My friend is looking for a used 04 ZO6 vette. He saw a used one at a MB dealer in Miami. We went after work yesterday to go & see it. It was up on a ramp. We go in, & just FEEL the snop appeal. They had all their REAL expensive cars on the floor. All the doors locked, with signs up saying please do not touch. Go to the front desk & ask about the used vette. She calls someone, & we wait. 15 minutes go by & finally a sales guys comes out to us. Middle aged guy. Him & my friend discuss the vette, he gets the keys & we go out to it. Now it's up on a ramp, He reached up & unlocks it. My friend asked can it be taken down since you couldn't get into it, or really get a good look at it. The guy pauses for a second & says no, cause it was hard to get it up there, I can't take it down. My friend asks can you get someone to take it down then, cause he wants to test drive it. The sales guy had this look on his face, & says oh no, we don't give test drives of a car like this. My friend & me look at each other, my friend asks to see the manager. The sales guy refused. Said he'll say the same thing. We don't give test drives on cars like this. My friend said ok fine, he was being nice, & asked again to have someone take it off the ramp so he could at least take a really good look at it. He explained he was ready to buy it if it looked good. The sales guy refused. We both chewed the guy out at that point about how do you expect to sell a car when you can't let the customer see or test drive it? We both turned around & went back to the car. I was driving my CLS so as we pulled out of the lot I did a little burn out & left my marks on the pavement. I never went into a MB dealer before are they all like that?

 

How old are you and your friend and what were you dressed like when you showed up?

Image means everything. Sounds like they just didn't expect you guys to be serious. Their loss, but also your friends....

 

They're not all like that.

That was pretty bad though.

Did you guys look like common thugs?

 

I agree… I’d like to know the answers to these questions also.
I’ve driven some cars that I was nowhere NEAR being able to afford, but I certainly looked like I could.

The little burnout trick probably reinforced the salesmen’s opinion of you NOT having any real intentions of buying the car.

 

The burn-out in their parking lot was a class move...made you guys look real mature...

While that dealer was being a prick, you shouldn't have bothered chewing him out. Why bother putting up with asshole sales people. Just walk away.

Reminds me of a similar situation that happened to my dad back in the very early 90's. We all went to Longo Toyota in SoCal and were looking to purchase a car for my mom. We were coming back from a trip to the beach or something so we weren't exactly dressed nicely, but we didn't look like bums either (so we were wearing shorts and sandals...). We showed up and chatted with a salesperson, who was being a complete jerk and refused to make any attempt to work with us. At this point, my dad said fuck it and turned around and walked out. The salesman watched us walk out and go over to a BMW 5-series (late 80's model that was a company car for my dad) and he came running out of the dealership to try to stop us from leaving, but my dad just drove off. No point in dealing with people who don't give you respect.

 

Adrienne and I went into an MBZ dealer about 2 years back dressed semi casual (i was in jeans and a polo shirt) and they gave us the keys to test drive a year old CL500 . Even let us drive it on our own, w/o a salesmen w/ us.


guess it's all up to the dealer

 

We were dressed normally, we were nice. Just a prick dealer. I could understand if it was a new $100K car. Not a used vette that had 20K miles on it. Like I said all the cars on the floor were locked with do not touch signs. Seem to say alot. Burnout was childish yes, don't really care. The hell with them.

 

i agree with the image factor, although it does depend on the dealer. when i was 18 looking for a car prior to buying the CLS, i went to a local MB dealer and test drove the SLK320 at the time with no problem. i think the trick is to make like you're actually ready to buy the car or at least look like a serious buyer. talk about the car first, explore all financial options, let the salesperson explain the car, THEN ask for the keys for a test drive. even if i have zero intentions of buying the car, i'd go through this whole process until they hand me the keys. don't ask how much the car is, thats a flag that you're not really interested. if you're looking at a car, you should already know how much it as. you start negotiation once you've decided on the car.

oh... and i've never gone into the dealership looking sloppy. usual jeans and polo or something to that effect. even if i went with business casual attire on, i have a baby face... i look like i'm 12....

 

Fuzzy,
i've found you really need to play the "part". I've been offered test drives on Ferrari's and NSXs at a local Acura dealership. You can't walk to a high end car dealership like you would at a KIA dealership. It's completely retarded but....

