What do you hate about Car Dealerships?

[SonicDTR]

NEVER assume who has the money when there are several people browsing together.

I was looking at buying a truck, and took my father along for the ride. I was driving my 03 Cobra when we pulled into a used truck lot(in texas). The sales lady talked to us for a minute and invited us inside. I lead the way, and as soon as we stepped in the door the lead salesman pushed past me and shook my dads hand asking "how can we help you". So I immediately turned around and walked out. The guy asked what happened and my father just said "you just pissed off the guy with the money" and followed me out to my car.

The other big thing giving an out the door price instead of tagging on all sorts of fees when you get down to business.

 

[mooch29]

Knowing the car you are selling is a plus...had a salesman tell me that an 04 Mustang GT was making 360hp because it had an exhaust and a short throw....yes he told me it made power from the short throw :dw:


Also, listen to what your customers want. I went with my gf to look at Honda Accords. She only wanted black or white. We told the salesman that and he didn't have any white ones on the lot so he was like "Let me show you this one!" Walked all the way across the lot only to show us a silver one :bored: Told him multiple times that black or white was the only option...he continued to show us other colors. Like really guy??? I get it you want to make a sale...but don't BS me saying white is only a florida color. We left and didn't go back there.

 

[xXGadfly09Xx]

These are the two things that I disagree with as a person who has worked at a car dealer and obviously been a customer of one.

Do not pressure a test drive and say I will not discuss price until we go for a test drive. I came into the dealer knowing what I wanted, I have driven the car before, and telling me this model year is different than the last one so I have to drive it is BS. While in some instances it is a good way to get to know the customer, it is also translated as "this guy thinks if I drive it, I am going to melt". I will not pay whatever stupid price he gives me from the F&I guy after driving it. That is very frustrating IMHO.

The other thing I would say is only do two phone calls. One after the first day of owning it and one on the fifth day. On the seventh to ninth day I would send a letter, thanking them for their business, hoping all is well with the vehicle and if they ever need me for any reason to not hesitate to call me at anytime.

the 1 3 7 day follow up is for unsold prospects, the test drive rule isnt for for the customer its for salesperson to follow the process and not taking short cuts to a no sale. The reason I have people Test drive (unless they already drove the ccar elsewhere) is to make sure that both the sales person and customer on the same page. I like to under promise over deliver. If a customer thinks a feature is on a certain car but its not then they get pissed. I hate disappointing my customers

NEVER assume who has the money when there are several people browsing together.

I was looking at buying a truck, and took my father along for the ride. I was driving my 03 Cobra when we pulled into a used truck lot(in texas). The sales lady talked to us for a minute and invited us inside. I lead the way, and as soon as we stepped in the door the lead salesman pushed past me and shook my dads hand asking "how can we help you". So I immediately turned around and walked out. The guy asked what happened and my father just said "you just pissed off the guy with the money" and followed me out to my car.

The other big thing giving an out the door price instead of tagging on all sorts of fees when you get down to business.

NEVER ASSUME ANYTHING!!!!

 

[hoamskilet]

The first response in this thread is.the exact word that came to mind when reading the op

 

[xXGadfly09Xx]

The first response in this thread is.the exact word that came to mind when reading the op

But what made you hate the car buying experience? Honestly listening to customer like you makes me a better salesperson.

I think what makes a good salesperson is someone who is upfront and honest while still being able to sell cars.

People respect a good man trying to make an honest living.

Any incite as to why you hated the car buying experience will help not just the OP but me as well.

 

[Fox-4]

Keep your cars clean and don't blare dance music on the lot, makes the place seem even more ghetto than what it is.

 

[projectslideway]

I hate when you roll up to the dealership and see 3 or 4 salesman out front smoking cigarettes... and don't climb in the vehicle to test drive it with me smelling like a bag of ass. I want to smell the real new car smell...

Don't try and upsell me. I know know exactly what i want when I come in. For the general public, don't push them into a sale they'll regret.

If the customer has family with them, learn their names...

