Stories from the Sales Frontlines

joel0622

Is that what you mean by merchandising?

That is it exactly. You want to look like you always have fresh inventory.

We have what we call "Lot Party's" once a week or so where we rotate cars around to keep things looking fresh, check for dead batteries, and check for lot damage.

verdugo

Is that new math? If that holds true for most, that explains the turn over.

I see what Joel is saying. Salesperson goes for the quick buck. They know they can get $500 w/o investing much time/effort. They rather do that than invest more time/effort for the possibility of getting $750.

Good trade off in the eyes of the salesperson, but not in the eyes of the dealership.

dino001

Of course. If it was $1500+ vs $500 you may have much more people opting to work for it. $250 extra is nice but not that much to work for it, if they can have quick $500, move on and work for another $750 on the next customer. So they see it as free money before they even have to start working on it...

fezo

"I bet it is really hard to know beforehand exactly what will sell well. I suspect someone thought Aztec, Edsel, etc were good ideas when they were designed."

I think they were two different recipes for failure.

The Aztek was really a case of design by committee. One guy on the committee though this part looked good and another though that one did. Individually any of the decisions probably wouldn't have been a disaster but the whole was much more of a monster than the sum of its parts.

The Edsel, while insanely ugly to us now, wasn't so bad compared with the rest of 1958. Try naming a model where you can say "their 1958s really looked sharp." Forget it. Your tongue won't let you say it.

The problem was more that it was supposed to be a bump up from a Ford but not quite a Mercury and just as they were putting them out we'd hit a recession and people were not in a mood to upscale a little bit. Add to that the fact that they were hurried out to the showrooms so early ones were glitchy and they were doomed almost from the start.

I don't know if you could create as much of a failure anymore. The market is playing it too safe these days.

greanpea68

I wasn’t talking about “big profits for the dealer”. I was talking about the “lot queens” that haven’t sold and the dealer is putting ”spiffs” on them to get them off the lot. From what I’ve heard here, after a couple of months it’s a “lot queen” and panic sets in.

When I was using the phrase big profits I was trying to add humor.

If I remember correctly you asked or stated that since you have a vehicle here for a year that dealer is paying extra money for in floor plan. Doesn't the vehicle that you get in and sell right away help contribute to the "lot queens" or I like "dead wood" better. Yes. But what I was trying to say is and I can only speak for my market. is that... just to be clear what we are talking about is "floor plan"... Floor plan is paid for with "hold back". At least to my knowledge that was the design of hold back. Any veteran care to step in and help me out here please feel free to do so. I am not a manager or have never been to NADA school.

As to what I saying is if you sell a car that has been here a week and have t go

mackabee

Gp, holdback is for whatever the owner of the dealership wishes to do with it. Wholesale financial reserve is used for floor planning charges.
Mack

[Deleted User]

There's a dealership here in town that is offering to triple your federal economic stimulus package on the purchase of a new Suzuki, new twist on an old gimmick? Although at the end it did say it would only triple up to $600. I was thinking it'd be a pretty sweet deal for me, $2100 x 3 ...if it was another make though

greanpea68

holdback is for whatever the owner of the dealership wishes to do with it. Wholesale financial reserve is used for floor planning charges.

Never thought of that... thanks Mack

greanpea68

There's a dealership here in town that is offering to triple your federal economic stimulus package on the purchase of a new Suzuki, new twist on an old gimmick?

Old gimmick... All they are doing is taking $1800 off the car if you ask for that add campaign. We did triple rebates here a few months back... I can't stand advertising :mad:

gP

qbrozen

All they are doing is taking $1800 off the car if you ask for that add campaign.

Not even. Just a lousy $1200 because you are giving them your $600 check. what a joke.

greanpea68

Just a lousy $1200 because you are giving them your $600 check. what a joke.

Yeah you are right. I will write that up all day

gP

centerlink

Recently went to a Toyota dealership in Southern California to purchase a Prius. Even though I had a direct fund transfer check for the car from my bank, the dealer said I had to fill out a loan application. I said I was paying for the car in full and didn't need a loan and was told they needed me to fill out the loan application because of 9/11. They said dealers in CA are required by law to collect the information on the form because of 9/11 and any Toyota dealership would make me fill it out to buy a car. I asked if there was an information form I could fill out instead of a loan application and they said the loan application was the form they used for this requirement. Is there any truth to their claim, or are they using 9/11 to get information they are NOT legally entitled to?

