thank you tulip,
for the kind comments.
i have tried my best to use this platform to raise awareness and as educational forum.
i really do appreciate all of the kind words, compliments, and words of praise that you and everyone
else who enjoys reading the posts from this forum have sent in.
keep those cards and letters coming!
tulip: with the modern age of computer, I treated everybody the same.
unless they gave me a reason not to.
it’s very very easy for one dealer to look at another dealer’s
inventory and arrange a “dealer trade” so if i didn’t have what you were looking for in stock
then i’d just find the car you wanted at another dealer within my area,
& i’d pre arrange a dealer trade within a reasonable distance & possibly even let you ride with me to go pick it up. so, it didn’t matter to me. yes sure i’d interview you first to see if a car we had in stock would fit your needs. but i never tried cramming one down your throat! that usually never worked.
i just grabbed the dealer locator system and found you what you wanted. and made you promise to send me
all your friends and relatives when they got ready to buy.
thanks
deep plaid
Here are just SOME of the Sleazy salesman tactics I’ve run across in my 35+ years of buying cars.
. No matter what car/truck this guy was selling…that’s the car his wife drove.
. Back in the 70’s during the FIRST gas crises I had a guy trying to convince me that a Chevy 350 gets much better gas mileage then any 4 cylinder on the market.
. Twice I had salesman try to back out of deals because I was paying CASH. They were all set to make a lot more money by offering me THEIR auto-loan.
. Since the mid-80’s the dealer options have been a HUGH profit maker for the dealer and salesman. I’ve only found ONE salesman who would stop trying to sell me all the add-ons when I told him I wasn’t interested. Most would call in their manager, then the head of sales…then the owner of the company. One place I was dealing with brought in two different people to sell me their add-ons…I got so mad…I said “Deals off…” Have a nice day…and walked out.
. Dealer and I struck a deal on a car. I was to return the following day to pay for the car. They wanted me to give them $2000 to hold the car for them. I wrote them a check for $200 and said take it or leave it…The took it.
. One place I went to when I bought my 98 Pathfinder…they gave me a very good deal. All set to sign the paperwork…But when I went to sign…the deal had a line about trade-in (-$2000). I said what’s this for…Oh that’s the discount…there was another line that said discount…(-$3000). I asked them to explain this…Gets his manager over…and his manager said that the $2000 was for my 90 Pathfinder…which I told them I was NOT trading in. I guess it was my fault for driving there in it. I walked out and got the same deal without trading in my 90 Pathy.
. When I bought my S-15…the salesman told me it was fwd…and you then shifted to 4wd. The guy owned a Subaru Brat…so he assumed that ALL AWD/4wd systems were like his.
. When at a dealer negotiating a deal…there were about 5 other people there. And this one salesman was PRESSURING this one guy who was very hesitant in buying at this time…and the salesman said to him “What, you have to ask your wife Permission to buy a new car”. I walked out. If that was the kind of salesman the dealership hired I wanted NOTHING to do with them.
Now the good salesman…
Found this guy at a Acura Dealer in Nashua NH. Wife ended up buying a Lexus…but if wife wanted a Acura we were going right back to this guy…Honest…Up front about everything. Knew his product COLD. He knew about all the other cars on the market too. Wish they were all like him.
The guy I bought my 4Runner from was pretty decent too. Very laid back…we negotiated in a NON-HOSTILE manor. It was great. Actually pleasant. He met my price with very very little dickering. He showed me a list of the dealer add-ons and I told him not interested…that was it…nothing else said. Told him I was paying cash…Great…never tried to push the financing.
thanks for your input mike.
about the good salespeople,i sure wish their were more of those types.
they are a dying breed…the good honest ones. i consider myself one of those.
having a vast product knowledge is not everything, but very important.my strong suit was that
i was born with a terrific gift: a great sense of humor, that got me everything!
when i sold “new” vehicles, i always made it my business
to know my products. when you have knowledge, you have power.
i never had to cheat, or lie to a customer. never.
i didn’t need to. i was always confident in myself. and made their buying experience a happy
and pleasant one. “confidence”…I had it, & a lot of it too!
thanks mike in n.h.
deep plaid
hello:
mike in n.h.
i do agree with you to some extent about the “order takers” you mention. yes, they are out there.
but those are the salespeople who let themselves get roped into playing the role of “ordertaker”.
they never get themselves fully involved in the entire sales process for one reason or another,
and due to no fault of their own, they were never properely trained by their owners or managers.
selling, & the sales dept. is just one small phase of the car business.
i was involved with follow-up service, warranty, claims, f&i, csi, parts, the entire spectrum.
they get “stereo typed” into being called ordertakers.
