a scheduled service when you can pay $25 to get the oil changed, $40 on an air filter that you replace yourself, and rotate your own tires and check your own brakes?

I’m with you on this all the way. I keep my own records and I hope if I ever have a problem the dealer will not say, “Sorry, since you didn’t have it done here too bad”. But I’m willing to take the chance. It’s just too inconvenient to take the car to the dealer and then go back to get it for the routine stuff; by the time I do that I’m done. I live in PA and we have state inspections here and that is a pain too but they won’t let me do that so I’m stuck on that one.

Since I brought up the inspection thing, mine is due by the end of March so I called the independent shop last week that I have dealt with for years and said, “I’ll bring it in first thing Saturday morning and I’ll wait for it like I always do”. I’ve been doing this for years with both of our cars. Well I guess business is pretty good at his place (to be honest, he is very good) so he thinks he’s a banker now. He’s not open on Saturdays anymore. So I’ll have the inconvenience of that now too. I know, I could take it somewhere else but I’m not willing to go through the hassle of finding another good shop.

Quick question for you car biz guys. Do your dealerships have a problem with guys like me who do their own routine maintenance? I know I’m not the only one here who wants to hear the answer to this. So let’s not take this personal.

jmonroe

jipster

Quick question for you car biz guys. Do your dealerships have a problem with guys like me

Didn't oldfarmer just warn you about lobbing those pumpkin sized softballs?
Salesguy: "Wooh... this guy has had his handsome sleep AND he is carrying a handful of receipts.... RUN AWAY!"

But, yes, I would say other than the usual they have a problem with you. You're taking food from their family. They're having to take second mortgages to send their kids to a good military school. Vacation in states like Tennessee, instead of Hawaii or Europe. So, stop being a cheapskate. Let them dealerships do their $35 oil changes, which cost you $18 to do yourself. Let's get this economy rolling again people.

thenebean

Congrats on becoming a Grandfather!!

If my husband and I had a bed the size of Texas (because everything is bigger in Texas...apparently) he would STILL end up rolling all the way over to where I was, and cram me into a little 12" space to sleep. figures.

And to keep this on topic...

NISSAN!

-thene

jmonroe

It will be wild having a baby in the house again. Its been a long time.

Congratulations.

You have no idea how much fun he will be to have around.

I watched our first grandson, by myself, many times after Mrs. jmonroe volunteered so that my daughter-in-law could go back to work for a while after his birth so she could complete a project that was left hanging when she was on maternity leave.

It all came about, and get this, when Mrs. jmonroe’s 2 days a week schedule was changed. She was ready to quit and I stepped up and said, “I’ll take care of this, you go to that girls club where you work and have some fun”. So, don’t believe that bit about not changing diapers. When you’re left alone with him and it will happen, guess what? I’ve changed more diapers for my 4 grandsons, watching them part time, than I did for both my sons when they were at that stage.

I think they call this, BONDING.

jmonroe

roadburner

Congrats, Joel...

qbrozen

Ya know, on this topic, my wife just fielded a call from the Honda dealership. Seems they are sad that I haven't come to visit them for service in the past 4 months. I wish I had been there to tell them "take it up with Honda. they are the ones who installed a maintenance lamp that only comes on every 7500 miles."

Then, just a couple of days ago, my light comes on! The annoying part is that it tells me I have 15% oil life left. Ummmm... that's 1k miles! So now for the next 1k miles, I have to hit the odometer switch every time I start the car so I can see something other than the oil life meter. Have I said I hate this car? I do. I really do.

jmonroe

Salesguy: "Wooh... this guy has had his handsome sleep AND he is carrying a handful of receipts.... RUN AWAY!"

If I’m going to get this type of an answer from my poster pals, I know what I’m going to hear from the biz guys, who BTW, ain’t said nothin yet. :confuse:

And also BTW, when did you become their spokesman? :mad:

jmonroe

greanpea68

Congratulations Joel!!!!

GP

jmonroe

"take it up with Honda. they are the ones who installed a maintenance lamp that only comes on every 7500 miles."

Have I said I hate this car? I do. I really do.

I hope you're not saying only Honda can turn the light off or someone else with a multi thousand dollar gizmo. :surprise:

jmonroe

benderofbows

Question for sales, how many of you have the brands you sell in your household? (A vehicle you purchased yourself, not a free dealer demo)

thenebean

when i sold Nissans I was able to say (and still am able to say) that I drove the product I sold. In fact, when I got into sales, I didn't want to sell anything but Nissans because a) I know the most about them, and b) I believe in the product they sell.

That's me though...not sure about everyone else here...

Moo, you own a Porsche yet?

-thene

stickguy

well, on the Honda, 15% is when you are supposed to bring it in. Wiat until it hits 0, and it gets really annoying!

But, there is simple procedure (in the owners manual) to reset the reminder by yourself. Of course, then you will be out of sync on it, but it is a lease that you are obviously not buying out, so no biggee!

