Are Car Sales People Universally Useless?
Discussion
I'm generalising of course but I think the car enthusiast is a car salesperson's worst nightmare. We're really picky, want to look at and test drive loads of cars before making any decision, we usually know the product better than they do, and we can't be 'sold to'. They're much more likely to engage with easier customers so I tend to think this is why we don't get the response we would like.
Sten. said:
I'm generalising of course but I think the car enthusiast is a car salesperson's worst nightmare. We're really picky, want to look at and test drive loads of cars before making any decision, we usually know the product better than they do, and we can't be 'sold to'. They're much more likely to engage with easier customers so I tend to think this is why we don't get the response we would like.
Unsurprisingly most front line car sales schmoks have plied their trade in the seedy double glazing/conservatory/timeshare world and consequently it is no coincidence the majority have absolutely no idea whatsoever about any aspect of the cars they 'sell'. 
Save Ferris said:
TheLuke said:
At that point I had decided (in my head) to not buy the car as better cared for examples were not a huge amount more.
I did then ask for a test drive as I have not driven a Megane RS before and he said yes that's fine, wait for another chap to get back blah blah blah.
The other chap comes back and advises me I cannot test drive it until "we are at the buying stage" and that I can pootle it around the yard
at which I replied that we are at the buying stage, hence the discussion about wether the cambelt would be included. Turns out "the buying stage" is leaving a deposit, you test drive it, if something is wrong with the car, then you can back out. I was gobsmacked, we had a 10 minute disagreement over this which ended with me leaving. It seems they just wanted morons to walk in, cash in hand and drive away without even driving the car. Or maybe I was asking too many questions/eating into their margin too much with the cambelt thing, who knows.
I’d guess they knew you weren’t going to buy their car, so offering you a test drive would have been a waste of everyone’s time.I did then ask for a test drive as I have not driven a Megane RS before and he said yes that's fine, wait for another chap to get back blah blah blah.
The other chap comes back and advises me I cannot test drive it until "we are at the buying stage" and that I can pootle it around the yard
at which I replied that we are at the buying stage, hence the discussion about wether the cambelt would be included. Turns out "the buying stage" is leaving a deposit, you test drive it, if something is wrong with the car, then you can back out. I was gobsmacked, we had a 10 minute disagreement over this which ended with me leaving. It seems they just wanted morons to walk in, cash in hand and drive away without even driving the car. Or maybe I was asking too many questions/eating into their margin too much with the cambelt thing, who knows.Edited by TheLuke on Tuesday 25th May 15:13
Biggriff said:
Having contacted a number of dealers about buying a Hot Hatch I can conclusively say that so far my low opinion of sales people has declined further. No call back, no follow up, trying to sell you what you don't want, not listening to what you say, just being rude, staff turning over faster than you can sort a sale and generally being as much use as an Ashtray on a Motorbike.
Whats going on? No wonder online sales are taking off. From my experience good riddance.
The quality, premium brands are no better and in many cases worse than the bread and butter providers.
Is this others experience?
This is pretty much my experience too. Whats going on? No wonder online sales are taking off. From my experience good riddance.
The quality, premium brands are no better and in many cases worse than the bread and butter providers.
Is this others experience?
Bought a used TTr in December, the garage couldn’t find the car, then wouldn’t let me drive it, then wouldn’t let me use external financing. Was all a bit of a farce really. Got there in the end but only by reverting to doing it all online and dealing with the online sales team.
Ordered a new Skoda to replace my lease last month - dealing with garages was becoming a nightmare so again, sorted it all online with Skoda directly and when it’s built it’ll be delivered to me.
Genuinely can’t see me dealing with a garage in person again based on recent interactions.
Sheepshanks said:
TheLuke said:
The other chap comes back and advises me I cannot test drive it until "we are at the buying stage" and that I can pootle it around the yard at which I replied that we are at the buying stage, hence the discussion about wether the cambelt would be included. Turns out "the buying stage" is leaving a deposit, you test drive it, if something is wrong with the car, then you can back out. I was gobsmacked,....
