Must all Car Salesmen graduate from @%$hole school?

[jstanovic]

I only bought 1 car from a dealer, and that was not even ready for the lot. It was out back with an engine issue but it hadn't been detailed and it looked like it had been looked after. Salesman was OK but the fake niceness gave me the *****. "I want this car, here's my money, deal done." Get in get out nice and easily. I don't want you to act like my best mate!

Been to a few dealers lately checking out cars for the missus. I tell them upfront that I'm just looking and not buying yet, all have been polite and still spent time with me answering questions. Except one guy, he had a pommy accent and was all nice and polite and charming, then I said we will probably get it through my missus work lease, he dropped us like a bag of **** within seconds hahaha!

[CyberWasp]

I just think it is a toxic environment.
I would imagine there is always heaps of pressure on the sales guys to move cars, given all the finance / money involved in keeping a high cost inventory.
People come in knowing they are going to be bent over.
The conflict comes in the negotiation of how far people are prepared to bend over.

[Stefan]

Originally Posted by jstanovic

Been to a few dealers lately checking out cars for the missus. I tell them upfront that I'm just looking and not buying yet, all have been polite and still spent time with me answering questions. Except one guy, he had a pommy accent and was all nice and polite and charming, then I said we will probably get it through my missus work lease, he dropped us like a bag of **** within seconds hahaha!

I guess this is the exact reason salesman can be a\holes.

Why would you think saying that to him was a good idea?

[Blue Shadow]

I deal with a lot of customer complaints on behalf of dealers with the Manafacturer I work for and I can say that there are customers out there that are just as bad. They tell lies too and treat sales people like it is 1950's Alabama.

Dont get me wrond some sales people are shockers too,
If there was a dealer forum you would hear the other side.

[FairmontGS]

I love buying a new car - the whole process of hunting down prospective vehicles, visiting the yards, getting on with the sales staff then the haggling process that provides a fair outcome to the dealership and myself.

Don't understand people who find it a chore.

[chevypower]

If you are just looking, don't say "just looking" because nearly every customer uses that as a defense mechanism because they fear the sales person is going to pressure them into buying a vehicle they don't want, and they are not assertive to say what they really want. Good sales people bypass those conditioned responses. Just say "I'm not looking to buy anytime soon, I'm just gathering product info for a purchase down the road. I would prefer to look on my own, so as to not waste your time." That way you have separated yourself from the many people who say "just looking" and drive off in a brand new vehicle 45 minutes later.

[falconhell74]

Originally Posted by FairmontGS

I love buying a new car - the whole process of hunting down prospective vehicles, visiting the yards, getting on with the sales staff then the haggling process that provides a fair outcome to the dealership and myself.

Don't understand people who find it a chore.

Me too I love it , any friend that are looking for cars I enthusiastically volunteer to go help them look as im a mechanic , so I find out what they are looking for take them around show them the best cars to suit them then help them haggle its great fun , some salesman don't appreciate a mechanic pointing out faults though

[Kingsley]

Originally Posted by Blue Shadow

I deal with a lot of customer complaints on behalf of dealers with the Manafacturer I work for and I can say that there are customers out there that are just as bad. They tell lies too and treat sales people like it is 1950's Alabama.

Dont get me wrond some sales people are shockers too,
If there was a dealer forum you would hear the other side.

Agreed. I've worked in dealerships and the boat rocks both ways. In saying that, the worst of the bunch by far is Fleet Sales/OzCar. My son bought a car from them 5 years ago. He had been stopping by after they closed at night to look at the car he wanted so he didn't have to deal too much with the sales people. Even then we got all kinds of stories from the salesman including if he didn't close this deal he'd be sacked that day. Even now we still get phone calls, texts and emails from them even after repeated requests to stop because we don't want to buy anything!

[Blue Shadow]

Originally Posted by superpursuit05

Agreed. I've worked in dealerships and the boat rocks both ways. In saying that, the worst of the bunch by far is Fleet Sales/OzCar. My son bought a car from them 5 years ago. He had been stopping by after they closed at night to look at the car he wanted so he didn't have to deal too much with the sales people. Even then we got all kinds of stories from the salesman including if he didn't close this deal he'd be sacked that day. Even now we still get phone calls, texts and emails from them even after repeated requests to stop because we don't want to buy anything!

Thats a bit much, they should be leaving you alone, there is most likley a law about that kind of harassment. Used car yards are a different kettle of fish. Dealer used are somewhat better at least the customer can talk to the factory and complain.

[DoubleTrouble]

Originally Posted by chevypower

If you are just looking, don't say "just looking" because nearly every customer uses that as a defense mechanism because they fear the sales person is going to pressure them into buying a vehicle they don't want, and they are not assertive to say what they really want. Good sales people bypass those conditioned responses. Just say "I'm not looking to buy anytime soon, I'm just gathering product info for a purchase down the road. I would prefer to look on my own, so as to not waste your time." That way you have separated yourself from the many people who say "just looking" and drive off in a brand new vehicle 45 minutes later.

My tact is a little bit different, when approached by salesperson I ask them politely for their sales card and ask to leave me alone while I'm looking, if I have queries I will come and ask them, have not had a problem with this method and they stay their distance, this beats having someone breathing down your neck.

[castellan]

Originally Posted by Eaturbo

Salesmans attitude and service is a direct reflection of the new car sales manager. I worked with 12 other salesman at a Holden Dealership and we were all good at our job. The manager should be keeping an eye on his team and dealing with complaints. If the manager accepts being rude and unprofessional than the sales guys will run with that. This is not always the case as the individual salesperson can be very good or very bad no matter what the managers like but a very good manager will usually have a good team under him and weed out the rubbish.

I have never had a problem with new car salesmen at all, but for the Ford dealer ones that were a shock horror story of total creeps, not all but mainly that I came across, just a total smartarse attitude. and I would buy a new car every year or two.

You get all types in any business and the car industry is not all that bad really compared to some others, the building industry is far worse for con men and cunning evil practises, Builders are the ones that stoop to the lowest form of human being that I have come across in my 41 years in it's hell.
Not to mention a lot of the public are trash as well, even certain races I will not work for come hell or high water anymore, as I have had a gut full of them, now that's not looked up to by some new age Political Correct numskulls nowadays but I know better than anyone, that gets up on their high horse about such, as I don't have to deal with something as simple as just selling a product, I have to live with them basically for a week or two in their house, it's then that you come across how rude some people truly are, that try to treat you as a slave or are to stupid to understand much at all about reality, because they have lived in a dream world all their life, or you do find out they do just treat others with no regard.
No wonder there are unions in the work force because without them working people would be in slaved and kicked about with total disregard.

So as to the Graduate from A hole school point, I would just say it's just basically human nature we are dealing with, as one old book points out that people are a sinful creature who are lead to there destructive delinquent ends due to there ego getting out of control.

[blackf6]

If I want a car, I just buy it. No stuffing around. I pay sticker price too. But I also tell them what things need to be addressed before I sign the deal. Never had a drama.

[XWGT]

This is on another forums but 200 pages later the questions are still being fielded

https://forums.whirlpool.net.au/foru....cfm?t=2255054

[DoubleTrouble]

Originally Posted by castellan

I have never had a problem with new car salesmen at all, but for the Ford dealer ones that were a shock horror story of total creeps, not all but mainly that I came across, just a total smartarse attitude. and I would buy a new car every year or two.

You get all types in any business and the car industry is not all that bad really compared to some others, the building industry is far worse for con men and cunning evil practises, Builders are the ones that stoop to the lowest form of human being that I have come across in my 41 years in it's hell.
Not to mention a lot of the public are trash as well, even certain races I will not work for come hell or high water anymore, as I have had a gut full of them, now that's not looked up to by some new age Political Correct numskulls nowadays but I know better than anyone, that gets up on their high horse about such, as I don't have to deal with something as simple as just selling a product, I have to live with them basically for a week or two in their house, it's then that you come across how rude some people truly are, that try to treat you as a slave or are to stupid to understand much at all about reality, because they have lived in a dream world all their life, or you do find out they do just treat others with no regard.
No wonder there are unions in the work force because without them working people would be in slaved and kicked about with total disregard.

So as to the Graduate from A hole school point, I would just say it's just basically human nature we are dealing with, as one old book points out that people are a sinful creature who are lead to there destructive delinquent ends due to there ego getting out of control.

After reading a lot of posts from you, you seem to blame everyone other than yourself when it come to humanity, do you ever consider yourself to be the problem and not the people you speak of?

