Now Ye're Talking - to a Car Salesman

Big Nasty

diomed wrote: »

My dealer has got their P45 from me but they don't know it.
I'll keep the car I bought from them for another year or two but our fifteen years is at an end.
Abysmal service and attitude. Four problems with a 2016 car and they made very little effort to sort it.

What's your question caller?

diomed

Big Nasty wrote: »

What's your question caller?

Why do dealers fob people off and not fix problems?
Not being able to find the problem is not fixing a problem.

I think there is too much reliance on diagnostics kits.
If they plug it in and can't find the fault they say there is no fault.
I had the same fault three times.
Finally their solution was to disable something in the car, that left a yellow warning light permanently lit up on the dash, and my solution was to put a black sticker over it to stop being blinded as I drove.

I could say much more about that dealer network as the fools were making comments when the car was in the shop and my dashcam was recording vision and sound.

ForestFire

diomed wrote: »

Why do dealers fob people off and not fix problems?
Not being able to find the problem is not fixing a problem.

I think there is too much reliance on diagnostics kits.
If they plug it in and can't find the fault they say there is no fault.
I had the same fault three times.
Finally their solution was to disable something in the car, that left a yellow warning light permanently lit up on the dash, and my solution was to put a black sticker over it to stop being blinded as I drove.

I could say much more about that dealer network as the fools were making comments when the car was in the shop and my dashcam was recording vision and sound.

If this was a 2016 car , were you not in your rights to return it for a full refund if they could not fix it? Did you buy it new?

diomed

ForestFire wrote: »

If this was a 2016 car , were you not in your rights to return it for a full refund if they could not fix it? Did you buy it new?

It was a six month old with 15k kms sold as "nearly new".

The attitude of the dealers put me off.
Stuck on the side of the road with a dead car the 24 hour service would not answer the phone.
My dealer would not answer the phone. When the car finally started I drove there.
Their main outside phone line was transferred to an unoccupied (?) office, and they spend the next 10/15 minutes talking about their phones and leaving me waiting.

Another time when the problem happened again the 24 hour line did answer.
They sent me to the nearest dealer who did not want to know.
Their plug in diagnostics said there was no problem (then) and they said as I drove there there could not be a problem.

I had driven from the nursing home where my mother was near death.
They would not give me a replacement car so left the car there and walked home.
That night I checked the dashcam from the car (I took it with me) and heard the dealer staff in the repair shop ridiculing me as I was a bit distressed and needed a car to visit my mother.
The next morning my sister phoned saying the nursing home phoned and to come immediately.
When she learned I had no car she went to someone on her road and borrowed a car.
When we got to the nursing home my mother was dead.

Four problems in the first ten months, three of them the same problem.
Not the best built cars in the world apparently.

ForestFire

diomed wrote: »

It was a six month old with 15k kms sold as "nearly new".

The attitude of the dealers put me off.

I think your going to need a bigger thread:)

Even though this is not really sale related, there maybe a question of relavence for the sales Guy.

Do you ever get involved in warranty issues, Faults , returns or unhappy owners?
Do the unhappy owners request to see you personally for selling a car they are now not happy with?

And don't say you never sold a car that turned out to have problems :pac:, there must be a least 1, although you sell in good faith things will go wrong sometimes.

bonkers67

Can you name the dealer? That sounds horrific.

diomed

ForestFire wrote: »

Even though this is not really sale related, there maybe a question of relavence for the sales Guy.

If the salesman sells a car, and it is under warranty (and my car is), and they refuse to fix it, then I and other people will spread the word.
The question to the sales person might be "Does your warranty mean anything?"

I'm a Car Salesman, AMA

madmaggie wrote: »

Do you have a different attitude to female customers? I have been patronised, ignorned and talked down to in garages in the not too distant past. I won't be bothering with them again. One place the salesman talked all the time to my male relative, even though I made it clear I was the one doing the buying.

