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Uh, because there are good dealerships with good, well informed salespeople who have been very successful in the business for decades and thrive on repeat business from very satisfied customers, their families, friends and referrals. You just need to know where to find them.
Yeah I’m not going to search high and low to find a salesman who isn’t a mushroom. Sorry not my job. I want to walk in, not be accosted and being fed a bunch of bs.
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Originally Posted by Max_is_here
Especially those that sell services, or even worse, property they have no chain of ownership to (realtors and the like).
You should never count on any salesman for anything other than to try to take your money. The rest of the due diligence is on you no matter what you're buying.
This is one of the fundamental reasons that internet shopping is killing most brick and mortar stores. You can do your own research and find the best prices yourself and then just make the purchase. I mean, when was the last time you really needed an electronics salesman? The only thing they do now is usually unlock it from whatever security system is in place in the store and take it up to the register for you... Amazon can take it all the way to my door for me.
Anyhow, I've known a few people who have bought vehicles like that too. Just figure out exactly what it is you want, call/email the dealers for their best, first-chance-only price, and then buy from the lowest guy. It saves a horrific amount of work. I admit that the people I've known that have done that also have their own financing lined up already, or are paying cash, and don't do trade-ins.
Exactly. Wasting your time with tons of negotiations, salesmen bs “having to see the manager” and all the tricks they play. If I walk in I already test drive the car, know what I want and what I should be paying for it.
Was car shopping...stopped into local dealer. Went to look at a certain model I had in mind ..then the sales guy said. "Ohh what color paint do you want on the car? Will you want a coupe style car?"
I responded" ohh does a certain color get me to my destination safer?" ..and why would I want a coupe when I said I wanted a four door due to a family member?
That to me is a salesperson being ignorant about a buyer..and assuming I give a rats tail about color vs performance and safety.
He sarcastically told his manager in front of me....ohh she thinks she knows the value of her trade in.
He didn't have a hail Mary left in him by the time I shut that deal down. Insult a customer/buyer . That's ignorance.
Thanks goodness the business that got the sale was diligent in getting accurate answers to questions I had about the car. He even said humbly...I don't know that answer,give me a few minutes and I'll get the correct answer. And he did!
They gave me three discounts...local business discount,the rebate, zero interest on loan,and way more for the trade in
Granted it was when dealerships were hurting to sell new cars...
" ohh does a certain color get me to my destination safer?"
To be fair, after decades of experience (and talking to others who agreed), absolutely no one sees a red car. So... Yeah, don't buy a red one if you'd prefer not to be run off the road, IMO.
To be fair, after decades of experience (and talking to others who agreed), absolutely no one sees a red car. So... Yeah, don't buy a red one if you'd prefer not to be run off the road, IMO.
That's a very good point. I'd also add that a black car is probably less safe at night, and a white one probably isn't the best choice for heavy fog or a blizzard.
Flying off the handle because the sales guy couldn't automatically tell by looking at you that you wanted a vehicle that's painted like a school bus seems bit presumptuous. I'll bet they weren't too let down to see you leave and head to the other dealer.
That's a very good point. I'd also add that a black car is probably less safe at night, and a white one probably isn't the best choice for heavy fog or a blizzard.
Oddly, after owning all of those colors (and 4 black ones), it's only the red ones that people don't see.
Anyhow... I agree with OP otherwise for the most part. Sounds like she was more offended that the guy was talking trash about her opinion of her trade to her face than anything.
When I bought my T-Bird years ago the salesman insisted that the CD player was a 6 CD holder even though it wasn't on the sticker. Turns out he was wrong and when I drove away he was screaming at me to come back.
Car salesmen, there is a reason they have the reputation they do. Unless you have a relative or good friend in the business car buying is an activity most people want to avoid.
Once the wife and I went to look for a new family car as we had one toddler and another on the way. We went to a Ford dealership and the guy kept pushing us on a fully loaded Fairmont. I think it was being discontinued as a model as well for that year & I thought it looked like it was made of tin and plastic. Since I would not bite he says well if you don't want the best for your wife & child I have this "po boy" over here I can show you. To us a car is transportation, not a social status statement for our neighbors. My wife and I looked at each other and laughed. We said ask you manager to come over here. He got all apologetic and we left. We trashed that dealership to everyone we could find for the rest of our time in town.
Later in life when we had better means we were looking for a car to take on short road trips together as the kids were older teenagers and we were not in the car all together as often. We start walking over to a line of sedans and the salesman comes running up & starts right out of the gate talking about their great financing. I had done all my research, went in at qtr end when the new models were starting to show up. I had a model from each of the major producers we could go with as they were all close in price, quality and options. Bottom line it was whatever my wife was most comfortable driving and liked. I said I don't need the financing. What are you trading in? No trade in. Who are you financing with he asks? I'll pay cash. He says "well that's just stupid" My wife and I stopped in our tracks as he continued walking a few steps blathering away. He turns and realizes he just lost himself and the dealership a sale.
That was a case where I did go to the sales manager. I told him I know your salesmen have an incentive to use the manufacturer/dealerships financing but your rates are not any better than many banks around here. Car loan interest is no longer deductible on your taxes. If I was that smart of an investor to put that cash somewhere else with no risk I would not be shopping for a Dodge. We prefer not to carry debt, its a personal choice. He apologized for his salesman but as the conversation was occuring in the middle of his show room floor being overheard by other shoppers he wanted the discussion over with. As we were leaving the lot he flagged us down and apologized again asking if there was anything he could do to get us back. We said we'd think about it but never went to that lot again. When the kids were getting cars we went elsewhere.
Our last foray into a dealership over 10 years ago was similar. My old car was on its last legs. For a while I had a 120 mile round trip commute daily and that really eats up a car. I liked the restyled Impala. It used to be a land whale in the 90s' but the new version was comfortable, roomy, had a good reputation for dependability, nice trunk etc. We get a young salesman juiced up on muscle steroids and spray on tan demanding my drivers license. I almost turned around when I saw him walking our way because you know the type. We go in and it's all the high pressure tactics horse s**t we abhor. You don't need my drivers license. You can see it but your not making a copy of it or taking it anywhere. You can come on the test drive.
I told him here is what I'm looking for and what I'm willing to give for the car. Eventually running back and forth to the back offices he comes within $200 of that. So we say we are going across the street to the Bahama Breeze to have lunch and will call you. He says you can't leave. WTH ? If you do the deal is off. We say OK we will take that chance, we are not in love with the car and there was no rush to buy. We left, had lunch and my wife called him as we were getting ready to leave saying we would come over and buy the car for the deal he quoted. She gets a funny look on her face and says what are we 5 years old and hangs up. This woman, who never ever swears and has the perfect poker face in any situation looks at her phone and silently mouths a**h*le. That picture was worth the entire ordeal for me and I'll never forget it.
We ended up at another dealership a day later where the guy looked at my offer for a minute went into the office and came back out saying there are 6 of them in that row, pick what ever one you want. Easy, no stress, they still made money, we felt like we got a deal we could be happy with. Still have the car and its been solid.
I'm hoping to hold off another 3 years before replacing either of the cars we now have. If the recession really hits that may change as some good deals will be available with manufacturers looking for cash.
Yeah I’m not going to search high and low to find a salesman who isn’t a mushroom. Sorry not my job. I want to walk in, not be accosted and being fed a bunch of bs.
As I said, if you go to the right dealership you won't be accosted and won't be fed any bs. Some people know everything though, so they have no need to ask around among friends and family for recommendations. Some of those people actually have dealt with the same dealer for generations and are quite satisfied. Have it your way.
Some, not all, dealerships constantly recruit new inexperienced salesmen and ladies. Standard practice is that they fire the person who sells the fewest cars each month. Normally these recruits will try to sell to all their friends and relatives, when they run out of friends and relatives their sales drop. Product knowledge does not come that quickly in these situations.
Your mother was kind, I would've had him calling other dealers looking for one.
well my mother was a nurse, so she tended to take pity on the less fortunate, including those with low IQs, like car salespeople.
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