 

I've went with a friend to the MB dealership here, I spoke with a salesman about the AMGs, SLs, etc. He seemed impressed with my knowledge, I asked about the waiting lists, discussed options that are special order, color combos, the AMG specialties.......if they hadn't been closing I think I would have gotten a test drive of an SL55 AMG

 

Not so true. When Michael Dell bought his NSXs from me, he came in in a pair of beaten up khaki shorts, an old t-shirt, and sandals. 3 other guys on the sales floor walked past him as he looked at an NSX that was on the showroom floor because they didn't take his appearance seriously. I hadn't seen his face until the second I introduced myself, so I couldn't say that I only went up to him because he was Michael Dell. I introduced myself the same way I always do (first and last name, of course) and he said "I'm Mike." I followed with, "and your last name is" (though I knew who he was the second I saw his face, but I always have the intent of calling the customer Mr./Mrs. until told otherwise) and he said "Dell. Michael Dell." We then went about business just like I would for anyone else. He proceeded to ask "I see that you are lucky enough to have one of these in stock. I know that they're rare, but is it possible to get 2?" I let him know that it is a challenge, but we ended up making it happen. We found the second one after getting a dealer to perform a trade with us about 10 days later. Just goes to show you that you never know...

I've had young professionals come in that have gone other places where they hadn't been taken seriously, walked away from that dealer, and ended up buying from me because of the level of service I provided them. Even if my car wasn't their first choice. I've had guys buy that were dressed as casually as they wanted to and could do so with a professional serving them.

That's the point. It is all in the level of professionalism that is in the service position. At any given moment, any buying experience can be great or aweful, and it is determined more quickly by the employee. They can establish better rapport and a more pleasureable experience if they have an open mind and are a true professional. Hell, this can lead to many referrals too (which make for even easier sales).

Who knows what a customer can or can't buy. They could have $10 or $10 Billion in the bank. They can be a very new buyer or a very well-informed buyer. They could even be a person that has sold at the highest level of the automotive industry. You never know. A salesperson just has to think of the person across from them as someone that they have to be very grateful for. This customer is someone that is interested enough to be in your presence and have an interest in purchasing your product. Pay them the respect they deserve.

Sorry for the length of the rant, guys.

 

But it was a good rant, Kurt. We can excuse the length because you made excellent points.
If sales professionals aren't interested in meeting the customer on his terms, then they're really not pros, are they!

 

As you said, they had all their product locked up like a museum. Obviously they're really not interesting selling the goods, just polishing them. Hope you enjoyed the burnout!

 

I've seen many dealers act like this. They salesman I bought my MB from has said numerous times that the client is changing and they have to realize it. The dealer he works at in Atlanta (RBM) sometimes has friends of the owner come in with a t-shirt and shorts on and if no one treats them well or worse pays them no attention, the salesman not doing his job can be immediately fired. Smart business IMO.

 

Carries more weight than " Bond, James Bond."

 

Unfortunately, you do have to look the part. I started looking for my CL at the dealerships. One day I was so pissed off when my Maxima was acting up, I just drove into an Acura dealership, wearing an old T-shirt, crappy work jeans and an old jacket. They wouldn't give me the time of day. I kept getting the run-around. They weren't even too nice about the test drive. I went about a mile before he told me to turn back. It's BS, but it's a typical responce from a dealer.

 

Most of that weight probably comes from the wallet.

 

haha

if he came into the shop i would just stare at him and nod, he be just standing there like "hello?" i would continue to stare and nod saying "wow"

on a different note, i wasn't allowed to test drive an rsx even though we wanted to buy one at Curry Acura when i was 17, with my dad there with me

though 2 months later they let me test drive the cl, but only cause my parents were there and test drove it and called me to try it out

the Pontiac dealer handed my dad and me the keys to a GTP in the lot

 

When I first went to the Acura dealership to look at the CLS I was treated very poorly and the test drive was short and half assed. When I went to the Chevrolete dealership to check out a used 01 vette they had no problem letting me test drive it. So even though the vette was a much more expensive car they treated me 10x better. If it had been in my budget I would've bought that car. I ended up going to a different Acura dealer in the end (fuck the first dealer .. cocks). The first Acura (escondido, ca) dealer had their noses way up in the air for some reason. Snobby people can be first in line to eat my ass.

