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Not car related, but in the late 70's we sold our house in Pa and moved to NC. Made good money on the sale. After we got settled, my wife wanted some new furniture, so I put about $ 15,000.00 in my pockets and we went shopping.
Walked into a store with our two kids, and we were dressed a little shabbily from working on the new house, so we didn't look like much. Salesman looked down his nose at us as we walked in, and he kept watching us as we walked around. Wife picked out a dining room outfit, a living room outfit, and some other stuff that she liked.
Salesman now walked up and said "Can I help you folks?" I showed him the items we wanted, and he jotted down the items and said (very much down his nose) "And how did you folks want to pay for this?" I pulled out a wad of cash and said " With cash."
Suddenly, he became our best friend, and got on the phone and called the warehouse and said "We have some fine folks here who need their furniture delivered RIGHT NOW ! Get the truck loaded and follow them home !" My wife laughed all the way home and said " Funny how much better they treat you when they think you have money !"
Up until then, we were just poor white Northern trash.
I had just moved to MN when my old rust bucket had to be put to pasture. Too bad it didn't die sooner before I paid to move it! I was really in a bind. We were living temporarily in an apartment while we were looking for a house and we both had jobs and had to work every day.
I was walking home from the shop that had my dead car and there it was. A Toyota dealership. I had never had a new car so I went in to look and found a perfect commuter car. A 5 speed(manual) Corolla, cheap on gas with enough torque to make it through some snow. I probably would have bought it and drove away. I had the cash, I could have just written them a check. We knew I would need a car soon anyway and it had to be reliable because of the MN winters.
It all went downhill from there. When the salesman came up, he called me 'Little Lady'. Well that's rude but I could forgive him. Next, he didn't believe I knew how to drive the car and insisted on mansplaining the whole clutch thing to me. Including telling me I should buy an automatic because women were not capable of driving manual vehicles. Really? And then the last straw...he told me to come back with my husband.
I walked the rest of the way home, fuming. And yes, I did buy a new car but not from that idiot!
Anyone that has experienced car dealerships only as a customer can still appreciate all the details of a car sale, but it’s easier if you also spent time on the other team as a salesperson or, even better, as a manager.
First, we need to say that cars are still sold much the same way horses were sold 200 years ago. Technology has been introduced into the game, but it was an awkward addition. The entire deal is structured in an obsolete way. Car manufacturers wield a lot of power over dealerships, and they should force change just because most buyers demand transparency.
As things are right now, I must say that very often customers can't recognize a good deal when they see one, and/or have completely unrealistic expectations. For instance, consider a typical situation that’s possibly unfolding in dozens of dealerships around the country right now. Someone is offered a fair valuation of their trade-in, can negotiate a substantial discount on the sticker price of a new car, no money down and 0% financing to boot, maybe because end-of-year models must be moved quickly. These customers let a sales manager know that absolutely they don't want payments longer than three years (or four, or whatever; the example remains valid anyway). Two hours after they started test driving four different cars and learning about all options, they see their monthly payment written clearly on paper on the desk, they are dumbfounded, pretend that they can't believe their eyes, and get up quickly from their chairs ready to leave. How could the monthly payment be less than (sticker price – discount – trade-in value) divided by 36 for a three-year deal or by 48 if they’re looking at paying the vehicle off in four years? Guys like these are looking for a miracle, not a good deal. They can't afford the car they like. It's as simple as that.
Now, can you guess who these customers are? They are the ones who arrived behind the wheel of a dirty worthless car, with terrible haircuts, old worn shoes on their feet, avoiding eye contact with their salesperson and asking just a few disparate and weird questions. We all agree that appearances can deceive, but if you look and sound like you don’t have two pennies to rub together, you often can’t afford to finance a new car. New salesmen burn their energy trying to make these deals happen. They even succeed occasionally, but while they close one deal a week, a more experienced colleague will sell 10 vehicles to serious shoppers. Yes, potential customers are really evaluated as soon as they roll into the parking lot. It’s a much-needed professional skill. If your salary is small and you mostly live off your commissions, you can’t afford to waste time with people who came to kick tires just to kill time, and feel very important when they turn down a good deal that makes perfect sense even to guys who work in the industry.
We all heard the stories (maybe true, maybe not) of guys who looked like bums, came in riding a bicycle, then bought $50,000 vehicles paying in full by check and without haggling over the bottom line. Those exceptions just confirm a rule, and you won’t provide for your family if you break consolidated commercial rules to go after the occasional exception, a lucky strike.
By the way, I sold cars to judges, lawyers, surgeons, real estate investors and assorted millionaires who had dressed down for their dealership visits. That’s the new normal. Clothes don’t mean much, these days, everyone can be casual and somebody even enjoys looking shabby. Speech patterns and body language are very revealing, though. You shouldn’t even call yourself a salesman if after two minutes you haven’t realized if the guy you’re talking to is serious and well-heeled, or just there to waste your time.
^^^And how does any of this justify the way most dealerships treat their female customers? (And if you need examples, see the previous 5 1/2 pages of this thread.) Women are now "playing the leading role" in 85% of car-buying decisions. [Women Dominate Car-Buying Decisions; Few Hold Auto Executive Jobs : NPR ] Any dealership manager that allows/encourages his salespeople to **** off the vast majority of his potential customers is an idiot. And a manager who doesn't make sure his salespeople can drive the manuals on the lot is a disgrace.