we commonly called them “lot lizards” back in the 80’s
they’ed just show up at 8am and watch thru the front show window hoping to steal another salesperson’s
“up” that day. yep- sure have, i’ve worked with them, and hated what they stood for. and yes, in my opinion, they have given this business a bad name. but i still feel that their are still some of us “good ole boys” left out there. and their are still some buyers left out there who still want the “touch of class” and want to be greeted with a smile, a donut, and a half hot cup coffee,
when they walk in, and a handshake when they leave. i strongly feel that these elite customers
don’t want to talk to just anyone, or a computer. they still want to be able to just be able to “shoot the bull” on monday morning about the “sox” red, or white, the penguins,red wings,or hott wings,
or the world champion n.y. giants, or in my case the 13-3 “belly flop” laid an egg -Dallas Cowboys or tony romo, or the simpsons, lisa, ashley, or jessica simpson, (yeh) - carrie underwood, american idol, dancin with the stars, emmit smith, jerry rice, tiger woods, or the stock market, exxon,
or mccain,(not the rifleman) hillary, chelsea, irac or brac, obama, or osama, lunatics, politics, forrest gump, Lt. dan, c.s.i. miami , las vegas, or n.y. or the draft, a purple heart, a war, civil, I,II, korea, or v.n. , willie nelson’s bus, or dolly parton’s bust,
with a real-life “flesh-in-blood” bald headed, toupe wearing, cigar smoking, “coffee sippin” bud drinkin, shades on, “died in the wool” “deep plaid pants” wearing, true to life, paid his dues, red blooded, george jones cryin, led zepplin livin lovin,
$4.29 per gallon diesel hatin,
real salesman, & not some “ordertaker”
and i sure hope that never changes.
thanks again.
deep plaid
i sure wish their were more of those types.
they are a dying breed…the good honest ones. i consider myself one of those.
That’s great…And I agree they are a dying breed. When I bought my 4runner…I went to 4 different dealerships…3 out of 4 were Sleaze. That’s a very very poor percentage.
i consider myself one of those.
having a vast product knowledge is not everything, but very important.
It’s probably NOT important to MOST people…but having NO knowledge is bad for everyone. I’ve met salesman who don’t know the difference between a 4-cylinder and a 8-cylinder…or a inline 6 or a V6. And those are the BASICS. As VP of Software Development for a small company I make sure our salespeople know our product inside and out. It’s almost impossible to sell a product like ours without knowing ALL it’s features…strengths and weaknesses…and our competitors strengths and weaknesses.
i never had to cheat, or lie to a customer. never.
That’s GREAT…but from my experience that’s NOT THE NORM. I wish it was. There is no other sales group that has such a bad reputation as a car salesman. There are just too many that do lie and cheat.
It’s probably NOT important to MOST people…but having NO knowledge is bad for everyone. I’ve met salesman who don’t know the difference between a 4-cylinder and a 8-cylinder…or a inline 6 or a V6. And those are the BASICS. As VP of Software Development for a small company I make sure our salespeople know our product inside and out. It’s almost impossible to sell a product like ours without knowing ALL it’s features…strengths and weaknesses…and our competitors strengths and weaknesses.
I recall someone making a post on here saying that they asked a salesperson what the traction control did for the car and the salesman replied “it made the car heavier”, after which the poster said they got up and left.
We have a used car dealer in my community that has been in business since the 1920’s in the same family. I’ve found them to be honest, but can also be very humorous. The first time I bought a car from them was after we had a car that was totaled in an accident. The dealership had a 1993 Oldmobile 88 with 16,000 miles on the odometer (this was in December of 1995). The price was $14,700. It seemed like a good price according to the books. Wanting to bargain, I asked about a trade for the 18 year old car I was driving. They said they would trade for $14,500 or I could by the car for $14,200 if I would promise to take my old car home with me.
On another visit, they had a 1962 MG midget that needed repair–body work and a clutch. I decided to go look at the car. The salesmen were tied up with customers, but I asked the wife of the owner if I could sit in the car. “Sure”, she replied. “If you can get in the car, we might just give it to you (I’m 6’2” tall)". I went out and sat in the car. She then came out and said, “I hope you can get out of the car, because if you can’t, you’ll have to buy it”.
I recall someone making a post on here saying that they asked a salesperson what the traction control did for the car and the salesman replied “it made the car heavier”, after which the poster said they got up and left.
I remember that post. I laughed so hard I almost fell out of my chair.
And you know what’s very sad…I’ll bet 90% of consumers thought this guy was a genius.
Todays Dilbert Calendar…
Wally made this statement…“I used to read, but it’s faster to make up stuff.”
everyone should love this true story:
i had a really good friend & good customer who had bought at least 5-6 new cars & trucks over a 5 year period from me.
one day in or 1990-1991, he came in & bought a brand new solid black chevy beretta gt.
before we closed the deal, he stated he didn’t like or want the “donut” spare. he said “i want a full size spare tire” and wheel exactly like the 4 on the ground. i said ok, but pointed out the the “well” was a lot smaller and was not designed to accomodate a full size tire.
he argued that he could make it fit. i said ok, but if not. their would be no refund on the special ordered parts, that car had alloy wheels and goodyear eagle tires. i checked parts and our total dealer cost for both items mounted & balanced was about $657.00
i gave him the news. he said fine money’s no problem, get it done!
i said great i’ll order it and call you when it comes in. but before he left my office i said i have a question, how are you gonna make it fit in that small space?
he said im gonna let all the air out of it, & push & squeeze down in there. i said what good is a flat
spare gonna do you? he said i’ll carry 2 cans of fix-a-flat in the trunk and air it up if i need it.
moral of the story:
never argue with a customer they are always right!
