Stories from the Sales Frontlines

1…369370372374375…2003

Comments

  • nj2pa2ncnj2pa2nc Member Posts: 811
    you always seem to have great posts but this one has to be on your top 10 list-too be continued.
  • british_roverbritish_rover Member Posts: 8,502
    With Great Power comes great responsibility and all that jazz.

    image
  • sterlingdogsterlingdog Member Posts: 6,984
    You may think that they are dogs, but the closest new '07 PT convertible to the east coast right now is located in Colorado! The '08's are selling out as fast as they come in to the dealers. There must be some people who like them.

    I understand from a Honda guy that the Pilot will change designs in '09. Wonder if they will curve like the new CRV's. Have you heard?
  • isellhondasisellhondas Member Posts: 20,342
    I don't know. Maybe the convertables sell better? I just think the bloom is off the rose for the standard PT's.

    At least they had a good run while it lasted.

    As to the 2009 Pilots...I know nothing at this point.
  • cdnpinheadcdnpinhead Member Posts: 5,635
    I'd say top 3.
    '08 Acura TSX, '17 Subaru Forester
  • grandtotalgrandtotal Member Posts: 1,207
    One of the techs here saw a scariest police chase video a while ago where the police are chasing a old body style 1999 or 2000 Range Rover. The police either shoot out or use spike strips to puncture the passenger side rear tire. He keeps driving on the flat until wheel gets so hot that it comes off the car. Now the Range Rover is driving on three wheels with the rotor occasionally sparking on the ground at nearly 60 mph. He said he could see the air suspension fighting to keep the truck up right but eventually he went around a corner too fast and it failed flipping the car over.

    There is a warning paragraph in the owner's manual about that. The driver should have stopped and sought assistance from his dealer once the wheel fell off.
  • snakeweaselsnakeweasel Member Posts: 19,617
    Man all those icons I just want to do this to them all

    image

    2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D

  • mackabeemackabee Member Posts: 4,709
    I just received the news that one of my customers and new friend Johnny E. Karias (Giovanni Lamborghini) was hit by a GMC Suburban yesterday at 4pm while walking to work. He died of massive head injuries. He will truly be missed. My thoughts and prayers are with his family. Take care my friend I will see you soon!
    image
  • benjaminhbenjaminh Member Posts: 6,732
    Just from the picture he looks like such a fun loving guy. It's a tragedy...
    2018 Acura TLX 2.4 Tech 4WS (mine), 2025 Subaru Outback (wife's), 2025 blue Outback (grown kid 1), 2018 Honda CR-V EX (grown kid 2)
  • isellhondasisellhondas Member Posts: 20,342
    Oh my God....How SAD!

    It'll be many years before you see him!

    Tears streaming.....
  • mackabeemackabee Member Posts: 4,709
    He was so happy the day I called him to tell him his car had arrived. "Are you serious!" he exclaimed. "It's here my friend." I replied. "When can I see it?" he asked. "You can see it right now. It's behind the building in prep getting ready for you to pick it up." I told him. "I'll be over in 15 minutes."
    His car got here last month on the 27th of September. It was at the port on the 25th and the got it to us quick! With all accessories installed but two that we had to order at the dealership.
    Johhny was 65 years old. He's father had recently passed away and as far as I know he has one brother in the area and no other family. He was disabled but the only way you could tell was if you looked at his feet, otherwise he was the most cheerful person I've met in my life. After we ordered his car he would stop by once a week and ask me if I knew anything yet. AS some of you know "ordering" a car through Toyota/Scion is like pulling teeth. We preferenced the car and added the accessories hoping the factory would pick it up. His birthday was just recently so he was treating himself to a new car. The last couple of weeks before the car came in he asked me if it would be better for me to call when the car came in. He felt he was imposing on me. "No way! I like for you to visit me once a week." I told him. Everyone at the dealership likes you. His service writer Bonnie is actually the one that sent him to me. She told him I would make sure he wasn't taken advantage of and I would make sure he got the right car. Mike in parts also loved the guy. He would always stop by and say hi to everyone. The day the car came in I was waiting in the showroom for him and started to wonder what was taking him so long. I decided to walk back to the prep department and one of the prep guys says to me: "Your guy in the tC is going crazy with the car back there!" I walked back there and he was helping the prep dept clean his car. I took a couple of pictures which you can see on mycarspace of him still wearing his work apron and having a ball hosing the car down. :) I hope to meet his family later this week to offer my condolences. We lost a great human being.
    Mackabee
  • sterlingdogsterlingdog Member Posts: 6,984
    Sorry to hear about your friend. He sounded like such a good person. When I once asked why good people are taken from us too early, I was told that God needed a few more really good angels. As for you joining him soon, I agree with isellhondas. "Soon" for you means much later because you have that wonderful family that will need you around for quite a spell. I declare. Between you and isellhondas, my faith in car salesmen is being restored. Hang in.
    Richard
  • jmonroejmonroe Member Posts: 8,989
    Sorry to hear about your friend. He sounds like the kind of guy we would all have liked to know and had as a friend.

    As for you…you’re not going anywhere until we’re done with you. You got that?

    Good luck,

    jmonroe

    '15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl

  • british_roverbritish_rover Member Posts: 8,502
    That sucks not really sure what else to say. I remember you talking about him before he picked up the car and how excited he was.

    About a month ago one of our long time clients had a massive heart attack in his sleep and just never woke up. We found out about it a week or so later. His wife is devastated. He had retired just a couple of months before.
  • isellhondasisellhondas Member Posts: 20,342
    I read the obits every morning and I have sent two sympathy cards so far this year.

    Darn it, I tend to get attached to my customers.

    Not ALL of them, mind you!
  • fezofezo Member Posts: 10,386
    Man, I am sorry to hear that, Mack. I sure do remember you talking about him. Way too young.
    2015 Mazda 6 Grand Touring, 2014 Mazda 3 Sport Hatchback, 1999 Mazda Miata 2004 Toyota Camry LE, 1999.
  • joel0622joel0622 Member Posts: 3,299
    Does anyone here know a good :cry: cough cough Chevrolet cough cough :mad: sales person in the Long View Wa area?

    My brother drives a Blazer that he has road hard and put away wet and still has got 180K out of it and he wants a new one.
  • jescuejescue Member Posts: 521
    Just had a lady pull up in a Saab convertible. She bought it last night from a used car dealer and wanted to check on service. She asked if I had a few minutes to show her how some things worked. I politely declined. Seems this place told her to bring it over here and someone would explain the phone system. She was surprised to learn they do not come with phones. :surprise:
  • lrguy44lrguy44 Member Posts: 2,197
    We get that kind of thing all the time. Some are put out when we decline to educate them. There is even a used dealer nearby who falsely claims they are associated with us. It is something to see the look on their buyers faces when we tell them there is no connection.
  • joel0622joel0622 Member Posts: 3,299
    Carmax is infamous for that in our area. they will tell customers to come buy here because surley we have an extra owners manual and key fob laying around, and that we would be more then happy to look up there keyless entry code.

    Then the folks get pissed at us when we decline to give them a $50 FOB, a $30 owners manual, and not charge the $42.50 to hook up the car to the computer to pull the keyless code :confuse:
  • jescuejescue Member Posts: 521
    I think if someone wants to save a few dollars by getting a car from Crusty the Clown's used car lot they need to figure things out. They could look it up in the owners manual, but of course the car didnt have one. I run into this with Jaguar a lot. Had a guy come in this week in a used S-Type. He wondered why our price was so much higher on a certified car. I pointed out the misaligned panels and paintwork on their car. Then I showed him our new tires and the $1700 we spent in service on new brakes and a full 40K service. He will probably buy the cheaper car. :confuse:
  • lrguy44lrguy44 Member Posts: 2,197
    Sounds familiar. It is almost a pleasure to watch people spend a couple of thousand in recon shortly after the purchase and still not have the 6 year 75k warranty. Now that we can't even get owners manuals on used cars it really makes life difficult even for our owners. Ford had a better idea. :sick:
  • laurasdadalaurasdada Member Posts: 5,273
    I imagine that customers/friends like Johnny are one of the reasons you stay in the car sales biz. Well, that and the piles of cash y'all regularly receive!

