Stories from the Sales Frontlines

deskman

between radio , paper and tv my owner spends a100k a weekend. but that is for all of our stores in the metro area.

greanpea68

I agree 100% We have not ran a screamer add here in over 3 years. They are a waste of time and money. IMO it is bad business to spend money on advertising a product at a loss.

We just ride other peoples adds and will gladly match the price of a like product. It must work because we lead the city month in and month out.

Full page color here runs around $15K for the weekend.

That's exactly what I am talking about. We do the same thing matching other adds when we have to. Of course they are rediculous but what are going to do.

GP

deskman

Gp

do you know nick the owner at seacoast chrysler,dodge,jeep ?

nick and i lived at the water ballet in windsor while we attended C.I.T. dealer training.

jasons and the million dollar saloon are a little slice of heaven :shades:

deskman

i have one where if another dealer beats my price i give you a viper.

deskman

I will sell them a add unit and 90 % of the time i trade them out of it within 6 months. :shades:

have you ever driven a car in florida during the summer without tinted glass or insulation ? :sick:

we do a deal with the factory where they omit the tinted glass and insolation that is standard on every car built with a/c. :surprise: ( dealers idea not mine so keep the flame throwers turned off boys and girls)

old people in fl never install aftermarket tint because they have a hard enough time seeing during the day with factory tint . :lemon:

explorerx4

hey joel, thanks for offering to help. it gives a little more confidence when you know you've 'got people' in your corner!
anyways, it is an sel with moonroof and abs(std on 08's).
i didn't want to get tempted by anything else, so i didn't try out one with 'sync'.
it does have the ipod input jack, so my kids will like that.
one thing that struck me, was that i drove 2 identical cars, right down to the colors, and they seemed completely different. one had 100 miles on it and the other 25, so that should not account for the difference.
in the past i have bought an '83 tbird turbo coupe(first year), '86 mustang gt(first year fuel injection), '89 sho(first year), '92 sho(first year auto trans), '02 explorer(first year 3 rows of seats, irs). even the focus is a 2.3 pzev, which was only for sale in a few states.
the fusion has been out for few years, so it is proven, and takes some of the excitement(unknown) out of the equation.
i hate to say this, but this was the most cold blooded car buying decision i ever made. i looked what i thought i needed, added a little wanted, what i could give up, and started the process.
i think i will be glad i did it, though.
you know what they say about 'best laid plans', though. :surprise:

oldfarmer50

"...the next person to hurl insults..."

Dang! I work an extra shift and miss out on all the good stuff!

oldfarmer50

"...Why does everyone assume that a rental always has hard miles..."

My guess would be guilty conscience.

"...drive them like I do my own cars..."

Some people beat the hell out of their own cars too. Imagine what they do to one they don't have to fix.

The last car I rented was one that I was thinking of buying. I didn't exactly beat it up but I put it to the boards more in three days than I did with my own car in three months. I also took corners a lot faster as I was trying to determine the handling characteristics. I would rather buy a car that I had owned and been responsible for than a car that had been driven by 100 people like me as a rental.

tidester

I bet even "The Tidester" does it.

Actually, I tend to drive more cautiously when I'm driving anything but my own car though that's mainly a matter of unfamiliarity with a different make/model. However, when I become more comfortable with it then, well, as our friend Mack says, "to be continued!" Or not. :P

tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper

dizzy7

I know you guys are just foaming at the mouth for part #2! Don't you wish you could have your lots full of customers like me

from: Trees Full of Money

After about 20 minutes or so, after repeated visits from the other salesmen coming into the break room telling me how awesome the new 4Runner was, and how "lucky" I was to be purchasing it (I later found out that this is another tactic employed by dealerships to boost the adrenaline of unsuspecting shoppers), Eric came back in with the "deal sheet" with the purchase price of the vehicle, my trade in, my $0 down payment, and the new monthly payment.

"$836" I couldn't believe what I was seeing! "I'm not going to pay $836 a month!" I was actually mad that they had gotten my hopes up to get the vehicle near my price range.

Well they got the reaction they wanted out of me. They where just setting up a high threshold for me, so that when I finally did agree on a price I would feel like I got a deal.

"Well Ben, I'm sorry, that's what the payments come out to considering your trade, and no down payment. But, there are other options. Have you considered a lease?"

I was somewhat familiar with leases; I knew that you pay for the depreciation of the vehicle (plus a "little" profit for the dealer and manufacturer) that you are basically renting, along with wear and tear, and that you were also responsible for regular maintenance issues with the vehicle.