That's an approach that's been adopted by many independent used car dealers. They don't want people test driving cars to see whether they like it or not as you would with a new car, you're supposed to already know that and simply to be checking to see if it has any faults, and they'll fix them. at which I replied that we are at the buying stage, hence the discussion about wether the cambelt would be included. Turns out "the buying stage" is leaving a deposit, you test drive it, if something is wrong with the car, then you can back out. I was gobsmacked,....I bought my BMW M240i AUC from a main delaer last September and they were very good I found, sales man was very responsive to emails, I had to travel about 90 mins to get there and when I arrived car was waiting for me, no issues with a test drive, he encouraged me to go as fast as I wanted to in it and test the different modes out, no pressure on their finance, I told him I had a better rate on a personal loan and he accepted it no issues so I bought the car and collected about a week later.
The collection was equally pleasant and i'd happily go back there, LLoyds BMW near Blackpool if anyone is interested.
The collection was equally pleasant and i'd happily go back there, LLoyds BMW near Blackpool if anyone is interested.
My most recent experience:
See extended test drive of Land Rover Defender advertised, search "meet Land Rover" as advised and await dealer call back.
Dealer seems more interested in how I found out about it than actually doing anything, tells me they have availability this weekend (just gone), for the normal 30 minute test drive.
I double check the LR website, definitely says "extended" test drive, "in June".
Dealer called me back today. I would like to take a test drive, but at a weekend 30 mins is no use due to kids in tow, seats etc. and really no use in the week either due to time constraints.
Maybe it's the comms between LR marketing and the dealer that's the problem.
See extended test drive of Land Rover Defender advertised, search "meet Land Rover" as advised and await dealer call back.
Dealer seems more interested in how I found out about it than actually doing anything, tells me they have availability this weekend (just gone), for the normal 30 minute test drive.
I double check the LR website, definitely says "extended" test drive, "in June".
Dealer called me back today. I would like to take a test drive, but at a weekend 30 mins is no use due to kids in tow, seats etc. and really no use in the week either due to time constraints.
Maybe it's the comms between LR marketing and the dealer that's the problem.
BrettMRC said:
Depends where you go/brand...
Lexus have been superb, even with sale being done remote recently due to covid. (as have Toyota who offered to drop off a new Highlander for me to drive for 48 hours, didn't take up the offer in the end - but still great service)
Polar opposite to the likes of Peugeot who couldn't even be bothered to bring a car to the local dealership.
Worst so far has been the Land Rover subscription farce - they basically don't have any cars...when they get one in you have about 20secs to decide if you want it or not, otherwise "sorry sir, its gone". Waste of time.
Lexus pretty much rolled out the red carpet even though our car was older and just in for the airbag recall - coffee, courtesy car, car washed and valeted, Lexus-branded water Lexus have been superb, even with sale being done remote recently due to covid. (as have Toyota who offered to drop off a new Highlander for me to drive for 48 hours, didn't take up the offer in the end - but still great service)
Polar opposite to the likes of Peugeot who couldn't even be bothered to bring a car to the local dealership.
Worst so far has been the Land Rover subscription farce - they basically don't have any cars...when they get one in you have about 20secs to decide if you want it or not, otherwise "sorry sir, its gone". Waste of time.
They were equally helpful when we needed some small brake parts, offering to wait around after hours on a Saturday so we could collect them, despite the total cost being about £20. On the strength of our experiences with them our father-in-law now owns a brand new Lexus, so in that case good customer service of a "non-customer" lead directly to the sale of a new vehicle.
Having bought dozens of cars from all types of sellers over the last 40 years I can honestly say I've experienced pretty much all the scenarios described above in one way or another so the bad examples are not something new in my view. However it does seem to get worse when the sales people don't have to try too hard in a sellers market.
A Winner Is You said:
Not bothering to respond to online chat is another one, I have been car shopping and ruled out some potential purchases based just on the initial communication. My logic is if they can't be bothered when you're trying to give them money, how interested will they be if you're coming back with a warranty issue?
It's infuriating. You send them a message via online chat and they reply with nothing but "can I take your phone number and call you?". No, f
k off!Mercury00 said:
A Winner Is You said:
Not bothering to respond to online chat is another one, I have been car shopping and ruled out some potential purchases based just on the initial communication. My logic is if they can't be bothered when you're trying to give them money, how interested will they be if you're coming back with a warranty issue?
It's infuriating. You send them a message via online chat and they reply with nothing but "can I take your phone number and call you?". No, fk off!Gassing Station | Car Buying | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff