Salesman goes into the back for ages to talk to his manager
Discussion
Buster73 said:
Completely true story , the lad worked on the oil rigs ( land based not offshore ) he was one of three local lads who worked for the same company , was refused a test drive at Priory BMW in North Tyneside , went back and paid £9 k in cash.
The same three lads all bought the same trials bikes , Kawasaki Z650's and all ended up with TVR's
Otherwise I've got a very vivid imagination....
People easily forget that the digital world didn't exist in the 80s and that lots of people were paid cash, lots of people kept large lumps of cash and lots of people made big cash purchases and it was pretty normal. The same three lads all bought the same trials bikes , Kawasaki Z650's and all ended up with TVR's
Otherwise I've got a very vivid imagination....
If you wanted your car that day then a cheque wasn't exactly going to cut it or a bank transfer. And high earners from working class backgrounds often didn't use banks in that way as a cultural legacy.
Younger people often fail to imagine how the world worked before the digital age and have also watched too many gangster films.
In today's world you would consider such a person to be a crook or a mentalist.
20 mins is taking the piss.
5 mins with no sign and I'd be out the door telling someone to pass on a message to the salesman.
I don't understand people moaning about the salesman going to check with the manager, whether genuine or not.
It's part if what they do - either suck it up or walk away and take your business elsewhere.
On the otherhand I absolutely hate hearing of people going for a test drive knowing they will not buy from the dealer because it is a company car or they are going buy privately . . but they want to see if they like the car first.
5 mins with no sign and I'd be out the door telling someone to pass on a message to the salesman.
I don't understand people moaning about the salesman going to check with the manager, whether genuine or not.
It's part if what they do - either suck it up or walk away and take your business elsewhere.
On the otherhand I absolutely hate hearing of people going for a test drive knowing they will not buy from the dealer because it is a company car or they are going buy privately . . but they want to see if they like the car first.
Butter Face said:
daemon said:
Buster73 said:
Butter Face said:
Wow, what a great story.
I wonder if anyone knows any rich people who go in wearing a bin bag with a bag of cash and buys cars after being fobbed off?
I know one who did that in the 80's on a BMW 323i , it wasn't a bin bag though just a carrier bag.I wonder if anyone knows any rich people who go in wearing a bin bag with a bag of cash and buys cars after being fobbed off?
Everyone has a mate who has a mate that did it
"...and then he drove past waving his willy out the window of his new Merc / BMW / Jaaag at the car salesman who'd previously fobbed him off"
seriously, I interviewed someone who sold Astons new in the late 70s/early 80s. Customers often paid cash in suitcases. Some of them were very insistant on a quick sale and taking the car in the showroom. If you wanted the sale, it pays not to ask too many questions...
These days with anti money laundering regs you cannot pay cash
williamp said:
seriously, I interviewed someone who sold Astons new in the late 70s/early 80s. Customers often paid cash in suitcases. Some of them were very insistant on a quick sale and taking the car in the showroom. If you wanted the sale, it pays not to ask too many questions...
These days with anti money laundering regs you cannot pay cash
I sold a RR to a drug dealer in 2014. Paid $9900 in cash (disclosure limit here is $10k) plus an older RR as a trade in and a cashiers Gregory for the balance. Car was switched at the last minute to be in his old Mum's name as she had apparently arranged "finance" elsewhere.These days with anti money laundering regs you cannot pay cash
I obviously didn't realize he was a drug dealer until he was arrested and it was all over the local news. Seized items were $200k in cash, firearms, a very large quantity of Mary Jane and a Range Rover! Funny thing was that when we put his trade through the shop they noticed it had no spare wheel. Now I knew why! The chap from the DEA asked me if I'd questioned the guy on how he made a living. No mate, not my business!
Interesting thread, the belief that the salesman is out there to try and make you sweat is just not true, we understand customers are not stupid and will not be messed about like this or treated like fools. However, processes have to be followed. As has been said before, the vast majority of dealerships will have the following process which explains why 'speaking to the boss' is needed.
