Stevens24

And you guys wonder why salesman typecast. The job is to SELL CARS not spend 2 hours of our day being a living brochure. That's why we prequalify you. If you are "6months out" so what everything will be different, different models different used cars etc. This is my Job I feed my family this way. I have no problem spending extra time with customers just come during the week when it isn't so busy.

F23A4

...dont seem to get as much sales heat from a realtor and a house is MUCH bigger and more worthwhile purchase.

CGTSX2004

iTrader: (1)

Nothing wrong with prequalifying, but there is still a right way and a wrong way to do it and approach the whole situaiton.

Water-S

right!! most dealers I went to they ask me "are you buy soon?" at least 3-5 times.it was either by the "sales manager" or "sales person." If i say once either"no " or "I'm not sure." leave it at that. constantly putting pressure on is annoying. a car a major purchase. It's not like your buying a value meal. If you mess up on a value meal at micky D's or wendys no big deal your out 5-6 bucks and you can eat later. with a car you mess up you lose a lot of money plus if it's a POS you might be without a ride.

cob3683

I think you meant to spell it "are you BI son?"

heyitsme

Honestly, I think the cars sell themselves. The salesmans job should be helping customers in their overall purchase, not looking for the next score.

Pure Adrenaline

iTrader: (2)

The local Audi dealership back home can suck my left nut. The guy treated us like shit, refused to give a test drive on an A4 1.8T, tossed a brochure at us and tried to get rid of us.

I pulled out around the corner of the building in my car, and the guy had this "oh, fuck" look on his face. Don't pass assumptions about me because I'm walking into an Audi dealership wearing jeans and a shirt.

Same thing with the Infiniti dealersip just a month ago. The guy straight up said to me and my brother, "Look, what don't you come back with your dad?" I laughed and didn't say anything back.

Later that day, he made a courtesy call to my brother, and he was like, "Yeah, thanks for stopping by today, I'll be here tomorrow if you want to come back with your dad, blah blah blah."

My brother's response -- "No, thanks. I got the TL instead." *click*

So far, we have two Acuras in the family (my TL-S and my brother's TL) from two different dealerships and both of them have been top notch as far as sales is concerned. They are very professional and courteous, although I could sense some skepticism when we were getting my brother's car. But it's understandable, because I would be skeptical, too. Two young guys walking in, asking to buy a car, but where's daddy? It just goes to show that if you have the patience and the courtesy to be nice, you'll make a sale. The G35 was a good competition to the TL (my brother couldn't decide) but the guy basically blew it with his attitude. Well, that, and the G35 just felt cheap and unsettling. Neither of us was too impressed.

CGTSX2004

iTrader: (1)

Funny you should mention jeans and a t-shirt because I often go for my testdrives wearing shorts, a t-shirt, and a cap.

Beltfed

I get treated great wherever I go........get offered test drives on mostly everything I'm looking at without even asking.

I've only had 1 bad dealership experience and it was at a Jag dealer. We stood in the showroom for at least 20 minutes (sales guys hanging around) and nobody asked us if we wanted any help.

Stevens24

The reason you don't get as much pressure from a realtor is that you sign an agreement to use only them when you purchase. a buyers/sellers agreement. Also realtor are paid on the selling price of the house. not just the gross profit. If I got paid 2% of the selling price and you were contracted to buy from me only I wouldn't sweat it either.

Vicman17

Salesmen size you up the minute you drive into the lot. They look at your car and some really good ones already priced the car on the top of their head. Some even use that figure if they actually get you to sit down and work on the numbers.

As far as experience, I would never indicate that I am interested in trading-in since it affects how they would come up with the numbers and they would also use your trade against you.

Some salesmen are pushy and some are obviously willing to learn using the unsuspecting car shopper. I even heard of ones so pushy they end up selling a car to someone who was not even planning on buying one.

Don't go for the "let me check with my manager" trick. All it does is to leave you on a quiet time so you can contemplate on some of the "deals" they have worked out for you. Don't go for ones who try to get you to empathize with their personal issues. When they start talking about how much money they spend on their kid's college tuition, this is a ploy.

