Bad Experience with a car dealer
Discussion
(Wasn't sure on the rules for naming and shaming so have removed the name...for now)
Was looking for a BMW Z4 3.0 and saw a decent one on Auto Trader so I gave the dealer a call Friday morning and said I would pop down in the afternoon for a look, he gave me the postcode and I set off for the c.45m journey. They were quite hard to find as it wasn't a garage but an office in a regus style building, felt like I was there for an interview waiting in reception. Anyways, had a look around the car and the dealer started with all the sales chat about how he hasn't had one this good before, 10k until next service and new tyres (which to be fair it did have).
I then noticed that the spec didn't match up to the list on the advert, something I was curious when viewing the photos, notably that it didn't have multi function steering wheel, voice control system, cruise control, 18" alloys and bluetooth phone prep. I questioned this and his response was that Auto Trader must select it based on the car.
Anyways, the shocking bit is yet to come. The car was in excellent condition so I wanted to view the paperwork which was upstairs in his office, so we returned there. I started looking through the documents and whilst taking note of the service history dates / mileage a conversation followed which went like this:
Dealer: Are you going to buy it today?
Me: Well that depends on paperwork and test drive but I do have another one in consideration also that I am due to see tomorrow
Dealer: This one is going to sell this afternoon
Me: How do you know that?
Dealer: I have a buyer coming from the North who has confirmed he will buy it
At this point the dealer starts collecting up all the paperwork in a hurry, so much so, he picked up my belongings in the pile and I had to get them back.
Dealer: If you are not buying today, no point looking but best of luck in your search
He then opens the office door and directs me out through the building
Me: So where is the buyer coming from?
Dealer: The North
Me: What time will he arrive?
Dealer: Depends on the traffic
I then proceeded to get in my car and drive off. If I wasn't full of man flu I may have continued to ask why he had wasted my time etc. Surely you are within your rights to take a day to consider it!
The car is still listed for sale so I can only presume the buyer from the North didn't turn up or he was also surprised by the lack of the features on the listing.
Either way, I bought the car I viewed yesterday which had a much better spec with all the features I wanted and couldn't be happier. Just wanted to share my experience.
Was looking for a BMW Z4 3.0 and saw a decent one on Auto Trader so I gave the dealer a call Friday morning and said I would pop down in the afternoon for a look, he gave me the postcode and I set off for the c.45m journey. They were quite hard to find as it wasn't a garage but an office in a regus style building, felt like I was there for an interview waiting in reception. Anyways, had a look around the car and the dealer started with all the sales chat about how he hasn't had one this good before, 10k until next service and new tyres (which to be fair it did have).
I then noticed that the spec didn't match up to the list on the advert, something I was curious when viewing the photos, notably that it didn't have multi function steering wheel, voice control system, cruise control, 18" alloys and bluetooth phone prep. I questioned this and his response was that Auto Trader must select it based on the car.
Anyways, the shocking bit is yet to come. The car was in excellent condition so I wanted to view the paperwork which was upstairs in his office, so we returned there. I started looking through the documents and whilst taking note of the service history dates / mileage a conversation followed which went like this:
Dealer: Are you going to buy it today?
Me: Well that depends on paperwork and test drive but I do have another one in consideration also that I am due to see tomorrow
Dealer: This one is going to sell this afternoon
Me: How do you know that?
Dealer: I have a buyer coming from the North who has confirmed he will buy it
At this point the dealer starts collecting up all the paperwork in a hurry, so much so, he picked up my belongings in the pile and I had to get them back.
Dealer: If you are not buying today, no point looking but best of luck in your search
He then opens the office door and directs me out through the building
Me: So where is the buyer coming from?
Dealer: The North
Me: What time will he arrive?
Dealer: Depends on the traffic
I then proceeded to get in my car and drive off. If I wasn't full of man flu I may have continued to ask why he had wasted my time etc. Surely you are within your rights to take a day to consider it!
The car is still listed for sale so I can only presume the buyer from the North didn't turn up or he was also surprised by the lack of the features on the listing.
Either way, I bought the car I viewed yesterday which had a much better spec with all the features I wanted and couldn't be happier. Just wanted to share my experience.
I had vaguely similar - test drove an M135i, sat down with the sales guy, he opened with "so what are you wanting to achieve today?"
He then "offered" the ex demo at a silly price (after "speaking to his manager twice, each time for 10+ mins - we had two young kids with us..), offered me peanuts for our 335d then appeared to think I was wasting his time for daring not to order.
My wife was there too and we found it very odd.
Another local(ish) dealer ignored two requests for a price and told me they had none in even to look at; on leaving I saw one outside the front door.
It's SO dependent on the dealer - the brand seems almost irrelevant IMO.
I've had a random mixture of terrible and excellent service from main dealers - if they're good, I will sing their praises and push business their way.
I've done a lot of sales and their are some basic techniques you use but I can tell some sales people almost read off a prompt sheet. WHY do they still do the "I need to speak to my manager" thing for example?!!
So a big "up" to Ocean Falmouth (who I ordered a new one from in the end), Sytner Nottingham and Leicester and Coopers Tonbridge Wells, a "must try much harder" from my two other most local main dealers.
He then "offered" the ex demo at a silly price (after "speaking to his manager twice, each time for 10+ mins - we had two young kids with us..), offered me peanuts for our 335d then appeared to think I was wasting his time for daring not to order.
My wife was there too and we found it very odd.
Another local(ish) dealer ignored two requests for a price and told me they had none in even to look at; on leaving I saw one outside the front door.
It's SO dependent on the dealer - the brand seems almost irrelevant IMO.
I've had a random mixture of terrible and excellent service from main dealers - if they're good, I will sing their praises and push business their way.
I've done a lot of sales and their are some basic techniques you use but I can tell some sales people almost read off a prompt sheet. WHY do they still do the "I need to speak to my manager" thing for example?!!
So a big "up" to Ocean Falmouth (who I ordered a new one from in the end), Sytner Nottingham and Leicester and Coopers Tonbridge Wells, a "must try much harder" from my two other most local main dealers.
I had something similar looking at a used car from a garage in Slough. Saw it on Autotrader, and called and went over that afternoon.
Car was high mileage, but didn't run too bad on the test drive, but smelled bad, as they had cleaned it inside and not aired it, so it smelled of rotten spuds.
The owner tried to tell me how he was local, had the business there over 20 years, owned loads of houses in the street, and pushed to see if I was buying that day. When I asked why, he told me that he had someone driving down from Cardiff with cash, as they had called the previous day. They were the blokes stood in the corner watching me. He told me that if I wanted it I could have it, but he had to have a commitment right then.
I told him I didn't like his business tactics, and wouldn't buy off him, so good luck to the lads from Whales.
Car was high mileage, but didn't run too bad on the test drive, but smelled bad, as they had cleaned it inside and not aired it, so it smelled of rotten spuds.
The owner tried to tell me how he was local, had the business there over 20 years, owned loads of houses in the street, and pushed to see if I was buying that day. When I asked why, he told me that he had someone driving down from Cardiff with cash, as they had called the previous day. They were the blokes stood in the corner watching me. He told me that if I wanted it I could have it, but he had to have a commitment right then.
I told him I didn't like his business tactics, and wouldn't buy off him, so good luck to the lads from Whales.
Not great, but sadly I feel, not atypical either.
I'm sure there are lots of good ones, but the issue can often be the individual, not the dealership, when it comes to some of those antics.
First thing I'd say on spec, is that as a regular browser of approved used BMWs I've noticed several that don't match when you look at the description, then the pics, if you know what you are looking for.
Experience I once had went as follows:
Decided to change cars, selling mine privately and wanting an approved M3
Spent time at a dealer, thinking if I'm paying the premium, let the salesman do what I thought they were paid to do, explaining spec needs and emphasising I had a deadline based on likely sale of mine. I'm not talking a few days here either.
The guy didn't come up with anything, and mine was due for collection after selling. I popped in again and found the lazy tw*t daydreaming at his desk. When he saw me he started to pretend he had been searching but it was obvious he wasn't fussed.
I then spent time using their network, found a car out of the area, spoke to that dealer, then the local clown, as I wanted to get a dealer to dealer transfer sorted for final approval on my part. Later he confirmed all sorted and I handed over a sizeable deposit to assure of my intentions. Not long after that I got a call to tell me it had been sold from under me, despite being told I was first in the queue originally.
Lost that car, found another myself and still have it now. As for the salesman, lets just say I had very strong words at the right level to highlight his incompetence and lack of genuine interest in the product and customer.
From that point on, salesman lost all respect from me and confirmed that the majority are only a rung up from selling double glazing.
I'm sure there are lots of good ones, but the issue can often be the individual, not the dealership, when it comes to some of those antics.
First thing I'd say on spec, is that as a regular browser of approved used BMWs I've noticed several that don't match when you look at the description, then the pics, if you know what you are looking for.
Experience I once had went as follows:
Decided to change cars, selling mine privately and wanting an approved M3
Spent time at a dealer, thinking if I'm paying the premium, let the salesman do what I thought they were paid to do, explaining spec needs and emphasising I had a deadline based on likely sale of mine. I'm not talking a few days here either.
The guy didn't come up with anything, and mine was due for collection after selling. I popped in again and found the lazy tw*t daydreaming at his desk. When he saw me he started to pretend he had been searching but it was obvious he wasn't fussed.
I then spent time using their network, found a car out of the area, spoke to that dealer, then the local clown, as I wanted to get a dealer to dealer transfer sorted for final approval on my part. Later he confirmed all sorted and I handed over a sizeable deposit to assure of my intentions. Not long after that I got a call to tell me it had been sold from under me, despite being told I was first in the queue originally.
Lost that car, found another myself and still have it now. As for the salesman, lets just say I had very strong words at the right level to highlight his incompetence and lack of genuine interest in the product and customer.
From that point on, salesman lost all respect from me and confirmed that the majority are only a rung up from selling double glazing.
Just a technique to try and intimidate you into buying. It works on lots of people so he probably thought it would work on the OP too. In my experience, the higher the pressure, the worse the car. Anyone selling a really top notch vehicle in the right spec with impeccable history will sell it quickly if it's keenly priced. You're even more crazy if you allow yourself to be rushed into a decision with common car. There will ALWAYS be another one.
The "are you buying it today or what" attitude always irritates me.
My usual response is "if the car is what you say it is then yes, otherwise no". Which is the truth.
It's amazing how many of these mythical blokes driving down from 400 miles away, tomorrow, with hard cash ready to buy the car, never seem to be able to complete the deal, because the car is still for sale weeks later
Regardless of the deal on offer, I hate being treated like a fool. If a dealer does that, I go elsewhere.
My usual response is "if the car is what you say it is then yes, otherwise no". Which is the truth.
It's amazing how many of these mythical blokes driving down from 400 miles away, tomorrow, with hard cash ready to buy the car, never seem to be able to complete the deal, because the car is still for sale weeks later
Regardless of the deal on offer, I hate being treated like a fool. If a dealer does that, I go elsewhere.
9mm said:
Just a technique to try and intimidate you into buying. It works on lots of people so he probably thought it would work on the OP too. In my experience, the higher the pressure, the worse the car. Anyone selling a really top notch vehicle in the right spec with impeccable history will sell it quickly if it's keenly priced. You're even more crazy if you allow yourself to be rushed into a decision with common car. There will ALWAYS be another one.
I wonder if part of the "technique" is to get you to invest as much time and energy into chasing the car as possible, in the hope that once you see it, you will figure that having come so far, you might as well just do the deal, even if it's not exactly what you were looking for.
Hence the sales person turning up late, can't find the docs, car not as described, car not ready to be driven etc. They are trying to see how far they can push you. The further they push you, the more you want the car, and the more likely that a bit of extra pressure (often in the form of the mythical "other customer" who is literally waving the full asking price under the dealer's nose, and will be here tomorrow in person to buy it, without a doubt, sir) will make you close.