Salesman (or product expert) meets customer, qualifies their needs, test drives car, appraises part ex (salesmen rarely will value a part ex themselves, they will leave this to a group or dealer underwriter, often to be done whilst out on test drive). Those of us which have been with a dealer for a while, once back from the drive,should have the authority to then put the car into the finance system and present the deal - using the available deposit contribution on a new car for example.
It is at this point that if the customer asks for further discount or is not happy with the deal / part ex, a salesman who simply gets paid on units (often the case) does not have the authority to do a 'better deal'. It is true, if car dealerships worked like supermarkets (you pay the sticker price) there would be none of this. But because of the hugely complicated way the motor trade works in terms of back end bonuses for hitting certain targets, there has to be a manager who controls this, any business owner can understand that. The advent of sites such as Car Wow add to this, because the discounts offered are often enormous, where the cars actually lose money on the chassis itself, being asked to match a deal like this needs approval of someone with authority in the business.
A good salesman will explain this, will find out where the customer is happy to 'deal' at and go and speak to the relevant manager to see if the deal can be done. Sometimes if there is a queue of other salesmen in front of you, this can be hugely frustrating for you as all you want to do is get back to your customer, we have to keep the customer happy (again, we are paid on the response from surveys). In the vast majority of circumstances, 5-10 minutes later the salesman will re appear, will say either yes or no (if its no, how close can we get and that should be that - going back and forth 3 times is ridiculous and makes a mockery of the dealership and its process) - and that should be the end of it. Deal or no deal! It shouldn't be a contentious experience and should be perfectly understandable. If you are buying a used car off a tiny little site, of course this wont happen as the man you speak to controls everything; but if you are in a large premium dealership with 10 plus sales staff that sells over 2000 cars per year, surely this process makes sense? We operate this process, and as long as it is carried out efficiently with explanation it works very well.
Salesman (or product expert) meets customer, qualifies their needs, test drives car, appraises part ex (salesmen rarely will value a part ex themselves, they will leave this to a group or dealer underwriter, often to be done whilst out on test drive). Those of us which have been with a dealer for a while, once back from the drive,should have the authority to then put the car into the finance system and present the deal - using the available deposit contribution on a new car for example.
It is at this point that if the customer asks for further discount or is not happy with the deal / part ex, a salesman who simply gets paid on units (often the case) does not have the authority to do a 'better deal'. It is true, if car dealerships worked like supermarkets (you pay the sticker price) there would be none of this. But because of the hugely complicated way the motor trade works in terms of back end bonuses for hitting certain targets, there has to be a manager who controls this, any business owner can understand that. The advent of sites such as Car Wow add to this, because the discounts offered are often enormous, where the cars actually lose money on the chassis itself, being asked to match a deal like this needs approval of someone with authority in the business.
A good salesman will explain this, will find out where the customer is happy to 'deal' at and go and speak to the relevant manager to see if the deal can be done. Sometimes if there is a queue of other salesmen in front of you, this can be hugely frustrating for you as all you want to do is get back to your customer, we have to keep the customer happy (again, we are paid on the response from surveys). In the vast majority of circumstances, 5-10 minutes later the salesman will re appear, will say either yes or no (if its no, how close can we get and that should be that - going back and forth 3 times is ridiculous and makes a mockery of the dealership and its process) - and that should be the end of it. Deal or no deal! It shouldn't be a contentious experience and should be perfectly understandable. If you are buying a used car off a tiny little site, of course this wont happen as the man you speak to controls everything; but if you are in a large premium dealership with 10 plus sales staff that sells over 2000 cars per year, surely this process makes sense? We operate this process, and as long as it is carried out efficiently with explanation it works very well.
Butter Face said:
HarryW said:
No wonder the likes of Car Wow do well, cuts out the crap on prices.
The dealer still gets the sale. Where do you think CarWow get their prices from?!Seb27 said:
A good salesman will explain this, will find out where the customer is happy to 'deal' at and go and speak to the relevant manager to see if the deal can be done. Sometimes if there is a queue of other salesmen in front of you, this can be hugely frustrating for you as all you want to do is get back to your customer, we have to keep the customer happy (again, we are paid on the response from surveys). In the vast majority of circumstances, 5-10 minutes later the salesman will re appear, will say either yes or no (if its no, how close can we get and that should be that - going back and forth 3 times is ridiculous and makes a mockery of the dealership and its process) - and that should be the end of it. Deal or no deal! It shouldn't be a contentious experience and should be perfectly understandable. If you are buying a used car off a tiny little site, of course this wont happen as the man you speak to controls everything; but if you are in a large premium dealership with 10 plus sales staff that sells over 2000 cars per year, surely this process makes sense? We operate this process, and as long as it is carried out efficiently with explanation it works very well.
The process makes very good sense. But more than half the salesmen I've dealt with will still try the f
king around/pretending to be mates/walking off to the sales manager to pretend routine.With cars that I have no need to test drive, I order from DTD or some other broker. I don't even give the local dealer a chance because you walk in with a DTD printout from 15 minutes ago and they'll argue the price might have changed and still do the walking off to the manager spiel. If I walk in with a DTD printout and offer you the chance to accept - you are welcome to talk to your manager once - yes or no. Very easy. Not try the backwards/forwards routine.
Stick to specialist if buying used.
Treat the person with respect and they'll do the same.
Buyers can be absolute idiots too - try and sell a car privately!
By way of note, I had a PHENOMENAL experience with RPM technik for my recent purchase - all done over the phone and then picked up the car. Their reputation is well deserved.
Treat the person with respect and they'll do the same.
Buyers can be absolute idiots too - try and sell a car privately!
By way of note, I had a PHENOMENAL experience with RPM technik for my recent purchase - all done over the phone and then picked up the car. Their reputation is well deserved.
Crush said:
We had this issue with the Nissan dealer in Winchester. We'd sat there for 10 minutes while he "discussed it with the manager" and we chose to walk out.
We wanted to purchase a vehicle, not play salesman bullst bingo 
I don't get it. You went to buy a car, I assume you test drive it? He appraised your part exchange? Then you sat down to talk figures and he then said he needed to talk the figures over with his boss....We wanted to purchase a vehicle, not play salesman bulls
t bingo And you walked out? Why?
I don't understand the mentality, you say you went to buy a car, you probably got 90% of the way there then had enough? Because he was following (I suspect) company procedure by confirming a price/part exchange/finance quote with his boss.
It's never happened to me, but if it did I honestly wouldn't give a jot (apart from the waste of my time where I could have been actually selling a car) whereas the person walking will still go on about it for years afterwards
Butter Face said:
Crush said:
We had this issue with the Nissan dealer in Winchester. We'd sat there for 10 minutes while he "discussed it with the manager" and we chose to walk out.
We wanted to purchase a vehicle, not play salesman bullst bingo
I don't get it. You went to buy a car, I assume you test drive it? He appraised your part exchange? Then you sat down to talk figures and he then said he needed to talk the figures over with his boss....We wanted to purchase a vehicle, not play salesman bulls
t bingo And you walked out? Why?
I don't understand the mentality, you say you went to buy a car, you probably got 90% of the way there then had enough? Because he was following (I suspect) company procedure by confirming a price/part exchange/finance quote with his boss.
It's never happened to me, but if it did I honestly wouldn't give a jot (apart from the waste of my time where I could have been actually selling a car) whereas the person walking will still go on about it for years afterwards
HarryW said:
Butter Face said:
Crush said:
We had this issue with the Nissan dealer in Winchester. We'd sat there for 10 minutes while he "discussed it with the manager" and we chose to walk out.
We wanted to purchase a vehicle, not play salesman bullst bingo
I don't get it. You went to buy a car, I assume you test drive it? He appraised your part exchange? Then you sat down to talk figures and he then said he needed to talk the figures over with his boss....We wanted to purchase a vehicle, not play salesman bulls
t bingo And you walked out? Why?
