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Comments
I agree - I always secure financing before going to the dealer. I always tell them what rate I have been approved at (and am honest about it), and offer them a shot at beating it. Every time, the dealer has been able to beat my rate, and I too have good credit.
The way I look at it is if the best I can get is 5.5%, I don't care if the dealer charges me 5% (and is really getting 4%, but marking it up to 5%), they are still getting me a better rate than I could get on my own.
Just as I was walking out the door, my appointment showed up early. I worked that deal. This one was a bit of a marathon as we just couldn't get numbers right. Eventually, the numbers gelled up and we got that vehicle delivered as well.
All the salespeople were busy as the evening came on. I tried to help a woman who told me she knew what she wanted, but she was ALL over the board. She was looking at a Scion, a Civic Si and wanted to see what we had comparable. I directed her towards the Sentra Spec-V. She thought the Altima coupe and the Z would be interesting as well. Righhht. I quickly dropped her to our internet guy as I had 2 other appointments show up almost right next to each other.
I juggled the two customers in adjacent offices. Closed one on a Maxima, but the 2nd couple couldn't move another $30/month. It's a little frustrating because I know I could have closed them last night if I had the time, but I just didn't. I'll try and get them wrapped up this morning.
A hat trick at the beginning of the month is always a good way to start.
Happy selling!
-Moo
Another quetion...when you've got more than one deal in the fire at the same time, do you pass one or the other off to another sales person in the interest of expediency?
As for handing off a deal in bag... not on your life :P
What does a guy buying a Lexus want with a Land Rover shirt anyways? Just because you can get it doesn't mean you should.
No animals were harmed in the making of this story.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
me? i wouldn't want you doing any juggling. you are either working with me, or somebody else.
$30/mo seems so small. but wait, that's another $2K+ on a 6yr note. enough to buy new tires 4 times over. just out of curiousity, how much were you into the profit category at that point?
I remember a good story with regards to that.... I remember desking a deal with a guy who was hell-bent that we were going to screw him somehow. He was on a leftover service loaner.. car had like 2,500 miles.. I think the sticker was like $35k, invoice $32,500, incentives all told came to about $3k and I was dumping it for $27,700.... used ones like it on AutoTrader were selling for that or more.
Anyhow, we ask him how he planned to pay for the car as he said he was brining in a bank check. Turns out he was financing through his bank because we would kill him on the rate, no problem Sir, have at it.
Background note: Guy is extremely obnoxious.
So he turns up to take delivery, hands over a draft from Wachovia Bank. He then gets all smug and says "Look at the rate I got, 7.9%, sure pays to have good credit, eh?"
F&I Guy, with a straight face and not missing a beat, says, Wow, had you gone through us we could have done 6.75% through Wachovia but if we went through Chase I could have gotten you down to 6.5%. OK, let's get the paperwork started so we can get you on your way."
"You WHAT? WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?"
"Well, you said you would not finance through us under any circumstances, so there was really no need to discuss it with you I thought."
Now he pops a fuse and is furious and demands to talk to the manager. I come out...
"Sir, what's the problem? Is everything Ok with your new car?"
"What's this guy saying he can beat my rate by a point and a half?"
"Well, if we had the opprotunity to do so, we probably could beat aretail rate from your bank, probably using your own bank if you wanted to"
"There's NO WAY, you guys are LYING!"
"There is a way Sir! You have to understand, you might buy $25,000 from your bank once every 3 years, we buy more than that from a bank before lunch, they sell us the money very cheaply because we buy a lot of it. Kind of like how Best Buy buys TV sets cheaper than you can, they buy millions of them so Sony sells them to Best Buy for less than you can buy one for at the Sony Store."
"Well, umm, can you get me that rate maybe?"
"Sure, let's talk to Rich and see what he can do"
He ended up financing with us of course... of course, since we are all evil and greedy we made a point on the rate, but we were still 1.4% cheaper than his bank.
Might have a line on a decent 525iA that a customer of mine has... he wants to get into an E39 528i and is looking to dump his 91 525iA Sedan.
190k, paint is really weak, leather worn, but mechanically it's 100%... suspension, cooling system, brakes, trans was done at 155k, etc.. all in good shape.
Let me know if you want me to get you his info.
Bill
Now, I have spent another $4,000+ on it and have a lot more to go.. but... not the place to do it, but I took a pic of it with 17 other E28 M5s at 5erFest in Chattanooga over memorial day weekend. I'm on the event team for that event.. which will be out west next year.
