How to NOT sell me a car.

[HardDrive]

Used car sales men get a bad rap. Sometimes that is not deserved, but at other times it is WELL deserved.

Example. Salesman for Phillip Smart Mercedes in Seattle. I call about an E500 they have on the lot. I tell him I MIGHT stop by and look at the car if I am in area. That afternoon, he proceeds to call my cell phone 4 times, and twice yesterday. I do not get any voice mails.

Phone rings this morning, and I am busy putting stockings on my daughter, and I grab the phone and answer it. He starts by telling me about some feature on the car in question that we had discussed.

Then he basically starts giving me ***** for not returning his messages(there were no messages) and E-MAILS. I had never given him my E-mail address. He's reading his notes back to me as if I give a *****. I am a bit distracted and perplexed by this e-mail thing, so I question him and ask if he meant text messages. He says, no, he sent me e-mail to my e-mail address: skru@msn.com (some made up BS). I tell him that is not my e-mail address. So what does he say? "Oh, well whats your correct address so we can get his straightend out?"

How about FU@yourmother.com sporto? What an total pr!ck.

[scottbombedout]

This must be a Mercedes thing!!

Bought a new Merc six months ago. I had a test drive from the salesman. Absolutely no discount offered, you MUST have the paint protector and the only colour they can supply is Cosmos blue (more like the only one they had in dealer stock).

Said thanks and I'll think about it.

Tracked down the colour we wanted, didnt have to take the paint protection and got a fantastic discount too.

So I phoned up the original salesman out of courtesy to say thanks but we got sorted. He then proceeds to call me an arsehole down the phone for waisting his time and dont bother coming to his dealership for a service because he wont give me a courtesy car!!!!!!!!

Is it me????

[Dueller]

My father bought my mother a new MB for their 50th wedding anniversary. It was out of character since they have always had domestic cars and nothing so extravagant but in a way it was sad because I know my dad thaought that this was probably the last car he would buy for her and wanted her to have something that would last her.

Alals she was hit by a tractor trailer 3 weeks later. She was not injured but the car was totalled. Her insurance paid he full retail for the car so my dad bought har another one that week.

The Benz dealer has been unbelieveable. Treat them like royalty. In fact they hit a racoon and smashed the fog light/grill on one side. When he took it in they covered the $800 bill under warranty!!!LOL

Of course it could be that they spent $120K+ cash in less than 4 weeks at the dealership

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by Dueller

My father bought my mother a new MB for their 50th wedding anniversary. It was out of character since they have always had domestic cars and nothing so extravagant but in a way it was sad because I know my dad thaought that this was probably the last car he would buy for her and wanted her to have something that would last her.

Alals she was hit by a tractor trailer 3 weeks later. She was not injured but the car was totalled. Her insurance paid he full retail for the car so my dad bought har another one that week.

The Benz dealer has been unbelieveable. Treat them like royalty. In fact they hit a racoon and smashed the fog light/grill on one side. When he took it in they covered the $800 bill under warranty!!!LOL

Of course it could be that they spent $120K+ cash in less than 4 weeks at the dealership

Rare story. I sold cars for only 2 months. I hated what I saw. Blame the sales manager for pressuring the sales guy to call a million times. This is a misconstrued effort to show enthusiasm. Some can do it, most come off as badgers.

Call the dealer and ask for the sales manager. There will be more than one; one for each shift. If you still want the car, the manager will make you a deal after you dismiss the jerk. The jerk will still get one half commission, which on a used car is 3-4 times what they make on a new one. It's all in the margin.

I never speak to a "liner" (first guy out on the lot), only fleet mangers for new and the used car overall buyer/manager for used. My learnings by being inside for 2 months has saved many people that I have coached 1000's of dollars. Nothing new here, it's all on Edmunds and Consumer Reports.

My best trick is to leave for lunch or dinner just before the final figures hit the table. Always gets a bit more upon my return. Last car I bought used for myself at a dealer took a week. I beat them up one side and down the other. I really didn't care if I got the thing or not. You have to have that attitude.

Same with PP. There's always the next one.

[Oh Haha]

I had the best experience at a dealership a few weeks ago. SHOWCASE MITSUBISHI in Bay City, Michigan.

We had been kind of wanting something different than our Montana. Wifey wanted an SUV, I wanted a Sport Wagon or sedan. We drove several different vehicles over the past months, even the new Malibu but nothing really excited us enough to purchase.

