I am in the midst of a couple of serial test drivers. There M.O. is to come in and drag me all over the lot past closing time. It's now 18 minutes until closing. They are on test drive number 2. When they get back they will be asked if they are doing business today. If not they will get a hearty " Thanks for coming in!" right at closing time and the show room will be locked behind me. I would normally stay and give them the 5 cent tour but I have cool plans with a hot woman!
When I worked in our Auto Mall I used have that all the time, especially on weekends.
Folks would come and hit 3 or 4 dealerships and do full test drives, and would come into my store at 5 minutes to closing because we had a car on their list that they needed to test drive.
It was unfair to me because other dealerships had about 1 hour each to do a proper presentation and demo, show them all the relvant features and benfits, and I had 5 minutes to do it.
I'd usually try and reschedule them, cause otherwise I wouldn't even have a fighting chance. :sick:
Of course I over paid for the sofa, and you over paid for the mattress. We all over pay for items. In the business world it is called profit margins. If, however, I "saved" $1,000 on the sofa, then that is $1,000 of my money that they didn't get. I'm willing to go to six stores to do that. The process is like car shopping. Don't they double the price and add 40%, like the furniture dealer? :P
As you say, there is much mark-up in furniture and jewelry. If you think that is something, try clothes. I bought a Polo shirt this afternoon while shopping with the wife. It was 50% off plus an additional 40% at the register. The shirt is $80. Half is $40 and another 40% leaves a price of $24. Still, I over paid for the shirt. Ralph and the store are still making a profit. So it goes in American commerce.
BTW, we buy our mattresses at the Restonic Factory. We pick out height, cover, material, etc. Though I am sure that we over pay, it beats the stores.
You are such a mess. I do all of that explaining, and you respond that you love Kohl's. Well, so do I. Actually, it was SteinMart. I love that place, too.
"...Chrysler will sell 20K to 30K of them a year..."
I hope so being the last of the Chrysler fans. I would have bought a Crossfire if it had 50 more hp. Now I just couldn't see buying a big V-8 hemi with gas so high.
So I guess a Challenger will have to wait until 40K doesn't mean so much to me.
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
Never had much patience w/ grinders. I generally give em a price and send them on their way.
You're my kind of salesman. I don't like to waste time either but I have to get my way. So, you'd sell me a car, sweep me out or I'd leave on my own, which has happened a few times. Either way both of us would be happy.
While you might not have patience with grinders and I don't blame you for this, I don't think I've heard a salesman on this forum who hasn't complained about them and then complained again when they got a bad survey.
You are the very rare salesman we have all been looking for. But then I think about, "Sorry, I have ZERO sympathy for the uninformed buyer" (post 31048) and if that means 'club them like baby seals', I start to think you're old school and I misjudged another car salesman.
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
I hope so being the last of the Chrysler fans. I would have bought a Crossfire if it had 50 more hp. Now I just couldn't see buying a big V-8 hemi with gas so high.
I wouldn't get one without the Hemi; that's what makes the car. I'll be interested to see how the 2009 R/T with the six-speed manual performs.
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
We have a winner!!!! Now the one you posted looks harder than Chinese arithmetic! But I'll give it a try. Let me just refresh my memory, which these days takes a couple of days and sometimes weeks. :P I hope it relates to a car or mini-van or some kind of sales story. Mack
I don't take any ups on Saturdays around one hour before closing. They usually start arriving 15 minutes before closing and they want to do the Disneyland thing. Only way I'll stay past closing is if a deal ran longer than expected or if I have one of my regulars come in. Then I will put my d-tag on the car they want and send them home. Makes life a lot easier.
Which brings me to a short sales story from Saturday.
An elderly couple pulls up in an 04 Sienna. I wait for them to get out and as they start walking towards me I ask if they are here to see anyone in particular. "We're here to see Jessie." the old timer tells me in a gruff and grumpy manner. "Jessie?" I ask "Yes, the sales manager." he replies. "Ok, come on in and I'll let him know you are here. What is your name sir?" I ask. "Gridell" he replies, "Jim Gridell". I walk them into the showroom and I go to the sales tower to inform the sales manager. He's busy working a deal and when I tell him there is someone to see him he says "Who?" and goes back to working the deal. At that moment a sales woman we have comes in to the sales tower and hands me a worksheet with some numbers copied on the back of the sheet. "Here, you might need this." she tells me. "Is he your customer?" I asked. "Well, I called them. They were given a price by the customer care center and now they are here to look at colors." she tells me. "Wait a minute, I'm confused here :confuse: You never met them but you called him. How did you get the info?" I asked. She started back pedaling and avoided the question. "Oh, I get it now. That was a bone!" and I walked out. I went outside to the front of the showroom and my buddy Frank was standing out there. I told him what had happened and he says "Oh, they're feeding her too! unbelievable." I look back into the showroom and see Mr. and Mrs. Gridell standing around in the Scion section of the showroom looking at color swatches. I go back inside and tell them Jessie is busy working a deal and if Cindy came over to take care of them. "Yeah, she came over but I will have no dealings with her." he tells me. "What happened? did she say something to offend you?" I ask. "She called me earlier and was supposed to call me back with an answer but she never did. I won't do business with someone who won't return a simple phone call. You can help us if you want but I'll have nothing to do with her."