Thought it would be best to ask other salespeople here on the forum. Thanks.

obyone

Yikes. Dealers still do that? I mean some require a credit app filled before negotiating price. Sort of like to see how serious you are. I've walked from several dealerships because of this credit app BS.

With all the identity theft going on you have to be nuts to give a salesman your credit info.

When I last purchased a truck for my company, I told the salesperson I'd be going to the bank to get a cashier's check. His assistant manager told me I still needed to fill a credit app. When I started to walk he backed off and said that I could do it while processing through F&I.

So now in F&I I asked the guy what's this BS about filling a credit app due to the Homeland Security Act. He said you're paying cash why would anyone need your credit info? I told him about the salesperson and assistant sales manager requesting the info. He said flat out that this deal didn't need that info and he would try to explain to them when a credit app needs to be filled. Spooky stuff.

imidazol97

>With all the identity theft going on you have to be nuts to give a salesman your credit info.

I wouldn't fill one out just for the sake of the salesman being able to check financial background to help negotiations from his end.

I just had my credit card account violated and had a call from Chase about validating an online purchase at a Midwestern chain store like Walmart at their online location. I have no idea how that credit card number got out since it's never used online and only self-swipe at stores other than it may have been used at a restaurant or two.

If I come in with a personal check they are welcome to hold the car to be sure the check is valid. No credit application.

joel0622

Who knows in California, they are a different world then the rest of us as far as day to day ops go. But I will say this. I am required to run every person through OFAC (Office of Foreign Assets and Controls) to ensure you are not on the terrorist watch list.

Here is why it is a deal breaker if you refuse to let me do it.

How much are the fines for violating these regulations?

The fines for violations can be substantial. Depending on the program, criminal penalties can include fines ranging from $50,000 to $10,000,000 and imprisonment ranging from 10 to 30 years for willful violations. Depending on the program, civil penalties range from $250,000 or twice the amount of each underlying transaction to $1,075,000 for each violation. [11-16-07]

Now keep in mind, normally I don't need your SSN to do this unless your name is on the list then I need it.

This conversation has been had here several times and like I have said in the past, if it is after normal business hours we will ask for a 5 line credit app to verify who you are and have the ability to track you down if the check is no good. If the customer refuses then we do all the paper work and tell them they can pick the car up the next business day. If they have a problem with that then we pass on the deal. On several occasion we have caught people in scams this way. One sale is not worth the risk you take letting some one leave with a $30K car and not have verified funds.

british_rover

We were running into a similar problem with the state of Connecticut not long ago. We didn't need to have a credit app filled out but we did need a social security number even if the customer was paying cash. They wouldn't register the car with the online system without the Social Security number.

They aren't requiring that anymore now which is good.

lemko

I imagine it would be something like a stripper vehicle in an ugly color with a manual transmission.

british_rover

Not always sometimes it is a demo that had too many miles put on it and the dealership didn't discount it enough to sell when it was newer.

I have had good solid color combinations be me oldest unit many times over. There always has to be a last car.

joel0622

There is no rhyme or reason to it. It is just a car that for some reason gets walked around for awhile. Hell sometimes it is your most popular package but it just happen to be the one out of the 35 you ordered that did not get sold.

BTW, this discussion is the first time that I have ever heard the term lot queen. If someone asked me what a lot queen was I would have probably told them it was a female sales person who spends all her time catching ups.

jescue

I have never heard that term either but I like it. We have several of those here.

british_rover

Got lots of left over X-Types and S-Types?

jescue

2 07 X-Types. 1 07 S-type. I sold two 08 S-Types this month but they had already been punched.

british_rover

Well thats not too bad then I guess. Those X-Types will be hard to sell now that they aren't bringing them to the US anymore but it lease you don't have 10 of them or something.

No left over S-Type R I guess. That sucks.

jescue

If I had ordered any Rs I would be out of a job. I was warned not to let my love for them cloud my judgement. :mad:

british_rover

Ahh that was probably a smart move. I can't imagine sitting on a handful of S-Type Rs when you have XF Supercharged cars right next to them.

