Ask a car salesman anything...anything at all (Vol. 2).

[Fletchie]

I don't think I've seen this question asked before.

Why are the performance versions of cars (ST, Cupra etc) never/very rarely 0% finance?

Like Ford atm are offer all cars on 0% except ST.

[jamoor]

Truckosaurus said:

I was just reading on Twitter an American car journo complaining about their culture of dealers just selling new cars from stock (rather than customers picking their own spec, and getting it made to order) and how it was 'forcing' buyers into dull choices because they didn't stock the more interesting cars in a range and salesmen just sold what was it stock for immediate delivery.

Do any of the dealers in this country do that model of sales or would customers expect too much of a discount for a pre-reg/ex-demo/in-stock/etc car?

Don’t car manufacturers hold stock of vehicles in air fields that are ready to go?

Maybe here in the U.K. dealers don’t have space to stock thousands of cars.

[BrabusMog]

Truckosaurus said:

I was just reading on Twitter an American car journo complaining about their culture of dealers just selling new cars from stock (rather than customers picking their own spec, and getting it made to order) and how it was 'forcing' buyers into dull choices because they didn't stock the more interesting cars in a range and salesmen just sold what was it stock for immediate delivery.

Do any of the dealers in this country do that model of sales or would customers expect too much of a discount for a pre-reg/ex-demo/in-stock/etc car?

My understanding is that import centres hold loads of vehicles that have been built and will have one or two random options on them. Dealer will then say that they can get you that in 2 weeks or it's X months for factory build. I had to wait 7 months for an old E Class coupe years ago because I wanted a certain colour and a few options that they couldn't get hold of and got no discount

[Fast Bug]

On the American thing, most customers there want to drive away the same day. Also factory orders for European cars take forever, the GLE used to be 5 month lead time for a factory order due to the shipping time from Alabama!

[Court_S]

Shaw Tarse said:

Skip to 8'30 to see the salesmen questioned https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQgvpwxLtwE

More importantly it makes you realise how far cars have come when stuff like reversing lights are highlighted in the spec!

[HTP99]

Court_S said:

Shaw Tarse said:

Skip to 8'30 to see the salesmen questioned https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQgvpwxLtwE

More importantly it makes you realise how far cars have come when stuff like reversing lights are highlighted in the spec!

I remember my mate Toff used to drive his mums Fiesta Bonus II, it was proper basic, but had a heated rear screen...... Oooof!

[ACCYSTAN]

Truckosaurus said:

I was just reading on Twitter an American car journo complaining about their culture of dealers just selling new cars from stock (rather than customers picking their own spec, and getting it made to order) and how it was 'forcing' buyers into dull choices because they didn't stock the more interesting cars in a range and salesmen just sold what was it stock for immediate delivery.

Do any of the dealers in this country do that model of sales or would customers expect too much of a discount for a pre-reg/ex-demo/in-stock/etc car?

Depends on the deal.
My car I got because Evans Halshaw needed a registration for a end of year target and they had this vehicle built, unregistered and wanting to move it on.
It wasn’t the spec I wanted but the price made it a no brainier

[Sheepshanks]

Truckosaurus said:

I was just reading on Twitter an American car journo complaining about their culture of dealers just selling new cars from stock (rather than customers picking their own spec, and getting it made to order) and how it was 'forcing' buyers into dull choices because they didn't stock the more interesting cars in a range and salesmen just sold what was it stock for immediate delivery.

American colleagues are astonished that we'll wait months for cars - I remember one getting a Porsche Cayenne not long after they came out and at first he didn't understand the question when I asked how long he'd waited for it. Apparently Porsche flooded the dealerships with them. As Fast Bug says, they expect to be able change cars same day. Dealers for most marques carry huge stock - of course it's helped that there are hardly any diesels and most cars are auto. Options are often in packs. So there isn't the same level of variables you get here.

It might also be that there's more of a proper selling cuture in the US, rather than what 'salesmen' do here, which is basically order processing. There's a general US sales thing of "sell what you got" - there's no point in dealer having hundreds of cars in stock if the sales guy is going to take factory orders.

[The Rotrex Kid]

Sheepshanks said:

It might also be that there's more of a proper selling cuture in the US, rather than what 'salesmen' do here, which is basically order processing. There's a general US sales thing of "sell what you got" - there's no point in dealer having hundreds of cars in stock if the sales guy is going to take factory orders.

What do US car salesmen do different?

Most Dealers that I’m aware of sell from ‘stock’ (be that physical stock at the dealerships which is the priority, or stock in the country at import centres) no dealer really wants to wait 3-9 months for a car any more than a dealer wants to.

[spreadsheet monkey]

Sheepshanks said:

It might also be that there's more of a proper selling cuture in the US, rather than what 'salesmen' do here, which is basically order processing. There's a general US sales thing of "sell what you got" - there's no point in dealer having hundreds of cars in stock if the sales guy is going to take factory orders.

I've read some horror stories about US dealer practises - thousands of dollars of bogus dealer add-ons and documentation fees, far worse than any GAP insurance or £99 admin fees charged in the UK. And no fun if you want to buy an "enthusiast" version of a car with the big engine and manual gearbox when the dealer just has rows and rows of mid-spec automatics that he/she wants to flog.

UK isn't perfect, but the US can be the wild west (depending on state).

[Shominy]

This may have been asked before but what is the general protocol for me as a customer when wanting to test drive a car at a dealer when I know I won't be buying from them?

I'm looking at maybe getting an electric car on a work salary sacrifice scheme and the offers available through that are way better than what any dealer could offer so there's no chance of them making a sale. I'm conscious that I don't want to waste anyone's time but at the same time going to the dealer is the only way I can test drive the car.

[SpeckledJim]

Shominy said:

This may have been asked before but what is the general protocol for me as a customer when wanting to test drive a car at a dealer when I know I won't be buying from them?

I'm looking at maybe getting an electric car on a work salary sacrifice scheme and the offers available through that are way better than what any dealer could offer so there's no chance of them making a sale. I'm conscious that I don't want to waste anyone's time but at the same time going to the dealer is the only way I can test drive the car.

Best protocol for you: lie

Best protocol for them: don't go.

There's no way to do this without wasting their time, so if you're doing it, make your peace with your conscience and just pretend. Or put on a smiley face, be straight with them, and hope for a friendly response.

[The Rotrex Kid]

Shominy said:

This may have been asked before but what is the general protocol for me as a customer when wanting to test drive a car at a dealer when I know I won't be buying from them?

I'm looking at maybe getting an electric car on a work salary sacrifice scheme and the offers available through that are way better than what any dealer could offer so there's no chance of them making a sale. I'm conscious that I don't want to waste anyone's time but at the same time going to the dealer is the only way I can test drive the car.

It's down to you, You can book an appointment as a customer and go through the whole process and ignore the calls etc down the line.

Or, you can call, explain the situation, ask very nicely if you can have a drive of their car (because it is their car, not the manufacturers) and hope they are cool with it (we normally allow this for people who ask nicely, easier than the first option all round IMO)

[93DW]

Shominy said:

This may have been asked before but what is the general protocol for me as a customer when wanting to test drive a car at a dealer when I know I won't be buying from them?

I'm looking at maybe getting an electric car on a work salary sacrifice scheme and the offers available through that are way better than what any dealer could offer so there's no chance of them making a sale. I'm conscious that I don't want to waste anyone's time but at the same time going to the dealer is the only way I can test drive the car.

Or ring round your local hire car places to see if they have one. I'd rather spend £60 and get a day or two's of proper use than a quick ride round the block with a stranger in the back for free

[Wooda80]

Shominy said:

This may have been asked before but what is the general protocol for me as a customer when wanting to test drive a car at a dealer when I know I won't be buying from them?

I'm looking at maybe getting an electric car on a work salary sacrifice scheme and the offers available through that are way better than what any dealer could offer so there's no chance of them making a sale. I'm conscious that I don't want to waste anyone's time but at the same time going to the dealer is the only way I can test drive the car.

Or speak to the company ( dealer or leasing company ) who is supplying your car ( or the person within your company who deals with the dealer / lease co ).

For large fleets there is often an arrangement where a corporate demo car can be made available for you and any of your colleagues to try. If there's enough of you then you might get the car for several days.

[4941cc]

Shominy said:

This may have been asked before but what is the general protocol for me as a customer when wanting to test drive a car at a dealer when I know I won't be buying from them?

I'm looking at maybe getting an electric car on a work salary sacrifice scheme and the offers available through that are way better than what any dealer could offer so there's no chance of them making a sale. I'm conscious that I don't want to waste anyone's time but at the same time going to the dealer is the only way I can test drive the car.

It isn't.