Personally I don’t I would treat men and women equally but i have seen plenty of sales people who would not and would talk down to women which I don’t agree with

FanadMan wrote: »

Have you ever met or worked with an Arthur Daley type salesman? You know the type - great spiel, smokes cigars and is a real conman?

No have never come across a real life version like that, there are some very cheesy sales people out there though

Manic Moran wrote: »

Apologies if not applicable to my situation in the US, but we get 'sales pushes' every few months here. Winter event. President's Day Sale, etc. For those of us looking for a certified used car, I assume a bunch of trade-ins happen in these sales, and the cars get inspected, fixed up, and put on the used car market. Since I would like the largest selection to choose from, how long does it take between a car getting traded in, and its being back on the lot as a 'Certified Pre-Owned'?

The busiest times of year ie January in this country are the slowest for getting used cars ready and prepared but it is when most of them arrive. If you are looking for a good used car no harm calling in to your local dealership and even leaving your details because they can tell you about it before it is even ready

DrPhilG wrote: »

What are your thoughts on Electric Vehicles? I'm not sure if you work for one of the common EV sellers, (mainly Nissan, Renault and Hyundai) but the common theme for those interested in buying electric is that (a)the dealers are shockingly badly informed and (b)they simply don't want to sell electrics because they won't make as much money long term as they are more reliable and cheaper to service.

PS I don't mean the "shockingly badly informed" bit as an attack. It's more an issue with the dealership than the individual salesmen.

I think electric vehicles are the way of the future but right now they don’t suit everyone and the infrastructure is not in place in this country to support them. Dealers who are not regularly selling EV can seem badly informed and uninterested because there is a fair amount more paperwork to be done with EV’s and a huge amount of a sales persons day is already taken up with paperwork.

This is not meant as an excuse for poor service but just an opinion as to why it happens.

Good sales people will be interested and make things as easy as possible because they know what they are doing

colmheneghan

I once had a 1.6 Passat and it has to be the most uneconomical car ever - pulling that weight of a car using that size of engine is a terrible idea by VW - ended up trading in for sensible diesel VW old doing 55-60 MPG !!

chancer007 wrote: »

Hi,
Why is there is so many 1.6 passats for sale in Ireland?
There used to be mostly 2L..I know VW claim the 1.6 passat has enough power, but still its a big car.
Thinking of changing the 1.6 Golf to a passat. I just think all the 1.6 passat's got dumped in Ireland while most of the 2L are in the uk.
Thanks

colmheneghan

colmheneghan wrote: »

I once had a 1.6 Passat and it has to be the most uneconomical car ever - pulling that weight of a car using that size of engine is a terrible idea by VW - ended up trading in for sensible diesel VW old doing 55-60 MPG !!

chancer007 wrote: »

Hi,
Why is there is so many 1.6 passats for sale in Ireland?
There used to be mostly 2L..I know VW claim the 1.6 passat has enough power, but still its a big car.
Thinking of changing the 1.6 Golf to a passat. I just think all the 1.6 passat's got dumped in Ireland while most of the 2L are in the uk.
Thanks

GOLF !

downwesht

Hi!A few questions..
Do you take turns when customers arrive at the salesroom?Who decides who deals with who?
Do you have a good working relationship with your workmates or is it "dog eat dog"?
How do you fill the time on a quiet day?

colmheneghan

Thought I would give you my advice on the Golf .. I loved my VW Golf as well and had the same year as you. It was the longest time I’ve ever kept a car - 5 years I had until the engine sump went on the Motorway one night and it was no more - less than 130,000 on the clock as well.. be careful with these engines after 100,000 miles because there is a rumour that a certain 04-06 VW BXE Code engine has this issue with sump bolts that tend to break and make the car a write off !! Trade in just in case ..

Alicano wrote: »

I'm in an 05 Golf. I's never let me down but needs some TLC now due to the age. Didn't get one call when I tried selling it last year. Doubt a dealership would want it? What would you do in this situation? I live in the city now and just want a 1/1.2l little bipper that is great for parallel parking! Something that's cheap to tax and is bluetooth enabled would be my only requests. But should I just run my Golf in to the ground? Or try a trade in? Many thanks for the AMA. You sound decent

I'm a Car Salesman, AMA

Tom Mann Centuria wrote: »

When you go to ask your boss is there anything else you can do to improve the deal, what do you talk about really?

The majority of the time this is what is happening as they control the purse strings so if the buyer is asking for more that’s who we have to go to. So when a sales person asks what you are looking to spend or what you want to cost to change to be they are not trying to catch you out they are trying to find out where they need to get to when talking to their boss

ba_barabus wrote: »

A couple of more questions:

Have you ever had a very negative customer experience which was outside of your control?

Have you ever had a strange customer request?

How do you deal with tyre kickers?

Why do some sales people be at pains to stress they are making no money/loosing money on a deal? It's a big turn off for me when someone says it and has caused me to walk away.

1, Yes as cars are machines some of them will go wrong from time to time. A sales person sells them but has no control if something goes wrong, this can cause a very negative customer experience especially if a new car

2, Many of them one that comes to mind is a customer asking if I could get a clear plastic like cling film to cover the carpets on the car so they wouldn’t get dirty

3, Tyre kickers are not always bad people to deal with especially if they are up front and honest. Eespcailly when working in a main dealer you come across people wanting to come in and experience the brand and see what it has to offer. The ones who are purely out to waste time and be difficult can be hard to deal with

4, I can’t answer it but I have seen it happen. You do have to use a certain amount some times because if someone is negotiating hard you need to let them see you have done all you can

GavRedKing wrote: »

More of a personal one,

Money no object, what would be your ideal daily and weekend 2 car garage?

Very tough question and would probably change constantly, as a daily probably a Tesla and weekend car would be Ferrari as always wanted to own one since a young kid. Which model of each is an even tougher question

Tell me how wrote: »

What has been the weirdest item which ye have found in a trade in?

What has been the largest sum of money also found in a trade in?

Have you ever seen a car which has been traded and bought multiple times through the same garage?

One of the strangest would probably be a small base bat hidden under the passenger seat

Personally not a huge amount but have heard stories of envelopes full of cash found stuffed in dashboards

Yes I have once sold the same car 3 times during different stages of its life because it was traded in by the owner to the same garage each time

Veloce wrote: »

Generally - how many people purchases their cars by way of finance versus buying outright with cash?

Obviously you can't determine if cash buyers sourced their money from a credit union or whatever but just generally speaking.

Will depend hugely in the brand, the likes of the VW group will have a huge % bought on finance because they were the first to push PCP in its current form in this country with low rates. With them you could be around 85 - 90 %. Higher end brands could be about 30 - 40 % finance.

It is becoming more popular across the board because dealerships generally have access to cheaper rates than a customer

Royale with Cheese

Should I expect much of a discount for paying for a 25k or so car in cash, or am I actually a less attractive prospect for salesmen who want to make commission on finance plans?

If a used car is priced at 25k and I want to pay in cash with no trade in, what would the bottom price for that car generally be in and around?

Ardennes1944

Thanks for doing this AMA, another interesting one.

You should move to Switzerland, car prices here would have you rolling in it

I'm a Car Salesman, AMA

SEPT 23 1989 wrote: »

Is selling a car really like making love to a beautiful woman?

No but it is like a a drug when you are doing well and selling cars it can put you on a real high and give you loads of adrenaline

chancer007 wrote: »

Hi,
Why is there is so many 1.6 passats for sale in Ireland?
There used to be mostly 2L..I know VW claim the 1.6 passat has enough power, but still its a big car.
Thinking of changing the 1.6 Golf to a passat. I just think all the 1.6 passat's got dumped in Ireland while most of the 2L are in the uk.
Thanks

Price would be the main thing, most people are happy to accept the 1.6 when buying new instead of paying more for the 2.0 which in turn has an effect on the second hand market

jimmycrackcorm wrote: »

I was also wondering this after a female friend of mine was told by the salesman that he wouldn't warranty the clutch on the car she was interested in because she was a woman.

Most warranties don’t actually cover a clutch because it is deemed a wear and tear item but sounds like it wasn’t explained in that way

amtc wrote: »

When i bought my first car (from new) I was told 'a little car for a little lady' in one garage. This was dg opel...and i went straight over to crossan and bought there.

I thought about trading it in for a Peugeot and sales guy spoke exclusively to my boyfriend. He and I both said it was me buying the car.

Have a Hyundai now and the clutch went. Proved to be mechanical fault. They only spoke to my dad.

I don’t agree with that behavior but I have seen it many times, I think it’s more of a generation thing as mainly happens with older sale people. It is becoming less and less common

Gavin shels wrote: »

Is there a particular time of year which is easier to get a salesman to negation? Always heard Nov/Dec were easier to get a good deal as people would wait til Jan/Feb so targets were harder to meet.

Depends really if a sales person needs to sell cars for the end of the month it can be a good time because they will really want to make a sale. October / November can also be a good time as sales people have less cars being collected by customers so can spend more time selling

ba_barabus wrote: »

What would you recommend as a good value used purchase right now?

I know saloons aren't desirable and represent value as long as you are happy to have one. Any models or brands that make wise purchases?

Any cars which are not common for example estates in this country don’t sell very well which means can be very good value second hand. If you are prepared to go with something that may not be cool or popular then you can get very good value

Negative_G

Why do you think that car salesman have a reputation as having one of the most shady professions where their single objective is to shake the customer for as much as they can?

I've bought a good few cars over the years, from cheaper second hand cars to 30k+. Overall, my experience has not been positive, there were a small percentage who seemed genuine, generally used car garages. The worst seemed to be in main dealers, particularly in the more 'prestige' brands.

Two of the most painful professions to deal with are car salesman and auctioneers. My experience is that if you haven't got your head screwed on, you'll be royally rogered.

SIMI have also got to be up there with the Vintners Association for playing the poor me card. What do they actually do for a) the dealer/garage b) the buyer?

az2wp0sye65487

Do you know of any saloon or estate cars that can comfortably fit 3 child seats in the back??

bonkers67

What do you think of the Volvo V40? They seem to be less popular here than in the UK and very expensive here also.

FaganJr

Hi, I have. Mazda 3 2.2 D Exec saloon, 40kms 141.
The reason it has low milage is because we both have company vans. Car used at weekends for 100 - 250 km trips , visiting family or weekend breaks usually.
Probably change next year, so will have 50kms with FSH.
Reason we need car is for kids, there are 4 of us. See this situation much??
Would you view this car suspiciously or like to see it coming in??

the sheriff is HERE

What are your favourite car colours?
What is your opinion on Dacia's? Most people say cheap sh!te, but they're everywhere, they've really took off.

Johngoose

Do you have a cheesy grin/good teeth?

carsfan2

Are optional extras on a car a complete waste come trade in?
It seems to me a dealer tells you they don’t add anything to the car when they buy it from you but when they retail it they look for a premium for these cars that have more kit. Seems like they want it both ways.

MetzgerMeister

What is your favourite car to get as a trade in that you know will sell fast?

What is your least favourite car to get as a trade in that you know will take ages to sell?

ba_barabus

When pricing up a trade in and the salesman places a call "to his friend in the trade" they always heap praise on the car even if it's obviously a snotter.

Do they make a follow up call after the potential customer leaves to tell them exactly what the car is like or is there a hidden code in the language they've used to describe it?

draiochtanois

This post has been deleted.

Widdensushi

draiochtanois wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

Are you presuming all carsalesmen are bitcoin investors?

I'm a Car Salesman, AMA

mickdw wrote: »

When buying new I try to be in a position to do the deal in the last couple of weeks of the first quarter. Is this really worthwhile or if a salesguy has met his targets, will he not be in a hurry to deal?
Do main dealers have quarterly targets too for used sales?