My '05 is pre reminder, so I have ended up on a 6 month/5K oil change schedule. Our Odyssey has one, and that ends up being about 6 months/6K.

OT, I still need to get to the Lexus dealer to get my $100 gift card before it is too late!

mackabee

Did the truck have synthetic oil in it when you got it? if it did not you are ok with it. Usually when the vehicles get into the 80-90k mile range it's not good to switch from dino to synthetic as it will flow right through the seals and gaskets.

mackabee

Why would we have a problem? We wouldn't know you were doing your own maintenance unless we camped out on your driveway the night before.
:shades:

mackabee

Same here, although I think I should have made a move to Lexus since they are basically the same cars but you make more money selling them.
Mack :shades:

isellhondas

Why would anyone take a question like that personal?

Of course, the dealer depends on revenue from services to pay the bills but I don't think anyone has a problem with the customers who wo work on their own cars.

They DO get a kick out of the people who only bring the tough jobs to the dealer. They get a bigger kick out of the DIY er who botched a job up because they either didn't know what they were doing or used the wrong tools. The DIY er does the easy, "gravy" jobs using cheap aftermarket parts then wonders why his brakes squeal etc.

Recently a guy tried to change his own oxygen sensor on his Civic. Now, these require a special socket that isn't available at Home Depot or Sears. Thse are also in there TIGHT!

So this guy used the wrong socket and he managed to round off the edges of the O2 sensor.

With his tail between his legs, he brought the car to us. Naturally, he brought his own discount store part with him.

He had done such a job that we had to remove the exhaust manifold in order to remove the O2 sensor. About 200.00 in labor that he could have avoided.

Not done yet...the cheapie O2 sensor went bad after two days so he got to pay for parts and labor a second time.

Other people fail to replace crush washers when they change thier oil and overtighten the oil plug and they strip the pans etc.

isellhondas

Be careful. We had a couple of our top guys defect to the local, brand new Lexus store. They are back with scary stories to tell!

joel0622

Why pay a dealer $300 for a scheduled service when you can pay $25 to get the oil changed, $40 on an air filter that you replace yourself, and rotate your own tires and check your own brakes?

I would guess that there was possibly a transmission service, a fuel filter change , and lubing the ball joints and steering linkage if need be.

isellhondas

You "hate" your car over something petty like that?

If you take five minutes and look in your owner's manual it'll show you how to turn that pesky light off.

Most recently made cars have a similar system.

I don't let mine go 7500 miles so I never see it.

mackabee

What kind of scary stories.?

isellhondas

Check your email.

thenebean

awww! this is the "stories from the sales frontlines" thread, right?

share some here? names have been changed to protect the innocent and all that...

-thene

isellhondas

Give Mackabee your email address and he can forward my email to you.

jipster

And also BTW, when did you become their spokesman?

They took a vote... and it was me! If it's any "constellation" ... you came in second. :shades:

cotmc

Awww, c'mon! Most everyone here would like to read a scary story or two about your new neighborhood Lexus dealer. That's why we're here -- either we are in the business, or we want to learn more about the business.

Private emails turns this discussion into a clique...

If you are concerned about legal issues, just sprinkle the word "alleged" throughout the stories!

mackabee

Well it goes like this: A huge multi-million dollar Lexus dealership opened in a ritzy part of town. They "recruited" some salespeople from a local Honda store. Once they were hired they were required to call 50 yes 50 people a day. This caused them to miss a lot of business on the lot. This are what are known as cold calls. Not very productive. Well things went down hill from there as the big commissions they were expecting never materialized. The percentage went down to 16% which is beans and rice or rice and beans depending on which day it is. And there you have it!
Mackabee

cotmc

50 cold calls per day? That seems very un-Lexus-like of that particular store.

Seriously, that seems very peculiar! Do most dealerships require the staff to make some cold calls from time to time? I can understand following up on leads and "be-backs", but I'm guessing cold calls are a different animal? I've purchased (or leased) over 25 vehicles from dealerships during my lifetime, but I cannot remember ever receiving any cold calls. Emails? Yes. Snail Mail? Definitely. But no phone calls. I guess I should consider myself lucky?

cdnpinhead

Congrats!

micosilver

When I started selling caras, I made a point of selling my wife's car - BMW, and getting her an Audi, which we sell.
I drive only the brand I sell, and any salesman that doesn't - costs himself money.
I had an Audi A3 for a while, but when i started doing VW Internet Sales - I traded it for a Jetta.

jmonroe

So this guy used the wrong socket and he managed to round off the edges of the O2 sensor.

With his tail between his legs, he brought the car to us. Naturally, he brought his own discount store part with him.

I can understand your shop getting a kick out of people who come in after they screwed something up. Like Clint said, “A man has to know his limitations”.

But you have to admit, with the right tool anybody with some know how and some strength could do this job. I’ve never had to replace an O2 sensor but if I did I’d get the tool and I think I’d use some anti-seize compound on the threads of the new one unless they specifically said not to. Of course I’d be careful not to get any of this stuff on the sensor element.

