Stories from the Sales Frontlines

mackabee

Yeah, like parts manager, or prep manager, something like that. Maybe even lot attendant.
Mack

chikoo

I could change my tune again!

and that is what makes for a great salesman

isellhondas

Wow, that's a nice car!

Let's see now...these aren't in order

Very early 1965. The 330th one ever built. It had a 260 V-8
1966 Fastback
1968 that my wife had when we got married.
1965 Convertable - ground up restoration - 289 - 225 HP Factory A/C - NICE!
1971 Grande

I think I'm missed one or two?

Other Fords...

1970 LTD Wagon - Great Car
1976 Granada - Junk!
1970 Maverick
1953 Convertable that a guy gave me when I was a kid working in a gas station.
It was junk but it ran barely. I junked it for 15.00.

1978 LTD II
1953 Ford Panel Truck in college...wish I had it now.

1969 ford Pickup
1973 Ford Pickup
1972 Ford truck and camper that got 7 MPG!
1983 Ford Pickup

That's all I can remember but there were a few more.

And, to think, I was a GM guy too! Don't ask me about those because you wouldn't believe me!

cotmc

On the topic of Honda history 101, I was the 2nd owner of a 1976 canary yellow Honda Civic wagon. Purchased it early in 1980. This one had the infamous 2-speed "Honda-matic" transmission. It was an automatic, so to speak, but the driver was required to shift between the two Low and High gearshift settings.

That thing was a pocket-rocket.... NOT! :lemon:

jmonroe

And, to think, I was a GM guy too!

How could you possibly call yourself a GM guy if you owned all those Ford’s ? Do you believe in being half pregnant? :confuse:

When I was a GM guy that’s ALL I owned and nothing else.

In 05’ that love affair ended and I became the proud owner of you know whats.

jmonroe

jmonroe

This one had the infamous 2-speed "Honda-matic" transmission. It was an automatic, so to speak, but the driver was required to shift between the two Low and High gearshift settings.

That reminds me of what Chrysler had back in the 50’s. They called it Hy-Drive (IIRC). The way it worked sounds like that Honda you had. Once you shifted through the three gears you didn’t have to shift again (it was like driving an automatic from that point on) until you shut the car off.

I had a few days experience with that beast when I was learning to drive. My father waited for this event and took his 58’ Plymouth Sport Suburban wagon in for service. Dealers actually provided loaners back then even when servicing the run of the mill family sedans. They were going to give my father a 56’ Plymouth Belvedere with an automatic (a lot like the car he traded for the 58’) but he specifically ask for something with a stick and he told them why. So, they gave him this 52’ or 53’ Plymouth with this Hy-Drive thing. The problem was, dear dad wouldn’t go for this ‘shift once through’ thing and be done with shifting. Noooo, jmonroe had to drive it like a regular stick for the many hours that he took me out learning to drive in those few days.

And people wonder why I don’t like stick shifts. :surprise:

jmonroe

obyone

In 05’ that love affair ended and I became the proud owner of you know whats.

You mean you picked a Hyundai over a vette?

Some people I just don't understand :confuse:

obyone

My dad had traded a 3 sp Pontiac GTO for a 1976 Mercury Monarch which I told him was a big mistake. He said the GTO didn't have power steering or A/C which Mom needed. Mom loved the car Dad hated it ended up buying himself a black on black 1976 Olds Cutlass Supreme. Now that was a nice car. Like this one:

cotmc

You mean you picked a Hyundai over a vette? Some people I just don't understand.

On the contrary, I think I understand jmonroe's logic! Have you ever tried driving a Chevette?? Those things were terrible!

snakeweasel

Hey I love the car, my only real complaint is that I wish it got better gas mileage tooling around town. Its been the most reliable car I ever had, rides good, handles well and starts right up even in the c oldest midwest winters. All my friends and neighbors who drive Hondas and Toyotas are impressed by it too.

To be totally honest I cannot see paying more and not really getting anything more other than an image.

snakeweasel

Well first you have to tell me who you really are seeing that this is the only post on a brand new account.

roadburner

My dad owned a 641/2 coupe, a '67 Coupe, and a '70 Grande. We had lots of other Fords, but the only interesting ones were a '70 Torino GT(351C w/shaker hood and Laser stripes, a '73 Bronco 302 V8, and an '86 Mark VII LSC. In late 1969 my mom totalled the '641/2 and Dad was all set to buy a Grabber Orange Cyclone with the 428CJ. Mom said that she wouldnt drive it because it "looked like a taxicab", so the deal was nixed. Just one of the myriad of reasons that people described our relationship as "strained".

joel0622

Do you haqve a question for a real carsalesman?