[kazawaki]

I am not in the car industry but being a sales rep for 9 years,then having my own wholesale company for 20 years and now a retail shop for the last 4 years my sales approach in retail is firstly acknowledge the customer and politely ask if they need any help.Generally some respond with im just looking.I will then respond with are you looking for anything in particular ??.They will then either respond with either what they are looking for in detail or nope just looking, if the later is the response i will leave them alone unless they approach me.

[PG2]

Originally Posted by kazawaki

I am not in the car industry but being a sales rep for 9 years,then having my own wholesale company for 20 years and now a retail shop for the last 4 years my sales approach in retail is firstly acknowledge the customer and politely ask if they need any help.Generally some respond with im just looking.I will then respond with are you looking for anything in particular ??.They will then either respond with either what they are looking for in detail or nope just looking, if the later is the response i will leave them alone unless they approach me.

I am only quoting your post for reference...

When I was selling cars I would be just walking past someone in the yard and just to be polite I would say, "Hello."

Guess what the customer would reply with?

"Just looking."

[Blue Shadow]

Originally Posted by DoubleTrouble

After reading a lot of posts from you, you seem to blame everyone other than yourself when it come to humanity, do you ever consider yourself to be the problem and not the people you speak of?

Not wrong there, just had a look

[DFB FGXR6]

The whole car buying process for a car enthusiast I would assume to be something that is enjoyable, something to look forward too.

As car enthusiasts, we then expect the salesman to share that enthusiasm. Be knowledgeable, engaging and make the whole process from negotiations to finally accepting the keys and handing over the money a pleasure.

When this doesn't happen its perhaps even more of a let down when compared to a "normal" consumer.

For some salesman, its just a job, they are selling a product, nothing more. This may then come across as a lack of interest or even knowledge of their product for a car guy as apposed to the mum and dad customer just looking for a A to B car with 7 seats.

Again, this is not to excuse poor attitude, product knowledge or shoddy sales tactics, but just another side to consider.

[drz250]

I'm in the market for a new or near-new trail bike at the moment. I won't mention names but I visited the local Kawasaki dealer to test (with the view to buy) a KLX250. the only one available was a demo model which performed very well - I instantly fell for it. When I returned from a short test ride I spoke to the head salesman. He promised me the bike was essentially brand new, had only been ridden twice (besides me) and had never been dropped. BUT there were scratches on the front brake lever and scuffs on the stator cover. There were a few other black marks on the plastics (looked like rubber marks?)

The salesman said he would drop almost $1500 off the RRP and continued to insist it had only been ridden a couple of times. He was deadset that it had never been dropped (maybe someone dropped it without telling you).

Later he admitted it might have been scraped up against something in transit... wtf? It was a strange experience.

[duaned]

Did you end up buying it?

[Rodp]

A few months ago I went through the new car process - something I both love and dread.

This time around, I felt that this was the last time I would get a crack at a supercharged V8 so I was pretty keen on getting into an XR8 but was half considering the Mustang. Visited half a dozen dealers, now - I can't fault any of them for their courtesy, they all felt welcoming, but they were hamstrung on what they could offer as a changeover. That's a problem I've had trying to purchase from Ford my entire life.

Managed to get a trade that was fair from Craig above. He also negotiated on price on a 2016 XR8 that I was very happy with. There are dealers out there that are willing to do fair business with you.

When it comes to used, yeah.. I think we've all been down that road but I like to think I've bought enough cars to know within a minute when to walk away from a used car salesman. But I can also look favourably on several salesman that stumped up a good deal on what I wanted.

Ultimately, you just have to quickly weed out salesman that want to work with you against those that want to work against you. I'm sure they'd have even more stories about customers that had unreasonable demands.

[Rodp]

Originally Posted by DFB FGXR6

As car enthusiasts, we then expect the salesman to share that enthusiasm. Be knowledgeable, engaging and make the whole process from negotiations to finally accepting the keys and handing over the money a pleasure.

I can think of only two transactions where that has happened.. and both left an impression.

A VE Clubsport that I bought second hand. The salesman was as excited as I was to get into that car.. and my most recent XR8 purchase.

I've had a similar delivery when I picked up an R32 from VW but I never felt the 'love'. VW was a mechanical delivery process.. and while it didn't feel negative at the time, it lacked the more personal touch that I felt from my XR8 pick up.

These are enormous money investments from us hard working schlubs.. and to feel like my business was appreciated gives them first crack at my next purchase. Hopefully Mustang will be less than a year delivery by that time!

[BENT_8]

Originally Posted by PG2

I am only quoting your post for reference...