I see Cindy shooting the bull with the receptionist and walk up and tell her they don't want to deal with her. "That's ok. They just want to look at colors and I'm not about to go out there and look all over the lot in this heat." she tells me. Cindy has been with us for about three months. She's what we call a lot lizard but has no product knowledge whatsoever. She came to us from a VW store and who knows where she was before that. "Ok, I'll help them out." I tell her. "Suit yourself, I hope you got plenty of water." she tells me in a sarcastic tone. I decide to teach her a lesson as I go back to Mr. and Mrs. Glidell and ask them to follow me and have a seat. I offer them something to drink and they politely decline. I sit down and start my fact finding mission. I ask them which vehicle they are interested in, are they trading their Sienna, etc., etc,. Since they have our dealership plate holders I ask them who sold it to them. "I don't remember right now. It'll probably come back to me in a minute." he tells me. "Ok, here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to print an appraisal form with your vehicle's mileage and VIN#. Do you have your registration handy?" I ask. "It's out in the car." he replies as he stands up to go get it. "No, no, stay here. I'll get the VIN# from the door jamb, you stay here. It's way too hot out there. I just need the keys so I can look at the odometer." I tell them. He gives me the keys and I go out to their van to get the info I need. When I get back I tell them that while our UCM is appraising their vehicle I will go get the van they are interested in. I call the customer care center and ask Brittany what stock number she quoted a price on. She gives me the stock number and I check with the NCM to make sure it's not sold. It's available and since I walk my inventory daily I know exactly where it's parked. I walk through the showroom, through the service bay and out the back door. The van is about 20 feet from the door. I get the key out of the key box, get in turn the a/c on at full blast and lower all the windows to get the heat out. In the meantime I take the plastic covers off the seats and any paper trash that's in the vehicle from the delivery truck. I get back in the van and drive it to the shady side (no pun intended) of the showroom and I go back inside and tell them "Come on and take a look at your new van!"
We walk out and the hood still has the white plastic sheet they put on at the port. Mrs. Gridell looks at the van and says : "My goodness! that's a white van!" I then proceed to take the plastic off to show her the silver underneath. There is a white tC parked next to it so it's reflecting on the side of the van also. I tell her that and walk her to the other side where a black car is parked and the color of the van looks darker. She's happy now. Mr. Gridell starts asking me what is different on this van from his. I tell them all Siennas are now standard with trac/vsc, side impact/curtain airbags, and there are several new packages available like dual power sliding doors which were only available on the xle/xle limited before. He looks at the six cd in dash changer and asks how it works. I explain to him that you press the load button and wait for the word "load" to come up in the radio display and just keep doing that until all six cds are in. I offer them a test drive and he declines. "Oh, I know it probably runs as good as mine. I don't need to test drive."
We go back inside to talk turkey. I go to the sales manglers office and begin working numbers............. TO BE CONTINUED "
I hope you guys don't post too much next week. We're off to Florida to see relatives in the morning. Mrs. Richard says no laptops will make the trip. I feel withdrawal symptoms coming on now. :P
Hope everyone here has a great 4th of July. Also, take a moment to remember what it is all about.
I love my Navy Exchange. I can get Van Heusen, Geoffrey Beane, dress shirts for $18-20 bucks per shirt regular price. They put them on sale for 20% off throughout the year. I also get my watches there. Fossil 20% off all the time. It's about 5 miles from my house and I pay no sales tax. That is one of my bennies for serving in Uncle Sam's canoe club for 20+ years. Mack
Go to youtube and search for Joe American then watch the video. If this guy was running for Pres. he would have my vote. I would post a link if I knew how. How are sales going?
If I stopped by to see you, I would have to use my best grinder skills with such a tough salesman. :P Don't mention the wife. She would give you our stocks, bonds, kitchen sink---and then ask you if you would like our home in North Carolina.
I made the mistake the other morning of letting her pay for our breakfast while I went to the men's room. She gave the girl a $10 tip for a $20 breakfast! :sick:
I told my nephew that if I went to the Great Car Lot in the sky first, he was to handle her affairs.
BTW, we'll be in Port Saint Lucie and West Palm. Enjoy your trip to the Keys.
They are slow right now. Saturday we only put 12 new and used on the board. Today only 2 new were sold. I called the gentleman on the Sienna van and got him another 1k for his van but we still didn't make the deal. He decided to keep what he's got and told me when he's ready for another one he'll look me up. Mack P.S. since tomorrow is the end of the month I'm sure we'll make him an offer he can't refuse.
P.S. since tomorrow is the end of the month I'm sure we'll make him an offer he can't refuse
For a long time I’ve thought this was the case and when I bought in 05’ it was proven to me again.
