The Car Salesman's Thread

[Zwolf]

markmullen said:

Does anyone want to comment on a timewaster wanting his deposit back?

Fill your boots.

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

It's all been covered well enough already.

Chap needs to read the T&Cs on the back of his order form for the specific contract he entered into, but generally speaking he's in breach of it by failing to complete. Where a seller is in breach, the buyer usually seeks recompense and there'll also be T&Cs stating the deposit is the maximum liability either way, to be refunded when the seller is in breach.

Dealers usually return the deposits just to get on with their business and make the irritating person go away, but they're not legally obliged to. Where not returned, they're often held in credit for that customer against a future purchase. Such has been my experience with them anyway...

[LHD]

markmullen said:

Does anyone want to comment on a timewaster wanting his deposit back?

Fill your boots.

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

I'd just be rude so no point...

[Zwolf]

LHD said:

markmullen said:

Does anyone want to comment on a timewaster wanting his deposit back?

Fill your boots.

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

I'd just be rude so no point...

[rehab71]

T66ORA said:

Has the misfortune of being taught how to suck eggs by him years ago (Hendy Ford)
We ended up falling out, because i dared to disagree with something he said,
Those who can..... sell, those who can`t................ you get the point

Route to ruin!

[rehab71]

zb said:

As this seems to be cropping up regularly over the past few days; car dealers/salesmen, what do you consider to be "Full Service History"?

Depends, if you've got a 2006 or newer car and you say it has FSH, then I'd expect every stamp to be in the book at the manufactuers recomendations. One a car gets older I'd say just regular servicing at a VAT registered/proper garage. HTH

[Butter Face]

Had a beauty today

'does your PX have FSH?'

'absolutely'

'fantastic, book all stamped up? Where did you have it done?'

'oh, I do it all myself at home'

'er, so not FSH?'

'well, you've got my word I've serviced it'



Car was an 06 plate Clio. Cracking stuff.

[amirzed]

Butter Face said:

Sounds like they did him over and charged him £200 for the odds and ends left over from old kits.

If you pay full price, you get it done properly at our place, by our most experienced valeter who is an absolute perfectionist.

You also get a full cleaning kit (which is bloody awesome) and its certified by Autoglym.


Once again, a bad apple upsets the cart again. Most of us are here to earn an honest living at the end of the day!

whereas i've no doubt you sell this with good intentions, if someone won't pay full price then why do the job to a lower standard? Why not just not do it?

[Butter Face]

amirzed said:

Butter Face said:

Sounds like they did him over and charged him £200 for the odds and ends left over from old kits.

If you pay full price, you get it done properly at our place, by our most experienced valeter who is an absolute perfectionist.

You also get a full cleaning kit (which is bloody awesome) and its certified by Autoglym.


Once again, a bad apple upsets the cart again. Most of us are here to earn an honest living at the end of the day!

whereas i've no doubt you sell this with good intentions, if someone won't pay full price then why do the job to a lower standard? Why not just not do it?

Sorry I should have made that clear, we only sell it at full price or not at all.

Which is how it should be.

[Ari]

PumpkinSteve said:

Ari said:

How is that a "rip off" exactly?

"Would you like Diamondbrite paintwork and interior protection?"

"How much is it?"

"£300"

"No thank you".

Just explain to me how this is a rip off? Or are you incapable of making an informed decision as to whether or not to purchase something?

It's a rip off because it's worth £20 at best. The very fact that dealers try it on with the customer in the first place is shameful.

Fantastic. So you'd clean a car, properly, then spend a couple of hours applying wax, then clean the interior then treat all the soft fabrics with Scotchguard type stuff, and you'd include the premises to do it, provide the insurances needed, pay for utilities, and provide all the materials, all for twenty quid would you?

Well I reckon you'll have plenty of customers, you'll be a millionaire inside 700 years!

[WetPaint]

Yesterday my wife and I test drove a prospective new car for her.

At the end, we told the salesman we would go away and think about it and told him i would ring today to let him know our thoughts.

Im not actually too keen on the car in all honesty, however, the chap was very polite and not salesy (new word) at all. (unless that makes him a master of his craft)

My point is, I was very happy with the service and liked the chap, but i dont like the car.

As salesmen, what is the best way to hear a 'no thank you' from a customer?