Is there any order re who gets to approach a customer?
It looks pretty shabby to me that nobody approaches customers on forecourt in most places. There will be sales guys sitting at desks and customers not being spoken to.
Can an eager salesguy make it his business to greet everyone and see whaty he can do?

If the sales person is good then they should always want to sell more cars but you are right if it is getting towards the end of the month or quarter then a sales person may want to give you more if they are reaching to hit a target.

The order depends on the dealership both a lot of the time its about who gets up to talk to people first. While sales people are sitting at desks they are generally doing admin (you would be surprised how much is actually involved for each sale) or responding to emails. The best sales people will find a way to get all of this done and still manage to get up and talk to as many people as possible.

The customers on a forecourt can be a tricky one because a lot of people will say they will come in to the showroom to talk to someone when they are ready and you can be seen as too pushy when you go outside to talk to them. Personally what I will do is give people about 5 minutes outside and then go out and greet them and at least offer to show them around

eviltimeban wrote: »

Is high mileage on a car really that big a deal?

Yes in this country some buyers are very caught up on it. People would prefer a bog standard car with low mileage than a large spec car with high mileage

Alicano wrote: »

I'm in an 05 Golf. I's never let me down but needs some TLC now due to the age. Didn't get one call when I tried selling it last year. Doubt a dealership would want it? What would you do in this situation? I live in the city now and just want a 1/1.2l little bipper that is great for parallel parking! Something that's cheap to tax and is bluetooth enabled would be my only requests. But should I just run my Golf in to the ground? Or try a trade in? Many thanks for the AMA. You sound decent

The biggest problem with your car and cars over 10 years of age is the insurance on them, some insurance companies will either load it very highly or wont insure it at all. As a result used cars of this age are worth very little now. You wont really get any value trading it in I am afraid, you will get a little more selling it yourself. No harm shopping around to see what you get but I wouldn't expect much I am afraid

JayZeus wrote: »

What will you do when there's no longer a need for you to be involved in selling new cars? For instance, you already mentioned there's a limit to how many of a customers needs and wants you can understand.

When technology can help address those customers concerns more effectively than you can, as is already quite often the case, how exactly will a car salesperson bring any value to the deal? Looking at Tesla's model, would you recognise the threat to your future as a salesperson?

I would say eventually there will be no need for sales people but then again there will be no need for us to buy cars, we will just be transported around in driver less cars.

There are still a large number of people who don't like going through everything online so our job has evolved from sales person to sales advisor.

I can see dealerships changing from places you buy cars to places you come and get the info, see the product and place your order. So you wont be sold to, the price is the price and if you like it then you order it.

I am interested to see if people would be comfortable with ordering a car online and not seeing it until the day it arrives?

ForestFire wrote: »

At what point to you believe that you are entitled not to accept a car order with extras as below:-

1) (Real) Ordered standard spec car with upgraded Audio (€500 add on), Car arrived as standard spec only.

When I arrived the car already had reg plate, but in hindsight, I have since discovered they can registered the car again, and since it was standard it could have gone back into stock, should I have refused?
Basically I waited 8 weeks for a car they they had already parked in the lot ready to go!!
I was never really happy that I accepted this car in the end.


2) (Real)New car order with plenty of extras - Over 2K - Was missing the rear leather protection on the seats (€50 add on). I had no problem taking car by the way, but it got me thinking of below

3) (Hypothetical) Say similar to 2 above with 2K extras, but they forgot to include 1 of your extras, for example upgraded sound, or Xenon lights. Are you entitled to refuse car, as not all extras available as ordered.

Some items might be a deal break for you, but might seem unimportant to others. (E.g. Rear Air Bags - Safety, Variable floor - Don't think I would survive without one now I have it)

I think any of those situations to be honest as you have the right to pull out of a sale any time until you take the car, a dealer has the same right too.

At the end of the day you are paying a significant amount of money so there is no reason you should settle for accepting something you are not happy with

draiochtanois

This post has been deleted.

Fann Linn

Why do some dealerships display their cars with prices affixed to windscreens whilst others leave their cars with nada?