I have to order Land Rovers this week since our GM is on vacation. I have already ordered a couple but I need to look again this afternoon and see what else there is to order.

jescue

I wish we had supercharged XFs. They are in short supply.

greanpea68

I have never heard the term "lot queen" either :confuse:

We just say the one with a birthday which we never really have that many vehicles here like that. Saying a vehicle is having a birthday is funny enough. And the only ones that ever last that long are Titans, Armadas and a 2005 Sentra that was a manual tranny. no power windows/locks, no radio, no air conditioning...

GP

centerlink

I should add that we had already agreed on the out the door price of the car (as I negotiated it over the internet) and that price was being honored.

Also, I was not paying by personal check, but had already gotten financing from my bank, and my bank gave me a check from the bank to the dealer that the dealer would fax to them and get an immediate wire transfer of the funds.

Thanks for the reply!

centerlink

They said if I didn't fill out and sign the loan app, I would have to wait to get the car until the funds not only cleared, but were beyond the time that my bank could stop any payments - which I can understand. But when I said fine, I'd pick up the car after such time, they told me they still wouldn't sell me the car without my filling out and signing the loan app because they needed the information "because of 9/11."

What I really want to know is could they get this information on any piece of paper, or is there any reason I absolutely had to fill out and sign a loan app. Were they legitimately collecting information they were required to collect, or were they exploiting 9/11 to get me to fill out a loan app and sign it?

Thanks for your response!

jmonroe

...and a 2005 Sentra that was a manual tranny. no power windows/locks, no radio, no air conditioning...

C’mon, tell us you’re messin with us. A car today without a RADIO?

When I was a kid (back in the early 50’s) I remember my Father discussing car adds with my uncles and they would use the term “stripped” meaning the price for the car in the add didn’t include a ‘radio or a heater’. That’s what stripped meant back then. Using that definition I came from a well-to-do family because everyone had cars with a “radio and heater”.

A few years later a car without a radio, heater and automatic transmission was considered “stripped”

Again, I was a blue-blood, silver spoon in the mouth lad and didn’t even know it.

jmonroe

joel0622

it sounds to me like they have taken it to the extreme. But like I said earlier, folks in California march to the beat of a different drum then those of us here in Tennessee.

Call these folks and ask them.

CALIFORNIA
MOTOR CAR DEALERS
ASSOCIATION
1415 L Street, Suite 700, Sacramento, California 95814
916/441-2599 • FAX 916/441-5612 • http://www.cmcda.com

jmonroe

But when I said fine, I'd pick up the car after such time, they told me they still wouldn't sell me the car without my filling out and signing the loan app because they needed the information "because of 9/11."

If I were in your shoes I’d say BYE and move on to another dealer. Now, if everyone says the same thing then I guess you’ll have to play along but I doubt it.

There has been waaaay to much personal info given out these days for no legitimate reason.

I use my credit card for everything I can; groceries, gas, dept. stores, restaurants, etc. I might pay for that someday because the restaurants are the only ones that walk off with it (like ‘imid’ said in post 27989) but I just don’t want to run to the bank for a wad of cash anymore. I haven’t done that for about 20 years (but I have a pile of frequent flyer miles I never use). I’ve often joked that if I was ever held up, the mugger would probably shoot me because I rarely have more than $40 in my wallet and that would tick them off to think they wasted their time for that.

jmonroe

obyone

I am required to run every person through OFAC (Office of Foreign Assets and Controls) to ensure you are not on the terrorist watch list.

So for a cash customer you would tell them you need the info for a loan app or OFAC? The deal has already been negotiated, the guy has the cashier's check yet the salesperson is telling him we won't sell you a car unless you fill a credit app.

Somehow that doesn't make sense. Then again it could be that they need to run the OFAC and use the credit app line as its easier to explain. Course they don't figure they are dealing with a cash customer and their answer has no logic to it.

greanpea68

C’mon, tell us you’re messin with us. A car today without a RADIO?

I am not even kidding. It did not have AC or a radio... We called it the "anchor"...

GP

jescue

was it some nasty green color to make it even more appealing?

british_rover

haha we had a 2002 Freelander we called Baby blue that stuck around here for years and years. I think it had two birthdays but might have had three.