AND MOST OF ALL... ASK ME IF I WANT "X DEALERSHIP" STICKERS OR PLATE FRAMES ON MY VEHICLE. I don't want a "Billy Bob's Car's" sticker on the decklid of my car. In states that require a front tag... ask the customer if they want the front tag and/or tag bracket installed. I don't want two rugged screw holes in the front bumper of my cobra...

I used to work at a dealership in Maryland right near the PA and WV borders. Out of state buyers that don't have to have a front tag would arrive to get their car with a tag bracket riveted to the front of their vehicle.

You could even make a sold car checksheet that the customer can check yes and no boxes on delivery options they want performed.

 

[Spitfire_GT]

Lots of good advice. My pet peeve is just the time involved. Look at how long it takes to process a deal from start to finish and cut time everywhere you can. Obviously negotiation will vary, but look to cap it artificially. I don't think anyone enjoys grinding. Let the managers work the customer in a 30 minute window tops.

I think designing a simple database that populates your forms with basic customer info can save a lot of time doing paperwork. I felt like I gave the same info and the sales associate wrote the same stuff in 100 different forms. It didn't matter if it was a Ford dealer or a BMW dealer. Don't ask the customer for the same information more than once, it makes you look incompetent.

 

[Dominion]

My only advise is if you dont know something about the car, or not much at all, dont brag about the HP rating or whats done to it.

Recently I went to a used car lot, and the salesman asked if i was into cars and trucks, i told him yes and he said he wanted to show me this heavly modified lightning. I start the truck, it has cams and he then said:

"The previous owner put a big CAM in the truck and slapped a supercharger on it, should be good for 700HP, they were dogs from the factory."

Granted this guy has no clue, but my point is, i know he is full of shit, (he assumes i dont know any better) what else is this guy clueless about?

 

[s_x_i]

Some great answers in this thread guys! :beer:

 

[Steve@TF]

recently went to a used lot with cash in hand. looking to buy a van. the manager and his salesman just sat inside the office playing on the computer while i walked around and looked for myself. i had to go inside to ask them any questions and finally ask for keys for a test drive. when i found one i liked, i made the manager an offer. he counter offered with like $100 off. :rollseyes and refused to budge any more than that, saying his cars sell themselves and his pricing is the best in the area :rollseyes and if i dont like the price, then dont buy it.

i kind of laid into him after that. i told him he and his sales people were useless and the worst id ever encountered. i then told him he'd be willing to let an $11k sale over a few hundred bucks. he replied "someone will buy it" lol. i then bought another van for cash somewhere else. total waste of my time and i drove 50 miles to get to that stupid dealership! :cuss:

OP watch Car Fellas and whatever they do, DO NOT REPLICATE

lol. bikini car wash ftw! :thumbsup:

Lots of good advice. My pet peeve is just the time involved. Look at how long it takes to process a deal from start to finish and cut time everywhere you can. Obviously negotiation will vary, but look to cap it artificially. I don't think anyone enjoys grinding. Let the managers work the customer in a 30 minute window tops.

joined my buddy to buy a brand new vette. he got internet pricing from the internet rep via the corvette forum. so the price was already a done deal. we arrived at the dealer and he put $25k in cash down! then financed the rest. he makes about $150k a year, owns his home, and has immaculate credit. STILL the ordeal took over TWO hours! and he had sent them all his info before we even left to get there (flew in). and the car was all clean and shiny sitting right there (not waiting to be prepped).

my dad went to buy a new dodge truck. being self employed, they wanted all kinds of paperwork (taxes etc..). after about an hour and a half of doing all that, they said they needed something else and wanted him to go home to get it. he got pissed and walked out. headed straight to the chevy dealership and walked out owning a brand new silverado about an hour later.

one thing i hate to hear from a salesperson, if the car has some kind of issue, usually cosmetic, "oh just it bring it back and we'll take care of it". :rollseyes fix the damn thing first! raise the price if you need to cover the cost of fixing it. i dont want to have to bring it back and be without it for X amount of days AND i already dont trust you to begin with so im not going to trust you to fix after ive paid for it and left. the way i see it when buying a used car, you buy and you dont come back. its a done deal! used car lots dont give a crap about you and your car if it has issues after you've bought it. (just generalizing but its mostly true). and issues after ive bought it and im pretty much stuck dealing with it on my own. and im talking about stuff like a big dent or huge scratch or something. not like a small paint chip.

one used car lot manage was honest in his price justification in explaining about the work they did to the vehicle to make it up to par. he even pulled out a folder on the particular vehicle with receipts from the local shops he had do various repair work and their pricing (supposedly). "we had the radiator flushed, the trans flushed, changed the rear main seal, etc..."

