Confessions Of A Car Dealer

[Matthew_McNally]

Edmunds.com sends a reporter under cover to work in a car dealership.

the 4 square sheet was very interesting - not seen that technique used over here (at least not in that form).

you guys experience this type of selling?

He makes several allusions to the first dealership as being a high pressure dealership that sells luxury japanese cars. but they also sell minivans - so its not Lexus

[AWJ]

I read that way back. I've worked at car dealerships. Seen some pretty clever stuff. Also some pretty unhappy people. I stay away. Although, I must say, some smaller private lots, are on the up.

[SW03ES]

Yep, read that a while back.

I do business with car dealers, I design and implement marketing and customer retention systems and consult on customer service for them exclusively.

There's a movement towards quality in today's consumer, and with the Internet people know when they're being ripped off so more and more car dealers are trying out treating their customers like they're on the up and up. There's even a new field of car sales specialists that (for a fee) will help you buy a car from a car dealer the way a Realtor will help you through the sale of a house, by being your fiduciary agent and negotiating for you etc. So, dealers can't just get away with the same old tricks anymore. I have the statistics to show you, dealers that treat their customers right make more money than those that are greedy.

Car salesmen can also be some of the most tragic people I've ever met, its a hard job. You can make a lot of money but its not easy, car salesmen are about one step higher than bums on the respect list and that takes a toll. I was at a Toyota dealer yesterday looking at the new Avalon and was talking with the salesman, I took his card. He asked if he could have my contact info and I gave it to him as I left he shook my hand and said "Thank you, being a car salesman can be tough, people can be pretty hard on you and its always nice meeting someone nice" he genuinely meant it too.

[vcv10guy]

That was a good read. I'm definitely going to keep those tips in mind and do research since I'll be in the market in the summer. Kind of funny, I realized the sales associate at the Lexus dealer the other day actually tried a few of those techniques on me (he seems like a nice guy though). One thing is for sure, I won't look at dealerships and salesmen/women the same again. They have a tough job...

[Unlisted]

this is mostly a california type thing. also used in dealership that spot cars{same day delivery} I do alot of interactions with dealers and salesmen . this type of stuff is mainly prevolent in nissan , hyundai , chevy stores. They advertise prices below dealer cost to get attention then have to work there way up to make a living. manufacter is too blame by awarding too many franchises. Lexus has a good balance of dealers.

[SW03ES]

Mostly a California type thing??! Not really. These sales tactics are used all over the country. As for what stores they're most likely used in, again thats not true either I've seen dealerships of all different price brackets that do this kind of stuff.

The manufacturer isn't to blame at all, too many franchises has nothing to do with it. People forget that sales is a people business and most people make a decision based on whether or not they like and trust the salesperson. Now, years of wrongdoing by dealers and salespeople have given people a preconived notion about how "they are" and a good salesperson attempts to break through those preconceptions and make the customer realize what they care about is that the customer has a quality experience and gets a good deal. When you focus on the customer in sales, the money follows. People who have had a good experience coupled with enough marketing and customer retention materials keep coming back again, and again, and again. No need to hook people with unrealistic prices.

Think about it, when all personal connection with the salespeople is lost through wrongdoing or poor attitude then the last consideration is price. Thats why dealers have to discount. I tell my dealers to come to a price where you won't go any farther, and have enough connection with the customer that they understand and you'll do more business, and they do. They say:

"I realize that Chevy of Whatever may have a slightly lower price, but we at Blank Chevy practice a different kind of car sales where the customer is the focus, because of the time and attention and care we give our customers, sometimes we just can't have the lowest price". It works.

[Lexusfreak]

Edmunds.com sends a reporter under cover to work in a car dealership.

the 4 square sheet was very interesting - not seen that technique used over here (at least not in that form).

you guys experience this type of selling?

He makes several allusions to the first dealership as being a high pressure  dealership that sells luxury japanese cars.  but they also sell minivans - so its not Lexus

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Yup, been there, done that.....happens at many car dealers (not all mind you) both import & domestic I'm sorry to say. :(

[VBdenny]

I read it, and sent it to my brother who sold Chevy's for 5 years. Apparently, it is right on cue.

[OregonTexass]

Wow....that's an eye opening read. Thanks for posting that!! :chairshot:

[blake918]

he shook my hand and said "Thank you, being a car salesman can be tough, people can be pretty hard on you and its always nice meeting someone nice" he genuinely meant it too.

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People,well, I am atleast are tough on car sales men/women because they TYPICALLY know nothing about what they were selling, and they always want to sell you something other than what you want. How hard is it to take home some brochures and read over them a few times to get familiar with what you are tying to sell, and how hard is it to hear that I don't want the black convertible over there even if it is at a great price? The only tough part I see is the lack of job security(for the lack of better phrasing).