Talk to your fleet manager who should arrange a 24-48hr test drive from the manufacturer's own demo fleet - it's literally their job. The lazy ones tell employees to go and pretend to be a customer at their local dealership to save themselves the work. Fleet sales are any company with at least 5 - or none but the intent to order at least that many over the coming 12 months - so you don't need to be a huge company to access this.

I used to work in corporate sales for Volvo and we did a lot of business this way, the fleet market is huge for this stuff and they will have vehicles available. It might be months or weeks away, but the fleet manager should know when your renewal cycle is. Again, it's their job...

We can also tell when people are doing this so you'll get a cursory demonstration so the salesperson can crack on ASAP with fruitful leads that stand at least some chance of earning them some money.

[4941cc]

Fletchie said:

I don't think I've seen this question asked before.

Why are the performance versions of cars (ST, Cupra etc) never/very rarely 0% finance?

Like Ford atm are offer all cars on 0% except ST.

Because usually they're desirable enough for people to buy without that incentive to do so.

They might appear once they become runout models as BMW tend to do with late in life cycle M cars once production has stopped but there are still a sizeable number of unsold new vehicle in built stock to clear before new model lands.

0% finance is always a great mechanism to shift the metal that's sticking to the forecourt and showroom floors. Might also be a new model that has failed to garner the interest in the expected volumes etc.

[vikingaero]

BrabusMog said:

Truckosaurus said:

I was just reading on Twitter an American car journo complaining about their culture of dealers just selling new cars from stock (rather than customers picking their own spec, and getting it made to order) and how it was 'forcing' buyers into dull choices because they didn't stock the more interesting cars in a range and salesmen just sold what was it stock for immediate delivery.

Do any of the dealers in this country do that model of sales or would customers expect too much of a discount for a pre-reg/ex-demo/in-stock/etc car?

My understanding is that import centres hold loads of vehicles that have been built and will have one or two random options on them. Dealer will then say that they can get you that in 2 weeks or it's X months for factory build. I had to wait 7 months for an old E Class coupe years ago because I wanted a certain colour and a few options that they couldn't get hold of and got no discount

The closest we have to this is the Japanese/Korean manufacturers selling in Japanese/Korean built cars in the UK. A Euro manufacturer could on a good day get a car shipped to the UK in a week if celestials and ship schedules align. For Japs/Koreans, it will take a month - 6 weeks minimum. So most of their cars don't have options - you buy a SE, EX, EX Navi Etc. The only option then is the colour. In the past the Asian import centres in the UK did a lot of extra work in adding stuff - immobilisers, nav, foglights etc.

[Fast Bug]

4941cc said:

Shominy said:

This may have been asked before but what is the general protocol for me as a customer when wanting to test drive a car at a dealer when I know I won't be buying from them?

I'm looking at maybe getting an electric car on a work salary sacrifice scheme and the offers available through that are way better than what any dealer could offer so there's no chance of them making a sale. I'm conscious that I don't want to waste anyone's time but at the same time going to the dealer is the only way I can test drive the car.

It isn't.

Talk to your fleet manager who should arrange a 24-48hr test drive from the manufacturer's own demo fleet - it's literally their job. The lazy ones tell employees to go and pretend to be a customer at their local dealership to save themselves the work. Fleet sales are any company with at least 5 - or none but the intent to order at least that many over the coming 12 months - so you don't need to be a huge company to access this.

I used to work in corporate sales for Volvo and we did a lot of business this way, the fleet market is huge for this stuff and they will have vehicles available. It might be months or weeks away, but the fleet manager should know when your renewal cycle is. Again, it's their job...

We can also tell when people are doing this so you'll get a cursory demonstration so the salesperson can crack on ASAP with fruitful leads that stand at least some chance of earning them some money.

This. I've sent demo cars all over the country, most manufacturers run a demo fleet for this purpose

[AdeTuono]

Apologies if it's already been covered, but can someone enlighten me if the trader who adds this to his many eBay listings...

Not prepared to retail standard.
This is strictly a trade to trade sale with no warranty or guarantee of any type.
If you can’t agree to these terms please look elsewhere.


...is acting within the law? He trades as C****h Trade Sales; is this a 'get-out'? I only ask as he has a couple of motors I'm interested in; if they were super-cheap I'd still consider them, but most of his cars are not actually in the country, so can't even be inspected.

Just to add; the private ltd company accounts show that there is only a tiny amount of capital and reserves in the bank, so any issues you'd probably be on a hiding to nothing.