I Sell Cars for a Living at a Big Dealership - Ask Me Anything (towing, Kia)
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BAM! See Tourian, this guy gets it! If you were buying a car with no salespeople involved, you would just pay list price, because that would be the price.
I used to sell new & used vehicles at a Toyota dealership years ago. Overall it was decent money, but never consistent from month to month. I had months where I'd clear nearly $10K and once I had a month where I only made $500.
It was fun & I did well overall because I was knowledgeable. I walk into some dealerships & the sales people are clueless about the specs of the vehicles. I remember I got a sale from a couple who came from another Toyota dealership. They went into this other dealership and drove a 4 Runner, they asked the sales person about what type of engine the vehicle had & they replied "I dunno some sort of 4 cylinder" when the vehicle they tested actually had a 4.0L V-6 lol. They asked me a lot of questions about the vehicle which I answered honestly & correctly & I got the sale.
It was fun & I did well overall because I was knowledgeable. I walk into some dealerships & the sales people are clueless about the specs of the vehicles. I remember I got a sale from a couple who came from another Toyota dealership. They went into this other dealership and drove a 4 Runner, they asked the sales person about what type of engine the vehicle had & they replied "I dunno some sort of 4 cylinder" when the vehicle they tested actually had a 4.0L V-6 lol. They asked me a lot of questions about the vehicle which I answered honestly & correctly & I got the sale.
I've always wondered about this after running into more than a few salespeople who had little no idea what it was they were selling besides cupholders. What kind of formal training, if any, do they receive?
If all of the dealers in a region got together and decided what to sell a particular car for, that is collusion.
No.
What I'm saying is, let the MANUFACTURER set the price. Dealers would not be involved in new car sales, they wouldn't have the ability to set prices on anything. Customers would only pick up the car at a dealership, and take it there for service. Every customer in every state would be quoted the same price for the same car with the same options selected, etc, whether you walked in to a dealership or built the car online.
That sales model could be done, today. It is already done for other products.
I've always wondered about this after running into more than a few salespeople who had little no idea what it was they were selling besides cupholders. What kind of formal training, if any, do they receive?
Really, very little lol.
I had a leg up on everyone because I was a car nut/gear head.
They would have us study the manufacturer's info guides they released to the dealerships, but I don't think some people even cracked them open. I would read them several times from cover to cover. Some sales people thought all you really needed was good "hustle", "game" or whatever, but customers get turned off quickly if you don't know your stuff.
One of the most cringe worthy statements I ever heard was a salesman talking to someone who wanted a 4WD Highlander. We did not have a 4WD model in stock, but had a few FWD. This salesman tried to tell a customer FWD was just about as good as 4WD in snow.
I worked at Best Buy and saw what the products actually cost Best Buy - enjoy this delusion.
I'm not talking about what the store system says the markup is on a product. I'm talking about the profit they make on average, after costs are taken into account. You don't teeter on the edge of bankruptcy and undergo constant CEO changes barely staying open for years on end making a nice profit margin overall.
And I'll happily let a dealer make a decent profit. I want them to stay open and be there when I need them. Ill happily discuss it in an open book process, just like I have to do with much of the work I do, but only if it's truly open.
And basically consign everything Mckinneyownr has said in this thread.
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