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Comments
i assert most people would rather avoid negotiation.
further, most people find it baffling that the same car with same options can cost people drastically differing amounts. this pre-disposes them to being on guard around salespeople.
-thene
p.s - our old receptionist at the dealer i worked at is apparently at your place of employment...so i hear at least!
just had to vent on that though - there comes a time when enough is enough!
i once had this guy come in with his mother to buy cars. he was going to buy a maxima, and she was going to buy an altima. i took care of the mother, and my GM took care of the son (he had spoken to him on the phone previously). well i am sitting out in the showroom with the mother, going over the paperwork, when we hear some shouting coming from the GM's office. they are both standing (the guy is a state trooper and an army guy) and my GM is about 6'4" and 330 lbs. i look at the mother and we're shocked. (she makes a comment about men always having to solve things in a violent manner). after a few minutes of screaming and hollering - they are all of a sudden laughing and shaking hands. turns out my GM had made a promise to him on the phone about a price, written it down on a piece of paper to remember for later, and had accidentally pushed it under his desk calendar. so when the guy came in, he didn't have it in front of him, and didn't remember the promise he made, and they got all up in arms about it. he ended up finding the paper, and they both started laughing and the deal ended up going through.
about 4-5 months later, he was sent out to Iraq, and he ended up calling the dealership (specifically the GM) to say hi, and let us know he was ok. they became really good friends after that initial argument!
anyone else have any good stories?
-thene
It all depends upon how the person values his own money. If he feels he makes enough to blow the amount in question, he will not negotiate; else he will negotiate.
* replace "he" with "he/she/it" as you feel.
Is it also important for the sales person to feel that he has won too, or are you (collectively) professional enough to not need to score a win?
I ask because I use a modified "Bobst". That is I go in with a good, but do-able number and stick to it. The last time in fact I made an offer and then came up $4.34 or something like that, it was certainly less than $5, and we had a deal though the sales person seemed less than happy about it. Maybe I should go in a couple of hundred less than where I want to be to allow the salesman a bump and so he'd be happier, but the danger with that is that he may just dismiss my offer out of hand.
Of course you don't need a business degree to make a comment. Every single one of us conducts business and that is sufficient qualification. A business degree simply means that you have been inculcated with the mundane bureaucratic mechanics of formal trade and mercantilism.
tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper
I don't know how long or if you have been in the business, but I will (and I am sure other sales people) will guarantee you that the VAST majority of customers want to negotiate. If some one asks me for my best price and I provide it, invariably they will want to negotiate. I don't, because if I give a best price, it is my best price
If they sell a car they did win
ha ha! thanks for the laugh
-thene
Reminds me of a story. This is not aimed at any one just a story.
When I was the training manager here I was responsible for all of the hiring, training, and firing of sales people. One time I went and worked a Job Fair at a local college. I had a banner up with our dealers name and a Ford Logo at both ends.
A guy walks up and starts asking me about the prospect of being an Engineer for Ford Motor Co. I explain I am hiring sales people. He gets mad at me for wasting his time and there is no way he would waste his degree in engineering by selling cars. He went on to say that he can easily get a job making $40K a year to start. I said "not bad, I hit $40K about June. Good luck with that degree".
If the guy had not been such an [non-permissible content removed]. I think of him every time I watch Good Will Hunting and Damon has the line about getting the same education with $2.50 in late fees at the library.
If the guy had not been such an [non-permissible content removed]. I think of him every time I watch Good Will Hunting and Damon has the line about getting the same education with $2.50 in late fees at the library.
There is an issue with "entitlement" at university job fairs. After someone spends 4+ years killing themselves for a degree (or not so killing themselves and spending 4+ years of their parents money boozing and partying), they feel the world owes them a job. And it better be a good one. There is this feeling that they paid their dues and now they reap benefits.
It takes some reflection and time to realize the degree is just an enabling component. Unfortunately, kids that have been told how great and how wonderful they are their whole life have a little bit of an adjustment ahead of them in the real world.
I also think the people with this "entitlement" complex are the same ones that burn deals and are generally disrespectful to sales people and anyone they deem lessor or unworthy.
The entitlement complex isn't to be confused with knowing what you and your skills are worth in the marketplace, and what you are interested in doing or not doing.
It has everything to do with it. Ford makes 10,000 Focus, but only 10 (my guess) will sell at MSRP. Then they have to give cash back, 0% APR, etc. How is it different? Market dictates.
Its becoming apparent.
if you have businesses "undercutting" each other, then eventually i would think everyone would just get back to negotiating prices.
If that were the case you would be negotiating for everything you buy, from the gas you pump, clothes you buy, the food you eat and so on. Most companies are out there trying to "undercut" each other, that doesn't mean that they will go into negotiations. Same can be done with dealerships.
and i don't agree that retail stores like best buy sell below MSRP. in fact, i found an item at a best buy store that was retailing at their store for OVER MSRP!
I am not saying that Best but or any other retailer doesn't sell things at MSRP or higher, just that most stuff sells for less than MSRP. The market sets the price and in most cases the market is below what the manufacturer says. The fact is that just about any time you go to a place like best buy most of the big tickets items are at below MSRP.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Are we back to this argument again?? :surprise:
Thene and I provided evidence to the contrary. I provided a good example for my argument: Best Buy's normal prices for Sony products, including their big-ticket items, match Sony's "sonystyle" web site's prices. Degree or no degree, it is difficult to win debates without facts or examples.
"The market sets the price and in most cases the market is below what the manufacturer says."
