Do car sales people know anything about the cars they sell?

maxwell smart

Hi There

Just have to post this.

Last week I went and ordered a new BMW from a main dealer.

One of the main selling points to me is that in a few months Android Auto will be integrated in the new iDrive system.

Also by the time the car arrives it will have the newer (very slightly) hybrid diesel motor to assuage my environmental concerns

Anyway, while going through the order with the salesman (all info readily available on the internet) I mentioned the Android Auto and mild hybrid. I might as well have told him the cars no longer come with doors. He was genuinely completely clueless on this.

As not just the car I'm getting but several models will get the hybrid engine and all newer models will get the Android Auto option I would have thought that the sales people would have been knowledgeable on these things.

Am I being overly critical here?

I remember I ordered a Tiguan for Mrs.Smart and the sales person was equally clueless on the car.

Is this the standard?

Only I wanted the car I would have gone somewhere else but that dealer will be handy for servicing etc.

ShadowHearth

maxwell smart wrote: »

Hi There

Just have to post this.

Last week I went and ordered a new BMW from a main dealer.

One of the main selling points to me is that in a few months Android Auto will be integrated in the new iDrive system.

Also by the time the car arrives it will have the newer (very slightly) hybrid diesel motor to assuage my environmental concerns

Anyway, while going through the order with the salesman (all info readily available on the internet) I mentioned the Android Auto and mild hybrid. I might as well have told him the cars no longer come with doors. He was genuinely completely clueless on this.

As not just the car I'm getting but several models will get the hybrid engine and all newer models will get the Android Auto option I would have thought that the sales people would have been knowledgeable on these things.

Am I being overly critical here?

I remember I ordered a Tiguan for Mrs.Smart and the sales person was equally clueless on the car.

Is this the standard?

Only I wanted the car I would have gone somewhere else but that dealer will be handy for servicing etc.

Or maybe he is just trying to sell you old unregistered stock, that is still non updated version. So just playing dumb.
Or he is just one of those sales people, who just wear suit, but don't do their homework.
Who stops you buying it from one dealer and servicing in other one. Even if you have service plan, the main dealer will have to honour it. So no issues there. Just shop around and get your BMW from the dealer that gives you the spec you want and best price. Keep servicing in local one. You can always tell them to be more professional next time and research the product they sell.

colm_mcm

The measure of a salesperson is how much he sells, rather than how much he knows.

bazz26

Should just be called order takers.

Reminds me of estate agents during the Celtic Tiger days, they didn't need to know anything about the property they were selling, all they needed to know is how much interest there was in buying it and how much they thought they could get for it.

PsychoPete

Used to work with a fella that wouldn't learn anything technical about the cars he was selling especially the evs. Even things like bluetooth or sat nav he wouldn't want anything to do with it

Old diesel

BMWs are premium expensive cars.

So it should be reasonable to expect sales staff that actually know the product well.

And be on top of all the changes coming out - youd think they'd have meetings for that - or if you like product training.

The blessed YouTube even has training videos for Ford, Rover and Vauxhall new models from 80s and 90s.

The video for the 1.6 diesel Ford's around 1984 even went through the rival diesel offerings too.

How hard is it to even have a folder with some of the big info in front of you to glance through as needed.

"Mild Hybrid diesel you say - right - give me a second (look in folder) - yes got it - those are shortly coming down the line at the factory.

Will need to double check with BMW the time slots for them. Price is X etc".

Yeah granted looking at a folder isnt the best but it's a damn sight better then just sitting there clueless while the customer educates you about the car you are supposed to be selling.

maddness

I worked in the motor trade selling cars for about three years but it’s almost 20 years ago now.
I am a massive car nerd and know a hell of a lot about cars ( not a boast at all!) and I did ok and sold a few cars in a couple of dealerships I worked in. In the first place I worked one of the lads hadn’t a clue about car specs, engines or pretty much anything but he sold more cars than the rest of us put together. He was absolutely ruthless but brilliant at selling, the boss couldn’t of cared less that he had very little car knowledge.
In saying all of this if the salesman knew very little about a car I was buying I’d leave and take my business elsewhere.

kirving

maxwell smart wrote: »

Am I being overly critical here?

Nope. Totally unacceptable that they don't know what's coming. I'd be very surprised if BMW didn't issue this info and expect sales staff to know it.

