When you tell a dealer the 'c' word...

[Edinburger]

I'm thinking about joining the company car scheme after many years of opting out, and I've recently visited several dealers looking at various new models.

Plenty helpful staff around. Until I say the 'c' word - as soon as I say it might be a company car they have no interest at all.

I get that they won't be directly paid on the sale but they still represent the brand. BMW put me in touch with a sales guy who is the named contact for this particular lease company and he grudgingly spoke to me and promised to email info and organise a test drive but - predictably- I haven't heard a dickie bird. Similar story from Mercedes and Audi. Never heard anything from VW.

Only Tesla staff were interested and helpful and offered test drives.

You really are on your own when considering a company car!

[Wilmslowboy]

Tesla owns all its retailers, where as the others are franchises (in the most part).

The franchise dealerships gain nothing from supporting you - other than a bit of good karma.

Bit like asking your local John Lewis to demo a product for you, when they know you plan to buy from Amazon.


I suggest you don't mention the c word

[750turbo]

Edinburger said:

I'm thinking about joining the company car scheme after many years of opting out, and I've recently visited several dealers looking at various new models.

Plenty helpful staff around. Until I say the 'c' word - as soon as I say it might be a company car they have no interest at all.

I get that they won't be directly paid on the sale but they still represent the brand. BMW put me in touch with a sales guy who is the named contact for this particular lease company and he grudgingly spoke to me and promised to email info and organise a test drive but - predictably- I haven't heard a dickie bird. Similar story from Mercedes and Audi. Never heard anything from VW.

Only Tesla staff were interested and helpful and offered test drives.

You really are on your own when considering a company car!

Surely your fleet manager should be able to arrange test drives through the lease company?

[Garybee]

I thought this was going to be the other 'c' word. If you want to buy a car without finance it has the same effect.

[krisdelta]

Unless the manufacturer incentiveses people to represent the brand (perhaps they do reward for company cars?) then I can understand sales staff not being very interested.

[Jimmy Recard]

Why would their franchise not get paid?

We usually arrange company cars through the local car dealer. A mix of Audis, Land Rovers and Mercedes right now. All from the local dealers.

[poing]

750turbo said:

Surely your fleet manager should be able to arrange test drives through the lease company?

Not all of us have a fleet manager, we are just given a budget and sent out to buy a car.

[sparks_E39]

A relative had a Mercedes dealer refuse to let him pay outright for an E350d. Unbelievable. That's the sort of "C" I thought you meant.

[TwigtheWonderkid]

poing said:

750turbo said:

Surely your fleet manager should be able to arrange test drives through the lease company?

Not all of us have a fleet manager, we are just given a budget and sent out to buy a car.

In which case although it's a company car, it's not really from the dealers point of view. By saying it's a co car, the dealer things it's going to be sourced via your fleet manager/lease co direct thru the manufactures fleet sales arm. So in effect they are doing the John Lewis / Amazon job as described above.

[krisdelta]

sparks_E39 said:

A relative had a Mercedes dealer refuse to let him pay outright for an E350d. Unbelievable. That's the sort of "C" I thought you meant.

I did wonder if I would get push-back when I didn't want their finance, but not a mutter. I think the vast majority of cars are financed now, so on the basis that "money is money", they'd be delighted to see to your relative even if he's one of the few paying outright.

[Warby80]

Why tell them it's going to be a company car if you know it gets this reaction? In fact, why tell them at all?

[Rich_W]

Jimmy Recard said:

Why would their franchise not get paid?

We usually arrange company cars through the local car dealer. A mix of Audis, Land Rovers and Mercedes right now. All from the local dealers.

I daresay the OP is going through "LEX" or whoever. Whereas you go through whoever your local dealers fleet sales person* is. Who WILL make money on the deal, so worth them making an effort. The Amazon John Lewis thing is spot on. Imagine it like buying a Sony TV. Who you buy from is who will make the effort. Not who makes it.

(*As a rule fleet sales men are pretty odd! )

[Edinburger]

Wilmslowboy said:

Tesla owns all its retailers, where as the others are franchises (in the most part).