“improvization” ,i love it!
deep plaid
great story, i wish more people would post their humorous, & funny car dealer stories.
humor helped me get by all those years.
most customers would rather deal with with a humorous salesperson.
thanks for your story.
deep plaid
i had a really good friend & good customer who had bought at least 5-6 new cars & trucks over a 5 year period from me.
I have to ask…why did he buy so many cars in so short of a period??? I buy 2 cars every 8-10 years.
I bought a 2008 Toyota Corolla LE in January, however I did not buy it from the original dealership I contacted. The salesMAN at the first dealership gave me the creeps, so I bought the car from a different dealership. When the first salesman started calling me, I let him know that I had bought from another dealership. He then sent me an extremely nasty e-mail, which I read to many people, all of whom had the same reaction I did. This guy was very angry with me, and told me that he had spent $50 of his own money on the deal, and that he that it was horrible that I went to someone else. Not only was this completely inappropriate, but I feel that he thought he could intimidate me because I am a woman. I wanted to forward the e-mail to Toyota, Inc., but I thought this guy might be fired, and might retaliate. Have you ever heard of anything so bizarre?
I was checking out this used Hyundai at this local lot and the salesman went on forever about how Japanese cars last forever. I had to remind him that this is not a Honda and Hyundais are made by a different manufacturer but he kept going on without paying the slightest attention to what I was trying to say.
Can’t hurt to send the e-mail, along with all the contact information for that salesman and the dealership, to the Better Business Bureau. You could still send it on to his manager or Toyota corporate, but since it’s been a few months, they might assume you’re just irritated about something with your car.
By the way, you said you were scared this guy would “retaliate.” Well, any “retaliation” beyond that single nasty e-mail starts building a legal case. So in the event that he does start sending you more e-mails or starts calling you, just print and save copies of any e-mails he sends you, and record any phone messages (make sure to include the voicemail announcement of the date and the time). Then take it all down to your local police office and say you are being harassed by someone and would like to file a restraining order. Easy as that.
Here are my favorite “tricks” for a car salesman:
1) know the cars you are selling
2) listen to the customer to see what he/she really wants
My favorite salesman sold Ramblers. He liked cars and knew the features. He listened to me when I said that I didn’t want a lot of fancy equipment. This was back in 1965 and I was looking at a Rambler American. He then asked, “Would you really like to save money?” When I answered affirmatively, he steered me to a 1965 Rambler Classic with 7000 miles that had been repossessed. It was a stripped down model which was exactly what I wanted. I bought the car for $1750 and drove it for well over 100,000 miles. Unfortunately, when I was finally ready to replace the car, the salesman had passed away.
great points, Triedag!
& those weren’t tricks!
those were the “rare” traits of a superior car sales professional.
your key words: “He listened to me”,
the Great Jackie B. Cooper used to tell us, that their was a difference between listening and hearing.
“listening” is an art that sales people aquire over the years.
you had one good salesman. he was rare!
thanks for your story & keep those cards & letters coming!
Sincerely,
“Deep Plaid”
i’d refer to that as the “talks-too-much” illness:
you know why god gave us 2 ears and only one mouth?
so we’d be able to listen more than we talk!
thanks for your story-keep’em coming!
deep plaid
I had a guy at a Honda Dealership trying to convince me that a CRV could EASILY tow my 3000lb trailer.
I said show me…He walked away…after 10 minutes…I found out he left for the day.
hello again mike.
why? why? as wise as you claim that you are about the car business.
and you don’t have a clue do you? you cannot figure this one out? hummmmm…
well i’m not surprised since you only bought 2 cars every 8-10 years. how could you possibly
know very much about the consumer’s side of the sales desk? now we’ve all got the real truth.
you are exposed! you truly don’t know much about the “buying” side of the car business either since you’eve only participated in 2 purchases every 8-10 years.
now to answer you: why: their are too many reasons to list.
but here are a few for starters. why? because he liked me. why? because he trusted me with his money.
i was his friend before i ever started selling cars.
my dad was his friend way before that.
i never cheated or lied to him.
i always kept the promises i made to him.
i always made buying a car a pleasant experience for him.
i never ever took his business for granted.
he enjoyed buying from me and was loyal to me.
and oh yeh… this number of vehicles,
doesn’t even count the cars that his son,daughter, and friends bought from me during that period.
i had other families who bought in greater numbers than this man too! if any of you are reading these
posts please let mr. mike from new haven know just how many cars trucks, & suv’s ya’ll actually bought
without giving your identity. mike, the answer:
i’m a pro. car sales was my career not just my job.
now you know the answer.
thanks
deep plaid
exactly:
business men are busy. their is no time for “dilly-dally”
with them be prompt, be honest and you usually get their business- i always did!
deep plaid