I don’t know if I’ve told this tale or not but it’s relevant to this kind of thinking:
Son #1 worked for a LARGE Chevy dealer as a lot boy after his freshman and sophomore year at Penn State. When it was his nights to work until closing there would always be 4/5 salesman working with customers past quitting time and a few of the salesman would come up to him and/or the other kid that was working late and said, “Get car so and so ready to go because I’m selling that car tonight”. The first time this happened my son asked, “Why are you so sure you’re going to sell it”? The salesman’s reply was, “Because I won’t be able to sell another car today and this deal is close enough. I wouldn’t have accepted this kind of an offer at 9:30 this morning but now that it’s 9:30 at night I will. So start cleaning that thing so we can get out of here before midnight”.
My son said he got to know which salesman to listen to because some just talked and had no clue what the boss would accept and he’d be cleaning cars and no sales would be made. :mad:
So buying late in the day or at the end of the month is a good time to buy as long as your offer isn’t insulting.
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
OK kiddies....haven't been around in awhile. I see "the gang" is still here. That's a good thing.
Since Mac still is leaving everyone hanging, I'll throw a story out there that happened just this weekend.
Once again, a friend was in the market for a car. She had fallen on hard luck....divorce, credit issues, etc. But, her 10 year old Altima was closing in on 200K miles and she couldn't nurse it along without major repairs. She asked what she should do.
I told her before she looked at anything, we should take a look at her credit and what, if any money she had to put down as I doubted her Altima was going to net her much as a trade-in.
Well, depending on the credit reporting company she looked at, she was in the range of 650. Not bad....not great. She had one charge off but could explain it (bad debt as a result of the divorce). She may not qualify for the best finance rates, but she wouldn't get killed either. She has $5K to put down, so that should get her financed.
Next, we reviewed her budget...what she could/couldn't afford. While I thought $24K would have been the "sweetspot" for her, she could swing another $2-$3K if pushed, but not recommended. She had a couple of options. Personally, I would have steered her into a nice used car. But, she figured after going through a hellish divorce, she wanted a new car. She's a female. I'm not going to cajole or argue. Plus, given that she keeps cars until the wheels fall off, it was probably not a bad decision.
I asked her what she prefers. She would consider another Altima. I suggest we also look at the Accord and Malibu. Any of those would have fit right in that $24K range.
It's end of month....good time to buy a car. We went hunting yesterday....figuring we could close a deal today, if necessary. I check the newspaper for the Chevy, Nissan, Honda ads. Look here at Edmunds and a couple of other places to see what the market is for the cars in question....also check stock levels to see if the area is overloaded with inventory, or not. Look at the rebates and special offers.
I've got a fair idea what a good deal will be on any of them.
I tell me friend to bring her checkbook, just in case we find something we can swing a deal on.
First stop, Nissan store close to where she lives. I'm not fond of this particular dealership, as I always feel like I have to take a shower after I walk into their doors. Today is no exception. For a Sunday, at the end of the month, there certainly weren't many people in the dealership. Spying the Altima coupe (which I must say is handsome looking), she's smitten. Immediately, the sales person bounds out of the dealership. Nice enough fellow. He goes over the features of the car. He knows his product. That's a good sign.
He gets his dealer tag and before we can say anything, he's handing us the key. Frankly, I'm quite surprised how nice this car performs. Ends up, it's a 6 cyl. And, as I'm in the passenger seat, I find the sticker on the seat. $30K+...way out of the price range, even the top end of where she needs to be. But, I could tell the look in her eye. She's got the "gotta have this new car" look.
While I don't hold out much hope to get near her range, she asks me to give it a shot.
I ask the salesperson to fire first volley. Of course, his manager has to be consulted. Sheet comes back, not at MSRP...but $5K above MSRP.
I inform my friend that there's no need to talk further and get up to leave.
Gotta pull a mackabee here....I'll continue this later.
moo....good to see you're still hanging around, too.
Back to the story.....
As we're getting up to leave, the sales manager comes strolling out of his office. We're the only customers in the joint....at 2:00 p.m.....on a sunny day....at the end of the month...and the quarter. Quite strange.
"Why are you in a hurry?"
gg-"Well, we're not even remotely close on the numbers".
SM-"Oh....I thought you wanted the extended warranty figured in."
gg-"nope...never said a word about an extended warranty. Thanks for your time, though."
SM-"Won't you at least give me a chance to earn your business?"
Those of you who've been around awhile, know I only make one offer.
My companion obviously is in love with this car. She's clearly wanting me to sit down at the table.
gg-"OK...one more shot. Let's see what you come up with".
SM-"what number were you thinking?"
gg-"Well, you've got $500 worth of factory money, it's the end of the month/quarter. You don't have any customers. How about $2X,XXX (which is $500 under invoice)?"
SM-"let me go back to my office and figure something out for you".
We wait, make small talk with the sales person. And, brings out a shiny brochure, with all the pretty pictures, to go over the features again.