The franchise dealerships gain nothing from supporting you - other than a bit of good karma.

Bit like asking your local John Lewis to demo a product for you, when they know you plan to buy from Amazon.


I suggest you don't mention the c word

I'm very aware of the different between Tesla's business models and other manufacturers/ dealers.

[ging84]

I'm not sure it being a company car is the issue, stop calling the sales people s, they might know that they are deep down, but you don't have to remind them of it constantly.

[Jimmy Recard]

Rich_W said:

I daresay the OP is going through "LEX" or whoever. Whereas you go through whoever your local dealers fleet sales person* is. Who WILL make money on the deal, so worth them making an effort. The Amazon John Lewis thing is spot on. Imagine it like buying a Sony TV. Who you buy from is who will make the effort. Not who makes it.

(*As a rule fleet sales men are pretty odd! )

That makes sense, I've mentioned before that it'd be a company car and where I work and heard no change in attitude from the staff.


Thinking back, our company has been buying from the same dealers for years so if anything, it probably just strengthened my status as a customer rather than a time waster

It didn't occur to me that OP wouldn't be sourcing the car through that dealer. I can totally see why they lose interest

[Wilmslowboy]

Edinburger said:

I'm very aware of the different between Tesla's business models and other manufacturers/ dealers.

Did me spelling it out offend you ?

[Edinburger]

Rich_W said:

Jimmy Recard said:

Why would their franchise not get paid?

We usually arrange company cars through the local car dealer. A mix of Audis, Land Rovers and Mercedes right now. All from the local dealers.

I daresay the OP is going through "LEX" or whoever. Whereas you go through whoever your local dealers fleet sales person* is. Who WILL make money on the deal, so worth them making an effort. The Amazon John Lewis thing is spot on. Imagine it like buying a Sony TV. Who you buy from is who will make the effort. Not who makes it.

(*As a rule fleet sales men are pretty odd! )

I did contact the BMW named person for company car sales and she's never even had the courtesy to return my calls or reply to my emails, and absolutely no one else at the BMW dealer has any interest in answering my questions (mainly around the forthcoming 530e).

The funny thing is, I've bought two cars from this dealer over the years and their service has been decent.

Very different when it's a company car though!

[Butter Face]

Edinburger said:

Wilmslowboy said:

Tesla owns all its retailers, where as the others are franchises (in the most part).

The franchise dealerships gain nothing from supporting you - other than a bit of good karma.

Bit like asking your local John Lewis to demo a product for you, when they know you plan to buy from Amazon.


I suggest you don't mention the c word

I'm very aware of the different between Tesla's business models and other manufacturers/ dealers.

Yet you seem confused about why someone working for other manufacturers don't want to give you time/their resources for free. Dealers/salesman (in the main) don't really care about being 'brand ambassadors' or whatever and shockingly the role of a dealer is to make money. Shocker.

If you've been given money to buy a car and you're sourcing it yourself then you're not buying a company car, unless what you're doing is finding the car you want and your company will source online/broker/whatever in which case ask yourself 'would I, roles reversed, give up my time and effort for zero reward for myself or the company I work for?'

If the answer is yes, you're in the minority IMO.

FWIW, I test drove someone today who works for the NHS and gets her car through their scheme, nothing in it for me at all, but she called up, explained the situation and promised me no hassle and just wanted a quick test drive so I oblidged. But I'm a nice guy like that

[Sheepshanks]

It's a few years since I did this, and I was opting out so buying my own car, but for 30K/yr business use so I wanted an extended test drive.

I think I made the connections myself (certainly the Merc wasn't on our company car list so it wasn't through the lease company or our fleet manager) but I had no problem getting cars for a few days from Mercedes, Honda and Ford. Mercedes Corporate drove a brand new car a couple of hundred miles to my house and left it for 3 days.

[Edinburger]

Wilmslowboy said:

Edinburger said:

I'm very aware of the different between Tesla's business models and other manufacturers/ dealers.

Did me spelling it out offend you ?

No, course not.