I don't understand the mentality, you say you went to buy a car, you probably got 90% of the way there then had enough? Because he was following (I suspect) company procedure by confirming a price/part exchange/finance quote with his boss.
It's never happened to me, but if it did I honestly wouldn't give a jot (apart from the waste of my time where I could have been actually selling a car) whereas the person walking will still go on about it for years afterwards
The fact that someone is wasting their own time by going through a process then walking out before actually seeing what the deal being offered is marks then out as exactly that and if anything must mean they have time to burn.
It's just a bit odd (never mind very rude) to just walk out halfway though negotiations, especially when you and the person you're talking to have invested time in it....
Butter Face said:
It's just a bit odd (never mind very rude) to just walk out halfway though negotiations, especially when you and the person you're talking to have invested time in it....
Not if you believe the salesman is treating you like a fool. Wouldn't you be annoyed if you thought the other party was playing silly games? I've not had great luck with car salesmen. Giving wrong info on the vehicle, trying to renage on details agreed pre purchase when it came to signing the contract (Maserati), being fantastic and efficient right up to the point of sale then signing the car off as acceptable when it was anything because the salesman wouldn't be there for hand over (Porsche), forgetting to mention that their dealership had moved premises the day before (old address and same phone number still on website) then not having the specialist salesman on hand as prearranged and announcing that they 'didn't know where the demo car is' when we wanted to take it for the prearranged test drive (BMW) etc. The best service I've had was through an independent when we bought a Bentley but even that turned out to be too good to be true and went back in the end as it turned out it had been in an accident and had substantial paint!
It wouldn't take a lot for me to think I was dealing with yet another time wasting muppet of a salesman and deal with him as such.
To be frank I couldn't give two monkeys how the salesman acted, when I'm buying something I'm in it for me. I want it at my price and on my terms, I'll listen to any waffle that someone wants to give me and see how close they can get to what I want.
If the deal isn't happening, say thanks and go. Walking out at any point before actually getting to the hard figures at the end just seems incredibly odd....
If the deal isn't happening, say thanks and go. Walking out at any point before actually getting to the hard figures at the end just seems incredibly odd....
ashleyman said:
What about salesmen that judge you based on what you're wearing and don't let you test drive something or don't call you back to discuss anything so you don't get to negotiations.
A local Audi dealer told me to my face very bluntly that I couldn't afford an Audi A4 as they are 'very expensive cars'.
Michael Caine tells a similar story of when scruffily dressed but having just been paid thousands for a film he walked into a London Rolls Royce dealership & was told by a snotty salesman that he couldn't afford such cars.A local Audi dealer told me to my face very bluntly that I couldn't afford an Audi A4 as they are 'very expensive cars'.
Mr Cain walked about 100 yards down the road to a competing RR dealer where he is welcomed & about an hour later drives off the forecourt in a new convertible. Instead of driving home ( you may be ahead of me here) he drives round to the first RR dealer & parks up on the forecourt. Ensuring he gets the attention of the snotty salesman he give him the finger.
The nearest I got to that scenario was when I intercepted a Ford salesman who was trying to contact my wife to establish when she was going to change her Fiesta which she had bought from him 2 years prior. When he realised I had no idea he launched into a non-stop scripted sales patter & became obviously irritated when I continued to be vague about my wife's intentions.
After a while I had to tell him to shut up which I followed by saying that I had just been appointed UK fleet manager for a food company & had been asked to purchase 20 cars for the sales force from whatever local dealer could give me the best deal. A Sierra/Granada mix had been my choice & I took great delight in telling the salesman that his telephone manner had just lost him not only the sale of a Fiesta but 20 cars too. On reflection I doubt if he would have handled the sale anyway, so maybe I should have let his manager/dealer principle in on his manner. I suspect Ford encouraged such aggressiveness in any case, or should I say desperation.
I bought Vauxhall instead by the way, ensuring they were German built NOT Luton.
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