bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

i had a salesperson tell me he didn't live in the county where the dealership was because there were too many people of a certain ethnicity living there! he then told me the other reps let him 'handle them' because he knows how to. oh and this was a lexus dealership by the way.

salespeople are often not the sharpest knives in the drawer.

Gojirra99

I've seen sales people from all kinds of dealership lie or give wrong info about their cars, but not more recently, since more and more, I tend to avoid talking to them even when they approach me, knowing they can't tell me about the cars they are selling that I don't already know.

Even when I bought my LS last year, I didn't spend much time talking to the salesperson(which is a nice guy btw) about the car itself, I just went straight to negotiations.

I do remember when I was shopping for my LS (vs. Mercedes S550), I have gone to a few dealerships numerous times, and I heard some blatant lies that one or two sales people tell other customers (not me, since I don't even talk to them about the cars).

That was a time when the Canadian dollar rose to a very high level against the U.S. dollar, which makes cars look very cheap across the border compare to the same Canadian models.

Of course many customers were complaining about the differences, and that they would rather just find a way to get the car from the U.S.

So Canadian car salesmen at that time were encountering a lot of difficulties because of the big price differences.
While I was browsing a Lexus dealeship, I've heard a salesman telling a customer a lot of B.S. about how different and inferior the U.S. models are compared to the Canadian models even if they look exactly the same.

He lied about the different specs. between the Canadian and the equivalent U.S. models, he claimed the quality of the vinyl/wood trims and the carpets are different, he even told the customer that the steel used on U.S. models are cheaper because the safety regulations are more lax, and also the paint on the U.S. cars are inferior.

Basically, everything he said were lies, which can be confirmed if you just research on the internet(particularly the specs.) And he talked with such a straight face it's almost funny listening to him.

mmarshall

If I hear what I know to be misinformation, I set the record straight right there in the dealership, even if I overhear it with other customers. Instead of giving me nasty looks for butting in, most customers and salespeople thank me. I'm not always 100% right, but, in most cases, like I8ABMR above, I know more than the salespeople.

juice14

I know they always lie about the best price they can give you, but thats part of the business hehe.

IS-SV

Salespeople are consistently the poorest source of reliable automobile information. I'm amazed when people are surprised by a auto salesperson giving incorrect information. Almost any auto enthusiast has better knowledge base.

mmarshall

There's no question that you know more than the average salesperson, IS-SV. Same with me, 1SICKLEX, Gojirra99, bitkahuna, flipside909, I8ABMR, Threxx, Trexus, LexMex, pagemaster, and many others here on CAR CHAT.

To be honest, though, sometimes the salespeople are sharper with the NAV screens and ****/controllers than I am. That kind of stuff is not my best talents.

IS-SV

I agree on all counts. Not that it takes much to exceed knowledge base of most car salespeople. It's sad that the profession has reached such a low level. But people like us are only there to negotiate price, and in the modern era we can do that over the phone and via email, before actually entering the dealership via the side door with an appointment.

Your last point is a good one too, my last similar experience was a young very helpful Mercedes salesman assisting me with the bluetooth setup on my wife's phone. That particular high-end dealership turns over sales people faster than I rotate my collection of dress shirts. But this young salesman was still with the dealership after 3 years because the owner of dealership actually persuaded him to stay. He was personable, smart and knowledgable, a rare treat.

LexFather

I wonder on average who is more knowledgeable about cars luxury or non luxury brands? Most salesman are not passionate about cars or even their brand. To us we would love to be in training or to know about a new car. To them, they just care if the person has the credit to get it.

Its not just salesmen too. I've heard consumers at autoshows/dealerships just make up or say crazy things about the competition.

mmarshall

That's a tough question to answer, because, in my experience, there doesn't seem to be a real pattern to it. For instance, VW has some of both the best and worst salespeople I've ever seen. Many Honda and Toyota salespeople, for years (even sales managers), simply rode the popularity of their products and didn't bother to learn much about the competition, but even that pattern is somewhat outdated and doesn't apply much any more as the industry has gotten more competitive.

Like I say, it's really hard to pick out a pattern to it, as individual salespeople vary much more than the auto brand in general, or even the individual dealership. But, if I had to pick out groups of salespeople that seem to know much about both their products and those of the competiton, in general, I'd say that Mercedes salespeople are probably the best and Ford and Mitsubishi salespeople are probably the worst. Upmarket German companies like Mercedes, Audi, and BMW used to have a reputation for arrogance and a snooty attitude at dealerships, but that has clearly changed in recent years.

When I say that the M-B sales people are probably the best in product knowledge, though, I'm not necessarily including courtesy to customers (though some are extremely courteous). I mean that many of them are car-saavy and know what they are talking about, regardless of how they deal with you personally. Conversely, I've met some Saturn salespeople who were superb in their courtesy to customers but, mentally, couldn't find their way down the hall to the rest rooms. I ordered a new 1999 SL-2, back before GM started screwing the division up so bad, from a young sales rep in her 20s who had a superb personality with people, but obviously had very little knowledge of cars or the industry. I deliberately chose her to deal with, to help her gain some experience and learn a few things about cars (she had a boyfriend, but he didn't seem to be much help, as he wasn't particularly car-saavy either). Later, I persuaded the dealership's management to give her a chance to work the D.C. Auto Show, at the Saturn display, so she could get some exposure to the auto world, and competitors, outside the dealership. I still have a picture at home of me, her, and the new-car delivery....Saturn, in those days, photographed every new-car delivery and laminated it in a nice frame.

(for those of you who think I am sounding sexist, it's not just a matter of her being female, as some men are also in the sales buisness lacking knowledge and experience. So, my story about her is not just a matter of trying to talk down women sales and company reps in general, as I have also met some very sharp ones)


Yep. No doubt about that. I spend maybe 20-30% of my time at the D.C. Auto Show each year just talking with random showgoers there that don't really know what they are looking at, or, as you note, what competes with it.
Many people, for instance are surprised to find out that their pre-conceived stereotypes are not true, or that the vehicle they are looking at is actually a rebadged version of another car or platform. The average person, for instance, doesn't know that several Suzuki cars are redone Daewoos (ditto for the Chevy Aveo), or that several Saturns are not uniquely "American" products anymore, but Opel-designed.

IS-SV

Car salemanship is reaching an all time low in my observations. In my experience the 3 luxury brands I've been most involved with lately (MB, Porsche, Lexus) do have better educated sales people than the mid-level brands.

But if the career of car salesperson is not a lucrative profession, naturally the best and brightest will find something else to do for a living. I don't like to make sweeping general statements, but this is problem that I've noticed in most retail environments.

I certainly haven't been impressed with most people working car shows for the last decade either.

LexBob2

I got some (limited) information on the Q5 at the Chicago Auto Show. The woman who provided it said she worked for a third party firm which this year was representing Audi at the various shows around the country. