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Confessions of a Car Salesman (http://www.edmunds.com/advice/buying/articles/42962/article.html - broken link)
"The final box on the 4-square was for the trade-in. This was where the most profit could be made. Buyers are so eager to get out of their old car and into a new one, they overlook the true value of the trade-in. The dealership is well aware of this weakness and exploits it."
This is exactly what I have always said. Some people are so damned impatient about getting a shiney set of wheels they are nearly willing to just give away their current car. And it's also where the dealer can shaft you on the deal the worst and make the most money on the deal.
"So what you do is this," Michael pretended to pick up the phone again, "you ask the desk, 'What did we get for the last three Tauruses at auction?' Then they'll give you some figures — they'll say, $1,923, $2,197 and $1,309. You don't have to say anything to the customer. But he sees you writing this down! And he's going, 'Holy crap! I thought my trade was worth $6,000.' Now it's easy to get it for $3,000. That's a grand extra in profit. And it's front-end money too!" (I later learned that front-end money was what our commissions were based on. Back-end money was made on interest, holdbacks and other elements of the deal.)
...I knew it....
Last edited by drjones96; 07-14-2009 at 11:55 AM..
I have been in the car business for 7 1/2 years now. I dont lie, cheat, and steal to sell cars, so dont lump us all together.
Right. It's too bad the slimeballs ruin the image for everyone.
I do work for about 10 dealerships. I interact with the salesmen and managers at all of them. It doesn't take long to figure out which ones I would deal with and which ones I wouldn't give the time of day to. I like my job because it gives me that inside edge so that when I do find a car I want, I know just who to talk to.
Right. It's too bad the slimeballs ruin the image for everyone.
I do work for about 10 dealerships. I interact with the salesmen and managers at all of them. It doesn't take long to figure out which ones I would deal with and which ones I wouldn't give the time of day to. I like my job because it gives me that inside edge so that when I do find a car I want, I know just who to talk to.
Exactly. If the person you are dealing with is shady, don't do business with them.
"I should add that there are many good dealers who wouldn't cheat or overcharge even a naive customer. But, sadly, there are enough unscrupulous dealers out there to make caution and suspicion necessary."
So the wife and I are needing something larger to replace our 2008 Jeep Compass. We go to a local dealer and find a nice 2008 Town and Country minivan with roughly the same amount of miles on the odometer. After the usual bickering of price, we settle on a deal. The guy goes to get the paperwork ready and takes quite a long while. After we start getting upset, the guy comes back and says, "We need $500 down." Well that is NOT what we settled on. I told him that we will be paying a sum of NOTHING down and he goes back in the back to leave us for another period of waiting and waiting. I then tell my wife that we are leaving. We both get up, gather our things and head for the door. The guy comes dashing out and says, "Wait wait...I got that $500 covered, it won't be a problem."
You know what, it wasn't a problem from the beginning. Just like every other STEALERship, they like to jerk you around, get you tired and hungry until you give in to their demands. A car salesman has to be one of the biggest scum of the earth jobs. I got the deal that I wanted. In this economy, you would think that they would stop their BS tactics and level with people to try and sell more cars. They should be kissing my royal --- just for even purchasing a vehicle. I rank salesmen up there with lawyers. Actually, I respect lawyers more.
Funny how they can all of a sudden "make the deal" when you are heading for the parking lot.
I had time and one of my cars was temporarily down so I stopped in a local dealership to look at a car I thought was interesting.
Was disappointed that all the cars on the lot were dirty, the demos had so little gas in them that any test drive was limited to around the block, and there was no literature available. The killer was when I asked what they wanted for one demo (2009 model with 5500 miles) they came back with a page showing a price more than 10% over new car sticker price (there was no sticker on the car but I had researched them).
I said 'I'll let you know' and walked out thinking I will never go back to that dealership. No wonder auto sales are down.
Last week my wife went Subaru shopping, stopped at dealer, test drove a Forester, made a deal (they offered a $500 rebate, she mentioned the Annapolis dealership was offering $2500, they matched it) and came home 2 or 3 hours later with a red 2010. Of course she also had 30% down and no trade-in.
So the wife and I are needing something larger to replace our 2008 Jeep Compass..... "We need $500 down." ...
Funny how they can all of a sudden "make the deal" when you are heading for the parking lot.
Before we all collectively despise car salesmen and make statements like "No wonder auto sales are down" and start sentences with "In this economy", has it occurred to anyone that the salesman asked for $500 down to make sure that the buyer came back and actually bought the vehicle instead of agreeing to buy and never coming back?
Disclaimer: I am not a car salesman
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