After about 15 minutes, I get up ready to leave and the sales manager immediately comes out.
SM-"Your payment will be $xxx/mo".
gg-"We don't care what the monthly payment will be. We want your bottom line price. I can figure my own TTL.
Again, ready to leave, my companion asks me to figure out what the real price of the car is (sigh....I hate doing business like this). I back out the $500 factory cash. I back out TTL. I estimate reasonable doc fees and back them out, too. The price is still $3K OVER MSRP.
Enough's enough. First, the SM didn't listen to what I was requesting (not payments, no extended warranty). After the 2nd request for some upfront info, he still didn't tell us what we were trying to find out.
This is the reason I don't do business in this manner. I wasted 45 minutes of my time with these jokers and got nowhere near to buying a car. It's a waste of my time.
Conversely, right across the street from the Nissan dealership, is a Honda store. Drove an Accord coupe (also very nice). She liked it (which is really all that matters). Sales person was knowledgeable. Tells us all about the car and the special financing (which I doubt she'll qualify for).
I made an offer of $200 over invoice. End of month, deal was accepted within 5 minutes of me making it.
They're trying to beat her bank rate (hopefully through the Honda special rates). But, since yesterday was a Sunday, they won't know until today. I'll check with my friend late on today to see where all this ends up.
Are you by any chance in Orlando on the south side of town? If so, I know EXACTLY who you're talking about, and I had the same slime ball experience there recently. They really are insulting.
Modified Bobst method: Two strikes and we're outta here!
'21 Dark Blue/Black Audi A7 PHEV (mine); '22 White/Beige BMW X3 (hers); '20 Estoril Blue/Oyster BMW M240xi 'Vert (Ours, read: hers in 'vert weather; mine during Nor'easters...)
Yes, Cincinnati area. kyfdx knows exactly the dealerships I'm speaking about. They are on Rt 4.
Moral of the story......if the customer asks for the numbers, give them the numbers. Don't try to hide them.
I understand perhaps there are some out there who only shop a payment (biggest mistake a car buyer can make). But, if you're being honest, what's there to hide by quoting payments only? I think the answer with the Nissan dealership, they were packing the numbers with extended warranties, and "mop & glo".
I'm of the mind, if you want those things, ask for them. At least offer the customer the option to ask for those "options", instead of hiding them in a monthly payment.
In this case, not only was the sales manager hiding additional charges to the deal, he was also charging my unsuspecting friend over MSRP. Payments didn't look out of whack, until I investigated further and found the deal was for 72 months. Not a term I'd recommend, either.
The Honda store was the exact opposite. All terms and costs were disclosed up front. It's either a deal one would like, or it wasn't. They asked my friend what terms she preferred, instead of assuming them (in order to get the monthly payment down to her level). Nice people to deal with, too. No hard sell. We got to the number in short order.
If it were just me buying, I'd have given them ONE shot to either accept or reject my number. Since my companion was so enamored with the Nissan, I went on the ride for a little while, but could tell almost immediately we weren't going to get a deal done. My theory has always been, the more offers that are thrown back and forth, the more you're going to pay. You're always going to get your offer "bumped" higher if you choose to get into a volley of offers back and forth. And, the more convoluted the deal gets.
In the end, she feels good about her purchase, and the Honda dealership got another unit on the board. It was a skinny deal, but it's another unit, on the last day of the month. Deal went down....within the last hour, to be exact. No "add-ons" in the finance office (although she was offered the extended warranty and the fancy wax, she turned them down at my suggestion, and they only asked once).
They were backed up in the prep dept and in finance. I told them we would go grab an early dinner and be back to finish up. We were gone about 90 minutes. When we returned her car was sitting out front, all shiny. We gave it the once over, got the obligatory "here's how everything works" speech. Hit finance immediately and had the papers signed and drove away in under 30 minutes.
Granted, I've dealt with this dealership group before. And knew what to expect. I've also dealt with the Nissan dealership before, and knew what to expect. Neither store changed my perception of them.
BTW...both the Altima and the Accord are nice cars. They've both come a long way since I drove either of those models. Still not sure I like the CVT trans in the Altima. I will say the CVT is better suited for the 6 cyl Altima than with their 4 cyl model.
If Honda has a sweet spot, it would be with their 190 HP 4 cyl. The 6 cyl doesn't feel like it's as powerful as the numbers suggest. IMHO, it's certainly not worth the extra ~$2k over the 4 cyl. And that 4 cyl makes some nice engine sounds. By seat of the pants, doesn't feel underpowered at all. It's probably one of the nicest 4 cyl engines I've ever driven. It's coming closer and closer to the ride/handling trade off of my 3 Series. Not there yet, but getting mighty close.
Not dissing Toyota, but if ever there were going to be a Japanese Buick, the Camry would be it. Not my cup of tea, at all. Then again, they sell a ton of them. So a lot of people must like that feeling.
Alls well that ends well.