I agree, if you replace "most" with "many" (to avoid generalization), but I also wonder if the manufacturers know, ahead of time, that the market price will be below the MSRP they list? For some commodity products, the MSRP is almost useless information.
I didn't think we were off it yet.
Thene and I provided evidence to the contrary.
Your statements that it is contrary is not evidence. Go to their websites and see what they are selling for, in most cases its below MSRP.
Best Buy's normal prices for Sony products, including their big-ticket items, match Sony's "sonystyle" web site's prices.
Unless Best buy has a 365 day a year sale it is not, A Sony model KDL-46XBR2 TV is sold at Best Buy for $330.00 less that Sonys websites. the model KDL-46S2010 for $250.00 less at Best buys web site. The model KDL-40XBR2 is $135.00 less on Best Buys website.
Degree or no degree, it is difficult to win debates without facts or examples.
Those are facts, those are examples. Where are yours?
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
You forget that Snakeweasel is never wrong!
I nearly responded to his contradiction of my gas/diesel differential pricing until I remembered that.
When SUV resale tanked around '00, guess who had made up those residuals that wound up costing the banks $4k+ per unit?
A business degree isn't much good if you can't tell when your models don't work.
A couple of my friends got science degrees, then went to work as consultants for Deloitte & Touche for a couple years... they had hair-raising stories to tell.
And they both agreed that with 4 points on a graph, 9 out of 10 MBAs will run a straight line through it it looks like it fits... and give results two years out to five significant digits.... hey, it's a least-squares fit, it's gotta be right.
The real trick is always knowing what you know, and how well you know it, and when you don't know.
"I ain't much fer book learnin" -Mathias
I spend much of my life trying to explain to people who think in 4 or 5 significant figures why none of it matters if the material properties aren't known closer than 2.5.
Or I could flap my arms and fly to the moon (credit Charles Shultz).
And what gas/diesel price differential?
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2025 Camry SE AWD
Its becoming apparent.
THAT was totally uncalled for. You might think you're proving something with your facts and figures. The only thing you're proving to me is what kind of a person you are.
My experience says that the good salespeople and dealerships like the idea that customers go away thinking they have beaten them up one side and down the other. How many times have we heard about buyers doing that, yet a lot of the same dealerships have been around since dirt was invented.
For the most part, I think I know who is being beaten like a drum. :surprise:
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
If people actually expected to repay their debts in their lifetime, there would be more haggling. With the fiscal policy of the average household the way it is, there is no reason to haggle on anything. Just keep borrowing, declare bankruptcy and walk away, wait 2 years, repeat.
Actually if people expect to repay their debt in their lifetime (remember that debt is not always bad) their would be more living within their means.
Granted I believe there should be more haggling in this world. I try it for almost every large purchase. Just in some areas it just can't be done.
FWIW you now have to wait 7 years to file bankruptcy again.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
And, there are now income limitations on Ch 7, which depend on the size of your household...this provision alone, whi not earth shattering, has reduced Ch 7 by about 10%, as some folks earn over the income limitation and are virtually precluded from filing a 7, as it is legally known as "a presumption of abuse"
Granted I believe there should be more haggling in this world. I try it for almost every large purchase. Just in some areas it just can't be done.
Some stuff just costs way more than it should and people dont care because they aren't going to repay it anyway.
This is what I tried to explain to Mrs. jmonroe about three years ago when I decided to refinance at 4 1/2% instead of paying off the homestead altogether like she wanted to do.
Sometimes I think I should have walked away from the table with some cash for investing but I didn't. At the time I didn't want to push my luck too far. I thought I was doing pretty good as it was.
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
You also have to go through a credit counseling in order to declare bankruptcy. You also have to have filed and paid all your prior years tax returns as well as any mortgage payments in arrears.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
If a woman can have a baby in nine months, can we get nine women together to have the baby in one? Or, better yet, 18 & get it done in two weeks?
This is especially relevant in an industry (mine) in which it's never possible to get necessary resources upfront, but they're willing to throw 100X at it once it's too late.
Am I cynical? No, but I can read and write. Does a bear. . .
Those are the same folks that come back to the dealership two years later to trade and when you tell them there ride is worth $28K they scream it was a $53K truck two years ago.
Please stick around. Your input here is much needed.
Just ignore him as I try to do.
i really wish edmunds would implement an ignore feature more advanced than the scroll method.
if people need to resort to personal attacks on another person's education - perhaps they missed that first lesson way back in kindergarten...
do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
any good stories?
-thene :sick:
-Moo
You never even know they are there.
It is great for the kind of people who you can't help but respond to.
Off Topic:
You and your husband are about the same age as my wife and I we should get together for drinks or dinner sometime.
Let's try not to make it personal.
tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper
You're not trying hard enough. Now, whenever I see his name, I don't even hesitate, I just keep scrolling.
2013 Mustang GT, 2001 GMC Yukon Denali
Wow that is a 30% commision on the front end. I wish I got 30%comm. pay plan
tidester - sorry - i didn't mean to make it personal - i was just very upset by some comments made that i thought were not necessary and kind of insulting. i know i should just turn the other way, but sometimes i just want to let the offending person know that their comments were not appropriate. i apologize for any personal remarks i may have made.
so, back on topic, any new wacky stories from the resident salespeople here? i sure could use a wacky one today!!
-thene
That has mini written all over it.
He's the king of off-topic, and focuses on the dull minutae. If he thinks someone is wrong, he will beat the subject to death in the most argumentative fashion possible regardless if it has to do with cars/dealerships or not.
He should have had posting privs revoked years ago.