The motorcycle dealer near my house has a 2005 Suzuki that I am looking at. They have it listed for almost half of its original MSRP and if it is still available in June after I take my riders test again I think I will buy it.

jmonroe

...and if it is still available in June after I take my riders test again I think I will buy it.

Don't you mean "drivers" test? Then again maybe you mean you will have your wife "ride" you around. :confuse:

jmonroe

joel0622

Where did I say I needed a credit app? What I said was I don't need a SSN unless we get hit on the list. Their name and address is all we need which we get when we fill out the buyers order any how.

Ours is part of our menu and you don't even know I am doing it unless I tell you. Which I alway do. In a joking manner I will say "OK, before we finish up lets make sure your not a terrorist."

jipster

I use my credit card for everything I can; groceries, gas, dept. stores, restaurants, etc. I might pay for that someday because the restaurants are the only ones that walk off with it (like ‘imid’ said in post 27989) but I just don’t want to run to the bank for a wad of cash anymore. I haven’t done that for about 20 years (but I have a pile of frequent flyer miles I never use). I’ve often joked that if I was ever held up, the mugger would probably shoot me because I rarely have more than $40 in my wallet and that would tick them off to think they wasted their time for that.

I use my credit card for just about everything as well... most purchases over $10-$15. You might want to think about changing your credit card benefits to one that recieves cash back on purchases instead of frequent flyer miles. I get 3% (maybe up to 5%) back on groceries, gasoline, and drug prescriptions. I don't cash in but every couple years. I think it averages to about $350 a year in cash back.

If a mugger would shoot you for only having $40 in your wallet, I suppose I'd be shot and dismembered, as I usually only carry around $20... maybe $30. :sick:

isellhondas

Also serves as an "Option Contract"

If the customer's own financing falls apart or if the check bounces, as a last resort, the store can put the customer through their own lender.

greanpea68

was it some nasty green color to make it even more appealing?

No... It was black/grey interior... We had every mirror hanging tag you could put in that thing. It was our "add car" :surprise:

I remember when it got sold. I wasn't the sales person but this person was obviously a chisler :P

GP

british_rover

Its a motorcycle you don't drive it you ride it.

houdini1

You guys must live in a neighborhood of high class muggers. Most of the ones around here would chase you for 20 blocks for $5....then cut your throat anyway so you couldn't identify them.

jipster

Its a motorcycle you don't drive it you ride it.

LOL... true.

houdini1

Yes, sort of like a guided missile. :shades:

tlcruz

You guys must live in a neighborhood of high class muggers. Most of the ones around here would chase you for 20 blocks for $5....then cut your throat anyway so you couldn't identify them.

ROFL

I use to live in that type of neighborhood (in Los Angeles County, no less) and now, crime rarely happens because it's a upper clas / high clas area. My boyfriend tells me to keep my car unlocked and the front door unlocked. I'm like BUT WHAT IF.....It's hard to break an old habit. I was born & raised in Los Angeles and you expect me to just stop? Uhhhh no :P

- Tannis
Proud Owner of the Green Machine
02 Nissan Sentra SE-R

houdini1

Glad you got a laugh.

Speaking of Nissan, I just saw a pic of the 2009 Maxima. It is about time they made this car look like something again. I really liked it up until the 2004 model. The new one looks like it could have some possibilities.

I hope you stick around as we could use a woman's touch here on this forum!!

jmonroe

Its a motorcycle you don't drive it you ride it.

You are right...what was I thinking?

When I was a kid I remember asking my parents if I could take my 2 wheel bike out for a "ride". Not once did I ever ask to take it out for a "drive".

BTW, you said in post 28011, "...and if it is still available in June after I take my riders test again I think I will buy it". Are we to understand there was an unsuccessful first attempt? :confuse:

jmonroe

tlcruz

I really like the 09 Maxima as I am a Nissan Girl (I've owned 3 and loved em all) so naturally, I'm very drawn to it. But of course, I have no need for a mid-size sedan. Although, I could

I read the forum && posts every day but sometimes don't have a chance to reply to anything. We're in our busy season here @ the detail center so naturally, I'm here until 9pm

- Tannis
Proud Owner of the Green Machine
2002 Nissan Sentra SE-R

british_rover

I haven't had a motorcycle license in almost 10 years and I have never had one in this state so that is what I meant by again.