What I also knew, but was to caught up in the excitement of the hot new SUV that was sitting out in the parking lot waiting for me to drive it home, was that the lease was designed for people who couldn't otherwise afford the payment had they bought the car. Yet here I was, looking at a car that cost more than half of my yearly income at the time.

"Well Ben, I thought that the monthly payment would come as a shock, so I took the liberty of preparing a couple of lease quotes for you". Eric was quite proud of himself for anticipating my shock over the initial quote. "You can lease the truck for 36 months for $568, or $470 for $48 months, both leases will allow 15000 miles a year in mileage."

Now I was starting to settle down a little bit, Eric had deceived me into thinking that maybe this wasn't such a bad deal yet and we could still agree on a payment. Of course I wasn't factoring in that I was now leasing the vehicle instead of owning it.

I probably would of settled for the $470 payment, but my financial instincts (what little of them were still functioning) took over and I tried to see if I could make my monthly payment any less painful.

Again, monthly payment shopping is DUMB!

I asked Eric, if there was anything we could do to bring the payment down.By now, the general manager, who had been listening in on our conversation the entire time, was sitting at the break room table with Eric and I as we started the final "negotiations".

"Let's see" said the manager. "You know it's the end of the month and we really need to move this unit to meet our numbers, however, we've already factored that into the price we are offering you. But since we want your business, let me see what I can do. I'll be right back."

The GM slid back into his office and quickly returned with a calculator.

He said "alright, if you put down $1500 today, we can get your payment to $430, how's that sound to you? Do we have ourselves a deal?"

"Umm...well, yeah I guess" I still wasn't sure, but I HAD TO HAVE THAT 4RUNNER!

He hadn't really given me any more of a discount, he just had me pay a bunch of the capitalized cost upfront which, in hindsight, defeats the whole purpose of a lease.

"OK, great! I'll have Eric here finish up the paper work and we'll have you on your way!"

"Congratulations Ben, you made a great decisions today! We know that your going to be thrilled with your new Toyota! Welcome to the family!"

I was so proud of myself. It was like I had entered some elite fraternity. The only problem was, the bar for entry was having a job, and being stupid!

It wasn't that I was unhappy with my purchase. I loved the vehicle and the reality was I didn't mind making the payments on it, I was just to stupid to know any better.

I can't blame the dealership, they were just doing their job. They're not just selling cars, their selling dreams and helping people realize them.

If I had bought the used 4Runner instead for the $18,000 the dealership was asking I could of paid it off in the same 4 year period as my new lease for roughly the same monthly payment. However, I would have OWNED the used 4Runner at the end of the 4 years and could still be driving it today! But instead I paid $6000 to break the lease and buy another new car 2 1/2 years later because my wife and I felt that we needed a more "economical car".

If I had bought the used 4Runner and kept it to this day (my guess is more than 90% of 4Runners from 1997 are still on the road) I could of saved myself $54,500 in the price and interest for the two cars that I have bought since then! Man, I wish I could have a mulligan!

Fortunately, we've been a little better this time around and have kept our current car for 6 years. We do plan to upgrade to a larger vehicle soon, read my "New Car Challenge", but we won't be leasing this time around!

From Trees Full of Money

kiawah

Mack,
Have a couple questions for you, looking for your ideas. Please check your email when you get a chance. Thanks in advance.

pss5

on the ads, I test drove a used car today, and was talking to the sales guy about what kind of deal I could get. He told me that they had just received the car we were driving, so they might not be able to negotiate that much.

So, of course, I asked him, "so which are the cars that you've had for a while and are ready to get rid of?" and he pulls out the newspaper ad from that week and tells me that most of the ones that have been there 60+ days are in the ad. Most of the time they can sell cars before it ends up in the paper, so they don't bother to spend the money.

This was at a luxury car dealership that is primarily selling the upscale trade-ins they receive, not buying on auction. I thought that was kind of interesting, and I'm going to check those Sunday ads more carefully, now.

benderofbows

Now this is an ad car.

A local Ford dealership mailed out a full page color screamer ad this week, with the quote to BUY a vehicle for $89/month in the center of the ad. This is among pictures of a Focus, Ranger, Fusion, etc. Just a little misleading...

The teeny tiny fine print on the back states that payment can be acheived on an 8-year old base model Oldsmobile Intrigue with 20% cash or trade down at 10.9% for 72 months! I looked the car up on their web site and it has 54,000 miles.

Just think, when the lucky buyer pays it off, it will be 14 years old and have over 100,000 miles on it.

greanpea68

do you know nick the owner at seacoast chrysler,dodge,jeep ?


No I can't say that I do. No I haven't heard of that dealer either. With the name Seacoast it sound like it is up by Salisbury and Hampton beaches. There is Seacoast Harley up there so that is where my head is leading me right now.