Yes, why in the hell did I not get out of this business years ago?

joel0622

So it has basically been a down pour here all day. One of those days when you think the rain will never stop, and we have been busy all day. We have hung 7 deals and have 3 more that have called back and said they will be here tomorrow.

I guess you just never know what to expect in this ole biz.

mikefm58

Just thought I'd share a story that's still going on. I'm in the process of helping my son find a car. We're looking for a Nissan Sentra or Altima. I haven't purchased a used vehicle in a while but I still shouldn't be too surprised. But I am amazed at how much individual sellers rely on the online guides when coming up with their price and that they all use the guide that gives them the best price and every vehicle is in excellent condition.

I just chatted via email with someone with a 2004 Altima SL with 31400 miles and they're asking $15500. Her justification was that KBB Dealer retail was $16300. I told her Edmunds Certified Used was $15140 and Private Paty was $12875, so far I haven't heard back. She also admitted there were a few "scratches" and "minor blemishes" she didn't realize were there. Sheesh.

isellhondas

The true Mustang guys cringe when they hear someone refer to an early 1965 Mustang as a 1964 1/2. Ford never used that term.

imidazol97

Interesting collection. Shame about the 64 1/2 getting totalled.

isellhondas

I agree except it really was an early 1965,

:P

wesleyg

Reading these Mustang posts reminds me of the time my two closed friends both bought new cars. This was about 1969 or early '70. One had a brand new 429 Mustang Cobra-Jet and the other a 1970 Pontiac Trans Am Special Edition Ram Air, very limited production, he had to go to Detroit from Cleveland to get it. It only came in one color, white w/ blue stripes.

Anyway they ran them off at 3AM on the Interstate on a weekday night, unbelievable, the Poncho took it by 3/4 length 0 to 100.

Dare I admit at this late date, all cops involved from 6-7 departments.

roadburner

The true Mustang guys cringe when they hear someone refer to an early 1965 Mustang as a 1964 1/2. Ford never used that term.

It was one of the first Mustangs in our area; we'd come out of a store and there would usually be several people looking it over. I won't refer to it as a 19641/2 any more; I'll just call it a '65 with the Falcon dash... :P

imidazol97

I hear your message--it's a shame about the early 1965 model without the hood chrome lip (were there other differences?).

roadburner

Anyway they ran them off at 3AM on the Interstate on a weekday night, unbelievable, the Poncho took it by 3/4 length 0 to 100.

The Boss 429, much like the 426 Hemi, needed a bit of tuning before it was a legitimate street terror. Contemporary road tests of dead stock cars showed little difference in times between a 428CJ Mach 1 and the Boss 429. Ditto for Roadrunners with a 440 Six Pack and the Hemi.

joel0622

A SP got a sales call this morning about a new Mustang and the guy wanted to know if Ford delivers the car with oil in them or not because if the car does not have oil in it yet he will bring his own and we can knock $100 off the price for the oil and labor to put it in.

You can't make this stuff up.

jkinzel

the guy wanted to know if Ford delivers the car with oil in them

I don't know what to say. :sick: Time to throw another cup of bleach in the gene pool.

joel0622

There is a copy of an old service order in the service department that reads.

Customer states she heard a loud scraping sound under car when she drove it off the road into the ditch.

Advised customer unable to duplicate with out driving car in the ditch again.

Customer stated to go ahead and drive it into a ditch to duplicate, she does it 2 or 3 times a month after leaving VFW and is sure you can only hear scraping sound when leaving the road into the ditch.

Advised customer we decline repair work at this time.

Customer stated she will be contacting Ford Motor Company about us and will never be back.

jkinzel

You see, this is why I never got a job working with the public. I don’t suffer fools well.

sterlingdog

"So you are delivering them covered in butter and syrup?"

Actually, that is "mop & glow" topped off with a little "rust & dust".

Richard

sterlingdog

I thought that he meant a CORvette.

Richard

sterlingdog

LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Richard

sterlingdog

Here's a little story for you. While having my Chrysler convertible serviced last week at the dealer, I decided to walk around the dealership. After looking at all of the new cars, I wandered around to the back of the main building. There were reserved parking spots for the employees. I found it very interesting to see what each person drove to work. The receptionist drove a Ford; the cashier drove a Nissan, the business manager drove a Honda, and the service manager drove a Toyota. The sales manager drove a Chrysler 300, and the owner drove a big Dodge Ram with extended cab. When paying my bill, I asked the cashier why she didn't drive a Chrysler product. She looked really surprised that I knew what she drove. She smiled and said that her husband made the car decisions in the family. I don't know where the salesmen parked their cars, but I decided to ask two of them what they drove. They both drove Chryslers---unless they were being less than honest with me.

