Test Drive Of All New 2006 Avalon

[SW03ES]

I was commenting on how the sales staff would treat you very well if you did pay MSRP at Toyota.  The service dept obviously would be clueless about what you paid for the vehicle.

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Thats true, and we had no problems with the sales staff.

[vcv10guy]

I suppose my dad was lucky then because he was looking at a BMW 540i. He really did not have any intention of buying it that day, but the salesman let him take it for an all day test drive by himself. In the end though it worked to the salesman benefit because he ended up buying the 540i right before the dealership closed. I actually thought you couldn't take test drives by yourself, but I guess it is a CA thing. Oh well no biggy.

[SW03ES]

Its an individual dealer thing, or it may have to do with CA insurance regs.

[yoji6365]

I'm a realtor so I know plenty about people who look but aren't interested in buying. I haven't been doing this long (I did and still do consult with car dealers) but you see it all the time, people turn realtors into cab drivers and have them drive them around for weeks figuring they get paid to do that.

Is that the consumers fault? No. Consumers are stupid, they don't understand how business works].

Salespeople cant tell in one minute how serious the customer is.

Not true, they teach entire seminars on how to do just this. I know, I've taken them. To me its pretty easy to tell. Oftentimes its as easy as saying "If I found the best (whatever) for you right now, what would you do?" and look them right in the eye, you'll know if they're ready or not by what they say and how they say it.

Do that and you won't be bothered by looky-loos again. I find thats true whatever you're selling.

"If I find a car right now that fits all your needs, what would you do?"

Then look them square in the face and shut up, you'll know. I find thats one thing salespeople do poorly on the whole, they talk too much and never listen. Thats why they have trouble telling who'se serious and who'se not.

If they're not serious, point them in the right directions and have them call you if they have questions.

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Buying a house is quite different from a car. Its not like all the houses are in one location where you can look at all of them together. We looked at a lot of houses before we found the right one. You bet the realtor was getting anxious. But it certainly isnt a snap decision.

Nobody should buy a car unless they test drive it , which is also the dealership policy.

If I was car buying, and the sales guy told me ,"If I find a car right now that fits all your needs, what would you do?" I would say "then i'd take it for a long test drive, look it over mechanically, make sure its not a lemon and then we'll see what happens.

I already know what I want before I go car shopping. I cant imagine a salesperson talking me into buying a car I dont want. I took my friend to the Hyundai place to get his car fixed, they couldnt pay me to look at any of their cars.

I use the 3 lick test. 1) Are you going to trade your car in? 2) Are you financing your purchase? 3) Who are you gonna show your new car to first?

If they dont say yes to one of those, you might as well make a U-turn.

[yoji6365]

Its an individual dealer thing, or it may have to do with CA insurance regs.

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Its an insurance thing since we have to drive it off the lot, and then make a switch at a designated location. Also, we have 20 customers doing test drives at any hour on a weekend, you cant have that many new cars running around town. If we let everyone take it out for a day, thats around a 100 or so cars out of the lot. You cant have your inventory gone for that long. Ive seen cases where the same car was being sold by 3 different salespeople. Luckily we had 5 more in the back lot that was identical.

[SW03ES]

Buying a house is quite different from a car.  Its not like all the houses are in one location where you can look at all of them together.  We looked at a lot of houses before we found the right one.  You bet the realtor was getting anxious.  But it certainly isnt a snap decision. 

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Of course it is, but the process of qualifying buyers to decide if they are ready to buy is universal to all types of sales. The "what would you do?" question really works, if they're ready to buy and they're ready to buy from you you'll know it. Perhaps a better question for car sales is "If we have the exact car you're looking for, or we can get it, would you buy it today" but thats a little more high pressure. Try it, it works.

As for your home buying experience, if the Realtor was worth the possibly 5 digit pay he recieved from that sale he should not have been ainxious. Its not uncommon for realtors to work with people for months and months...even years. In real estate sales you don't sell houses, you match the people and the house to each other. Once you've gotten the buyers (or sellers) to sign with you, then the salesmanship is over. You become their fiduciary agent, more like their lawyer.

Real estate sales is also different from car sales because people don't !Removed! around. Generally when you've found a good client and you KNOW they're going to buy and sell then its very rare that a realtor gets shafted. Car salesmen however get shafted a lot.

Its just a different type of thing. For one thing realtors and clients are under a contract...

[yoji6365]

The only time I got upset with a looky-loo was a Regional Manager for a Insurance Company. He brought his mother to look at a vehicle. When he was asked for contact information his reply was, "Oh no, Im not giving you my number, we don't want you bothering us with lots of phone calls, I've been through this before" I'm thinking, what a hypocrite, the insurance business is based on making contacts, following up, communication by both parties and customer service. For him to say that was pretty lame. His mother loved the car she drove, but he yanked her out of there as soon as he could. She wasnt too happy either.

[SilverSupra]

As this is the first time i've ever posted a reply on this web site, let me first say this. I work at the Toyota plant in Kentucky where the Avalon is built, and also own a '04 ES330. The Avalon although being redesigned is nice, but the interior alone should weed out the "real deal" from the wannabe. Toyota has been facing weak sales of the Avalon for years, so it came down from "above" that the next major model change would be very nice compared to the last. Don't mistake the Avalon for any Lexus. There just is no comparison. Hope this helps anyone making a decision for their next automobile.

[SW03ES]

The only time I got upset with a looky-loo was a Regional Manager for a Insurance Company.  He brought his mother to look at a vehicle.  When he was asked for contact information his reply was, "Oh no, Im not giving you my number, we don't want you bothering us with lots of phone calls, I've been through this before"  I'm thinking, what a hypocrite, the insurance business is based on making contacts, following up, communication by both parties and customer service.  For him to say that was pretty lame.   His mother loved the car she drove, but he yanked her out of there as soon as he could.  She wasnt too happy either.

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Yeah thats dirty, I always give my contact info happily and I actually hardly ever get hounded.

I do definately agree, car sales is a very difficult job and you guys get a real raw deal from people when it comes to respect and honorable treatment. I personally having worked with dealers for several years think that 75% of the problems people have with car salesmen are problems they themselves create as consumers. I always negotiate a deal on a car that is fair for both sides, I give up some they give up some. I may have spent $500 more than the other guy, but now I have a relationship for life and I know I can always come back and get a good deal on another car, if I have service problems they'll help vs the other guy having nothing.

In the long run, the $500 is worth it to turn a grading, demeaning process into a warm fuzzy.