Sounds like a good guy....

Are talking Windsor NH??

If that is the case I am sure I have one good friend who knows him. Ya ever notice there is always one guy... ussualy a Used Car manager or wholesaler that knows everyone?

GP

mikefm58

Just think, when the lucky buyer pays it off, it will be 14 years old and have over 100,000 miles on it.

That's nothing. There's a guy over in Extended Warranties who just bought a 2002 Buick with 92K miles and financed it for 6 years. He's looking for a recommendation on an extended warranty. Needless to say, no one is recommending anything.

snakeweasel

Again, monthly payment shopping is DUMB!

I would have to disagree with you. On its own it is neither smart nor dumb, but then again the same can be said of any type of "buying". What is smart or dumb is how people go about the way they choose.

Lets say that I wish to buy a certain car and I do my research and find that I should be able to get that car at $20K plus TTL with a reasonable amount of haggling. Now I figure that that $20K car will run me $21,748.20 out the door with tax, fees and tags. Now say I have $5K to put down on the car, that means I will need to get a loan for $16,748.20. Now lets say that I shop around for a car loan and I can get one at 6%, for a 48 month loan I will have payments of $393.33.

Now I go to my friendly neighborhood dealership with all this information and start negotiating a monthly payment. If I stand firm on the amount of the down payment, the loan length and the fact that I want to purchase and not lease that only leaves the dealer two things to adjust to manipulate the monthly payment. Those two things are the interest rate and the price. If you did a good job at shopping loans they won't be able to bring down the payments to much with a lower interest rate so that leaves the price of the car.

In short if you stand firm on the length of the loan, the down payment and the method of acquisition (purchase vs lease) negotiating the monthly payment is negotiating the purchase price and vise versa.

Of course this takes a bit of research but buying a car without proper research is dumb.

deskman

I think the chinese just set themselves back 10,ooo years today. :confuse:

I hope it help remove the made in china labels from our life and delays the entry to the United States Automotive Market. :lemon:

snakeweasel

Ok I have to ask, what did China do?

deskman

watch bbc news at 10.

snakeweasel

China watched BBC news at 10? Whats so bad about that?

But serioulsy since I am stuck here at the morgue my tax job until 10 (Eastern time I presume) then there is the trip home I am sure I will miss it.

Edited to add:

Did a web search and found what happened. Don't think it will amount to much say in six to 9 months.

explorerx4

a 2000 4runner, 8 years ago. get over it. :sick:

mackabee

Check your carspace e-mail. Let me know how else I can help.
Mack

mackabee

I felt like my old self today. I went to work at 2pm and I had a couple that have not bought a car in 15 years looking at our hybrid cars. I spent a good amount of time with them as my cell phone kept ringing and I ignored it. After they left I looked at my missed calls and recognized one of the numbers. It was a customer that had taken a few days to think over the car she really wanted. She was torn between a Camry and a Prius. The Prius won. While I was finishing up the paperwork a couple I had shown a Sienna to came in to do a deal. And a couple I showed a Camry Hybrid to also came in. So here I am with three customers about to do a hat trick. I got two out of three and I haven't given up on number three. We were just too far apart to do business. He wanted KBB trade value for his Tahoe with 145000 miles and we offered 2k less. I told him big SUV's are not moving right now and one with 145k miles would go to the auction and couldn't be retailed at our store. He also offered a ridiculous price on the Camry which we don't have the color they want in stock so we would have to dealer exchange and that adds to the cost of the car. Anyway, I got home around 9:45, called my grandson up in Md to wish him a Happy 4th Birthday. Busy day tomorrow.
Mack

tjc78

I would have to disagree with you. On its own it is neither smart nor dumb"

I disagree as well. Maybe the sales guys would disagree with me here, but when I bought my Avalon the dealers were at the same selling price ($500 over invoice not great but the car was an Xfer for either dealer) and my local dealer was able to get the lease payment over $30 lower by using an outside leasing company. All other factors were the same (DP / term / etc) so I figure I saved a over grand just by shopping payment

joel0622

I can't belive I am going to say this but........................ Snake is right

There is nothing wrong with payment shopping as long as you know what payment equals what bottom line. Knowing that $20K plus taxes equals $420 a month for 60 months @ 6% is no different then offering the OTD fig.

Now the folks that just blindly throw a payment out there on a car with no research and there only basis being is that is what they can afford is not very smart.

greanpea68

He wanted KBB trade value for his Tahoe with 145000 miles and we offered 2k less. I told him big SUV's are not moving right now and one with 145k miles would go to the auction and couldn't be retailed at our store.