 

[oldmodman]

There have only been two dealerships that I really liked.

A used car dealer that only sold high performance cars. That place was great!
I went in once to buy a 1967 Buick Wildcat. They just tossed me the keys and let me have at it! And I bought it too! Took all of thirty minutes. Here's how they sold their cars. Each car had a sheet on the window. It listed the factory sheet info, any mods done to the car. Anything wrong they found that they fixed. Some of the cars they had fully repainted in "hot rod colors" And they had the price that it was being sold at. They never haggled over the prices. Their prices were always fair. I loved every visit to that place. There is a HUGE list of cars that I now wished I had bought. 1963 Split Window Corvette Coupe, every option, five years old for $2200
Or how about a 1967 Ford Cobra 427 for only $3100?
God I loved the days when these were just another used car.

The second was a Ford dealership that has now closed. I would call up the fleet dealer and he would fax me their order pages on whatever I wanted to buy. I would check off what I wanted and he would order it for me. At invoice plus $25
I bought seven cars and trucks from him over the years. I sure wish the dealership was still there. But the owner died and his kids were not interested in running a dealership.

 

[truefiveo]

There have only been two dealerships that I really liked.

A used car dealer that only sold high performance cars. That place was great!
I went in once to buy a 1967 Buick Wildcat. They just tossed me the keys and let me have at it! And I bought it too! Took all of thirty minutes. Here's how they sold their cars. Each car had a sheet on the window. It listed the factory sheet info, any mods done to the car. Anything wrong they found that they fixed. Some of the cars they had fully repainted in "hot rod colors" And they had the price that it was being sold at. They never haggled over the prices. Their prices were always fair. I loved every visit to that place. There is a HUGE list of cars that I now wished I had bought. 1963 Split Window Corvette Coupe, every option, five years old for $2200
Or how about a 1967 Ford Cobra 427 for only $3100?
God I loved the days when these were just another used car.

The second was a Ford dealership that has now closed. I would call up the fleet dealer and he would fax me their order pages on whatever I wanted to buy. I would check off what I wanted and he would order it for me. At invoice plus $25
I bought seven cars and trucks from him over the years. I sure wish the dealership was still there. But the owner died and his kids were not interested in running a dealership.

I love hearing about old school muscle cars purchases from those days.

Did $3100 really take that long to save?

 

[JDStud6]

I've actually never bought a car before. I'm someone who keeps a car forever. I'm on my 2nd car, but my folks did most of the work buying it because I was a senior in college and had a bad wreck in my first car (not my fault. I was stopped and someone plowed into me). And my first car was my dad's that he gave me when I turned 16. So I had not much say in either car I've had.

I've actually been looking to get a new one though. I test drove an Infiniti G37 sedan and really liked it. However, I'm someone who does a lot of research and thinking about a decision like that. The sticker price was $40k. I knew more about the car than he did from reading forums and reviews, but not a big deal. I also found a dealership in ATL selling new ones for $35k with the same options. The guy said he could sell me last year's model for about $35. I told him I was only looking that day, but that I would never agree to that price. He said it was fair. I told him the website of the ATL dealer and their price. He started to type it in his computer, then stopped and said "do you really want to drive 5 hours to save a few grand?" I said yes I would have no problem doing that to get a brand new 2011 rather than get a 2010 from him for the same price.

I told him again I was just looking and wouldn't buy that day. He then asked "what do I have to do to get you to buy the car from me today?" I said "I'll buy it for $25k in cash right now" He told me I was crazy. I said "as crazy as me coming in here and driving the car once and paying too much for it?" After that he let me go. I told him I'd think about it and probably come back at some point.