PS...we were able to get her the special financing, too. 2.9% That was icing on the cake as it was unexpected with her credit faux pas. Also asked for (and got) the rubber winter mats thrown in.
Man... what the hail were those guys thinking. A V6 at 3k over? Those guys must have figured you two for prime "clubbing" material... or they are just a bit on the dirty side like you suggested.
Mind telling me the exact Honda dealership? I sell Hondas in Athens and Know a lot of people also if you could give me the salesmans first name...This equiring mind wants to know...
I've also less than complementary things about that Cincinnati dealer group. I was treated well by Beechmont Porsche and my purchase experiences at Kings Mazda and the BMW Store were both first-rate. In contrast, I wouldn't pee on the other Cinci BMW dealership if they were on fire... :P
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
Comments
Folks would come and hit 3 or 4 dealerships and do full test drives, and would come into my store at 5 minutes to closing because we had a car on their list that they needed to test drive.
It was unfair to me because other dealerships had about 1 hour each to do a proper presentation and demo, show them all the relvant features and benfits, and I had 5 minutes to do it.
I'd usually try and reschedule them, cause otherwise I wouldn't even have a fighting chance. :sick:
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
Of course I over paid for the sofa, and you over paid for the mattress. We all over pay for items. In the business world it is called profit margins. If, however, I "saved" $1,000 on the sofa, then that is $1,000 of my money that they didn't get. I'm willing to go to six stores to do that. The process is like car shopping. Don't they double the price and add 40%, like the furniture dealer? :P
As you say, there is much mark-up in furniture and jewelry. If you think that is something, try clothes. I bought a Polo shirt this afternoon while shopping with the wife. It was 50% off plus an additional 40% at the register. The shirt is $80. Half is $40 and another 40% leaves a price of $24. Still, I over paid for the shirt. Ralph and the store are still making a profit. So it goes in American commerce.
BTW, we buy our mattresses at the Restonic Factory. We pick out height, cover, material, etc. Though I am sure that we over pay, it beats the stores.
Richard
Sounds like Kohls. I love that place.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Richard
I hope so being the last of the Chrysler fans. I would have bought a Crossfire if it had 50 more hp. Now I just couldn't see buying a big V-8 hemi with gas so high.
So I guess a Challenger will have to wait until 40K doesn't mean so much to me.
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
I generally give em a price and send them on their way.
You're my kind of salesman. I don't like to waste time either but I have to get my way. So, you'd sell me a car, sweep me out or I'd leave on my own, which has happened a few times. Either way both of us would be happy.
While you might not have patience with grinders and I don't blame you for this, I don't think I've heard a salesman on this forum who hasn't complained about them and then complained again when they got a bad survey.
You are the very rare salesman we have all been looking for. But then I think about, "Sorry, I have ZERO sympathy for the uninformed buyer" (post 31048) and if that means 'club them like baby seals', I start to think you're old school and I misjudged another car salesman.
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
I wouldn't get one without the Hemi; that's what makes the car. I'll be interested to see how the 2009 R/T with the six-speed manual performs.
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
Now the one you posted looks harder than Chinese arithmetic! But I'll give it a try. Let me just refresh my memory, which these days takes a couple of days and sometimes weeks. :P I hope it relates to a car or mini-van or some kind of sales story.
Mack
"I will be a dealer soon so i think it is time to raise the pack and cut the %"
Sounds criminalist to me
Which brings me to a short sales story from Saturday.
An elderly couple pulls up in an 04 Sienna. I wait for them to get out and as they start walking towards me I ask if they are here to see anyone in particular. "We're here to see Jessie." the old timer tells me in a gruff and grumpy manner. "Jessie?" I ask "Yes, the sales manager." he replies. "Ok, come on in and I'll let him know you are here. What is your name sir?" I ask. "Gridell" he replies, "Jim Gridell".
I walk them into the showroom and I go to the sales tower to inform the sales manager. He's busy working a deal and when I tell him there is someone to see him he says "Who?" and goes back to working the deal. At that moment a sales woman we have comes in to the sales tower and hands me a worksheet with some numbers copied on the back of the sheet. "Here, you might need this." she tells me. "Is he your customer?" I asked. "Well, I called them. They were given a price by the customer care center and now they are here to look at colors." she tells me. "Wait a minute, I'm confused here :confuse: You never met them but you called him. How did you get the info?" I asked. She started back pedaling and avoided the question. "Oh, I get it now. That was a bone!" and I walked out.
I went outside to the front of the showroom and my buddy Frank was standing out there. I told him what had happened and he says "Oh, they're feeding her too! unbelievable."
I look back into the showroom and see Mr. and Mrs. Gridell standing around in the Scion section of the showroom looking at color swatches. I go back inside and tell them Jessie is busy working a deal and if Cindy came over to take care of them. "Yeah, she came over but I will have no dealings with her." he tells me. "What happened? did she say something to offend you?" I ask. "She called me earlier and was supposed to call me back with an answer but she never did. I won't do business with someone who won't return a simple phone call. You can help us if you want but I'll have nothing to do with her."
I see Cindy shooting the bull with the receptionist and walk up and tell her they don't want to deal with her. "That's ok. They just want to look at colors and I'm not about to go out there and look all over the lot in this heat." she tells me. Cindy has been with us for about three months. She's what we call a lot lizard but has no product knowledge whatsoever. She came to us from a VW store and who knows where she was before that. "Ok, I'll help them out." I tell her. "Suit yourself, I hope you got plenty of water." she tells me in a sarcastic tone. I decide to teach her a lesson as I go back to Mr. and Mrs. Glidell and ask them to follow me and have a seat. I offer them something to drink and they politely decline. I sit down and start my fact finding mission. I ask them which vehicle they are interested in, are they trading their Sienna, etc., etc,. Since they have our dealership plate holders I ask them who sold it to them. "I don't remember right now. It'll probably come back to me in a minute." he tells me. "Ok, here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to print an appraisal form with your vehicle's mileage and VIN#. Do you have your registration handy?" I ask. "It's out in the car." he replies as he stands up to go get it. "No, no, stay here. I'll get the VIN# from the door jamb, you stay here. It's way too hot out there. I just need the keys so I can look at the odometer." I tell them. He gives me the keys and I go out to their van to get the info I need. When I get back I tell them that while our UCM is appraising their vehicle I will go get the van they are interested in. I call the customer care center and ask Brittany what stock number she quoted a price on. She gives me the stock number and I check with the NCM to make sure it's not sold. It's available and since I walk my inventory daily I know exactly where it's parked. I walk through the showroom, through the service bay and out the back door. The van is about 20 feet from the door. I get the key out of the key box, get in turn the a/c on at full blast and lower all the windows to get the heat out. In the meantime I take the plastic covers off the seats and any paper trash that's in the vehicle from the delivery truck. I get back in the van and drive it to the shady side (no pun intended) of the showroom and I go back inside and tell them "Come on and take a look at your new van!"
We walk out and the hood still has the white plastic sheet they put on at the port. Mrs. Gridell looks at the van and says : "My goodness! that's a white van!" I then proceed to take the plastic off to show her the silver underneath. There is a white tC parked next to it so it's reflecting on the side of the van also. I tell her that and walk her to the other side where a black car is parked and the color of the van looks darker. She's happy now. Mr. Gridell starts asking me what is different on this van from his. I tell them all Siennas are now standard with trac/vsc, side impact/curtain airbags, and there are several new packages available like dual power sliding doors which were only available on the xle/xle limited before. He looks at the six cd in dash changer and asks how it works. I explain to him that you press the load button and wait for the word "load" to come up in the radio display and just keep doing that until all six cds are in. I offer them a test drive and he declines. "Oh, I know it probably runs as good as mine. I don't need to test drive."
We go back inside to talk turkey. I go to the sales manglers office and begin working numbers.............
TO BE CONTINUED
"
I agree. I couldn't see a car like that with a 2.7L engine. I'd be ashamed to be seen in it. :sick:
That would be like buying a BMW with bad handling.
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
How can this be? I just rode past the local Honda and Toyota stores and they are loaded with cars.
To be almost sold out of Hyundais tells me that buyers must not be too discriminating in your neighborhood. :shades:
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
Hope everyone here has a great 4th of July. Also, take a moment to remember what it is all about.
Richard
Be strong my son.
Mack
Go to youtube and search for Joe American then watch the video. If this guy was running for Pres. he would have my vote. I would post a link if I knew how. How are sales going?
2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460
Richard
i will try my best to extract some cash from you on a deskman screamer ad unit :shades:
want me to run a 3000 min trade for wives?
I made the mistake the other morning of letting her pay for our breakfast while I went to the men's room. She gave the girl a $10 tip for a $20 breakfast! :sick:
I told my nephew that if I went to the Great Car Lot in the sky first, he was to handle her affairs.
BTW, we'll be in Port Saint Lucie and West Palm. Enjoy your trip to the Keys.
Richard
Mack
P.S. since tomorrow is the end of the month I'm sure we'll make him an offer he can't refuse.
Heck, I got a lawn mower for my wife. Best trade I've ever made!
Finish the damn story. Thanks,
Moo
For a long time I’ve thought this was the case and when I bought in 05’ it was proven to me again.
I don’t know if I’ve told this tale or not but it’s relevant to this kind of thinking:
Son #1 worked for a LARGE Chevy dealer as a lot boy after his freshman and sophomore year at Penn State. When it was his nights to work until closing there would always be 4/5 salesman working with customers past quitting time and a few of the salesman would come up to him and/or the other kid that was working late and said, “Get car so and so ready to go because I’m selling that car tonight”. The first time this happened my son asked, “Why are you so sure you’re going to sell it”? The salesman’s reply was, “Because I won’t be able to sell another car today and this deal is close enough. I wouldn’t have accepted this kind of an offer at 9:30 this morning but now that it’s 9:30 at night I will. So start cleaning that thing so we can get out of here before midnight”.