I dont want him to feel like he wasted his time, but i dont want the car either. Would certainly ask for him again in the future though if i went to that brand again.

[AtticusFinch]

WetPaint said:

Yesterday my wife and I test drove a prospective new car for her.

At the end, we told the salesman we would go away and think about it and told him i would ring today to let him know our thoughts.

Im not actually too keen on the car in all honesty, however, the chap was very polite and not salesy (new word) at all. (unless that makes him a master of his craft)

My point is, I was very happy with the service and liked the chap, but i dont like the car.

As salesmen, what is the best way to hear a 'no thank you' from a customer?

I dont want him to feel like he wasted his time, but i dont want the car either. Would certainly ask for him again in the future though if i went to that brand again.

Why not tell him what you have just told us. Simples.

[2DDav]

Just a phonecall back explaining exactly what you have said on here thanking him for his time etc. is all thats required. Its generally unusual to hear, and whilst its not a sale it at least makes your time/effort youv put in feel appreciated.

[ajb85]

WetPaint said:

Yesterday my wife and I test drove a prospective new car for her.

At the end, we told the salesman we would go away and think about it and told him i would ring today to let him know our thoughts.

Im not actually too keen on the car in all honesty, however, the chap was very polite and not salesy (new word) at all. (unless that makes him a master of his craft)

My point is, I was very happy with the service and liked the chap, but i dont like the car.

As salesmen, what is the best way to hear a 'no thank you' from a customer?

I dont want him to feel like he wasted his time, but i dont want the car either. Would certainly ask for him again in the future though if i went to that brand again.

Just put it to him straight. He will appreciate the feedback and the call back. I used to sell Citroens and Vauxhalls, spent many an afternoon with various people test driving cars and discussing figures, and was happy to let them walk because more often than not they'd think highly enough of me to want to come back and do a deal. What really got my goat was the lack of contact thereafter with some people, a courtesy call was all I wanted, not least so I could put my sales manager in the picture to show the customer had been followed up. Often if I rung them they'd avoid my call, yet 24 hours previously they were happy to share a Sunday afternoon with me when we'd seemingly got on like a house on fire. Yes, I found that very cowardly, I could have punched a wall sometimes.

Perhaps if it was a used car you were looking at, suggest the salesman you took a shine to might be able to source a similar car to the one you like?

[WetPaint]

ajb85 said:

Just put it to him straight. He will appreciate the feedback and the call back. I used to sell Citroens and Vauxhalls, spent many an afternoon with various people test driving cars and discussing figures, and was happy to let them walk because more often than not they'd think highly enough of me to want to come back and do a deal. What really got my goat was the lack of contact thereafter with some people, a courtesy call was all I wanted, not least so I could put my sales manager in the picture to show the customer had been followed up. Or if I rung them they'd avoid my call, yet 24 hours previously they were happy to share a Sunday afternoon with me and we'd seemingly get on like a house on fire. Yes, I found that very cowardly, I could have punched a wall sometimes.

Perhaps if it was a used car you were looking at, suggest the salesman you took a shine to might be able to source a similar car to the one you like?

Good to know that. Thanks.

I'd never have thought running and hiding would cause such an issue. I'll just be blunt, but polite and as i wrote in my post, let him know i valued his time and would look for him again in the future.

Im not sure its the kind of place that would source another car for me, but then i could be wrong.

[seanh]

As someone planning to buy new in the next couple of months, maybe you could offer a little advice that would help things go smoothly?

I've pretty much decided on the model and spec I'm after and have checked out how much it would cost to buy and have delivered from one of the online supermarket type companies. This car is going to be a bit different to what I've had before and so need to at least test drive it to check if there's something about it I really can't live with. I want to play as fair as possible with any local dealer as, apart from anything else, it's they who'd be doing the servicing, but at the same time I don't want to pay a large premium on the online price.

So what's the fairest way of approaching this? Just go to the manufacturer's website and book a test drive and see who I get pointed at, or approach one of the local dealers and explain I need a test drive and the business would be theirs if they could come close to the supermarket price? Is it considered fair game to test drive at one dealership and then play them off against the one up the road? Who bears the expense of a test drive, the manufacturer or the dealer?