Tools are to some degree the difference between the pro and the DIY. If it weren’t for doing things myself and having the excuse for buying tools, all I’d have in the kitchen drawer is a hammer, screw driver and a pair of vice grips. I’ll bet it wasn’t the third job I did after moving into our first house when Mrs. jmonroe caught onto me and said, “and what kind of tool are you going to buy for this job”? All I could say was, “you have a fully stocked kitchen, have you seen that damn garage, it’s barren” but it ain’t anymore.

Tools, the great equalizer.

jmonroe

mackabee

Cold calls are to persons that have never visited your dealership and who knows if they are in the market for a vehicle. These are totally different than follow up calls before and after the sale, or orphan owner calls which are done when a salesperson leaves the dealership and his customer base is assigned to other salespeople. These are good as long as you keep up with them and ask for referrals.

jmonroe

They took a vote... and it was me! If it's any "constellation" ... you came in second.

Oh...this could have only happened one of two ways. I was sick or I was still catching up on my handsome-rest. Enjoy your term, you won't have another one. :P

jmonroe

mackabee

Seems like the only Honda in our stable of cars is jinxed. Some kid made a left turn when there was no arrow on the stoplight and missed an Infiniti qx56 but was t-boned by my son's Prelude SH.!! Dang, we just went through this six months ago!! The damage is worse this time. The passenger front fender, hood, and bumper are shot to hell. She was giving a ticket and her insurance will be paying for the damage. Lucky for all involved no one was hurt and the girl was very lucky the Infiniti was not the one to hit her. Damage to her Civic was both passenger doors and side window broken, rear passenger tire was at a 35 degree angle.

Me being the opportunistic type of guy told her father: "Looks like the car is toast. You're going to need another one. Here's my card. Come and see me and I'll make you a deal." he smiled. He was wearing his Navy uniform so we struck up a conversation really quick. No hard feelings although the kids' mom didn't say a single word to us.

jmonroe

I would guess that there was possibly a transmission service, a fuel filter change , and lubing the ball joints and steering linkage if need be.

Fine, I know how to do this stuff and like I said before, by the time I take the car in for this type of work and then go back to get it, I’m done.

I’ll admit, no car that I’ve ever changed the transmission fluid on had a drain plug so it does get a little messy when I’ve dropped the pan to replace the filter but nothing a few sheets of newspaper can’t handle. Now they can power flush the system to get out all the fluid not just the 5 quarts that are in the pan so I’ll probably go for this the next time. But when I check it, the fluid better be ‘cherry red’ not just a little red or I’m not leaving until it is.

jmonroe

nyccarguy

Congratulations to you and your family! Get ready for a wild ride! I know my parents and my out laws LOVE being grandparents more than anything else in the world!

nyccarguy

I've heard too many horror stories about those quick lube oil change joints, either the plug was jammed back in and cross threaded or they forgot to put the drain plug back in! People driving away and doing MAJOR damage to their cars. My '01 Prelude ONLY gets serviced at the dealership I bought the car from almost 6 years ago.

About the guy who messed up his car with the oxygen sensor: I work at a plumbing supply store in a poor neighborhood. I have customers who buy material from me to renovate multi-million dollar apartments in Manhattan and some cusotmers who haven't a clue what they're doing. They think that a plumber (licensed in NYC) is just going to overcharge them and rip them off. Many people end up turning a $50 job into a $500 job because they mess up so bad.

nyccarguy

Glad to hear your son is OK. But it breaks my heart to hear that a Prelude has been damaged :sick:

verdugo

I for one always go to the dealership for oil change. They are always "running" specials, and I've never paid more than $30 for an oil change. The last one was $21 including tax and tire rotation.

I could save a little bit of money doing oil changes myself, but my time doing that is worth more (to me) than the money savings.

Oh, and Mack, is that ambulance chasing? Or rather tow truck chasing?

mackabee

Me too. I told him after the car is fixed to get rid of it. It's jinxed! Three accidents in two years and two withing 6 months of each other and none were his fault. I guess the Prelude is tired of being surrended by Toyotas that it's attracting bad drivers to get hit.
He's keeping it. He loves that car. I like it too when I get to drive it.
Mack :shades:

grandtotal

Whoa, isellhondas was right, that's really scarey!

snakeweasel

I've heard too many horror stories about those quick lube oil change joints,

True but I have heard to many horror stories about work done at dealerships too, Since you sell Hondas I will start with a co worker who had their oil changed at their friendly neighborhood Honda dealer only to have the oil light go on halfway home, turns out that the plug wasn't put on right fell out and the oil drained out.

I know of a (now gone) Chevy dealership that charged for work never done.

A Toyota dealership that forgot to put a couple of spark plug wires back onto a spark plug after a tune up.

I could go on but going to a dealership is no guarantee that the job will be done right.

On the other hand I have been going to the friendly neighborhood quick oil change place for 30 years without one mishap and I get plenty of miles on my cars.