Disinterested to overly pushy dealers
Discussion
Had a couple of curious experiences today. I'm considering changing cars and an S3 is one option, everyone says "look at a 130/135", and as it's a nice day and Wolverhampton isn't far away and has both Audi and BMW dealers within walking distance I thought I'd go there and take a look.
Got to Audi, had a quick look outside, walked into the showroom to see they only had a 5 door A3 inside, spotted a salesman sat at his desk so walked over and asked "Hello, do you have an S3 anywhere that I could have a look at please?" to which without even getting out of his seat he swivelled around and pointed and said "Yes there's a white one over in the approved section" before carrying on with his important paperwork - that was that.
I went to BMW where they wanted my inside leg details and to put me in an M3 for "only £5k down and £499 + VAT a month" when really I only wanted to have a look at a 1-Series in their showroom.
I'm truly puzzled at what I felt to be totally contrasting, but equally poor service from each i.e. from f
k all to not actually listening to what I was saying.
Not a rant, not stereotyping, nor am I slagging off all Audi/BMW dealers as I have a simple view which is to do what I intend to do and try several until I speak to someone who has the right attitude but fk me if these two are representative of the car sales industry no wonder it has a poor reputation.
Found it a bit surreal tbh.
Got to Audi, had a quick look outside, walked into the showroom to see they only had a 5 door A3 inside, spotted a salesman sat at his desk so walked over and asked "Hello, do you have an S3 anywhere that I could have a look at please?" to which without even getting out of his seat he swivelled around and pointed and said "Yes there's a white one over in the approved section" before carrying on with his important paperwork - that was that.
I went to BMW where they wanted my inside leg details and to put me in an M3 for "only £5k down and £499 + VAT a month" when really I only wanted to have a look at a 1-Series in their showroom.
I'm truly puzzled at what I felt to be totally contrasting, but equally poor service from each i.e. from f
k all to not actually listening to what I was saying.Not a rant, not stereotyping, nor am I slagging off all Audi/BMW dealers as I have a simple view which is to do what I intend to do and try several until I speak to someone who has the right attitude but f
k me if these two are representative of the car sales industry no wonder it has a poor reputation.Found it a bit surreal tbh.
I have to say, since owning a BMW, the dealer experience is great, I've only ever really been in for parts, but the receptionist is always friendly, offer of coffee/tea etc and a nice comfy seat while they ask you what parts you want then go away and check for you.
I've only got the comparison of Peugeot to go on I admit, but compared to a parts desk round the back its quite a nice change!
I've only got the comparison of Peugeot to go on I admit, but compared to a parts desk round the back its quite a nice change!
It's always difficult to convey the "you had to be there" side of things.
Fartgelen yes you're quite right, I asked a question, he answered it - perhaps I expected a little more than to be pointed to a locked car at the corner of the site i.e. "Would you like me to get the keys and you can have a look inside?".
I guess I'm a bit of a hypocrite in that I don't want someone over me like a rash as soon as I walked inside, personally I wish dealerships were unmanned and you could just go crawl over every last detail in peace, but it was the fact that the chap just seemed totally disinterested that threw me.
Fartgelen yes you're quite right, I asked a question, he answered it - perhaps I expected a little more than to be pointed to a locked car at the corner of the site i.e. "Would you like me to get the keys and you can have a look inside?".
I guess I'm a bit of a hypocrite in that I don't want someone over me like a rash as soon as I walked inside, personally I wish dealerships were unmanned and you could just go crawl over every last detail in peace, but it was the fact that the chap just seemed totally disinterested that threw me.
cheadle hulme said:
What did you think of the 1 series? I've just sold my Z4 and looking for something similar to yourself. Not sure of 135/123d or 335 though.
I went from a Z4 to a 135 and I'm very impressed so far, the ride is a bit softer which makes the car more enjoyable given the poor state of the roads round here as the Z4 crashed into bumps a bit. I didn't need the space of a 3 series so the 1 series was the ideal size for me. Unless you need good fuel economy then I'd go for the 135 as the engine is fantastic, brand new ones have a single turbo compared to the twin turbo on mine as they have a new version now.Gassing Station | General Gassing [Archive] | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff