arsie

This I found a good read. Lots is obvious but some less so.
whatcar.com/news/confessions-of-a-car-salesman

martin j

All good sense to me, but I did a few years in sales, best lesson I learned right at the start was “ Anyone can sell A car, a good salesman will sell trust and get repeat business”, I didn’t want to go to the pub and meet a customer who wanted to knock my teeth out, I wanted them to buy me a drink and tell everyone how great a deal they got.

Nottm_S2

I don't very often buy from dealers unless I have to
covid was good in that respect, my e was 100% remote so I could just put them on speaker and nod off

They try to sell you snake oil fabric protection, carpet protection, gap insurance even though I wasnt using finance, ceramic polishes.. all sorts of shyte. Tyre insurance, air insurance, cold and flu oil, blinker fluid top ups

That BM I had came from a dealer. We agreed a price and it was lower on the inv and he'd added the protection pack crap just to increase his markup


My local honda dealer has a very condescending lass on the front desk and very average service.

Soon as the freebies run out I am done

Serviced my mums up last weekend. The air filter housing was not properly fitted and the pollen filter was from before time began..

That and £100/hr to subsidise their inefficiency nah thanks






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Nil-S2k

I hate slideshows so I refuse to click through all 28 slides but I've been on the service side of dealerships for just shy of half my life. I've seen an inordinate amount of sales people come and go. The one absolute constant is the ones that can make a good living selling cars are almost universally also the ones that take genuine care of their customers. The upside to being a good car sales person is that the expectation from buyers is so low that you truly don't have to be a magician to make people happy. Don't lie to them, don't screw them over and take care of their needs/wants. It does take time to build a clientele so for someone hoping to come in and make 6 figures their first year will probably have to do so dishonestly and it won't last because you won't get referrals or repeat business.

When it comes to F&I product sales, be upfront and firm that you absolutely do not want them. You may have to repeat yourself but if you are clear and save them the time of pitching it, you don't have to worry about it later. Always look over your paperwork before signing (as you should with anything else in your life).

martin j

Gap insurance covers more than just finance deals, just don't buy it from a dealer, totally agree re Guard X etc, I know what it costs to the dealer from my time as parts manager.

You wouldn't need blinker replacement fluid for a BMW, oe stuff would last for years.

Nottm_S2

In fairness Knights in staffs were ok to deal with
shytner in Notts, biggest bunch of wankers this side of Moscow
Total farts.. like north of £100 for cabin filters farts.

Put me off the brand for life. Honda are bad but with a honda you don't need them

On parts they are ok. On sales they tried to nip me on PX and it killed the deal in the end but that worked out well for me as I got a 6 mo car for £6k off which needs very little servicing. Win win

tjockhult

The S2000 I bought new 20 years ago on export from Belgium UK model. Saved £ 8k compared to list at the time. I am keeping it for as long as I possibly can.
The other car, at present a Seat Leon I buy at about a year old normally as a former company car. The current one I saved £ 10k compared to list in 2015 and with only 4500 miles on the clock. (That would probably be difficult right now, but the chip shortage will probably be solved soon.) I keep them for 10 years or so until they start to develop annoying faults. Then I flog them privately for maybe £ 2k. This minimises dealer interaction. They are generally on par with estate agents as in shysters, cheats and other low forms of humanity.

s2k4tony

20 years ago, I did some new car sales for 18 months.
The dealership was a tatty old Vauxhall outfit under a franchise name, that eventually Evans Halshaw bought out. (they bought alot of the smaller dealers "out" about 15 years ago.)
It was far from nice to work at: the salesmen, very cliquey, would nick your customers on your day off, even the admin girls were at times total bitches. Sales manager, a total dick that disagreed with everything you did and thought he was gods gift. In truth, he was vile, petty and a backstabbing little creep. Yet,you know what.. I outsold my comrades most months, although, I was quite lonely and felt like I was more of less up against them, not my customers.
Part of the magic is not talking about the car, its about them. Not in a slimey way, just being friendly and NOT pushy. A good, fair part ex price, room to negotiate.. I earnt decent wedge. My sales manager was the one that tried to disagree at every attempt at the money I made out of deals, of course he wanted more and more, because he was extremely greedy.
I remember one customer - turned up in a 2 year old Mondeo. He owed already 10 grand on it, but wanted to part ex it for the demo Frontera. Dealt him.. Our finance guy then royally pulled his trousers down on rotter finance, earnt me 5 times what I'd normally get to sell a unit... He'd be paying back 30k for a high depreciating terrible 4x4, including the money he owed on the Mundano. You often stumbled across people like this, in a total financial mess with cars. Easy fodder, but it was wrong. Very wrong.
I'm glad I left when I could.. For a while, I often thought about going back to a different dealership/ or doing it myself, but, maybe in another life.

arsie

wow sounds a total trousers to the floor scenario but glad you came through it. My OH's son did six months in a threadbare Hyundai dealership. Eventually he saw what he wanted to do and got a degree in Building Surveying at Sheffield Hallam because he was dead keen on buildings. To this day he walks round city streets cocking an eye skyward at buildings. It's all part of the university of Life really!

martin j

Worked with some really unpleasant sales staff, and some I call friends and recommend people to, it was a nice feeling to get repeat business or have someone toot n wave as the they passed me in the street or on the forecourt.
This of course has prepared me to deal with purchases in the time after the motor trade, but not all are lucky this way.