Did your store have other people available for new car buyers or were they 100% pushing the used goods out the gate?
Regards,
Kyle
I honestly don't remember, but I would guess if you wanted a new car that day your were SOL. We had 100 + customers standing on the used car lot. No salesperson in the world is going to leave that many used car customers to go sell a new Escort and make a mini deal.
It depends. For me if I'm paying full sticker or close to it, you better believe I want full service and a quick turnaround. If it's a mini, I'd be pretty flexible. Probably just put a deposit down and finish up by fax or come back when it's quieter.
A couple of Sundays ago, I greeted a single woman who wanted to drive 3 different SUV's and it didn't matter which models of each, just wanted to drive. She wouldn't narrow down, so I had her go to the front desk to page an available salesman. I don't have time to waste on that.
As far as juggling deals, there is a sweet spot in negotiations and test drives that you can work with to make sure both deals are going down. I've never had a problem with anyone because of that juggling. If I know that I'm not in that sweet spot, then I will have to pass the deal on so that the customer is being taken care of. Rarely happens though, I'm an excellent multitasker!
-Moo
Stop complaining. He may do a "Take Away" with your story.
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
Holy cow, where did you say you sold cars? Tijuana? Nogales? East Germany circa 1982?
:P
a couple walks in and they want to test-drive CX7 and RX8, and they have 30 minutes. There was no way I was going to drive 2 totally different cars, so I told them that we would not be able to do it in 30 minutes, and they will have to re-schedule, pretty much blew them off.
On the way out they see the new TT, and the guy says "Can we at least drive this one?"
Well, that's a different story! TT sells itself, and long story short - they are driving 2008 TT, I got a nice commission, and everybody is happy!
However, if I may provide some helpful advice, I recommend splitting your stories into several posts. Just go ahead and keep us hanging. It seems to be a popular approach these days.
While you're at it, try adding some details about your lunch; your associate's lunch; your sinus congestion; or your favorite CD from the 70's. This type of filler will help you stretch the story into next season!
(I hope this doesn't get me blacklisted from all the Toyota dealers!)
Mackabee
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plate_spinning
really fun to watch.
The stars have to be aligned just right for it to work so well.
Before I went into Management and was still selling I was to the point that 85% of my business was repeat and referral so allot of my folks would rather wait 15 minutes then have me turn the deal over. These were folks also who I didn't mind letting test drive by themselves.
Here are a few things that sucks when you turn a deal over, other then the obvious which is splitting the commission.
1. You turn a customer over who buys a car and the one you keep walks
2. You turn a customer over who is on a used car and hero you turn them over to puts them on a new car
3. You turn a customer over and he buys, then two weeks later that customer sends a referral in and they ask for the guy you flipped the deal to and not you
4. You have a very, very good repeat customer come in on your day off and the guy who catches him pisses him off and he quits buying from the dealership
5. You turn over a deal on a F-Series buyer and the sales person sells him a truck that does not fit his needs.
Had that happen one time. The law of the jungle here says that if you catch my customer and I am busy then you help him. Had a green pea catch the wife of a guy who was starting a business and needed a F250. I told the green pea, "he needs a heavy duty, not a light duty with a 4:10 limited slip rear end and the pay load package". The wife wanted to surprise the guy with a new truck. All the GP and the women new was the truck said "F250" on it and it was white.
To make a long story short the day ended She bought him a truck, I looked at the paper work early the next morning and it was the wrong truck. 10 minutes later the receptionist pages me and it is him. He got , What the hell out of his mouth and I stopped him, told him to bring it back and we will get him the right one.
As it turned out the truck he needed, even though it was $1800 more expensive ended up being $700 less because of the rebate.
That was 5 or 6 years ago and that guy still buys a couple a year from me and thanks me every time he comes in for not sticking him with that truck.
That's pisser!!!
I'm glad you were able to post most of that stuff for me. I think the one reason that keeps me from flipping deals to someone else is #4. Each salesperson has a different personality and a different way of selling to people.
If a customer gets used to dealing with ME, then someone else may not gel as much with them. I hate taking that chance. Some of the consumers here have posted that they would not allow themselves to be juggled. I think if they were put in that spot by a true professional, then they wouldn't mind as much.
One person comes in to test drive, you give them keys and let them do that. While they are on their test drive, you start to get the other customer's trade being evaluated. Back and forth you get everything done. There will always be some downtime for the customer. I do my best to just make sure they know exactly what we're doing so they are on the same page. I've never had anyone complain.