    Thanks for sharing and breaking my heart a bit...

    '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...)

  • british_roverbritish_rover Member Posts: 8,502
    We have bought some Disco manual on Ebay.
  • dino001dino001 Member Posts: 6,191
    Then I showed him our new tires and the $1700 we spent in service on new brakes and a full 40K service

    $1700? What did you use - platinum pads and gold rotors? Isn't 40K like a few fluids and new wipers? Those Euro cars are supposed to be long service periods, aren't they. I can believe your used car sales dept. "spent" $1700, but the dealer cost was more like a few hundreds. We had this discussion already, but I don't think as a customer I need to care how many times the markup was applied - if your sales department didn't make money go and ask your service - they just made a killing on that 40K service, perhaps they'd share the spoils ;)

    2018 430i Gran Coupe

  • british_roverbritish_rover Member Posts: 8,502
    1,700 dollars for rotors and pads all the way around sounds about right on a Jag.

    A front brake job is 1,100 or so bucks for a Range Rover sales cost. I think service makes a couple of hundred bucks on us so real cost to them is 900 or so.

    If you think 1,700 bucks I a lot for brakes don't ever look at a BMW M car.

    We had a M3 vert in the used lot this summer. New brakes all the way around alone were 2,200 dollars.
  • jescuejescue Member Posts: 521
    That is the difference. This was our cost to sales, not retail. If the pads and rotors had not been changed, the customer would never know the difference-for a while. The certification requires a certain amount of pad thickness. That was not up to spec, so they had to be replaced. The service is done every 10,000 miles. This also included a complete inspection for the certification. I am sure service made money-they always do. I will never claim maintenance on a European car is a bargain. ;)
  • lrguy44lrguy44 Member Posts: 2,197
    Certification requires that tires, rotors and pads are changed much sooner than you or I would. In fact, the 140 point recon makes interesting reading.
  • british_roverbritish_rover Member Posts: 8,502
    Yup 50% or better is usually the requirement for pads and/or tires.

    EDIT:

    Cliff see if you can read through this whole blog...

    http://blogs.edmunds.com/.ee9f43d/17

    I couldn't make it all the way though it was just too ridiculous.
  • dino001dino001 Member Posts: 6,191
    I was just busting the chops. I can see $1700 being spent on certification of a Jag, especially if decent tires are added in the process, but it still seems to be a little high. I just imagine anywone's face if they got $1700 bill for 40K service :surprise: :surprise:

    2018 430i Gran Coupe

  • british_roverbritish_rover Member Posts: 8,502
    I don't have to imagine it I see it everyday.

    Looks just like a regular face and they write out the check or hand over a Black AMEX card.

    1,700 bucks just isn't much in this arena.
  • lrguy44lrguy44 Member Posts: 2,197
    I tried to read it this am - same reaction. Those who commented do not know LR2 or its construction either. Isn't this the same guy who did the X3 - LR2 article with all the misinformation in it. i was going to comment but then thought it would be a waste of time and thought I would wait for your remarks.
  • lrguy44lrguy44 Member Posts: 2,197
    Actually, the 40k (37.5 or 45k for LR) are no cost - included with car. But rotors, pads and tires are another story. We used to out source tires (1/2 the price) until service came into line.
  • british_roverbritish_rover Member Posts: 8,502
    I didn't see it till a few minutes ago when someone sent it to me in another thread.