The other thing that could be an issue is that I have the money in the bank and won't need finance. I get the impression that dealers count on finance to make their margins. At what point do you think it fairest to mention this?

[P4T]

seanh said:

As someone planning to buy new in the next couple of months, maybe you could offer a little advice that would help things go smoothly?

I've pretty much decided on the model and spec I'm after and have checked out how much it would cost to buy and have delivered from one of the online supermarket type companies. This car is going to be a bit different to what I've had before and so need to at least test drive it to check if there's something about it I really can't live with. I want to play as fair as possible with any local dealer as, apart from anything else, it's they who'd be doing the servicing, but at the same time I don't want to pay a large premium on the online price.

So what's the fairest way of approaching this? Just go to the manufacturer's website and book a test drive and see who I get pointed at, or approach one of the local dealers and explain I need a test drive and the business would be theirs if they could come close to the supermarket price? Is it considered fair game to test drive at one dealership and then play them off against the one up the road? Who bears the expense of a test drive, the manufacturer or the dealer?

The other thing that could be an issue is that I have the money in the bank and won't need finance. I get the impression that dealers count on finance to make their margins. At what point do you think it fairest to mention this?

In my opinion honesty is the best policy... Print out the deal available online and take it in with you to your local dealer and lay your cards on the table.. "This is what I want and this is what I can get it for. If you can match it I will buy from you". Explain that you havnt driven one as yet and if the salesman has anything about him he will offer to take you out for a test drive. If the salesman is any good at his job he will use the next half an hour trying to build a good rapport with you so that when it comes figures time if they cant match what you have been offered then you might be prepared to pay abit more because he have enjoyed the experience of dealing with him/them. Most of us would rather deal with a local company that you can go and deal with in person that on online only new car supermarket and some of us would be happy to pay a premium.

I hope the above helps..

[ajb85]

Yup, I think 'P4T' is right.

Express your interest in the car and once the salesman has asked you how soon you are looking to buy, he should swiftly move you on to a test drive, after the usual chit-chat. Booking a test drive online will appoint the dealer nearest to your postcode, so it will be them footing the cost of the demo (fuel and time).

On your return I'm sure the salesman will be chomping at the bit to do a deal, and in fairness you are playing fair game buy offering him that opportunity - should he be able to match X price with X internet retailer. I'm sure his heart will sink but I'm sure he'll do the very best he can for you. As a salesman I used to be up against this all the time with internet brokers, if he tells you that the warranty won't stand with the UK network of dealers then that is a fib. I dare say the dealers can source the car a little sooner for you however, and I wouldn't rely on the lead time supplied by the broker, you could be a long time waiting.

Finally there is next to no profit margin in new car sales (certainly not for mainstream cars, perhaps not the case with top end Merc, BMW, etc) and finance deals only really help facilitate the dealer in selling a car, finance commission paid to them is negligible. A car dealership is paid on how many new registrations they can achieve, and if they hit or exceed their target they are paid a volume bonus by the manufacturer.

Hope this helps!

[Zwolf]

Also bear in mind that most brokers' best prices are net of any deposit contribution offered by the manufacturer's finance arm. So as a cash buyer, it could be more. Check the fine print on the broker's quote or website.

You could also contact the broker and ask them which will be the supplying dealer and therefore where you would need to collect the car from, or contact the dealer to find out how much delivery to you will cost on top of the quoted OTR price.

[seanh]

All good info. Thanks guys.

[AOK]

I agree with what has been said so far about the pricing/test drive issue.

A few years ago while I was selling MINI's I had a very quiet Chinese guy walk in and basically took out of his bag a broadspeed quote, which equated to about 10% off... about 3% more than we'd usually be inclined to do for a build to order cash deal.

In the fewest words ever, he basically said: "if you think you can match this online deal, I'd like to do a test drive and will give you the business as I'm local if i like the car. If not, don't worry, I don't want to waste your time"

Just so happens we were chasing a very large target for that quarter and reluctantly my manager gave in. We did the test drive and he liked the car and left the deposit that day. No add on's, no finance but at least it was another one into the quarter.

.. and actually, one of the easiest customer I'd ever had. I think I'd exchanged 3 emails with him between order and collection (and that's including his insurance, afrl and transfer weeks ahead of collection!).