February 2 we stopped by this dealer because I thought they might the new Evo on the lot. (Not like I could get it but just wanted to check it out.) They were having a one day sale with a 57" TV included with every new car purchase. The first salesperson I ran into was the fella named Leviu( pronounced Levee). We spent a few hours lokking at and driving Outlanders and Galants with absolutely NO PRESSURE. They offered us lunch and had a play area for the kids. We were seriously considering the new Outlander as we both liked it. I sat down with Leviu and he started going over numbers and what not. In the meantime, the sales manager was looking at our van to see how much they would give us for trade-in. When he came back and told me the offer, I told them it wasn't enough and that we were going to go take a drive and get away for a little while. When I return, I will make a decision on the purchase.

I decided that we would just keep the van and wait a while for something else.

Fast forward to that evening on Ebay where we found the BMW 528iT that we bought right then.

Fast forward again to the following week. I stopped by the dealership to let the guys know I hadn't changed my mind on the purchase and told them about the EBay car. They were kind and told me to bring it in if I wanted them to look it over or if we needed service. They treated me with the same amount of respect and care that a customer would expect and I didn't even buy anything.

Today, we stopped by to show them the car in person. Again, they welcomed us in and treated us like old friends. I have been treated more poorly by Porsche dealerships and I am a PCA member.

If any of you guys are in the area and are looking for a new or used vehicle, please call them and ask for Leviu.


Oh yeah, the new Evo is in the showroom now. hhehehehehe

[sammyg2]

I was looking at a new hodna pilot a few years ago for the wife.
I went to the local honda dealer and started the process. They wanted $2500 OVER sticker, and the trade in was a grand under kelley blue book. I said no thank you, i'm no longer interested.
Then the calls started. Every single evening I got at least one call from a snot-nosed kid who got my phone number off a follow-up list. One night I got three phone calls from three different salesmen in under an hour.
I sad stop calling, they didn't. I talked to ther sales manager, they still called.
A coule of weeks later I drove my wife's new honda pilot (purchased elsewhere) onto their lot and asked to speak to the dealership manager. Not the sales manager, not the finance manager, the big boss. It took some persistance but eventually he came out. I pointed to the new pilot with leather, roof rack, running boards, and every other option you can put on one of those things, and I pointed out the norm reeves honda licene plate thingy.
i said "that's what happens when you have your salesmen call me every single night and pester me trying to make a sale. I got so tired of that i went to the next closest dealer and bought one. If you had just let it go I might have eventually came around about bought one here but you people made sure that will never happen".
He was pissed. Not just fake pissed, real pissed. He called his sales manager over and told him to be in his office in 5 minutes. Then he turned to me and apologized. Seemed sincere, maybe he was playing me for a fool but I got my point across.

[VaSteve]

lolz....my wife told me to go test drive some Touregs to get me out of the house. As soon as I walked on the lot, they guy bugging me about what color I wanted. I said it didn't matter, I just wanted to DRIVE one (I'd never been in it). So I finally check it out and decide to go...(I wasn't buying anything any how). A couple of days later the guy calls the house... my wife says "a VW, really? I TOLD him not to look at any more cars, dammit!!" Guy never called back?

[Por_sha911]

First mistake is giving these folks a phone number. When asked, I just answer "its unlisted" (true). If they have to have a number, I say "bubye". This holds true for stores like Best Buy, Sears, etc. I haven't had a salesperson refuse to sell me something without a phone number yet. I guess my cash works with or without a phone.

[widgeon13]

First mistake is to buy a new car!

Drive it off the lot and in a heartbeat you drop 30% of what you paid for the car, where is the logic in that??

[Noah930]

Originally Posted by widgeon13

First mistake is to buy a new car!

Drive it off the lot and in a heartbeat you drop 30% of what you paid for the car, where is the logic in that??

I go to a local Sunday morning exotic car gathering. And I'm always a bit amazed at how, when guys with the new cars leave, they seem to jump into their rides, pull out of the lot, and scream down the street to show off what they've got. Good entertainment, but you won't have to remind me to never buy a used car from any one of them.

Guys in the older stuff (anything more than about 5 years old), seem to putter on out, congnizant that the motor is cold as it's been sitting for the last hour or so, and that repair bills for exotics aren't cheap.

There's a certain piece of mind in buying a new car, depreciation or not. I can't criticize people for wanting that.

[UconnTim97]

Originally Posted by scottbombedout

This must be a Mercedes thing!!

Ford is worse

I just bought an SUV last week. I emailed a local Ford Dealership about an Explorer Limited that they had listed on their website. After a few outrageous offers, I told them that I was no longer interested from hearing offers from them. The very nest day, I get an email from the sales manager to (insert customer) about (insert make) (insert model)...enough said.

