The Car Salesman's Thread

[POORCARDEALER]

Zwolf said:

POORCARDEALER said:

Demos, used to do very well back in the 90s....was single and shagging my nuts off ( aged 25 ish) and selling Ferraris, you can guess the rest lol

You worked for Maranello's at Egham and got a diesel Golf?

Not quite....sold lotus too, had an esprit gt3 officially, but the 355 demo or 456 was the car of choice, just used to leave late and arrive early

Things a bit different today , think they get a3,s

[TVR1]

POORCARDEALER said:

Not quite....sold lotus too, had an esprit gt3 officially, but the 355 demo or 456 was the car of choice, just used to leave late and arrive early

Things a bit different today , think they get a3,s

Indeed they do. One of our group I think. But they all, strangely, come back with very, VERY low mileage. Plus ca change Mais plus la meme chose?

[Zwolf]

TVR1 said:

Indeed they do. One of our group I think. But they all, strangely, come back with very, VERY low mileage. Plus ca change Mais plus la meme chose?

[TVR1]

Zwolf said:

One Hyde Park too. I'm at a loss to understand how so many staff work 'so close' to Knightsbridge that they are happily able to leave their demos at work to 'commute from the suburbs' but the demo fleet, whilst having a customer base probably within a mile or so of Knightsbridge, appear to have quite a few thousand miles per month put on them. But then, I guess, they do proper 'test drives'

[LHD]

TVR1 said:

One Hyde Park too. I'm at a loss to understand how so many staff work 'so close' to Knightsbridge that they are happily able to leave their demos at work to 'commute from the suburbs' but the demo fleet, whilst having a customer base probably within a mile or so of Knightsbridge, appear to have quite a few thousand miles per month put on them. But then, I guess, they do proper 'test drives'

I'm running a VW Passat just now which suits me for the daily grind but have the use of the demo fleet as and when required.

Passat's getting changed for a Mk7 Golf GTI as soon as VW can supply me with one.

[Fast Bug]

At Porsche we used to run either Golf diesels or Audi's, if you're working the weekend take a demo or part exchange. I think I put over 3000 miles on the C4S Coupe we had

We have our own allocated cars here, so I don't take demos home unless I need a van. I've always been happy to take whatever has fuel in/starts and stops.

At Rover we had a 'punishment car' which was a screwed mark3 Escort that owed us a fiver and had a couple of months tax and mot. If you cocked up you got the punishment car until someone else did. It worked fine until my manager got it. We double checked each others deals before handing them in to make sure he stayed in it. After a week or so he decided we had all learnt our lesson and got his 620Ti back

[HTP99]

We have to work from a demo grid which is provided by the manufacturer basically they tell us what has to be on and then they are given out generally on a who sells the most basis, ie the highest seller gets the better car.

However with only two salesmen and a selling sales manager there isn't a great choice, the Manager gets what he wants and the other two cars are split between the two of us.

I have a Clio dCi which is fine for me, I've done quick cars in the past and I'm more than happy with what I have, particulalrly as I pay for my own fuel, plus I don't need a large car as my kids aren't babies or toddlers.

[Butter Face]

HTP99 said:

I have a Clio dCi

Mine's Oyster Grey

[HTP99]

Butter Face said:

HTP99 said:

I have a Clio dCi

Mine's Oyster Grey

Snap, 5 door?

You getting all the hassle with making sure your demo is on site on your day off just incase the guy turns up to make sure your dealership hits the correct standards?

[Butter Face]

HTP99 said:

Butter Face said:

HTP99 said:

I have a Clio dCi

Mine's Oyster Grey

Snap, 5 door?

You getting all the hassle with making sure your demo is on site on your day off just incase the guy turns up to make sure your dealership hits the correct standards?

I've got a Tourer (room for the dog)

Our cars are t demos which is nice. We have a fleet of demo but only use them for demo purposes.

[spats]

ahh demo cars

When I first started selling them we got fuel cards and that was better than what car I was actually driving!

I've had so many over the years, but a few that I really liked were:

Citroen C3: 1.6hdi with leather, satnav, climate, the works! the C3 is a naff motor, but the spec of this car was great. Sat nav, heated leather etc made it a reasonable place to be. The 1.6hdi was perky enough and it was a hoot to scud about it.

Citroën C6: black exterior, banana yellow leather inside, it was mental. Same v6 HDI as the jag and slush box made for some serious floaty fun. It was also MASSIVE which meant it stuck out like a sore thumb. Heads-up display was cool as was the curved rear window and near silent AC.