Richard

snakeweasel

One thing to consider with the staff there is when did they buy the car and when did they start working for the dealership? The receptionist might have had the Ford before being hired, if thats the case do you really expect her (him?) to dump it and buy a Chrysler just because they are now employed by a Chrysler dealership?

That being said unless its a salesman I could care less if they drive different cars then the dealership sells. It is there money and their choice.

Now as far as salesmen go I think its important for any salesman to utilize what they sell. To me it speaks volumes when someone is selling something they won't use themselves.

isellhondas

I used to be really into Mustangs but not anymore.

It was marketing brillance on Ford's part to take a dowdy Falcon and make it tnto something special. I remember a friend's dad had to wait six weeks for his.

I don't think any 65's had the chrome hood lip but I could be wrong.

The early 1965's had a 260 engine and not a 289. They had a generator instead of an alternator. The interior door handles were different and there were a couple of other things I can't remember.

If it was one of the first 500 built, they came with a plaque on the dash that had the owner's name and " Original Edition Ford Mustang".

I still remember the name on my plaque was Garrison Ruby. I was probably the 3rd or 4th owner. It was maroon, 260 automatic. I bought it from a guy I worked with in about 1973. I kept it for a year of so and sold it for what I paid for it 300.00. It was far from perfect but it ran OK and being a So Calif car, it was rust free.

jkinzel

Does anyone work at a VW dealership?
Does anyone know when the Jetta TDI (diesel) might be back on the lots for sale?

obyone

new back in 1960. Kept it for 18 years when finally buying a K car in 1978. Drove the K car for 10 years and in 1988 gave up driving completely and caught the bus instead. I asked her why she chose the bus over driving. She said that she didn't have much luck with her cars and that she was unhappy from day one with her last two cars.

Hmmm yet she drove one for 18 and the other for 10? go figure.

british_rover

I think Microsilver(sp?) works at a VW/Audi dealership so he might know.

oldfarmer50

"...he will bring his own and we can knock $100 off the price..."

He was probably just a former Toyota owner who was charged for the 1/4 tank of gas he got on delivery.

jmonroe

Hey I love the car, my only real complaint is that I wish it got better gas mileage tooling around town. Its been the most reliable car I ever had, rides good, handles well and starts right up even in the c oldest midwest winters.

C'mon 'snake', you can't have everything! :confuse:

I didn't buy mine for gas mileage. FWIW, I never really considered gas mileage when I bought any car. I did, however, give lots of thought/consideration to those other attributes you mentioned.

Furthermore, calculating gas mileage can get you in trouble. Especially if you do it like I did. Not long after I bought my 95’ Bonneville beast when we lived in South Carolina, we decided to visit the family back in the Burgh. I got almost 32 MPG and that thing had the 3800 engine and the A/C was on. That was strictly interstate driving with the cruise control set to 70 MPH.

So you’re wondering what’s so bad about that. Well, I’m gonna tell you. When I filled up just before getting on the interstate I ask Mrs. jmonroe to write down the mileage and being the obedient wife that she is, she did it. Immediately after pulling off the interstate in West Virginia even before getting something to eat I pulled into a gas station, filled it up and checked the mileage. HUH, 32 MPG. I accused her of writing down the wrong mileage that I had given to her from the odometer. Of course she says, “I wrote down what you told me”. I said, “You couldn’t have. This thing can’t get that kind of mileage, give me that tablet, I’ll write it down this time. I should have done it the first time, now I‘ll have to wait until the next fill up”. When I checked it again when we got to the Burgh, same thing. I was hoping she wouldn’t have been paying attention (would have been glad the trip was over) but she was interested and asked, “So, what is it this time”? I said, “About the same but I’ll have to check it a couple more times, when we go back, to be really sure”. She says, “I trust your math, these two times are enough for me. You know what my favorite restaurant is and we’ve already agreed we’d go there. Now we’ll go there twice". :surprise:

Poster Pals… all I can say is, if you’re going to check gas mileage do it yourself. No help is required; this ain’t like moving a refrigerator up a flight of steps.

jmonroe

mackabee

Hey, I got a call in 1998 from an older lady. She was asking about Camry and I told her it came in CE, LE, and XLE. she responded :"XLE? how do you spell that?" so I said "X, L, E,"
:shades:

isellhondas

That Buick built 3800 engine is one of the best engines ever produced. They are smooth, quiet, long lasting and they give surprising gas mileage.

tlcruz

I'll take that Camry, mack!! except in blue ribbon metallic or sky blue pearl. Wanna cut me a great deal?

gogiboy

"I would never call someone a liar until I was 100% sure that he was , in fact lying and not just mistaken. When I bought my Eclipse the owner of the dealership told me that they could only do a dealer trade because they had stopped making 2008s (this was late January).

