Bit of a rant - Maserati don't want to sell cars

[col 4 door]

Ozzie Osmond said:

I would phone and make an appointment.

I don't really think I should have to. It's an open dealership and I went during normal sales times.

Having said that, I had to drop something off at Porsche first (they're in the same franchise and 2 minutes away). The person on the Porsche desk phoned through to check they were open for me...so, in a way, they knew I was going. Porsche Leeds were epic, by the way!

I agree with what was said above. I refuse to dress or act a certain way. It's just a car and on my days off, I will only wear jeans and t-shirts.

[andy355]

Why phone for an appointment? Only if you want a test drive.

Sales people should be polite, enthusiastic and want to sell cars.

[jamieduff1981]

I've had similar lack of effort to part me from my money. It's their loss.

I could spend it. I need persuaded to spend it, and spend it there. I wandered in to the local Jag dealer a while ago (before falling out with them spectacularly for some utterly incompetent work done rendering the car dangerous to drive - and they wanted another £300+ to correct their error) feeling flush and open to the idea of ordering myself an XFR. The salesman couldn't even be arsed to talk money... I wasn't going to beg him to take my money.

[carl_w]

I wouldn't be phoning up the DP and complaining. I'd be voting with my feet and going elsewhere.

[col 4 door]

carl_w said:

I wouldn't be phoning up the DP and complaining. I'd be voting with my feet and going elsewhere.

Don't worry, they certainly won't be seeing me again. I have no problem with travelling the country for the right car. It's a shame for them because they've guaranteed a lost sale and I was going to use them for all the servicing.... I'm happy to give myself a few hours of extra hassle to drive somewhere else for servicing as well now.

[tyrekicker2]

There is no excuse for this type of behaviour, but a bit of advise, if you want the best from any sales person try being a little less vague, being a former car salesman it was 99 times out 100 true that if a punter wasnt willing to be qualified he was usually there to waste our time. But if he was quiet then he should have given you the time of day! I'd call his boss

[Jayyylo]

tyrekicker2 said:

There is no excuse for this type of behaviour, but a bit of advise, if you want the best from any sales person try being a little less vague, being a former car salesman it was 99 times out 100 true that if a punter wasnt willing to be qualified he was usually there to waste our time. But if he was quiet then he should have given you the time of day! I'd call his boss

Appropriate username.

[col 4 door]

Thing is, the sales guy asked if I'd heard of pistonheads and suggested I take a look at it.......

Hope he follows his own advice....

[Stryke]

From my experience you are taken more seriously if you call pre-hand and make an appointment or introduce yourself over the phone.

However, no excuse for the treatment you received, and sending you to a forum for advice is a bit odd.

No point complaining, waste of time and energy.

[johnnyBv8]

Give Richard Grace cars a call - http://www.richardgracecars.co.uk/ - Maserati specialist in Chester. Great reputation on the forums, and if he doenst have the Maserati you want in stock, he'll probably be able to find you it!

[Pwig]

Doesn't sound too good,

Do they have a car in stock that you were looking to buy?

How much did you fancy spending on one?

Richard Grace is good depending on budgets etc

[Zwolf]

col 4 door said:

Anyone got any ideas of where would be better for me to try?

Somewhere that actually has in stock examples of cars that you want to buy in the right price range maybe? Surely looking at the new model in the showroom isn't particularly relevant to the purchase of a used previous model.

I don't think showroom display cars should be locked unless they have been sold and are awaiting the replacement to be prepared and brought in or they're a private individual's vehicle, loaned to the dealership for static display as you sometimes find in prestige marque showrooms, usually a historic/classic model that may or may not be for sale through the dealership on an SOR basis.

Salesperson could perhaps have spent a little more time qualifying your needs and running through current group stock to find something close enough to suitable to offer you, or else pointing you in the direction of a suitable alternative outlet if what you're looking for isn't something their dealership or group is ever going to be likely to retail for one reason or another.

If you're looking for something outside their group buying/retail policies, then there's little point registering your enquiry as it'll never be followed up and likewise they'll be reluctant to actually direct you to the door of even an indirect competitor.

[craigjm]

CGJJ said:

In that position i would have asked the salesman to introduce me to his boss and told the man in charge exactly what i thought

me too

[Fast Bug]

tyrekicker2 said:

There is no excuse for this type of behaviour, but a bit of advise, if you want the best from any sales person try being a little less vague, being a former car salesman it was 99 times out 100 true that if a punter wasnt willing to be qualified he was usually there to waste our time. But if he was quiet then he should have given you the time of day! I'd call his boss

Having worked in a top end main dealer I agree with this 100%

[col 4 door]

Just to clarify, I did go in and specifically ask for a used example....and that's the one I was trying to look at in their showroom. I didn't even venture near the new ones.

I think I'll try the specialist, mentioned above.

[Pwig]

What kind of price range were you after spending?

General rule is that if you are after spending between 10-40k it's not a main dealer car, and 40k+ is where a main dealer would be best.

The preparation costs on older Maserati's are massive for main dealers so they tend not to bother.

[Butter Face]

Pwig said:

What kind of price range were you after spending?

I was about to ask the same, did you discuss budget with the salesman?

[kev b]

I would imagine that used Maserati QPs fly off the showroom floor so quickly that the salesman knew that someone would be along in a minute to snap up the example you were looking at.

Seriously though,if I treated my customers that way,I pretty soon would have none so I expect to be treated courteously when I am the customer. I've had an experience like this, I voted with my feet and the dealer has lost £70K worth of business. It just meant driving an extra half hour to another dealer who treated me with courtesy, well worth the extra mileage.

[HTP99]

Looks like Maserati Leeds; JCT 600 I assume, only have 2 QP's for sale in the group, cheapest being £50 shy of £68k, they must be doing a roaring trade to not be interested in your £68k?

Edited by HTP99 on Saturday 11th January 16:40

[andymc]

Did you give the salesman you're budget?