It also pays to be an educated buyer. The moment I sense the salesman spewing a lot of BS, it's time for me to walk out.

It also shows that some car companies actually spend the time to properly train their sales personnel. The good ones will try to keep you in mind and even suggest a later time to buy when the rates are better, etc.. The pushy, overpowering ones are the ones who are deperate, especially if it's the end of the month.

Pure Adrenaline

iTrader: (2)

I went to a Caddy dealership and the lady tossed me the keys to a brand new Escalade parked out front by the door and said bring it back in one piece. I was like, "Sweeeet!" Ended up picking the XL Denali because it offered more for the money, but if we ever wanted to buy a Caddy, she'll get our business.

I hate that Audi dealership, though. Their auto group sucks ass. In fact, their Infiniti dealership did so horribly, they shut down. Serves them right. I hope the Audi dealership goes out of business, too. Assholes.

Water-S

a lot can be told by how you dress. Even though I don't agree with it. for example I had a buddy in college. we were bored one Saturday afternoon. he has his dad's older BMW 328. I said " wanna do something cool?" He said "what?" I said "wanna go drive a new SLK for free?" he said "how?" I said " put on a suit and get cleaned up. we'll go down to the Benz dealer and drive around a new SLK." we both got cleaned up got into suits. they threw us the keys. we drove it around for like an hour or hour and half. we drove the PISS out of it. it was just a SLK320(the older generation) but i'm sure if we came in jean shorts and tank top they'd laugh at us if we'd want a test drive. I got got a friend who his family worth millions but by looking at him you wouldn't know it. He doesn't wear like designer stuff. he went into a BMW dealer and asked to drive a new 5 series(he's a little older than me maybe 25). I know FOR A FACT he could have flopped the cash down and paid it that day no problem. they said "when you come back when have have your dad." Jason was PISSED. he said "fine I won't buy from you guys."

CGTSX2004

iTrader: (1)

It's not always about how you dress. Sometimes, it's about how you carry yourself. I can dress in a t-shirt and shorts and still look more trustworthy than someone wearing a suit and tie based on how well I carry myself.

Rock2534

just curious, but what exactly do you mean by how you carry yourself? how old are you? I know what you mean to some extent though, i've seen older guys 40+ that come dressed like you mention and you can tell they are more than able to buy. Also helps if you come in a decent car.

CGTSX2004

iTrader: (1)

According to the age in your profile, I'm younger than you and have never been turned down for a test drive to date.

chungkopi

almost all car salesmen are bullshit. when i went to the inifiniti dealer with my girlfriend's focus, they were all inside the building, and ignored me. but when i went there with my father's lexus or my cl, they welcome me like no one else.

jts1207

You guys are giving way to much credit to the car you pull up in a t a dealer

mesostinky

Being someone who just had his car stolen and was just recently at like 5 car dealers I find this thread very interesting. Of the Honda, Nissan, Toyota, Subaru, and Saab dealers the Honda of Madison NJ was the worst. I've been there twice in the last year and both times got annoyed by the salesman. After the test drive they both ran away and left my wife and I to sit and wait at their desk. The one jackass argued with me for like 5 minutes saying the Accord LX didn't have a V6 option. Finally another salesman came over and told my salesman he was wrong. Wtf? Your going to argue with a customer and tell them that they are wrong when they might be buying something from you? Out of the other dealers the Honda dealer was the only one who pushed buying something that day when I clearly said I wasn't interested. The Toyota dealer was just lame and boring, not pushy but I couldn't see how he would be able to make a living from it. The Saab dealer was totally cool and not pushy. He just gave me the keys and let me take the car out. Out of the "low-end" dealers the Nissan one was the best. He did keep me longer than I wanted but he was friendly and didn't try to force me on a car.

Oh and I went along with my mother to test drive at Acura and Lexus. Both were much better experiences. Finally I agree with jts1027, in my experience 95% of the time the dealer won't even see which car you drive up in. Every dealer I went to was on a decent size lot and when you pull up the dealers are all inside. I don't doubt that people do get stereo-typed by the car they drive and that dealers probably do care at some lots but I just haven't seen that.

dallison

it also helps that you carry an automatic rifle with you