 

courtesy acura over here, was pretty cool. Couple months ago, my TL was in the shop, and I was waiting to pick it up. Walked over to the showrrom with the intention of looking at the TL and possibilty the RL which at that time had been out for less than two weeks i believe. They didnt have any cars on the showroom floor, but said that they would take me outside to see one. It looked like they weren't aking me toio seriously though - 16, 5'4", hadn't shaved in a week, jeans, and a polo. But the ticket....I told them I had a older TL and was looking to upgrade. And damn....I went from being random kid to potential customer. They let me test drive the TL and put no limit on the amount of time. Surprisingly, I wanted to end the test drive a little too quickly..why....cause they then let me test drive the freakin 05 RL. Let me take this baby on the hwy. they were willing to lert me then take the TSX for a spin, but i didn't want to push my luck, and appear "unprofessional". And my leg was shaking so bad after driving the RL. Then went inside, talked some figures, and I left.

Sorry for the long spiel, I guess its a mix of both having a decent dealer/sales rep, and having the right image (dressed nice) or credentials (expressing interest or having a previous geenraiton of the car)).

 

Reminds me when I went to a BWM dealership for the first time, looking for my first car. I went with my girlfriend, my dad and my brother. I discussed various aspects of buying the car with the salesman, asked for a test drive, and he said "of course, my I have your license". He came back 5 min later and things had completely changed. He started saying "I'm not sure if we can take a test drive right now... are you sure you want to buy this car?... Do you want to come back in a few months?... You said you liked the Accord coupe, you know this isn't nearly in the same class".

I don't know what it was, if he saw that I was 24, no credit history, or what. I had maybe one speeding ticket at that point. What he didn't know is that my girlfriend and I worked at a high tech company and we put down 3/4 of the payment on the Accord coupe we ended up buying and paid the rest off in 8 months. That fucker thought I couldn't afford a 323i. I walked out of there in shame, but I felt angry and rotten for the next few days.

It was really bothering me, so I gave the sales guy a call back a few days later and bitched him out. He actually started by arguing with me about why I DIDN'T really want the BMW, wtf. The next day he left a voice mail apologizing and asking if I wanted to go for a cup of coffee and for a test drive. I never returned his call and I remember him even now. He's Cary Ng at BWM Ottawa. He used to work at Otto's when I had my encounter. The fact that I remember his name says a lot.


I had a completely different experience and Tony Graham Lexus when I went with my dad to drive a Lexus. My dad loves Lexus even though he's not close to being able to afford one, and I liked the IS300 at the time. I said let's go check out the Lexus. My dad did all the talking with sales guy, I was just tagging along. We both test drove it and then chatted with the guy. We were both extremely impressed with how professional and courteous he was, it was pretty much the perfect way to treat a customer. At the end he gave us a business card and said "so... who should I give his to?" and I took it. I think he caught on that I was the potential customer and I didn't have to say anything. A while later I got a card in the mail thanking me for coming for the test drive. Best sales service I've ever seen, if I wanted a Lexus I would have gladly bought off this guy for sure. Can't remember his name thought, just goes to show you that bad customer experiences are much harder to erase than good ones.

 

PS. For my TSX, I test drove it with two different guys and one of them was very professional while the other one had an exchange like this with me, pretty much word for word:

Me: so I read that the TSX actually has less rear legroom than a Civic?
Him: what? I don't know what web sites you've been reading, maaan.
Me: Actually I read these specs off the Honda and Acura websites?
Him: well I don't know where you got these numbers man, what websites were you looking at.
Him: this car has more passing power than the Accord V6
Me: how is this possible, the Accord has 240 hp, this one has 200
Him: it has more power than an Accord V6

 

Usually the used car salesman at dealers are more accommodating than some of the new car people. I was at the only local BMW dealer looking in the new car showroom and barely got a notice from any of the 'professionals' in there. A few of these pros were just mouthing to each other with no other customers. I thought it was rude and told them so.
The used car guys there were more professional.

