Monaghan & Sons - Galway

roosterman71

Anyone have any dealings with this lot? I was in there Saturday and the guy I was talking to was useless. Didn't want to talk at all. I was looking at a new Accord and trading in a small petrol. He just wasn't interested and basically told me to "f off".

I know I wasn't going with a great situation with the trade, but to not even try his luck by giving a price seemed strange to me. Zero effort was made to make a sale

gpjordanf1

roosterman71 wrote: »

Anyone have any dealings with this lot? I was in there Saturday and the guy I was talking to was useless. Didn't want to talk at all. I was looking at a new Accord and trading in a small petrol. He just wasn't interested and basically told me to "f off".

I know I wasn't going with a great situation with the trade, but to not even try his luck by giving a price seemed strange to me. Zero effort was made to make a sale

From what I know they are a reputiable dealership, around along time.

I doubt he told you to "F Off"?

What exacly happened? Or are you just unhappy with what he offered and said take it or leave it? maybe?

roosterman71

No he offered nothing. I drove in and parked up. Went inside and had a look at the Accord in the showroom. It was the type-S model which is what I wanted so I waited for a few minutes. There was 2 couples with 2 different salesman, and one guy on the phone.

He eventually came over and I asked him the price. I didn't say anything when he quoted a price over a grand on what Honda advertise them for. I told him I was interested and wanted to trade in the car outside against it. He looked out, asked if it was petrol and I told him it was. Then he just said "we don't want petrol cars. Not unless it was sold here by us, and maybe if it was a Honda/Skoda or Mazda"

I asked what would it cost to change and he just said "I'm not interested." and he left it at that.

I have no problem that he wasn't interested. I didn't expect him to bite my hand off. I just though he could have said a figure or something. I dunno. It felt like poor work on his part

colm_mcm

Honda advertise the car excluding delivery and related charges or metallic paint. There's your grand.

Sounds as though you were treated badly though. Out of interest what make/model/year were you trading in?

gpjordanf1

roosterman71 wrote: »

No he offered nothing. I drove in and parked up. Went inside and had a look at the Accord in the showroom. It was the type-S model which is what I wanted so I waited for a few minutes. There was 2 couples with 2 different salesman, and one guy on the phone.

He eventually came over and I asked him the price. I didn't say anything when he quoted a price over a grand on what Honda advertise them for. I told him I was interested and wanted to trade in the car outside against it. He looked out, asked if it was petrol and I told him it was. Then he just said "we don't want petrol cars. Not unless it was sold here by us, and maybe if it was a Honda/Skoda or Mazda"

I asked what would it cost to change and he just said "I'm not interested." and he left it at that.

I have no problem that he wasn't interested. I didn't expect him to bite my hand off. I just though he could have said a figure or something. I dunno. It felt like poor work on his part

I'm quite suprised by this?

What on earth are ya driving? A lada?

Have you tried any other dealerships?

Or even just trying them over the phone?

Anyway bottom line is if your not happy with the way you were treated, then contact by phone or better a hand written letter to the MD and see what happens. They might not be impressed with a salesman behaving like this.

I guess he thought you were a weekend tire kicker? His partner didn't put out over weekend? Someone eat his cornflakes etc

galwaytt

...the reason he wasn't bothered about you buying a Honda, if not the one in the showroom, is that they've lost the Honda dealership, to Bradley Motors on the Dublin Road, in Galway.....probably assumed you'd been there for a price, already, and can't compete/similar..........

-Chris-

roosterman71 wrote: »

No he offered nothing. I drove in and parked up. Went inside and had a look at the Accord in the showroom. It was the type-S model which is what I wanted so I waited for a few minutes. There was 2 couples with 2 different salesman, and one guy on the phone.

He eventually came over and I asked him the price. I didn't say anything when he quoted a price over a grand on what Honda advertise them for. I told him I was interested and wanted to trade in the car outside against it. He looked out, asked if it was petrol and I told him it was. Then he just said "we don't want petrol cars. Not unless it was sold here by us, and maybe if it was a Honda/Skoda or Mazda"

I asked what would it cost to change and he just said "I'm not interested." and he left it at that.

I have no problem that he wasn't interested. I didn't expect him to bite my hand off. I just though he could have said a figure or something. I dunno. It felt like poor work on his part

Based on the above, I don't see what the issue is. He certainly didn't tell you to F Off.
He didn't want your car as a trade in, he didn't feel he could give you good value for it.
Based on that reaction why on earth would you want him to give you a figure? It would be meaningless as he wouldn't have any intention of following through with it.

I've been in the same position - someone trying to trade in something that our dealership had a poor view on. Either you tell them the poor view (or whatever you want to call it) and then have to face the "you can't be serious, it's worth more than that!" conversation, or you decline to give them a value at all and put up with the "well obviously you aren't interested in selling cars" conversation.

Damned if you do, damned if you don't...

dredg

I've had 2 dealings with Monaghan's in Galway. The first was nearly 3 years ago when I called in on a Saturday interested in finding out more about a Civic. The guy there at the time barely acknowledged my existence and generally seemed to want to get rid of me. It worked and he lost a sale pretty quickly. For what it's worth, he's still there.
The other time was in January, when I went in to get a quote for an Octavia RS. The salesman there (Adrian) was extremely helpful and pleasant to deal with and has continued to be extremely professional and pleasant to deal with despite having closed the sale and for all intents and purposes already got my cash.

yop

Only dealt with their Castlebar branch for an Octavia RS they had there in Aug, he offered me a 500 reduction for a cash sale on the day but to be honest I expected more so left it.

Now almost 5 months later the car is still at the same price which I am suprised but maybe thats why he ain't sold it.

-Chris-

That's hardly a service issue though.

At this stage I'm wondering if this thread is actually helping the OP or just generically moaning about this dealer.

Tea 1000

-Chris- wrote: »

Based on the above, I don't see what the issue is. He certainly didn't tell you to F Off.
He didn't want your car as a trade in, he didn't feel he could give you good value for it.
Based on that reaction why on earth would you want him to give you a figure? It would be meaningless as he wouldn't have any intention of following through with it.

I've been in the same position - someone trying to trade in something that our dealership had a poor view on. Either you tell them the poor view (or whatever you want to call it) and then have to face the "you can't be serious, it's worth more than that!" conversation, or you decline to give them a value at all and put up with the "well obviously you aren't interested in selling cars" conversation.

Damned if you do, damned if you don't...

It's not what you have to say, it's how you say it that matters. A pleasant approach, a smile, friendly chat, an apologetic approach "I'm very sorry, but I just couldn't take a trade in of that model X you have, we really couldn't sell something in that category, so you'd be much better off selling privately and then come back to me and we'll talk about a cash deal".
Rather than the grumpy "I don't want one of those" response, that's almost followed by "don't let the door hit you on the ass on the way out."
It's their job to deal with the public. If they can't do that effectively, then they're not good at their job and should be retrained, and if still no good then fired. Simple as that. Pleasant sales guys make a hell of a lot more difference than €3,000,000 glass showrooms.

R.O.R

Tea 1000 wrote: »

It's not what you have to say, it's how you say it that matters. A pleasant approach, a smile, friendly chat, an apologetic approach "I'm very sorry, but I just couldn't take a trade in of that model X you have, we really couldn't sell something in that category, so you'd be much better off selling privately and then come back to me and we'll talk about a cash deal".
Rather than the grumpy "I don't want one of those" response, that's almost followed by "don't let the door hit you on the ass on the way out."
It's their job to deal with the public. If they can't do that effectively, then they're not good at their job and should be retrained, and if still no good then fired. Simple as that. Pleasant sales guys make a hell of a lot more difference than €3,000,000 glass showrooms.

And next week - Grandma, this is how you suck eggs.........

-Chris-

Tea 1000 wrote: »

It's not what you have to say, it's how you say it that matters. A pleasant approach, a smile, friendly chat, an apologetic approach "I'm very sorry, but I just couldn't take a trade in of that model X you have, we really couldn't sell something in that category, so you'd be much better off selling privately and then come back to me and we'll talk about a cash deal".
Rather than the grumpy "I don't want one of those" response, that's almost followed by "don't let the door hit you on the ass on the way out."
It's their job to deal with the public. If they can't do that effectively, then they're not good at their job and should be retrained, and if still no good then fired. Simple as that. Pleasant sales guys make a hell of a lot more difference than €3,000,000 glass showrooms.