Citroen C4 VTS: fastish revvy engine and great looks with full solar roof and lots of toys.

Citroen C4 Picasso 7 seater. I had the flappy paddle petrol version with 17 inch wheels, looked the part when it first came out and along with the c8 top spec I borrowed was one of the most practical cars I’ve ever used.

Skoda Superb elegance: big diesel auto, loads of kit and I got to keep it for a month after being made redundant. Turning up at interviews in it made for a great first impression.

Skoda Octavia Sport: Fast, black and with factory lowered suspension it went very well indeed.

VW Caddy/T5: I had loads and I would have a Kombi version of each if I could. they are supremely good vehicles and great for family life and a bit of daddy cool with some sport line mods.

I do miss having to look after my cars since leaving the industry, I must have gone several years without even cleaning my own car let alone maintaining it!

[whoami]

Dealers: what is the rough percentage breakdown for GAP purchases between those who take it with finance and those who buy it despite not requiring finance?

[LHD]

whoami said:

Dealers: what is the rough percentage breakdown for GAP purchases between those who take it with finance and those who buy it despite not requiring finance?

We run at about a 35% take up rate which is pretty much the industry average.

[whoami]

LHD said:

whoami said:

Dealers: what is the rough percentage breakdown for GAP purchases between those who take it with finance and those who buy it despite not requiring finance?

We run at about a 35% take up rate which is pretty much the industry average.

35% of all sales?

And how does that split between finance and non-finance punters?

[LHD]

whoami said:

LHD said:

whoami said:

Dealers: what is the rough percentage breakdown for GAP purchases between those who take it with finance and those who buy it despite not requiring finance?

We run at about a 35% take up rate which is pretty much the industry average.

35% of all sales?

And how does that split between finance and non-finance punters?

Easier to split in new and used.

New car customers are well over 50% take up - regardless of funding method.

[Zwolf]

whoami said:

Dealers: what is the rough percentage breakdown for GAP purchases between those who take it with finance and those who buy it despite not requiring finance?

Without having the exact figures to hand, I'd estimate near enough 50/50 across the board of finance/cash and new/used.

LHD said:

New car customers are well over 50% take up - regardless of funding method.

I'd agree with that.

A bigger factor is the salesperson's ability, the range of performance of GAP penetration across our team currently ranges from under 30% to almost 90%, finance is more consistent at around 2/3 of new buyers taking it and 1/3rd of used.

Do bear in mind that those who do "not require" dealer funding are most often funding from other sources, rather than simply paying over the balance straight from savings already held - quite often because they perceive that walking in as a "cash" buyer will get them the best deal, when quite often that isn't the case.

That's partly owing to manufacturer subsidised finance schemes (low rate + deposit contribution = less interest paid than DC put in, so net result of better than 0% funding) on new cars and that most of the larger dealer groups have access to funding that bears equal comparison with what's available on the high street, so to speak.

[whoami]

Thanks chaps

[TVR1]

LHD said:

We run at about a 35% take up rate which is pretty much the industry average.

Do you still get paid on that? We have a fairly 'all or nothing scheme'.To even qualify for your finance commission, we must sell a certain number of cars. And then, the minimum is 50% pen on finance,GAP and paint. So I could very well be at 100% on GAP and finance but if 40% paint..... No commission. Harsh, yes but we work at a very demanding dealership. The upside is very good, bordering on exceptional pay, even in the 'prestige' sector, if you tick all the boxes.

Staff consistently doing 35% at my place will very quickly find themselves looking for another job. Not because they may be crap at the job but simply because they will not make a living.

One of the funniest monthly reviews I ever had was with my then sales manager and F&I manager. Sales manager;

'you've done st this month. Yes, you sold a few cars but they made NO MONEY!!!! Bloody think about things next month'

To be followed by the chap sitting next to him....

'Exceptional month! Great pen, good profits!!! Keep it up! We are counting on you. A good future for you if you keep it up!'



A brilliant trade, isn't it?

[Butter Face]

I'm running at 45% on GAP and 50% on Finance at th moment.

Paint protection?



Um let's move on.






9%



Ahem. Must try harder.

[Zwolf]

TVR1 said:

Sales manager;

'you've done st this month. Yes, you sold a few cars but they made NO MONEY!!!! Bloody think about things next month'

To be followed by the chap sitting next to him....

'Exceptional month! Great pen, good profits!!! Keep it up! We are counting on you. A good future for you if you keep it up!'



A brilliant trade, isn't it?

Easy enough to have high F&I penetrations if the chassis is paying for it all...