About two years ago, I went to Ford dealer looking at the F150 SuperCrews(my dad was think about replacing his Suburban). To see if the salesman knew anything, I asked the salesman what color interiors were available with white exterior. He was absolutely clueless. It wasn't until we got back in the show room and he got a brochure that he was able to tell me. It's a white truck; common sense would say they atleast have tan and grey. Not to mention when he greeted me, I said I am looking for this exact truck-no variation will do: white, super crew, Fx4, moon roof, leather, 5.4 engine, etc. Well, he walks me to the back of the dealership where there are about 100 trucks. Sure enough after looking at all 100 of them, they didn't have what I was looking for. What a shock! If I were the salesman, I would have gone on a computer inside and searched the inventory as not to waste 15 minutes of someone's time. Perhaps, I'm the only one he's "helped' that doesn't like wondering around a very large lot when it's 105 degrees with 95% humidity? Then on my way out, they had just off loaded a white one that he knew was exactly what I was looking for. It wasn't; I had a feeling it wasn't before I saw the truck, which had no sunroof and no Fx4. I wanted to ask him if he was dropped on his head as a child(maybe more than once?). :chairshot: Maybe I was vauge when I said I only want this truck in this color with x,y,z options?

The most amusing thing I've done recently is test-drive a Prius. I recommend this to anyone looking for a good laugh! While you are test driving, ask the sales perosn how the hybrid system works. I don't know how I didn't laugh at this moron. Come to find out, the particular Prius I drove had special sensors in the wheel wells to collect the heat from the brakes and recharge the batteries. ROFLMAO I think he got that mixed up with they recharge the batteries when they coast/deaccel.

I've only been to two dealers that were actually pleasurable: Lexus of NO(service dept sucks...otherwise a good place) and Sewell Caddy-Chevy. Both are very upscale dealers(Sewell has their entire inventory indoors; it's so cool!) and so are the people that work there. They are polite, know atleast the basic abc's about the product line, they don't call you back harassing you to buy their car the next day, and they don't put you in a 3x3 broom closet to do the paper work with a little sticker chart on the window to see who can sell the most cars. I always get a kick out of those charts; it brings me back to first grade again! I love it! They don't have a bench sitting infront the showroom with a bunch of middle aged men shooting the breeze while puffing away on their cigarettes ready to attack you and sell you something you don't want the second you get out of your car. If I was a car salesman, I 'd be very low pressure and listen to what the person wants to buy and find it rather than what my manager(most of these people are an entirely low class of their own) wants me to try and move off the lot.

[SW03ES]

Thats how most salespeople are.

The reason car salespeople are so bad is because as salespeople go, car salespeople are about the bottom of the barrel. You can make a LOT of money in car sales if you're good, but it attracts the real "winners".

[yoji6365]

In the future, all your car salesman will either be

1) on the job less than 6 months--so product knowledge suffers

2) single--they can actually make a living at it

3) barely made it out of high school--which is why they arent in college

4) foreigners--its good money compared to what they can make overseas

5) transitioning between jobs--its the easiest job to get hired for

or a combination of the above.

Why is that??

1) Internet--armed with a folder full of documents of what prices should be

2) Economics--paying MSRP is like getting robbed

3) Thinking the dealers are making $5000 profit on every car

4) Fierce competition from other dealerships

5) Managers making deals at any price to keep the numbers up

6) Cars are getting way too expensive for the average person

7) Salesman promising anything so they can get a sale to keep their job

7a) To put food on the table

7b) To pay the bills

7c) Realizing you should have started this job straight out of high school- you quit because you cant live on a unstable unpredictable income every month

You guessed it, I sold cars for a summer and it would have been hell if I had to do that for the rest of my life. Knowing it was only for the summer made it fun. We always joked that we're all gonna ask for a huge discount everytime we went someplace to buy something.

If I ever buy a house again, Im gonna make an offer at $500 over invoice and have the realtor reduce their fee by at least 20%, then demand over payoff amount for my old house.

[branshew]

They tried that one on me last year when I bought my Wife's Pathfinder at RK Toyota. (VBDenny you may recognize that dealership) I had read the Edmunds article a week prior to walking into the dealership and I called the salesman on his BS approach the second he pulled out the blank sheet of paper ("Oh, we're gonna play a little 4 square huh?"). You should have seen the look on his face.

It's a game that you can win if you want to play along, you just have to not be worn down by the process. Buying a car should be a win-win process. TYou should get the car at the price you want to pay (reasonably) and the dealer should make some profit, but nobody wants to send the salesman's kid to college on a single deal. It doesn't matter how you get to the bottom line as long as you can get there.

[SW03ES]

voji LOL, loved your post. You're absolutely right, a lot of times its the customers that make buying a car so difficult.