+1,000

I firmly believe that ill-manners is inexcusable in any job, customer-facing or not. I think gruffness is far to prevalent in the motor industry though.

My experience is that there are two kinds of salespeople - gruff or nice. There's no middle ground. The weird thing is that it's the gruff guys who tend to be the top salespeople most of the time!

Service and parts seems to be a whole different kettle of fish though, gruffness is the default as far as I can tell...

roosterman71

I think it was his attitude and general "I couldn't be bothered dealing with ya" that got me. I agree with Chris' post above bout being damned if you do and damned if you don't. I wasn't expecting him to bite my hand off (its a 07 1.4 Leon) but I thought he'd be friendly at least and not make me feel like I was disturbing him from his sit down

Big Nasty

Why wouldn't they take the Leon? 1.4, 07 - that's pretty much the type of used car that's selling right now. Even if they didn't want it themselves all they had to do was call an Indy dealer and ask how much he would give for it. Common practice, in fact I reckon most Indy dealers would be happy to take that car.

roosterman71

According to him he'd be stuck with it

-Chris-

I reckon he'd have taken it, but not a price roosterman would have been happy with, and he didn't want the argument.

Big Nasty

-Chris- wrote: »

I reckon he'd have taken it, but not a price roosterman would have been happy with, and he didn't want the argument.

Sorry Chris, but that's bollocks. How does he know if he doesn't name a figure? How does he know that the OP hasn't been to a few different garages in the last week and has a fair idea what he'll be offered? Again, as the The Terminator said earlier, a little courtesy goes a long way. Would you really just blank a customer like that because he *might* be offended by what you offer him? Well would you?

-Chris-

I have, I shouldn't have but I definitely have.

When you've had the exact same conversation with the last 5 customers who came in with 07 Lagunas (or whatever your used car buyer doesn't like at that particular time), you eventually try and save yourself the heartache and try to short-circuit the conversation.

Sales relies a lot on positive attitude, and conversations like that sap your will to live and harm your chances with the next customer.

It's not PC, but it's true.

Big Nasty

-Chris- wrote: »

I have, I shouldn't have but I definitely have.

When you've had the exact same conversation with the last 5 customers who came in with 07 Lagunas (or whatever your used car buyer doesn't like at that particular time), you eventually try and save yourself the heartache and try to short-circuit the conversation.

Sales relies a lot on positive attitude, and conversations like that sap your will to live and harm your chances with the next customer.

It's not PC, but it's true.

I'm in sales myself and I know well what you mean - one bad conversation can lead to your treatment of the next customer being below par. That said my sales are outbound not inbound, i.e. when someone walks in your door they have *some* interest in buying a car from you, good interest in spending a lot of money with somebody and should be treated with respect. If they do not like the deal offered they won't buy that particular car from you but there's a whole lot better a chance that they will remember you and come back to you the next time if you're nice about it!

You should try my job where 90% of the customers will tell you no, if not be rude about it, every day of the week. I would be delighted to have to 'let down gently' someone who thought their car is worth twice it's wholesale value - easy!

-Chris-

I completely agree and while I understand why the salesman may have wanted to cut the conversation short, there's no reason ever to be impolite or disrespectful ever. It's unprofessional.

roosterman71

Well I had an idea about the value of the car. In or around 10k. And I know there's a better chance of getting that by selling private. I was prepared for him to say 30k plus my car, and then he'd probably take 29k if I pushed.

Its not really the fact he didnt offer anything, its his dismissive attitude towards me that annoyed me most

-Chris-

Leons for sale

Seat Leons 1.4s are online with an asking price of €10k approx. They'll probably sell straight for €9,500
I'd guess the trade value of your car is somewhere closer to €6-7k (the book says €9.9k, but that's mentalism).


Presuming it's a diesel Type-S, you're looking at it's costing €36,022 plus a grand for delivery and metallic.
The sum for me so far is cost-to-change of €30.5k, with him at full margin.


Someone else may know the Honda margins, but if we presume a 10% margin then your €29k cost-to-change would leave him with a €2k profit and a Seat Leon standing him €6.5k.