My son said he got to know which salesman to listen to because some just talked and had no clue what the boss would accept and he’d be cleaning cars and no sales would be made. :mad:
So buying late in the day or at the end of the month is a good time to buy as long as your offer isn’t insulting.
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
Since Mac still is leaving everyone hanging, I'll throw a story out there that happened just this weekend.
Once again, a friend was in the market for a car. She had fallen on hard luck....divorce, credit issues, etc. But, her 10 year old Altima was closing in on 200K miles and she couldn't nurse it along without major repairs. She asked what she should do.
I told her before she looked at anything, we should take a look at her credit and what, if any money she had to put down as I doubted her Altima was going to net her much as a trade-in.
Well, depending on the credit reporting company she looked at, she was in the range of 650. Not bad....not great. She had one charge off but could explain it (bad debt as a result of the divorce). She may not qualify for the best finance rates, but she wouldn't get killed either. She has $5K to put down, so that should get her financed.
Next, we reviewed her budget...what she could/couldn't afford. While I thought $24K would have been the "sweetspot" for her, she could swing another $2-$3K if pushed, but not recommended. She had a couple of options. Personally, I would have steered her into a nice used car. But, she figured after going through a hellish divorce, she wanted a new car. She's a female. I'm not going to cajole or argue. Plus, given that she keeps cars until the wheels fall off, it was probably not a bad decision.
I asked her what she prefers. She would consider another Altima. I suggest we also look at the Accord and Malibu. Any of those would have fit right in that $24K range.
It's end of month....good time to buy a car. We went hunting yesterday....figuring we could close a deal today, if necessary. I check the newspaper for the Chevy, Nissan, Honda ads. Look here at Edmunds and a couple of other places to see what the market is for the cars in question....also check stock levels to see if the area is overloaded with inventory, or not. Look at the rebates and special offers.
I've got a fair idea what a good deal will be on any of them.
I tell me friend to bring her checkbook, just in case we find something we can swing a deal on.
First stop, Nissan store close to where she lives. I'm not fond of this particular dealership, as I always feel like I have to take a shower after I walk into their doors. Today is no exception. For a Sunday, at the end of the month, there certainly weren't many people in the dealership. Spying the Altima coupe (which I must say is handsome looking), she's smitten. Immediately, the sales person bounds out of the dealership. Nice enough fellow. He goes over the features of the car. He knows his product. That's a good sign.
He gets his dealer tag and before we can say anything, he's handing us the key. Frankly, I'm quite surprised how nice this car performs. Ends up, it's a 6 cyl. And, as I'm in the passenger seat, I find the sticker on the seat. $30K+...way out of the price range, even the top end of where she needs to be. But, I could tell the look in her eye. She's got the "gotta have this new car" look.
While I don't hold out much hope to get near her range, she asks me to give it a shot.
I ask the salesperson to fire first volley. Of course, his manager has to be consulted. Sheet comes back, not at MSRP...but $5K above MSRP.
I inform my friend that there's no need to talk further and get up to leave.
Gotta pull a mackabee here....I'll continue this later.
No Jamie here Bro.
Good to see you're still around and having fun at the dealerships. Finish the story!! :shades:
-moo
Back to the story.....
As we're getting up to leave, the sales manager comes strolling out of his office. We're the only customers in the joint....at 2:00 p.m.....on a sunny day....at the end of the month...and the quarter. Quite strange.
"Why are you in a hurry?"
gg-"Well, we're not even remotely close on the numbers".
SM-"Oh....I thought you wanted the extended warranty figured in."
gg-"nope...never said a word about an extended warranty. Thanks for your time, though."
SM-"Won't you at least give me a chance to earn your business?"
Those of you who've been around awhile, know I only make one offer.
My companion obviously is in love with this car. She's clearly wanting me to sit down at the table.
gg-"OK...one more shot. Let's see what you come up with".
SM-"what number were you thinking?"
gg-"Well, you've got $500 worth of factory money, it's the end of the month/quarter. You don't have any customers. How about $2X,XXX (which is $500 under invoice)?"
SM-"let me go back to my office and figure something out for you".
We wait, make small talk with the sales person. And, brings out a shiny brochure, with all the pretty pictures, to go over the features again.
After about 15 minutes, I get up ready to leave and the sales manager immediately comes out.
SM-"Your payment will be $xxx/mo".
gg-"We don't care what the monthly payment will be. We want your bottom line price. I can figure my own TTL.
Again, ready to leave, my companion asks me to figure out what the real price of the car is (sigh....I hate doing business like this). I back out the $500 factory cash. I back out TTL. I estimate reasonable doc fees and back them out, too. The price is still $3K OVER MSRP.
Enough's enough. First, the SM didn't listen to what I was requesting (not payments, no extended warranty). After the 2nd request for some upfront info, he still didn't tell us what we were trying to find out.
