The story of the 'hobo' going into the dealership to buy....
Discussion
Out of interest how much does the average car salesman earn?
I was in BMW the other day fresh (not so fresh) out of work. There were some raised eyebrows as to why I was looking round new(ish) 335d looking fair in the face. Nobody said anything though.
Puzzles them even more when you say you don't want finance.
(I am not rich at all, I work a lot and have low living costs)
I was in BMW the other day fresh (not so fresh) out of work. There were some raised eyebrows as to why I was looking round new(ish) 335d looking fair in the face. Nobody said anything though.
Puzzles them even more when you say you don't want finance.
(I am not rich at all, I work a lot and have low living costs)
On the other hand I was out running and stopped to window shop in vw looking at a new gti a few years ago and got chatting to the sales guy. We went out for short drive in it, I had no intention of buying it, and had a mk4 gti at the time, he was just a really decent guy!
If anyone's interested it was the vw near clapham junction.
If anyone's interested it was the vw near clapham junction.
Jimmy No Hands said:
I work for a Ferrari dealership. I've stopped stereotyping what you'd assume would be the usual clientèle. People with unfathomable amounts of disposable income, dressed like I would if I was going for a jog.
IMO much better that than someone who dresses and pretends to be someone they're not. hoegaardenruls said:
Not long after that a local VW dealer wouldn't arrange a test drive on a without a deposit on the car in question, so we walked away. He was apparently a bit gutted when he was told I'd bought a RS4 when he called a couple of weeks later.
Doubt he was that gutted, if you were in the market for an RS4 it's somewhat unlikely a VW could have tempted you out of that thought process. 'Hmmmm, 420bhp V8 saloon or a Golf?' said nobody ever.I used to work in a main dealers when I was at uni, we sold commercial vehicles (transits, flatbeds, luton vans etc...) among the normal ford/mazda stuff.
It was common for gypsies to come in, spot a new van on the forecourt and march into the showroom announcing they want to drive it away that day, sometimes it was possible however more often than not, they insisted on paying £25k+ cash from a scruffy sports holdall, usually being chucked around the showroom, bounced off bonnets etc... by the inbred, lazy-eyed gypo children whilst the dad/brother/uncle does the 'deal'.
They'd get pretty angry when the sales manager explained he wasn't/couldn't take that much cash.
It was common for gypsies to come in, spot a new van on the forecourt and march into the showroom announcing they want to drive it away that day, sometimes it was possible however more often than not, they insisted on paying £25k+ cash from a scruffy sports holdall, usually being chucked around the showroom, bounced off bonnets etc... by the inbred, lazy-eyed gypo children whilst the dad/brother/uncle does the 'deal'.
They'd get pretty angry when the sales manager explained he wasn't/couldn't take that much cash.
How about similarly, buying parts for some knackered old heap of s
t at a main dealer?
Local Audi dealer was fantastic when I needed stuff for my 16 year old worthless POS A6, sat me down with a coffee, discussed my requirements in depth with reference to the schematics to make sure they would order the right thing - even advised against ordering some ridiculously expensive fixings and suggesting alternative vendors to get them from.
Mazda? Not interested in the slightest if you weren't there to spend 600 quid getting your finance box serviced
t at a main dealer?Local Audi dealer was fantastic when I needed stuff for my 16 year old worthless POS A6, sat me down with a coffee, discussed my requirements in depth with reference to the schematics to make sure they would order the right thing - even advised against ordering some ridiculously expensive fixings and suggesting alternative vendors to get them from.
Mazda? Not interested in the slightest if you weren't there to spend 600 quid getting your finance box serviced
Toaster Pilot said:
How about similarly, buying parts for some knackered old heap of st at a main dealer?
Local Audi dealer was fantastic when I needed stuff for my 16 year old worthless POS A6, sat me down with a coffee, discussed my requirements in depth with reference to the schematics to make sure they would order the right thing - even advised against ordering some ridiculously expensive fixings and suggesting alternative vendors to get them from.
Mazda? Not interested in the slightest if you weren't there to spend 600 quid getting your finance box serviced
I've found that about Audi dealers as well - very helpful about ordering in parts for my Skoda as they could get them faster than the Skoda dealer. On the other hand, the VW dealer couldn't give a damn. t at a main dealer?Local Audi dealer was fantastic when I needed stuff for my 16 year old worthless POS A6, sat me down with a coffee, discussed my requirements in depth with reference to the schematics to make sure they would order the right thing - even advised against ordering some ridiculously expensive fixings and suggesting alternative vendors to get them from.
Mazda? Not interested in the slightest if you weren't there to spend 600 quid getting your finance box serviced
Mound Dawg said:
Been told this one umpteen times by people in the trade who swears it happened to their mate/cousin/brother in law. A bit like the one about the woman whose car didn't run properly and (to cut a long story short) the garage eventually found out that she was pulling the choke out and hanging her handbag on it.
That choke/handbag one has been going for years. Edited by Mound Dawg on Monday 13th October 11:36
Edited by Mound Dawg on Monday 13th October 11:36
Hol said:
That choke/handbag one has been going for years.
My Father-in-Law still insists it's true every time he shares it. I try and politely tell him it's bks but to no avail.The other one he also shares is about the woman who had an automatic but borrowed a manual car to drive from London to Glasgow - she complained about the car to the hire company and it turned out she'd been only in first gear for the whole journey.
matchmaker said:
I've found that about Audi dealers as well - very helpful about ordering in parts for my Skoda as they could get them faster than the Skoda dealer. On the other hand, the VW dealer couldn't give a damn.
When I worked in the Wharf and had my mk2 Golf 20vT, I found the Audi dealer to be pretty good at supplying parts. Then one day I went to see them and was told they no longer supplied VW parts. I usually got away with coming up with some sort of Audi that used the same parts, especially if it was for the 20vT side of the car. I was treated pretty badly when I went to buy a Civic Type R, new, back in 2004 at the dealership in Preston (it's no longer there).
I was 24 (although very young looking) back then and had saved up to pay for it outright and it was to be my first new car.
When I walked into the showroom and advised the first salesman I saw that I wanted to buy a Type R, in Cosmic Grey, and what were his delivery times like, he simply told me that I would not be able to afford the insurance and walked off.
A bit miffed, I walked over to his bored looking colleague (an old-ish chap) and said the same to him. Cue lots of banter, a good chat about cars, a decent length test drive and me signing on the dotted line. The other blokes face was a picture when the sale went through.
I was 24 (although very young looking) back then and had saved up to pay for it outright and it was to be my first new car.
When I walked into the showroom and advised the first salesman I saw that I wanted to buy a Type R, in Cosmic Grey, and what were his delivery times like, he simply told me that I would not be able to afford the insurance and walked off.
A bit miffed, I walked over to his bored looking colleague (an old-ish chap) and said the same to him. Cue lots of banter, a good chat about cars, a decent length test drive and me signing on the dotted line. The other blokes face was a picture when the sale went through.
Fun Bus said:
Hol said:
That choke/handbag one has been going for years.
My Father-in-Law still insists it's true every time he shares it. I try and politely tell him it's bks but to no avail.The other one he also shares is about the woman who had an automatic but borrowed a manual car to drive from London to Glasgow - she complained about the car to the hire company and it turned out she'd been only in first gear for the whole journey.
My old man told me that one too.
Also, the woman who thought she had blown her gearbox up, when where ran across the rumble strips, and the replacement 710 cap.