    Karl is the Editor in chief so I assume one of his responsibilities would be checking out that fact checking is done properly on articles or at the very least assuring that someone is assigned to that task. He just doesn't like Land Rovers and that is fine but if he doesn't like then he should decline to test them. He does do a better job of saying up front he is not a Land Rover fan then he used to.
  • dino001dino001 Member Posts: 6,191
    But for what??? Oil and fluids or something at least slightly more substantial? Like say tires ($250+/pop), or brakes, or I don't really know what else that is not covered by warranty at that time. Gold plated wipers? You can't seriously say 40K service costs that much - unless something I don't know about is done.

    I know people have money and they spend it on whatever they want, but just because the have it doen't mean they will just hand it to you for oil and new air filter :sick:

    2018 430i Gran Coupe

  • british_roverbritish_rover Member Posts: 8,502
    Well on the Rovers the first six 7,500 mile services are pre-paid so they are free when you bring the car in. You paid for them when you bought the car.

    Lets say you bring your LR3 in for the 37,500 mile service which is free but you need brakes and tires all the way around which, you will need by then on a LR3 if you haven't had to do it already because the car weight nearly 6,000 lbs, then those tires and brakes are going to cost at least 1,700 dollars. I think the actual cost is over 2,000 dollars. Big 18 or 19 inch tires for that vehicle are at least 250 bucks a piece and the brakes are also to use a technical Land Rover term gigantorongous so they cost a ton of money too.
  • jescuejescue Member Posts: 521
    Jag also includes an aerial cleaning kit on the annual service. :shades:
  • british_roverbritish_rover Member Posts: 8,502
    hehe

    what the hell does that include?

    waits for someone to ask what an aerial is :shades:
  • jescuejescue Member Posts: 521
    it is a cleaning wipe followed by a lubricating wipe. It is like $1.90 on the ticket but it always cracks me up. The 07 XK was our last vehicle with a power aerial.
  • british_roverbritish_rover Member Posts: 8,502
    I thought the XK was the last one before they finaly figured out how to do the diversity rear glass arieal with an aluminum chassis.
  • jescuejescue Member Posts: 521
    The 04 and up XJs have it in the glass. The new 07 XK came out with the antenna and people were not fond of it, so for 08 it is integrated.
  • pernaperna Member Posts: 521
    I don't have to imagine it I see it everyday.

    Looks just like a regular face and they write out the check or hand over a Black AMEX card.

    1,700 bucks just isn't much in this arena.

    What is a "Black" Amex card? I saw a lady use one in Costco once, and had never seen it before. There's nothing about it on their website.
  • british_roverbritish_rover Member Posts: 8,502
    Exclusive card given only to AMEX card holders who spend more then xxx,xxx per year with AMEX and they are by invitation only. The cards are made of metal too not plastic as they are cold to the touch and don't flex. Not sure what kind of metal they make them out of.

    EDIT:

    Here is some Suspect info on them

    Some more
  • dino001dino001 Member Posts: 6,191
    Black card is one you need to get a real invitation for - not the "preapproved" offer, but a from Frank, your personal banking advisor. Income levels necessary are in millions, credit lines also.

    2018 430i Gran Coupe

  • dino001dino001 Member Posts: 6,191
    I believe Visa/MC also have black cards. I don't know what they're made of, but rules are similar.

    2018 430i Gran Coupe

  • british_roverbritish_rover Member Posts: 8,502
    Just saw it on wikipedia that the AMex ones are made of titanium. That makes sense because the cards are incredibly light and thin but they don't flex a centimeter.
  • pernaperna Member Posts: 521
    So... what you guys are telling me is I should have asked the Costco lady to adopt me. :P
  • verdugoverdugo Member Posts: 2,288
    Or bought an engagement ring at Costco :)
  • greanpea68greanpea68 Member Posts: 1,996
    Sorry to hear about your loss. That is a tragic story and can't imagine having to deal with something like that if that happened to one of my family members.

    On the other hand when you say soon, you must mean 40 or 50 years from now. :)
  • greanpea68greanpea68 Member Posts: 1,996
    Or bought an engagement ring at Costco

    Or they bought the whole store. ;)
This discussion has been closed.

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