Wow Tahoe with 145k on the clock... $14500 oh yeah thats KBB... but $12500 is extemely high. I would of guessed $6000 but than again I am not a used car manager.

GP

jescue

No vehicle is very exciting with 145,000 miles. Who would want it? Someone needs to take it out and shoot it. :P

joel0622

The immigration crack downs in the area are starting to effect our market on the high mile SUV's and Trucks. We used to have a source that would buy them and have a good retail point for them. But here in the last couple months that market has started to get stale.

It will get worse when these new immigration laws in TN kick in where a business owner can loose his license for 5 years and be fined for employing illegals.

jescue

I just remembered, I got a card this week about extended warranties for my truck- are they very expensive?

joel0622

You have had it now about 7 months, how miles have you driven it?

jescue

4100. I have really worn it out,

oldfarmer50

"...owner can loose his license for 5 years and be fined for employing illegals..."

Good!

joel0622

So you are driving about 600 miles a month, so that means if your driving habits stay the same you will have around 43000 miles on it when you hit the 6 year mark.

6yr 48K Premium care would run you $615

7yr 48K Premium Care would run you $850

Plus tax, those price are good till you hit the 12 month or 12K mile mark at which time their is a $100 surcharge.

jescue

Wow, that is pretty good. You should see what our warranties cost. I think our average warrany is around $2500 for similar coverage. :surprise:

joel0622

They retail for $830 and $1145

Our most expensive plan is a 7yr 100K on a 4x4 Super Duty Diesel, it retails for $3600

jescue

I may do that, I will wait a little bit to see how work goes. Our new owners take over April 1st. I may be asking you for a job.

joel0622

I may be asking you for a job.

Let me know, middle of next month we will be opening up our new store, we will be the biggest volume Ford store in Tennessee. We need about 6 sales people and will be working split shifts.

jescue

Can I have the early shift? I know you are open till 9 at nite, that is what I hope to avoid. This place will go to 8 I am sure and I just do not want to work that late. I did it for years but I have been spoiled by leaving at 6 here.At least I would be driving what I sell.

british_rover

Ha I just put 32,000 on a 2007 Tahoe with 6,000 miles on it. I have the original window sticker too and MSRP was 50,000 when new. The truck is only 10 months old.

greanpea68

british_rover

Blank thought?

greanpea68

Ha I just put 32,000 on a 2007 Tahoe with 6,000 miles on it.

I took in a 2007 GMC yukon with Nav and DVD with 22k on the clock. Original MSRP 52k... It was a battle to get the our whole saler to put $27,700 on it.... they felt the moon was $26500. But we had to make a deal and it was the end of the month last month.

GP

greanpea68

Blank thought?

LOL... that made me laugh

No when I went to hit BOLD button. I hit and post and couldn't get back.

GP

oldfarmer50

"...they felt the moon was $26500..."

If gas keeps going up pretty soon you'll have to put a chain across your driveway to stop the big SUV owners from dumping their vehicles there and running away.

mcdawgg

That would be fine with me, as long as they left enough fuel in the tank to make it worth getting out my siphon!!

explorerx4

smells new. it is a leftover '07 fusion, but it has been sitting around for a while. build date looks like 12/06.
i drove it home from the dealership, maybe 5 miles.
everyone else has been driving it since then.

mikefm58

There is nothing wrong with payment shopping as long as you know what payment equals what bottom line. Knowing that $20K plus taxes equals $420 a month for 60 months @ 6% is no different then offering the OTD fig.

I've done exactly that before and when the salesman asks how I arrived at my price, I tell them because it makes my monthly payment $x per month. I love it when his eyes then bug out and he starts frothing at the mouth and says we can easily beat that monthly payment. I tell him OK, I'm not leasing, the interest rate at my local credit union is 4.5% and I don't want to finance it over 5 yrs.

scottinky

i just dumped my 2008 Armada with 5500 on it. STicker was 52K, paid 44K, owed
42K, and sold it privately for $38K. I was only getting buy bids of 30-32 for it.
Glad to be rid of it. At what point will you guys tell SUV owners they're
SOL on trade ins unless they want to take a massive hit. Considering what
I am saving in payment and fuel, 4K was acceptable to me, as I come out way
ahead.

greanpea68

I love it when his eyes then bug out and he starts frothing at the mouth and says we can easily beat that monthly payment

I can only guess the sales person is that excited because he knows he has a educated buyer in front of him and he/she knows they have a deal.

GP

grandtotal

If you don't mind me asking, why did you buy it? Was it just one of those rash decisions we all sometimes make? Or did your circumstances change drastically? Or was it something else?