This is the reason I don't do business in this manner. I wasted 45 minutes of my time with these jokers and got nowhere near to buying a car. It's a waste of my time.
Conversely, right across the street from the Nissan dealership, is a Honda store. Drove an Accord coupe (also very nice). She liked it (which is really all that matters). Sales person was knowledgeable. Tells us all about the car and the special financing (which I doubt she'll qualify for).
I made an offer of $200 over invoice. End of month, deal was accepted within 5 minutes of me making it.
They're trying to beat her bank rate (hopefully through the Honda special rates). But, since yesterday was a Sunday, they won't know until today. I'll check with my friend late on today to see where all this ends up.
Favorite moment: "Oh, I thought you wanted the extended warranty included."
LOL!! The SM is probably trying to show off to his crew. "Look at me!! I have all kinds of Jedi mind tricks I play on my customers." :shades:
A little earlier I popped in here and thought I'd now have to deal with two continuing tales after missing just a couple of days.
'21 Dark Blue/Black Audi A7 PHEV (mine); '22 White/Beige BMW X3 (hers); '20 Estoril Blue/Oyster BMW M240xi 'Vert (Ours, read: hers in 'vert weather; mine during Nor'easters...)
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Moral of the story......if the customer asks for the numbers, give them the numbers. Don't try to hide them.
I understand perhaps there are some out there who only shop a payment (biggest mistake a car buyer can make). But, if you're being honest, what's there to hide by quoting payments only? I think the answer with the Nissan dealership, they were packing the numbers with extended warranties, and "mop & glo".
I'm of the mind, if you want those things, ask for them. At least offer the customer the option to ask for those "options", instead of hiding them in a monthly payment.
In this case, not only was the sales manager hiding additional charges to the deal, he was also charging my unsuspecting friend over MSRP. Payments didn't look out of whack, until I investigated further and found the deal was for 72 months. Not a term I'd recommend, either.
The Honda store was the exact opposite. All terms and costs were disclosed up front. It's either a deal one would like, or it wasn't. They asked my friend what terms she preferred, instead of assuming them (in order to get the monthly payment down to her level). Nice people to deal with, too. No hard sell. We got to the number in short order.
If it were just me buying, I'd have given them ONE shot to either accept or reject my number. Since my companion was so enamored with the Nissan, I went on the ride for a little while, but could tell almost immediately we weren't going to get a deal done. My theory has always been, the more offers that are thrown back and forth, the more you're going to pay. You're always going to get your offer "bumped" higher if you choose to get into a volley of offers back and forth. And, the more convoluted the deal gets.
In the end, she feels good about her purchase, and the Honda dealership got another unit on the board. It was a skinny deal, but it's another unit, on the last day of the month. Deal went down....within the last hour, to be exact. No "add-ons" in the finance office (although she was offered the extended warranty and the fancy wax, she turned them down at my suggestion, and they only asked once).
They were backed up in the prep dept and in finance. I told them we would go grab an early dinner and be back to finish up. We were gone about 90 minutes. When we returned her car was sitting out front, all shiny. We gave it the once over, got the obligatory "here's how everything works" speech. Hit finance immediately and had the papers signed and drove away in under 30 minutes.
Granted, I've dealt with this dealership group before. And knew what to expect. I've also dealt with the Nissan dealership before, and knew what to expect. Neither store changed my perception of them.
BTW...both the Altima and the Accord are nice cars. They've both come a long way since I drove either of those models. Still not sure I like the CVT trans in the Altima. I will say the CVT is better suited for the 6 cyl Altima than with their 4 cyl model.
If Honda has a sweet spot, it would be with their 190 HP 4 cyl. The 6 cyl doesn't feel like it's as powerful as the numbers suggest. IMHO, it's certainly not worth the extra ~$2k over the 4 cyl. And that 4 cyl makes some nice engine sounds. By seat of the pants, doesn't feel underpowered at all. It's probably one of the nicest 4 cyl engines I've ever driven. It's coming closer and closer to the ride/handling trade off of my 3 Series. Not there yet, but getting mighty close.
Not dissing Toyota, but if ever there were going to be a Japanese Buick, the Camry would be it. Not my cup of tea, at all. Then again, they sell a ton of them. So a lot of people must like that feeling.
Alls well that ends well.
PS...we were able to get her the special financing, too. 2.9% That was icing on the cake as it was unexpected with her credit faux pas. Also asked for (and got) the rubber winter mats thrown in.
Man... what the hail were those guys thinking. A V6 at 3k over? Those guys must have figured you two for prime "clubbing" material... or they are just a bit on the dirty side like you suggested.
You should see his brother frankie :shades: :shades: ,makes me look like a nice guy
Mind telling me the exact Honda dealership? I sell Hondas in Athens and Know a lot of people also if you could give me the salesmans first name...This equiring mind wants to know...
I've leased three Accords there... The F&I guy from the 2nd one was the UCM by the time Ieased the 3rd one... and is now the GM...
The salespeople seem to turn over quickly, though..
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