JD

 

[vertcobra99]

Wow you guys still go into dealerships to negotiate on cars? I do all my negotions with the internet sales person via email and the only time I come in to the dealership is to pick up the car.

But the only other thing I hate is the addons that people try to sell me.

When I leased my maxima the guy told me "you are the first person ever to not purchase the tire and wheel protection package on a leased car"

I laughed.

 

[Camaro_94]

I like it when they put the prices on the cars. Makes it easier. Also... I hate when they **** you over and lie to Corporate GM trying to cover up a botched recall on my car, making me pay $700 on something I shouldn't have had to pay in the first place... Stealing my money... Then expecting me to be very satisfied when they offer me 25% of the money I spent on the repairs back. **** GM.

 

[Marc]

If you are going to buy a car, go here: New car buying guide, avoiding dealer scams, new cars, used car buying

If I remember right, the guy that started this website used to work as a salesman in many dealerships. He realeased some of the "tricks" that dealers use on their customers. He actually received death threats. It was like he was a magician giving away magic tricks. :lol:

I absolutely hate when a salesman will break out his 4-square to figure out what your payments will be. 1) FIRST, you have not sold me the car yet. We need to agree upon a price. 2) Who said I was financing through you? I might have cash, check or another bank to go through. Although, if dealerships think you are financing through them, they sometimes will give you a better deal because they figure they can make up some of that money through financing on the big end.

Also, had a guy say I couldn't test drive a cobra (in Hawaii) until we agreed upon a price. WTF? Why would i buy a car I couldn't drive? Had to get special approval for me to drive the cobra. :lol: I did not buy the car because they were dishonest. I called on the ad and the salesman told me somthing like $29,000. I get there and its $29,999. I told him WTH? He said it is $29K. I told him he better go back and take a math class.

BE HONEST! My brother in law drove 12 hours to trade in a SUV for a new truck. They agreed upon the trade in and the guy told him $3K less when he got there. My BIL said why didn't you call or email me before I drove 12 hours? The salesman was a dick. So my BIL drove to Vegas and bought a $50K truck and got exactly what he wanted for trade in.

Know your cars! Had a salesman tell me that a Mystic cobra was the rarest paint ever put out. I told him Satin Silver than Comp Orange in 03/04. His reply: "Why would anyone drive a Orange car"? :lol: Dick. Which brings me to my next thing:

Don't be a dick. We are the customers.

Also, I tell a salesman he has 30 minutes to sell me the car or I am walking. I just bought a Rav 4 for the wife a couple of months ago. The guy said they would have to call the owner to see if he could accomodate my offer. I told him, "You have about 10 million dollars of inventory here in your shop and you have no one here that can make that decision?" We ended up walking out on the deal and went to the dealership next door and bought the car.

Take your wife or girlfriend with you. A salesman now has to sell the car to both people and they know that some men's balls are in their wife's purse. :lol:

Buying a car should be a fun experience not something that everyone dreads.

 

[thasalvoo]

the following phrases should be grounds for firing.

"lets go do a credit check"
"what will it take for you to buy the car today"

also, if you have a small lot then i would make the salesmen (if you have any) actually know the basics of the vehicles on the lot, rather than just read the spec off the sticker on the window like a tard.

And my personal biggest issue is when you tell a salesmen exactly what your looking for and they try to sell you something completely different. That shit pisses me off and makes me ask for a different salesmen.

+100

 

[truefiveo]

I love the feeling of buying a new car......from a private seller!

 

[4a7191a]

ive only been to one dealership where the salesman knew about the cars, performance mazda in houston, of all place's. the guy even knew about mustangs. other than that ive ran across alot of idiots that sale a product to make money that havent a clue of what theyre trying to sell. when i got my first mach1, i found on 40 miles from here. called to make sure it was a 5 speed. they said yes. got there and it was an auto. the salesman said it was just as good. got the anger going, spoke to the manager and got a killer deal on one that they had to order. sticker was 29k, 26870 drive out.