Called my dealer

[chuckstang]

car salesman rake in 80k a year or is that with your office job?

 

[T-Bolt]

he sounds like a ph.d compared to the moron who tried to sell me a 2002 "sport vehicle team" cobra.... i just simply said... no thank you and proceded to the door.

ROFL! There were no '02 Cobras...

 

[ON D BIT]

And spread the word. For me, Green Valley Ford in Fairfield was great - and I got positive feedback from other Mustang buyers I sent to them (so it wasn't a fluke).

-Dave
'01 Cobra coupe

your not saying hansel is bad are you? after all they only wanted 7 over msrp for thier 03 coupes.

 

[Jpjr]

i tell you guys, the last 2 cars i've bought have been 99% internet negotiated. i will find the exact type of car i'm looking for, and email dealers' online sales departments to bounce prices off one another. by the time i've narrowed it down the price has almost entirely been nogotiated before i ever walk in the door. it just seems much easier to avoid the impulses and get to the point over the internet.

 

[03SoCalCobra]

i tell you guys, the last 2 cars i've bought have been 99% internet negotiated. i will find the exact type of car i'm looking for, and email dealers' online sales departments to bounce prices off one another. by the time i've narrowed it down the price has almost entirely been nogotiated before i ever walk in the door. it just seems much easier to avoid the impulses and get to the point over the internet.

:beer: Same here- many online quoting services such as kbb.com and such that'll take your zip and pull up every related dealer in 50 miles, and happily email them all at once (or whichever ones you select) with your config and any other note you want to add.

Add a concise note that shows you're not fantasy shopping - I listed my credit, down payment, income and offer for the car with extended warrenty. Within 1 hour I had 2 offers: one agreeing, and another another that basically said "come on down, we can save you even more than that" (big red flag).

Went to the first dealer the next day and they did exactly what they said they'd do- after the credit report, it was quick and painless, no haggling or game playing (minus the schiester finance guy who tried to list full price on the extended warrenty hoping I wouldn't notice (I did)) :nono:

 

[mrGT]

Jpjr and 03SoCalCobra,

Keep us posted on well the internet negotiating goes on the Shelby, if you plan to buy one that is. I would be interested to see how the dealers respond.

 

[crispy23c]

Most dealerships do not extensively train their sales staff, the salesmen are expected to read the data on the cars and determine the best way to point out selling points to new buyers. Very few buyers actually know that much about cars, most buyers are in fact idiots who only care about payments. I used to sell cars, and was the only real car freak on the lot, so knew what how to talk up the performance cars. However, there are great sales trainers out there, who know how to train a salesperson to overcome objections and come back with a reason why you should commit now rather than shop around further. I was professionally trained and had my choice of any dealer in town I wanted to work at. But my sales days were dated back before the internet, so didn't have to worry about punks who lived on stats and forums before coming in to "test drive" a new car.

An honest salesman is rarely a starving one, as they get more referral sales, and stay in the business alot longer than the losers hired off the street with no education or exp. The top 5 salesmen at our lot had 10 years or more in the field, and are still selling today, and are still top sellers in town, regardless of which dealership they sell at. (I was no 3, but got out and got an office job instead-80 hour workweeks weren't worth the effort for me) Plus they rake in over 80k a year minimum. Not all car salesmen are thieves and tricksters, although alot of the untrained ones are. The thieves rotate from dealer to dealer, the pros usually pick a spot and stick with it for alot longer.

I couldn't agree more. I have been in high-tech sales for over 20 years- never consumer sales- but the same basic rules apply. You treat someone good, and you not only get repeat business, but you get referral business. Honesty goes a loooong way for sure. ;-)

The other side of it is....if you are a sales guy...say, one of 25 at a dealership, and you are getting 4 GT500's to sell between all of you...do you think he would study the Taurus sales manual (where he can sell as many as he wants), or focus on selling a car that he most likely cannot get for the buyer anyway? With sales, it's a numbers thing. He has a $$ quota and a volume quota to meet, and he sure won't do it by selling one GT500. Economics and the dealer's pay plan ensure that he cannot focus on this niche car, so it's not entirely the salesman's fault. If the dealer set up an SVT salesman who would be responsible for the knowledge of the product, who could supply that info to the salesman.....THAT might work. But it's not fair nor reasonable to expect the salesguy to intimately know a product that:

1) The dealer will only get 4 of FOR THE YEAR;
2) Divided by 25, and this salesman has a 1 in 100 chance of selling 1 unit this year. You can't pay your bills that way.
3) There is no employer loyalty in sales. You don't pull your weight for a quarter (3 months) and you are gone. That is a universal truth in many sales jobs, especially consumer sales. This leads to rapid turn over of salespersons at any given dealership, The salesman needs to find out what sells best/most/most profitibly, and go for that first, or he/she is GONE.

Hope this helps shed some light on why salespeople cannot devote alot of time on a niche product such as this. So, I guess what I am trying to say is--try to understand why they don't know, and you will find that it's a little harder to pass judgement on them. ;-)

Hope this sheds some light on the subject.

 

[mrGT]

crispy23c,
I, for one, think you did a very good job of giving a little insight into the life of a salesman. THANKS