As an aside, if you want a feeling of what a mild hybrid diesel might be like to drive, check out a Merc E300. Similar concept I imagine to the BMW.

carsfan2

They are primarily sales people not car enthusiasts. The fact they are selling cars is often irrelevant to them, it might as well be washing machines, widgets, whatever.
You would think they would have a basic knowledge of the product but often they can’t be bothered as they are just there to sell what they have to who ever is in front of them.

The BMW range is so wide and varied now that they employ “geniuses” whose job is to know all the models and features and demonstrate them while the sales people just do the selling.
We were looking at cars over the last few weeks and found the same lack of product knowledge in some garages. When I asked one sales guy about the spec on a car he told me that he was selling phones up until recently so didn’t really know anything about the cars yet.

Are you buying a 520d with the new mild hybrid?
If so are you aware of the imminent facelift coming?

Philb76

They didn't need to after 2008 just mention the low road tax and it sold it self

Henry Ford III

maxwell smart wrote: »

....last week I went and ordered a new BMW from a main dealer.

One of the main selling points to me is that in a few months Android Auto will be integrated in the new iDrive system.....

Wow!

p.s. It's been standard for years on many makes.

U_Fig

It's not just in car sales it's in every area of sales you see this. I personally think if you are selling a product you should know that product inside out. I would be very reluctant to buy from anyone who could not answer a question I raised? Or at least an answer similar to "I don't know but will find out". Very unprofessional, but on the other side of the coin, most consumers don't do adequate research to post the questions in the first place. I reckon sales people hate me because I research anything I am buying to death.

bazz26

Henry Ford III wrote: »

Wow!

p.s. It's been standard for years on many makes.

so have rear disc brakes except on the likes of Ford.

Anastasia_

Our local BMW dealer is the same. Don't have a notion what they're selling and tbh the service department is just as bad :rolleyes:

Irishcrx

No they don't have a clue , they are not petrolheads or anything like it they are just products to them...if they were genuinely interested in the cars they'd probably be too honest to actually sell anything !

However - as a petrol head the horror of attempting to sell a car on the basis that it will have some fancy do hickey android connection in it's next revision of multiple revisions to it's computer wouldn't be good...laptops on wheels that'd be a good brand these days LOW - 'Feel the Upgrade'

2PLUS2EQUALS10

No!

I visited my local dealership to discuss options on a new Mercedes cla, after discussing options and extras i was told the model I was interested in would come with ambient lighting as standard but wouldn’t come with wireless charging.

Well I picked the car up, after several miles driving I realised no ambient lighting but my phone was charging without any cables!

So after discussing it with the dealership they admitted he’d dropped a bollock telling me misinformation and offered to exchange the car.

maxwell smart

carsfan2 wrote: »

They are primarily sales people not car enthusiasts. The fact they are selling cars is often irrelevant to them, it might as well be washing machines, widgets, whatever.
You would think they would have a basic knowledge of the product but often they can’t be bothered as they are just there to sell what they have to who ever is in front of them.

The BMW range is so wide and varied now that they employ “geniuses” whose job is to know all the models and features and demonstrate them while the sales people just do the selling.
We were looking at cars over the last few weeks and found the same lack of product knowledge in some garages. When I asked one sales guy about the spec on a car he told me that he was selling phones up until recently so didn’t really know anything about the cars yet.

Are you buying a 520d with the new mild hybrid?
If so are you aware of the imminent facelift coming?

I'm getting an X3 Msport which is getting the mild hybrid from March. I'm looking at 16 weeks due to the few bits extra I stuck on it which means I might get the hybrid.

maxwell smart

Henry Ford III wrote: »

Wow!

p.s. It's been standard for years on many makes.

I know but not on BMW. They have been tied to Apple. You can screen mirror onto the new version but they are getting it integrated which is important to me as I spend some time in the car and want to have my podcasts etc integrated.

A small thing but on such small things have many deals failed.

Yes I know there are worse things in the world :cool:

wandererz

Here's something I heard at an event today:

IT security is a complicated environment.

What's the difference between a car sales person & an IT Security sales person?

A: The car sales person knows that he's bluffing.

dhaughton99

colm_mcm wrote: »

The measure of a salesperson is how much he sells, rather than how much he knows.

The measure of a salesperson is how brown his shoes are.