-Moo
You should be worried about that. A little while ago, I made an appointment for my wife and I to test drive and see a car. I had already seen it and it was one of these "I'll show my wife and barring any major catastrophes, we'll buy the car." We had to arrange a babysitter as well.
Well the sales guy gets paged a few times and then someone else shows up to take us for a drive. He doesn't know that I probably know the vehicle better than many people in the dealership, including monthly sales volumes and YoY sales figures and local inventory at five dealers. Right off the bat, he starts into the white lies about this is the only car that has real wood and it handles better any other one in it's class and blah, blah blah. We get back and he starts complaining that the test drive was longer than 15 min and then goes into the "better act now" close. There'll be no cars to chose from etc, etc.
You know what happens, my wife says, I have to go. She hates the car. Does she really hate the car our just the sales guy? It really doesn't matter at this point. We end up leaving and what was supposed to a confirmation drive and closure, end up in a no sale. I didn't love the car enough to go back and buy it.
I don't mind being handed off if I show up unannounced, but if I make an appointment days in advance, either show up or call and reschedule.
Dealers know they are going to have to detail your trade,and the internal cost of a detail is rarely over $100 anyway.
A good U/C manager can get a sense of how a car was cared for by its general appearance.
A low mileage car is generally worth more, but it depends on the definition of low mileage.
A 10 yr old car w/ 40K is low mileage.
A 4yr old car w/ 40k isn't.
A four year old Range Rover with 40,000 miles has high mileage.
The higher up the food chain you go the lower the expected average miles per year.
I hate to do this but I would have to disagree with the statement that a 4 year old vehicle with 40k on the milage isn't considered low milage.
That is a average of 10,000 miles a year. The national average is around 15,000 miles per year.
On a Nissan Altima it would be low mileage compared to the average mileage of all Altimas of that year.
That was his point.
Low miles means the car is much better than average.
No dealer is gonna pay extra money for a 40,000 mile 4 yr old car.
that is the real definition of low miles,would you pay extra for it?
No, the average customer wouldn't consider paying more for a 4yr old 40k car. Trust me.
Wow! That IS hard to believe.
(That is pretty much what you said, right? If that's what you meant, then I don't trust you.)
that is the real definition of low miles,would you pay extra for it?
Yes I/We would pay more for a car with 40,000 miles on it than a car with 60,000 miles on it. You will more than likely depending on the manufacturer still be under warranty.
Wow! That IS hard to believe.
Thats not the point and really not a good example. Of course a 40 K car is worth more then a 80K car, just like a 65K car is worth more.
What he is saying is that 40K on a 4 year old car does not put it in the extra clean or clean wholesale category. As a matter of fact 40K -50K on a 2003 model is $450 to $1200 deduct in the black book depending on the category. 25K to 30K is $150 to $375 add depending on the category.
epiney: If I recall, you typically look at nice, higher-end cars. However, the sales rep who took you and your wife on the test drive seems to use the old-school approach and sales cliches. Just curious, which car line was that dealer?
As a customer who has traded-in nearly 15 different vehicles, I can vouch for that argument. I've traded in all levels and mileage of vehicles: from a 1-year old Lexus, a 3-yr old Audi A6, to a Chevy S-10, and a 6-yr old Mazda.
Not once did an appraisor indicate my bid was reduced because my car was dirty. And when I had my cars all waxed up and completely spotless, inside and out, it didn't help. I would usually hear, "Wow, this is a REALLY clean car!" "Good, can you give me more money for it?" "Nope! It will still need to be inspected, and we automatically take it through detail, anyway."
The only instance when the general condition of my trade-in affected the bid was when I traded-in a 2-yr old BMW 328i. The windshield had a small chip in it, near the middle. The BMW appraisor told me he was taking $300 off his bid due to that chip.
In recent years, I've been avoiding trading in my car whenever possible. My last vehicle was a lease, and before that, we sold our 4 previous vehicles privately.
If there was a 4 year old car with 40k and a 4 year old car with 50 k, I don't think I'd put a lot more into the 40k car personally.
Usually the used cars I look at are 2-3 years old and are under 40k, mostly under 30k. I don't think I would pay a lot more for a 2 year old car with 20k vs one with 30k.
The average buyer of the average car would pay MORE for a 4 year old car with 40,000 miles than he would for a car exactly the same EXCEPT with more miles on it.
That is really common sense now, isn't it? Which is why I was surprised at Volvomax's statement.