If I was at that MB dealership and was even half interested in really buying or even getting a price bid I would have gone to the general mgr (if available?) and asked for better service. If still none, I would have gotten names and reported the incident to MB corporate.

 

Before I bought my TSX, I went to a Mercedes dealer near my home to test drive a C230. The sales guy was super cool, let me take it for a drive without any hesitation. I actually liked the car quite a bit.

That was the one and only experience I've had at a MB dealer and it was positive.

 

Used car lots have to be accomodating ... the crap isn't appreciating on the asphalt, that's for sure.

 

Bloomfield? Novi? Rochester?

 

Bloomfield.

 

Lexus has the best dealers IMO. I rarely hear of stories of people having problems with Lexus dealers. They are usually very curteous , and don't ignore you if you walk in looking half-assed. Plus their service departments are usually excellent.

Manafacturers have very little control over dealers. Dealers are generally very well protected by the states to protect "mom and pop" dealers against the big bad wolf car manafacturers. This comes up a lot with BMW convertables where everyone is pissed at how the dealers try and charge a premium for verts, especially in the winter, but they can't really do anything.

 

very very very similar thing happened to me and my cousin when he was interested in a used 92-93 ish NSX it was also at a MB dealership we were basically denied anything they barely wanted to talk to us because we seemed i guess younger? im 18 my cousins 23 but if they had talked and dealt with him gave a test drive he woulda had an NSX paid in cash rather then his current navigator...

 

Good post Kurt. I can think of many examples both in car dealerships and other high end retail shops where sales people have ignored me because I don't dress the part.

When I shop for high dollar items I dress down - no polo shirt and khakis, just sandals, blue jeans and a cheap t -shirt. I don't see the need to dress to impress the salesman. Even though I buy my cars in cash and probably have more to spend than most of their customers, I don't feel the need to advertise my social standing when I walk into a dealership. Being ignored by salesmen was the reason that i passed over more than a few cars before I chose the Acura.

I had very nearly decided to buy a Boxster S but I got pissed at being ignored by the dealer for more than a half hour. It's the salesman's loss if he doesn't take me seriously, not mine. Besides, the condescension you experience when shopping in some these places led me to conclude that you have to be a pretentious asshole to be interested in their product. Maybe that's why the salesmen are ignoring me, because I don't even try to fit the image of their target customer.

 

 

image does mean alot, but its totally worng to judge somebody by what they are wearing or how they talk. thats like not giving credit to a black guy just cause hes black, ya never know he might have good credit.

i remember last fall my cousin and I went to the bmw dealer to crunch some #'s on a brand new m3 and get some info, me being 19 and him 20 the salesperson brushed us off and was just bullshittin us, his lost my cousin went to a diff. dealer and the guy lost out on a 55k sale

 

When i went to buy my 04 TL last summer, my father drove me to the dealer since i did not have my licence yet(road test was due the next day). My father remained in the car bc he was on the cellphone, so i walked in to check the TL out in person for the first time. Sales guy saw me and introduced himself to me. I told him i was interested in buyingthe new TL - he mentioned what a great car it was and that he just bought one himself. He asked me if i want to test drive it, but i had to tell him i still didnt have my licence(even though i knew how to drive). He felt bad and sad sorry, he couldnt let me drive for insurance purposes - a completly justified and honest answer. He made up for it, he still took me on a test drive which lasted 20 minutes, blasting the sound system and driving sick a maniac on the highways and local streets. Even now with my own car i still didnt drive the way he did. He was real cool, especially the way he drove the car, in a way of making up for my lack of not being able ot test drive it. We got back to the dealer, and i told the salesman im going ot speak to my father(slaes man had no diea my father was with me). My father walks in, salesman gives him price of 30,200,(i decided to lease it, want ot change car in 3-4 years). I tell him what color combo i want (nbp/ebony), he goes gets the keys, and hands them over to me. They do some paperwork for about 15min, im in the car checking it out, then we coem back 3 days later to pick it up. Excellent experience, never thought a young one like me would be treated so well. All the salesman were still surprised i was getting that car for myself(it was summer, my father woke me up early after i only had 3 hrs of sleep, my hair was messed up, i looked dead tired, walked in with old shorts shirt and sneakers) . My father ended up giving the salesman a $500 gift of cash at the end, i really appreciated hte service i got from acura of westchester.