That would explain why usually, when I am just about to walk, they suddenly find the paperwork and realise that the car is ready to go out after all
I really hate being taken for a fool.
I had a bad experience with a used car salesman which really off-putting, on the way out the manager of the dealership was by reception and asked if they could do anything further, i explained to him that the salesman had just cost him a deal...he looked genuinely gutted, sat me down in reception and took the salesman into his office.
The salesman came out and then apologised to me and said if we could start again, i said i didn't feel comfortable so the manager got another salesman who was as good as gold.
Did a deal with the new bloke and the week after when i went to collect they had thrown loads of freebies into the deal without me asking. So i nipped to Tesco's bought two bottles of whiskey, put them in gift bags with a thank you card and hand delivered them to the gents who were really happy.
The other salesman just looked abit dumbstruck !!!
The salesman came out and then apologised to me and said if we could start again, i said i didn't feel comfortable so the manager got another salesman who was as good as gold.
Did a deal with the new bloke and the week after when i went to collect they had thrown loads of freebies into the deal without me asking. So i nipped to Tesco's bought two bottles of whiskey, put them in gift bags with a thank you card and hand delivered them to the gents who were really happy.
The other salesman just looked abit dumbstruck !!!
The fictitious buyer that has phoned is definitely going to buy the car is standard salesman's patter. I've had the "Doctor from Leicester", "Dentist from Cheltenham" etc.
i don't let it pressurize me. It just tells me the salesman is going through the standard repertoire of tricks.
pp
i don't let it pressurize me. It just tells me the salesman is going through the standard repertoire of tricks.
pp
steve singh said:
I had a bad experience with a used car salesman which really off-putting, on the way out the manager of the dealership was by reception and asked if they could do anything further, i explained to him that the salesman had just cost him a deal...he looked genuinely gutted, sat me down in reception and took the salesman into his office.
The salesman came out and then apologised to me and said if we could start again, i said i didn't feel comfortable so the manager got another salesman who was as good as gold.
Did a deal with the new bloke and the week after when i went to collect they had thrown loads of freebies into the deal without me asking. So i nipped to Tesco's bought two bottles of whiskey, put them in gift bags with a thank you card and hand delivered them to the gents who were really happy.
The other salesman just looked abit dumbstruck !!!
nice result all round id sayThe salesman came out and then apologised to me and said if we could start again, i said i didn't feel comfortable so the manager got another salesman who was as good as gold.
Did a deal with the new bloke and the week after when i went to collect they had thrown loads of freebies into the deal without me asking. So i nipped to Tesco's bought two bottles of whiskey, put them in gift bags with a thank you card and hand delivered them to the gents who were really happy.
The other salesman just looked abit dumbstruck !!!
My latest Jag I bought 2nd hand from a Jag dealer in Leeds. An absolute pleasure to deal with, nothing too much trouble and I was happy with the price.
Prior to buying that one I'd seen a lot on non jag dealer forecourts and all bar one the sales guys were shocking. In one case I was asked to leave the premises when I got out my torch and checklist (before I'd even started poking around the car), and another had a number of faults but the sales guy told me - 'the price on the screen is the price, no deals and you are just making up the faults. I'm not talking to you as you are clearly just wasting my time' . No I'm not, I had the cash sat in my car as I wanted to do a deal.I hadnt even mentioned a discount at that point - the price was actually on the money so if they had sorted out the minor faults I'd have taken it.
Prior to buying that one I'd seen a lot on non jag dealer forecourts and all bar one the sales guys were shocking. In one case I was asked to leave the premises when I got out my torch and checklist (before I'd even started poking around the car), and another had a number of faults but the sales guy told me - 'the price on the screen is the price, no deals and you are just making up the faults. I'm not talking to you as you are clearly just wasting my time' . No I'm not, I had the cash sat in my car as I wanted to do a deal.I hadnt even mentioned a discount at that point - the price was actually on the money so if they had sorted out the minor faults I'd have taken it.
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