When I was selling cars I would be just walking past someone in the yard and just to be polite I would say, "Hello."

Guess what the customer would reply with?

"Just looking."

Ever wonder why?

Look at it from a customers point of view.

There may be 2 dozen caryards on a stretch of road to look through to find what you want, if you stopped and had a conversation with a salesman, been shown every version of what im after regardless of condition and been asked to wait whilst they check their inventory or contact their other yard etc. etc, in every yard, it would take forever.
The way i look at it, if i walk onto your yard and you dont have what i want at the time i might aswell move on to the next yard.
Most people know what they want, if you have it they'll approach you.

If you have what im after but its at the detailers or coming in soon i'll look at it when you've got it on display. if i dont find something else sooner.

I used to wander through as many yards as i could when looking for a car, now i just stand at the fence and take a quick glance around, nothing to see, im off.
Theres nothing worse than a carsalesman that makes a beeline for you as soon as you cross the boundary line.

[pottery beige]

rock up in flanno and ready to spend $$$

some sales dudes win some sales dudes lose

book judged cover

[Blue Shadow]

Originally Posted by pottery beige

rock up in flanno and ready to spend $$$

some sales dudes win some sales dudes lose

book judged cover

Exactly

[Ben73]

Originally Posted by BENT_8

Ever wonder why?

Look at it from a customers point of view.

There may be 2 dozen caryards on a stretch of road to look through to find what you want, if you stopped and had a conversation with a salesman, been shown every version of what im after regardless of condition and been asked to wait whilst they check their inventory or contact their other yard etc. etc, in every yard, it would take forever.
The way i look at it, if i walk onto your yard and you dont have what i want at the time i might aswell move on to the next yard.
Most people know what they want, if you have it they'll approach you.

If you have what im after but its at the detailers or coming in soon i'll look at it when you've got it on display. if i dont find something else sooner.

I used to wander through as many yards as i could when looking for a car, now i just stand at the fence and take a quick glance around, nothing to see, im off.
Theres nothing worse than a carsalesman that makes a beeline for you as soon as you cross the boundary line.

Very true. Last weekend my brother and I were looking at a group of car yards for his work van. We didn't find anything so as we walking past the last car yard to my car I walked past on the footpath looking into the yard, my brother decided to walk through the yard parallel to the footpath even though I told him not to.
He walked through the yard, but at a quick pace glancing from side to side as he walked. The salesman was about to break into a run to catch him. It was like it was the first customer he had seen for weeks.

[MrEL]

Originally Posted by pottery beige

rock up in flanno and ready to spend $$$

some sales dudes win some sales dudes lose

book judged cover

Yep.
Old girl wanted a BMW M3.
Her and the old man walk into BM dealer on the weekend. Since it was the weekend the old man is in thongs , wife beater and shorts. Bald head and 2 half sleeves. I think his nuts were restrained.
Pompus young sales man tried to kick him out the yard.
Older sales man treated them like humans. Car was bought in 30 minutes after a lap around the block and $10k deposit paid in cash.
Dad told the young bloke to make them both a coffee later in the week when they were handing over the rest of the cash to pick it up.
When he bought the coffees over red faced , Dad reminded him who was getting the commission.

[nt0351]

as someone else on here said there's good & bad folk in the car industry just like the rest of society

I experienced both extremes and the in between over a weekend whilst upgrading the wife's car , we knew what we wanted right down to colour trim etc ,..sold her old car privately so just a straightforward cash deal ,found the first at a north shore prestige dealer , sniffing around for a quite a while, a salesman eventually comes over ,nice enough and polite, couldn't help telling me how busy he is, then starts doing the sales pitch and following the script .

can I drive the car ? I ask ,.. its a little difficult but we could organise it if you make an appointment he replies ,..oh ok, if it drives as it looks would you take X amount ? I reply ,..wow that's very low Ill check with the manager he says,.. comes back no I'm sorry we cant its already reduced,...ok thanks mate ,.I walk away