 

Story time! My mom was in the market for used TL's (this was back in 2003) and we went to Honda World (i think) in Westminster, anyways, this old dude comes out, and he introduces himself to us. I tell him my mom is looking for used TLs, and he goes over to a used Green one, and takes out the keys for it. He then goes so whose test driving it first, and im like wtf lol pretty cool. I was 13 1/2 at the time =D.

 

This is the part of the 'car buying game' that I always hate. I bought my first NSX at age 22. I went in to the dealer dressed like a normal guy, and having just bought my latest of 4 cars from them about a year before. I told the sales guy I wanted to get a used NSX, and I wanted one in black, could he find one for me. The guy plain refused. He would not even lift a finger to try and find me one. I tried a couple other dealers and NOBODY would help me find a car!! Eventually I bought one privately and took the car to the first dealer I went to. The salesman and the General Manager saw the car pull into the service bay and when I got out they asked whose car it was. I told them it was mine, they both laughed and said I was lying!! I told them again, it was mine, and I was here to pick some things up and get an oil change. They again said I was lying. At this point my mother got out of the passenger side and sternly told the two idiots that if they had a problem with her son having an NSX they should have thought about that before they refused to sell him one. Go Mom!!

The same thing happened with my second NSX, only this time it was worse. To avoid having to deal with profiling, I bought the NSX over the phone, having never seen the car, or met the sales people. I went to a Chevrolet dealer in Schaumburg, Illinois (Woodfield Chevrolet-Hummer) dressed normally (for me....black dress pants and a well pressed shirt) and the stupid sales people would not even give me the time of day. They just sat their eating hamburgers and ignoring me!! I had pulled up in my barely 3 month old Mitsubishi Evolution that was getting traded in and they would not lift a finger to help me. To keep a long story short, once they found out I was there to pick up the car, just a younger guy, they tried to RAISE THE PRICE!! I was stunned. Eventually I left with the NSX, at the price I wanted, but it was a terrible experience.

When it comes down to it, car sales people are generally idiots when it comes to this kind of thing. Anyone in sales, who is GOOD at sales, knows you NEVER pre-judge a possible client. More often than not it is the normal looking guy with the money, and the pretender with the gold chains and such hanging out.

 

By the way....I went to the Mercedes dealer here with a friend of mine (who is a computer industry millionaire at 22 years of age) and we were both looking to get the CLK when they had been out a year or so. The Mercedes sales guys would not even talk to us. We were polite, and not dressed like thugs, they just acted liked jerks. The next day my friend and I bought new Acura's.

 

Kurt sounds like a great salesperson.

I think everyone can tell similar stories. I had it happen to me in the past and have made a point to let the management or dealer ownership know how they're sales people represented their business.

 

^^^
On the same note, my Subaru/Volkswagen salesman has tossed me the keys to an R32, STi and Legacy GT while waiting for service or something knowing full well that I had no intention of buying a car then. I did want to buy the Leg GT when I was shopping to trade in my Impreza but the TSX won me over

My Acura salesman is the same as the above, a real cool guy and offered to let me test drive anything that I wanted. And hell, I'm not even money...just a regular guy...

Matt -

 

Wow!! A thread from the dead!!

As I posted in another discussion thread, some dealers are willing to lose some business to attract a particular clientele. (I have come across this at both Princeton Honda and Princeton Audi.)

 

I've never had a problem with a dealership, except for one parts guy at Acura. He was truely so unbelievably rude and disrespectful over an issue that didn't even pertain to him. I had called and asked for a fog light switch from another parts guy. He pulled one aside for me, and told me to call back if i did or didn't need it. When I found out that i didn't need it, I called the dealership back and let them know I didn't need it, and talked to Mr. Rude. He proceeds to tell me no Acura's have foglight switches in them, I have no idea what Im talking about and "im wasting his time", exact words. I very nicely asked for his name and called the owner and things were handled with an apology from him. I hate being a bitch, but i was literally shocked when I talked to him. I couldn't believe you would ever talk to a customer like that. The dealership has truely exceptionally wonderful service and parts guys, and this was just a bad seed.