^^^And how does any of this justify the way most dealerships treat their female customers? (And if you need examples, see the previous 5 1/2 pages of this thread.) Women are now "playing the leading role" in 85% of car-buying decisions. [Women Dominate Car-Buying Decisions; Few Hold Auto Executive Jobs : NPR ] Any dealership manager that allows/encourages his salespeople to **** off the vast majority of his potential customers is an idiot. And a manager who doesn't make sure his salespeople can drive the manuals on the lot is a disgrace.
I wasn't replying to anyone in particular who posted in the previous 5 1/2 pages, nor am I responsible for what goes on in all dealerships in the country. Now I don't even look at the cars. I close deals. Believe me, when a salesman signals me that a couple is ready to negotiate and I sit at a table across them, I know who the decision maker is. I agree that in about 85% of cases it's the lady who has the final word. I also make sure everyone on my team knows that, and in any case shows equal respect to all customers. Sometimes there are very bad salesmen and even managers. Then, it's still wise for a salesman to spend more time with people who actually want to buy a vehicle.
I'm not rich, but I can afford a nice car. Even in my sixties, and even when I dress up, I feel like a stool pigeon walking into a car dealership. I expect to be taken advantage of and I am usually right.
I'm not sure why it matters if a salesman loses a sale because he thought the customer looked too poor. The car most likely is going to sell to someone else in the future. I don't think many cars get sent back to the manufacturer "unsold".
I think the true test would be to come back 6 months or a year later and see if the car that the "unkempt looking customer who is secretly rich" was interested in buying is still sitting on the lot.
I doubt a front line salesman gets much commission any way. I'd be surprised if they could get more than $300 per sale. There isn't much room to negotiate on a Toyota Corrolla. The person getting the big bucks is the owner of the dealership.
I can add my anecdote too. I was looking to buy a new motorcycle. Go to a dealer close to my house and get a price. It seems out of line so I ask for clarification (example, does the price includes sales tax)? they reply no. The price was actually $100 over sticker price + sales tax.
I walked out the door went to another dealer 50 miles away and bought the same motorcycle even the same color for $1000 less. Went back to first dealer and showed them. Salesmen didn't seem to care, however their motorcycle was sitting on their showroom for 1+ years.
I actually attribute that experience to what I call the "Harley effect". This was a multi name plate dealer and did a lot of HD sales. They do not negotiate on Harley's and I suppose they carried that same attitude over to their other brands. After a couple years of that they lost their three other name brands which were Ducati, BMW, and Triumph. I guess the HD brand pays well, because they still sell the hell out of those.
Last edited by MrGompers; 10-11-2017 at 09:45 PM..
I've noticed that too. Shopping for my wife, and often the salesmen will look past her and talk to me and ask me what I want on the car. Even had a few ask if I wanted my wife's name on the paperwork even after saying we were here to trade in her car for a new car for her.
We had that happen last time we looked for a car. They had the next up model which I knew I didn’t want, and it was 24,000. But I was willing to order the car I wanted. So started the negotiation. The guy started with my husband and hubby said her car, her deal.
But the sales guy wasn’t listening to me, he was still more or less talking to my husband. I told him I wanted to order the mid range model. Got told no, they wanted to deal on what they had. I told him I didn’t want or need the Celica engine, and I didn’t want to mess with more expensive gas.
Then he lied and said you didn’t have to put premium gas in the car. Manual says you do, know a guy with a high performance Celica and he says you do...so I told him my top price of 17,500.
Couldn’t possibly do it for that. Mmmm, May go down to 23,750. Started talking hubby again, who was sitting there shaking his head at this guy.
I said, well... how about 17,000. Yeah, I went down 500. We did the back and forth several times and finally...when I hit 7,000, it dawned on him I was lowering my top price. He kinda kicked us out of his office.
I called them back, after I got my Matrix, ordered from another dealership, for 17,123.44, basically my price. No muss no fuss no hassle. I also told what went through to the dealership I bought my car from and Toyota. It doesn’t surprise me that first dealership closed.
I never had a bad experience with a car dealership, sometimes I don't like the salesman so I never buy from somebody I don't like or trust. I never had a salesman refuse to show me a car or be rude but I usually pretty easy going. Usually the super high end places you have to make an appointment to test drive the car, usually that is not a big deal even with super high end cars like Bentley or Ferrari but I never ended up buying them even them even thou Ican afford any car I am too frugal.
My ex and I were newly married years ago and her car was on its last leg. I was travelling for work so I decided to surprise her with a new car. I went and test drove the car I wanted to get her that we could afford. I wasn't 100% after the test drive and asked the salesman for his written bottom dollar. He came back with MSRP!!!! I test drove 2 other models but liked the original one best.
I went online and found the next closest dealer and found the same exact car for about 4k less. I went down and bought it and surprised my wife. About 2 days later the salesman called that had given me the MSRP quote. I told him I already bought the same car and told him the price. He said he could have matched that haha I told him he had his chance already and he hung up.
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