then we have the cowboys that lie on the phone to get me there (2 hours away) and then tell me no test drive unless I agreed to pay advertised price as there's a heap of interest and we don't allow test drives on prestige vehicles ,..firstly I question the "immaculate" description given on the phone ( weatherseal torn and hanging off, discoloured trim panels, torn seat ,parking dents all over it ),..their defensive mechanisms kick in and the rudeness begins ,..the manager comes over and really not much smarter ,..trying to justify the salesman's actions,.saying I'm bagging the car , ok sorry for bagging your car ill see ya later, he quickly back tracks and now wants me to test drive it ,..haven't driven one before so why not I think , first roundabout brake pedal sinks to the floor ,..yep this one certainly had the 100 point check they were talking about I think to myself ,..I pull over and look through the service books , totally different story as to what the salesman described about the cars history,. apart from needing a master cylinder it drove pretty well, and was fully optioned ,but overpriced for klm's & condition so I decide to pass on it ,nope wont pay over 60k I tell them ,..we cant sell it for that it owes more than that,.. blah blah

in their tiny minds they are thinking tyre kicker,..im thinking what a waste of a day

next day back to the first one ,..couldn't get past how immaculate it was ,Pommy salesman this time ,very talkative very friendly and engaging, once the small talk stops offers to get it out for a test drive , ( in a 1st floor showroom ,has to move heaps of cars & load on a car lift to get it out ) car drives perfect ,low klick's and like new , so I offer them a price ,he politely refuses my offer and suggests we meet half way , fair enough deal done ,very pleasant experience , he also offers a beer as its closing time, ..

at delivery they have a bow on it ,the wife's name on a thankyou plaque
& a full tank

just bought another car from him for one of the kids ,..again did the best he could on price and made it a very pleasant experience for the daughter.....( he wasn't the cheapest ,.could have pocketed another $500 elsewhere )

courtesy & respect always gets the bickies in the car sales game

[2011G6E]

I suppose the one bad experience we did have with salesmen was when we bought our G6E back in early 2011. We'd been looking at both the SV6 and the XR6...both great cars, if you aren't badge blind they're pretty much equals apart from a few little things.
I had driven new Commodores before, but the missus was away at our daughters place in Bundaberg. I told her to go drive an SV6 at the Holden dealer there, and when she went, she stepped through a timewarp to 1955. The salesmen wouldn't let her drive it...said "wouldn't you rather wait until your husband is here to help you decide?". Really.
I wrote a polite but informative email about what had happened that afternoon (saturday) to the head guy at the large dealership, and to my shock the phone rang about 6pm and it was the head guy himself! He was absolutely ropable...mad as a cut snake. He assured me that their salesman training did it's best to knock any attitudes of "women buyers/men buyers" out of them, and, I quote, "I'll be calling that guy into my office on monday morning and if that's his ********** attitude he'll be out the bloody door!". He told us if we wanted to come back he would deal with us personally.

We ended up with the Falcon, but when the missus went to the Holden dealer in Rocky, the guy couldn't be more helpful. He showed her all the different models, gave glowing praise to the SV6, and showed her a new HSV top of the line model they had on display, even holding out the keys and trying to convince the missus to take it for a drive.

The Ford dealer here was also good. It was however amusing that he was surprised I wanted to see under the bonnet..."Gee, it's been probably three months since anyone has asked to even look under there"...people just don't really care anymore about that apart from "How many cylinders?" (important for Queensland with our rego) and "manual or auto?".

[PG2]

Originally Posted by BENT_8

Ever wonder why?

Look at it from a customers point of view.

There may be 2 dozen caryards on a stretch of road to look through to find what you want, if you stopped and had a conversation with a salesman, been shown every version of what im after regardless of condition and been asked to wait whilst they check their inventory or contact their other yard etc. etc, in every yard, it would take forever.
The way i look at it, if i walk onto your yard and you dont have what i want at the time i might aswell move on to the next yard.
Most people know what they want, if you have it they'll approach you.

If you have what im after but its at the detailers or coming in soon i'll look at it when you've got it on display. if i dont find something else sooner.

I used to wander through as many yards as i could when looking for a car, now i just stand at the fence and take a quick glance around, nothing to see, im off.
Theres nothing worse than a carsalesman that makes a beeline for you as soon as you cross the boundary line.

Re-read my post - I said walking past not up to.

I have had people complain when they have come back the next day/week why I didn't tell them about the car that has just come onto the yard. I used to work at our dealership's satellite yard and about a quarter of our sales were from checking the inventory of our other yards.

Believe it or not, I had more complaints from customers not being served than customers complaining about "pounced" upon.

If I had just walked past the customer they could very well have complained that I did not acknowledge them and that it was all because they were wearing trackies, they were a woman etc. There are plenty of people on here that complain that they were ignored for any number of reasons including the ones that I just mentioned.