IMHO it was worth his while talking to you.

Colonel Sanders

I recently bought a car. Tried about 5 Opel garages and the difference in customer service levels I experienced was nothing short of seismic. Varied from v helpful to helpful to 'are you actually gonna buy it' with a very disinterested look. I understand there are numerous type kickers about but seeing as each showroom I visited was practically empty I thought there was no excuse not to treat a customer well seeing as I was spending 30k+

R.O.R

-Chris- wrote: »

Someone else may know the Honda margins, but if we presume a 10% margin

Almost, but not quite 10%.

roosterman - it's probably worth trying a couple of different Honda dealers if it's the car you really want. A Leon should move on if it's in good condition so someone will take it.

-Chris-

If roosterman offered his car and €29.5k, do you think the dealer would be happy with the profit?

EPM

roosterman71 wrote: »

its a 07 1.4 Leon

There in lies your problem. I've had many similar conversations lately about mine:(

Plus mines the even less desireable 1.6...

R.O.R

-Chris- wrote: »

If roosterman offered his car and €29.5k, do you think the dealer would be happy with the profit?

There's got to be profit in it at that price, even if the dealer traded the Leon straight on for €5,500.

roosterman71

About a year ago I went looking at Accords too. In Casey's of Athlone (which is now closed).

The guy there was brilliant. We chatted for ages on it. Went for a couple of test drives. But we just couldn't agree on a price. He wanted 27k plus mine. All I could afford was 25k so we had to leave it.

It was his professionalism and desire to try make the sale that impressed me. Even if I met him on the street he'd try resurrect the deal!! He went out of his way to let me ask anything and he'd find out the answer. Let me drive it as often as I wanted. Even just to sit into it!!

Compare that to the guy in Monaghans who basically gave me a price list, told me he didn't want my car and then stood looking at me as if I was really trying to trade in.

I guess I was spoilt in the first place and am using this as the barometer.

Big Nasty

IMO the guy in Casey's treatment of you was spot on - here's you talking about it now, even though you didn't buy from him! Hope he's gotten a job since Casey's closed!

galwaytt

roosterman71 wrote: »

About a year ago I went looking at Accords too. In Casey's of Athlone (which is now closed).

The guy there was brilliant. We chatted for ages on it. Went for a couple of test drives. But we just couldn't agree on a price. He wanted 27k plus mine. All I could afford was 25k so we had to leave it.

.

...water under the bridge is right: looks like the offer from Casey's last year, was better than what you're prepared for, now. Such is life and all that..:o

Pity they're gone now though !

321DNE

what salesman were you dealing with??? if you entered the showroom from the front was he seated in the left, right or centre, cant believe any of them acting like that...

si_guru

I have to agree... some salesmen are in the wrong job. I have bought a few new cars over the years and often looked at the exact same spec car at 2 or 3 garages. Or how about the time my wife was quoted 2 grand more for a car than I was at the SAME garage with the SAME trade in!

Helpful salesmen who will negotiate realistically get my cash - in fact last time I took out 4 year 0% credit on the advice of the salesman to get another 1500 quid off! (I was going to do the deal cash).

"Your car is ****, our car will be list price" tossers don't ever suceed (mainly found at Land Rover and BMW).

RichieP

galwaytt wrote: »

...the reason he wasn't bothered about you buying a Honda, if not the one in the showroom, is that they've lost the Honda dealership, to Bradley Motors on the Dublin Road, in Galway.....probably assumed you'd been there for a price, already, and can't compete/similar..........

Why did they lose the Honda dealership? One of their salesmen said it was because Honda wanted them to build a new show room for their cars. Any truth in this?

-Chris-

Quite probably

ei.sdraob

Yeh the current obsession of dealers and people with small diesels is interesting

On bright side that means cheaper big petrol cars for moi, on the bad side it means harder time trading in older big petrol cars

Had loads of fun over last few weeks trading in 3 litre GS300 sport for a 5 litre 7 series, the moment you mention to the dealer you have a petrol car they dont want to talk to you, which is amusing considering some of the new cars they sell for 30K+ have **** handling, less power and alot less features than 5-6 year old cars i prefer

Oh well :P