Salesman and the Economy

[Larry124]

Salesman and the Economy. Just one consumer's rant.

I bought a new car.
Regrets to Detroit -- it's an Alabama Honda.
I don’t feel guilty. I’ve owned seven Detroit cars. ALL of them had quality problems. I guess I'm a slow learner.

Junior salesman (internet sales) and credit union (average for my area) price; plus a little bit more for a dealer within walking distance.
Even then it was like pulling teeth.

Now I’m shopping a pop-up camper (caravan to our overseas brethren).
The salesmen are apparently still living in the prior century. I’m a lead to be worked.
“Come on in and we’ll talk about it.”
No.
You’ll answer my questions in detail via email or there will be no visit.
You’d think I was asking for the moon.
Pre-recession inventory, unwanted extras, and “not until we see you face-to-face” pricing.

Smell the coffee. The dollars stay in my purse until you cut the :crap:.

Yeah I’ll give in eventually -- to the dealer with the least BS.

I’m grateful that kilt prices are not so (dishonestly?) convoluted and artificially mysterious.

[JolyStNicholas]

In todays economy "Stand Your Ground" I recently bought a new Dodge Ram
and didn't pay any where near what they were asking. When the salesmen and I sat down the first thing I told him was " if you get up from this table to ask for any assistance or to get an approval for what we are about to do, I'M out the door", at first he didn't know what to say, he was the asst. sales mgr.
and the one in charge that day, my wife said I should be ashamed for the way I "BEAT" him up, but I got the deal I wanted and that was that.

Stick to your guns, and you, my friend will do the same for your camper!

[David Thornton]

Old rites die hard. The auto industry has relied on getting you to psychologically take possession of a vehicle by coming in for so long that I doubt it will ever change. It gets no better when you know the owners, they are still stuck in the old model, they just let you bypass the first 6 steps.

But it's not just car sales, most people cannot sell without having both the object being sold and the buyer sitting in front of them.

It is frustrating that the makers are sitting on hundreds of thousands of unsold units, and apparently so are some dealerships, and getting a deal today takes more work than it did during the boom, and I was buying high profit units then, full size trucks.
Rant on, this is America

David

[Riverkilt]

Had an F150 pickup for the rez roads. Traded it in on an Escape when my mother was ill so I could get her around. Now that she's gone went looking for an F150 last fall. The kid salesman at the local Ford dealership flat ignored me. More like he didn't know what to do. I have no "need" so let it slide.

Then I'm in to parts to pick up a new back windshield wiper and the parts guy, a long time friend, gives me the new truck pitch. Told him I was way ahead of him but his company had no interest. He said he'd look into it and call. No one did.

Last week I lined up my own financing with the bank and went down to shop. Got the sales manager. Looked at a few trucks - their inventory is obviously very low from what it used to be in the "good old days." He was gonna call too. Never has.

Don't know what ever happened to professional car salesmen - rather than the folks that took the job because it was open - but I don't see any around here.

Used to sell Fords myself back in about 1970. The dealer there really did have all the salesmen's offices bugged with a big elaborate master listening station. Not only would they listen to the salesmen "sell" (they thought they did better if they knew the boss could be listening at any time), they also would do the leave the office trick then go listen in to what the couple was saying to each other while the salesman was gone.

When they came back they had all the inside dope. Same folks had cars up on blocks in the back lot, running in reverse, to lower the mileage. And new car demos being driven by the salesmen had their odometer's disconnected until they were sold to the public.

Remember well one nice little old lady school teacher wondering why a "new" car looked like such a beater and reeked of stale cigar smoke....

We have met the enemy, and he is us.

[Macman]

I hear you, Larry. I've found that of the all the things I've ever purchased, the most unpleasant buying experience is that of buying a car. That's why I try to do it every ten years or so.

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

Having sat on both sides of the car salesman's desk, I can only say that fair number of customers are total jerks. They are rude, disparaging, and often feel entitled to a fantastically unrealistic discount simply because they are unloading their unwanted, worn out car on the dealer. The reality is that no dealer is going to sell anyone a car at a loss.

At various times I have sold everything from VWs to Rolls-Royces and I can tell you this: Generally speaking nice customers get a better deal, without asking for it, than the obnoxious ones who come in, throwing their weight around, and demanding unrealistic discounts.

[Weasel Mender]

When my wife was ready for a new car we had the financing all arranged for a Chevy Malibu but just in case we checked around as the financing was good anywhere. At the Dodge dealer we checked out a new Charger, liked it and sat down with the "salesman" informed him of the situation and told him what the max paymant we would make. He left for a short while, and returned with that "salesman" smile and announced he had a wonderful deal for us. That deal was ONLY $150.00 more than the financing we had in place! My wife and I stood up and I asked him if he was deaf or just stupid as we walked out the door with him begging to "earn our buisness". The end the next day we went to the Cadilac dealer and wound up with a new CTS for $16.00 more than the Chevy.

Weasel

[bigdad1]

Having sat on both sides of the car salesman's desk, I can only say that fair number of customers are total jerks. They are rude, disparaging, and often feel entitled to a fantastically unrealistic discount simply because they are unloading their unwanted, worn out car on the dealer. The reality is that no dealer is going to sell anyone a car at a loss.

At various times I have sold everything from VWs to Rolls-Royces and I can tell you this: Generally speaking nice customers get a better deal, without asking for it, than the obnoxious ones who come in, throwing their weight around, and demanding unrealistic discounts.

It goes without saying that polite people get treated better than rude people but my experience is most car salespeople are more concerned with quotas and commissions to look into the personality of the people they are talking to. I have been in sales for almost 40 years and have found that spending a few minutes looking past the opening introduction enables me to learn how the person wants to be treated and how to treat them that. Of all the industries I have worked in or dealt with I have never encountered a group who knows less about their product and their competitions products than car salespeople.

[sydnie7]

Yeah, the franchise/dealership system is seriously bent if not completely broken. Perhaps the only good news coming out of our economic woes (this time around) is that dealerships are closing up left and right, and unsuccessful salespeople are leaving the industry -- soon to be selling you big-screen TVs, or "fries with that?" or the like. What will be left should prove to be the folks who keep their eye on customer satisfaction for the long run. Rough way to get there, kind of like those trees that need a forest fire to sweep through before seeds will germinate. . .

Sydnie
Who writes automotive sales training materials (among other things) for a living

[Larry124]

Credit where it’s due. The post-purchase “we owe you” roof rails for the SUV included installation and cross bars.
They could have played games with the cross bars as a separate item but they didn’t.

After only 450 miles I had to have a punctured tire replaced (by the dealer).
Punctured by a railroad spike. Don't ask how.
(Don’t be a wimp! If you’re going to get a tire puncture make it a good one!)

My fault entirely. And did I originally buy the road hazard coverage for the tires? No I did not. :crap:

The service department has canned language on the receipt: “You may be selected to take part in a survey about today’s visit. If you cannot grade this experience as EXCEPTIONAL, please contact our management team…”
An invitation to intimidation.
The cost of a tire for a mid-size SUV was exceptional all right – high. But an internet search (I love these times) showed that the tire was not overpriced.
The time and cost of the service was very good.
Very good.
Exceptional? I’ll have to think about that.

They do NOT solicit the same “not exceptional? – talk to us” response for the car purchase experience. No surprise there.
Although I will have the opportunity to rate the buying experience for my credit union. I’m looking forward to that.

BTW, if you do speak with the service “management team” (past experience) you get some doubletalk and maybe a future free oil change (labor only).
Nickel and dime (small coins) stuff.