I assumed he was lying just to make the sale but resisted the urge to call him on it because I wasn't certain. I mean, maybe I miss this in my research. Also, I was in the mood to take immediate delivery so I let it slide."

Farmer--

My wife and had a similar experience in 2002 at our local Chrysler/Honda franchise. A young man came out to greet us and I told him that we're looking for a new CR-V. They had a CPO one, but it had already sold. The CR-V was a freshly minted re-design and the others on the lot had all be sold. The young guy proceeds to tell me that the CR-V has been discontinued and that we really should consider a Pilot. I feigned ignorance and said I'm surprised that Honda would drop such a popular vehicle since I had seen some recent sales figure and that CR-V looked to be home run, but he had no response to that information It was a cold, blustery day, so maybe he just wanted to get rid of us and get back inside where it was warm.

At the same time I had put in an inquiry through their internet saying I was looking to buy in the next month or two. Later I received a follow up email asking what they could do to earn my business. I emailed a response outlining what we were told about the CR-V and questioned their business practice. I'd also had a couple of minor problems with my Civic make me wonder about their service area. My email must have lit a fire under somebody because they called my wife and apologized profusely, then sent me an email attempting to explain the "miscommunication". I never wrote that salesman was a liar, but I must have questioned his product knowledge.

Turns out the fellow who greeted us was not one of their on-staff salesman, instead he was brought in for one of those weekend tent sales of $99/down payment cars. However, that doesn't explain why he was allowed to greet new car buyers. Maybe the seasoned vets sized us up as too poor to buy new or just didn't want to be outside on such a raw day.

Our response was to try a different Honda dealer 60 miles away, but we had some trouble with them as well. As a result we bought a Toyota Rav4 without the fun and games. No sense rewarding bad behavior.

I went back to the local dealer last year when looking for a replacement for the Civic. Even though five years had elapsed the place still has the same screamer ad, buy a car this moment vibe. They are the only Honda dealer in town and the other Honda dealerships are a minimum of 60 miles away. I ended up buying a competing model even though I really like the Civic.

Gogiboy

obyone

with half its face cut off? Or is it my browser?

tlcruz

right click on the picture and it'll tell you. or like me, you see it 6 days a week

gogiboy

"Now as far as salesmen go I think its important for any salesman to utilize what they sell. To me it speaks volumes when someone is selling something they won't use themselves."

Snake--

I think that I have mentioned here before that both of my cousin's sons work for Ford on different assembly lines outside of Detroit. One of them told me that there are some workers on the assembly line who don't drive Fords. Management's solution is to make those workers park in the lot farthest away from the building. If you don't drive the product you better get used to walking. In the end, those non-Ford drivers may cost Ford the least in health care. :confuse:

By the way, both of my cousin's sons drive a full size Ford Pickup.

Gogiboy

mackabee

Sure! When do you want to pick it up? I believe I have the Blue Ribbon in stock. You want the 4 banger or the V6?
Mack :shades:

obyone

Working for Ford, I'd say a long walk might be the least of their problems.

mackabee

Being in the car biz we get the opportunity to drive just about every make that's out there. We have a young Vietnamese salesperson that likes anything made in Japan by Toyota. He picked up a trade in GS-300 with about 155k miles on it. Last week he bought a SC400 with lots of miles on it but clean. Hey who's gonna know both cars were not bought new and have tons of miles on them? He's driving a Lexus.
Most of the other guys drive Maximas, BMW's, Mercedes, etc. Just a few of us veterans drive Toyotas. Me I drive a 95 Camry Le with 168k miles on her and still going.
Mack
MY CAR CAMRY


Mack :shades:

joel0622

One of them told me that there are some workers on the assembly line who don't drive Fords. Management's solution is to make those workers park in the lot farthest away from the building.

Back in the 90's if you worked at the Ford Glass Plant here in Nashville and did not drive a Ford it was nothing to come out and find your car on blocks. If it was an import you would find your windows busted out along with it.

obyone

did not drive a Ford it was nothing to come out and find your car on blocks.

I would like to think that Ford paid its workers enough to buy their own tires or that not all their vehicles shipped with Firestones.

joel0622

Ya Firestones do suck. They caused allot of problems for us.