I was present at an AM dealership (I was freeloading - not in a position to buy !), and a prospective customer appeared on a bicycle, dressed for Le Tour. After leaning his bike against the glass sliding doors, and then being asked to move it, to prevent them from opening and closing constantly, he then approached the receptionist, and asked how much do these cost, pointing at the array of cars in the showroom. She was not able to provide an exact answer, and asked if he would like to speak to a salesperson, he then shook his head, did a walk around the showroom and then left saying that he did not have time today. Very odd, but then it was a Friday afternoon. Made me smile watching him looking over the cars, whilst tottering around in his clip on bike shoes.
what about the story of the car salesman having to deal with 73 scrubbers kicking tyres and wasting everyones' time with no money or intention to buy and have just come in because they have nothing to do, in the hope that one (just one) might actually be genuine, when he could have been dealing with the actually genuine customers who've just walked in, but he can't because he's tied up with endless scrubbers? Even if one of those was genuine (and it really won't be frequently so) then it probably still is a good strategy to ignore all of them because there are genuine customers that look genuine stood 20 feet away, wanting attention and to buy a car!
All this "i came in covered in and smelling of st because i was helping a mate unblock the drains on his 24 bedroom palace, and obviously i won't have had time to go home and change before going to make a massive purchase that even rich people don't do every week but i got pinned as a timewaster, gypsy, thief or weirdo - more fool them!" is just self-centred toss, and largely made-up anyway.
just have a fking shower and get dressed like an actual person. You're going to sit in a very expensive car (if you are a genuine buyer) and what salesperson would let anyone stinking, covered in oil, plasterers overalls sit in their extensively valeted, immaculate cars that cost more than his own house? Clearly you are either courting the situation where you can do a 'big reveal' like the you are, or you're making it up in which case get a life.
All this "i came in covered in and smelling of s
t because i was helping a mate unblock the drains on his 24 bedroom palace, and obviously i won't have had time to go home and change before going to make a massive purchase that even rich people don't do every week but i got pinned as a timewaster, gypsy, thief or weirdo - more fool them!" is just self-centred toss, and largely made-up anyway.just have a f
king shower and get dressed like an actual person. You're going to sit in a very expensive car (if you are a genuine buyer) and what salesperson would let anyone stinking, covered in oil, plasterers overalls sit in their extensively valeted, immaculate cars that cost more than his own house? Clearly you are either courting the situation where you can do a 'big reveal' like the you are, or you're making it up in which case get a life.Fun Bus said:
My Father-in-Law still insists it's true every time he shares it. I try and politely tell him it's bks but to no avail.
The other one he also shares is about the woman who had an automatic but borrowed a manual car to drive from London to Glasgow - she complained about the car to the hire company and it turned out she'd been only in first gear for the whole journey.
It was two American tourists in a new Cortina last time I heard that one. It was old even in those days. ks but to no avail.The other one he also shares is about the woman who had an automatic but borrowed a manual car to drive from London to Glasgow - she complained about the car to the hire company and it turned out she'd been only in first gear for the whole journey.
Mound Dawg said:
It was two American tourists in a new Cortina last time I heard that one. It was old even in those days.
I've done the reverse - accidentally put a Nissan Maxima 3.5 automatic into manual mode - revved like buggery but would still do 40 (the speed limit around LAX) in first.Of course having no idea that there even was a manual mode it took me a while to work out that it wasn't a broken autobox.
Fox- said:
hoegaardenruls said:
Not long after that a local VW dealer wouldn't arrange a test drive on a without a deposit on the car in question, so we walked away. He was apparently a bit gutted when he was told I'd bought a RS4 when he called a couple of weeks later.
Doubt he was that gutted, if you were in the market for an RS4 it's somewhat unlikely a VW could have tempted you out of that thought process. 'Hmmmm, 420bhp V8 saloon or a Golf?' said nobody ever.Options were being kept open between fast estate, or 4x4, up to £40k as the S3 we would have been trading in was too small at the time - so most definitely not a Golf..
Those options included either of two year old V10 Touaregs that were listed as in stock, as well as a Cayenne, M5, RS6, etc., but ended up finding a good B5 RS4..didn't trade in the S3, and sold our other car..
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