I will never buy a car from the

I forwarded this very personal email with his pic in the signature to the regional manager..lol

[Dave L]

We were looking for a cheap car for my wife, we looked at the ussual suspects, Honda Civic, Toyota Carolla, Mazda 3 and on a lark decided to check out the Focus. The test drive was uninspiring and the materials seemed cheap but we figured we might at well get a price. I told him what we were looking at and that we wanted a 48mon lease with $2500 down. He comes back telling us to keep our money ($0 down) and with a 36 month lease. I just looked at him like the idiot he was and walked.

[porsche930dude]

We bought a used audi from a vw/audi dealer. It took us a half hour just to get the salesman to come out and show us the car. He was obviously in no mood to sell. But we really liked the car and overall the salespeople were good. However the car only came with one key and it took us three months of calls to get a spare lazercut key

[onewhippedpuppy]

I had potentially my first ever pleasant experience with a car dealership last week, Davis-Moore Nissan in Wichita. We are considering a Nissan Armada (used), but wanted to take one for a drive and once over before starting the search. New was the only local option. The salesman was decidedly low-pressure, no BS, and very knowledgable. We took a pleasant demo drive where we were allowed to drive where we wanted, then had a quick talk with him regarding pricing. Before we left the sales manager also came out to introduce himself. Friendly, low pressure, no BS, you have my business. Even though we'll probably buy used, we will certainly take our used Armada to their dealership for any warranty work. Plus, I'll be back when it comes time to buy that new GT-R.

It's a very simple formula, pity more salesmen don't realize it.

[Rot 911]

I am surprised that car dealers where you live still act like that. In my town we only have a few car dealers although they handle all the major manufacturers. They all know everyone goes to kbb.com or edmunds.com to find out what cars are selling for and what their trade in is worth. That tends to be their starting point for negotiations.

[Tobra]

Originally Posted by widgeon13

First mistake is to buy a new car!

Drive it off the lot and in a heartbeat you drop 30% of what you paid for the car, where is the logic in that??

I specifically bought a new Honda, so I would know the maint was done and it would run for a long time. Had almost 4 miles on it when I picked it up in 11/97, north of 150K now, gas, tires and oil, 3rd set of brakes, original clutch that wants replaced soon. Did a timing belt and water pump once, will need it again soonish. I have done very well on used cars, but it is nice to have one you know has been taken care of as it should.

I like that GTR a lot.

[legion]

Originally Posted by Dave L

We were looking for a cheap car for my wife, we looked at the ussual suspects, Honda Civic, Toyota Carolla, Mazda 3 and on a lark decided to check out the Focus. The test drive was uninspiring and the materials seemed cheap but we figured we might at well get a price. I told him what we were looking at and that we wanted a 48mon lease with $2500 down. He comes back telling us to keep our money ($0 down) and with a 36 month lease. I just looked at him like the idiot he was and walked.

You do realize that a Mazda 3 and a Ford Focus are the exact same car.

[ChrisBennet]

Originally Posted by legion

You do realize that a Mazda 3 and a Ford Focus are the exact same car.

Sort of.
I google this a bit and this is what I found (may be wrong of course):
The Mazda3 shares the same platform as the new European Focus.
The US Focus uses the old (Escort?) platform.
They all share the same engine (Ford Duratec, developed by Mazda).
The Mazda3 is made in Japan.
The (US) Ford Focus is made in Mexico.
-Chris

[notfarnow]

Although I didn't buy a car from them, I had a great experence with the local MB dealership.

First I called and spoke to a salesman to see if they had any 98-99 e300d's.. they didn't. The next day the same saleman called me back and asked for my email address. He'd gone online and found 2-3 cars that were for sale within a day's drive. I had already scoped those cars out, but I thought it was a nice gesture.

In speaking with him, I mentioned that I was getting an inspection on a car in Montreal, but had never even driven an e-class. He mentioned that they had a '98 e320 on the lot that I should take for a quick drive just to make sure I liked the 210 bodystyle and found it comfortable. So I went at lunch, half expecting him to pull a hard sell or something. He didn't... he knew I only wanted a diesel so we just went for a quick drive. Afterwards, he took me back to speak with a mechanic to see what I should be looking for on a 10 yr old e300d.

The guy even called me a few weeks later to see how I made out. I told him I bought the car in Montreal, and he asked me to bring it by so he could see it. Really great guy.

Those are the guys that make a good living selling cars. They like the cars, and more importantly they like people.

[legion]

Originally Posted by notfarnow

Those are the guys that make a good living selling cars. They like the cars, and more importantly they like people.

And he realizes that while he didn't get a sale from you today, he might get one in the future, or from friends and family members...and all of you will ask for him.

And being that he sells MBs and makes a good living, he will probably be at that dealership in 5-10 years to reap the benefits of sowing a good sales experience.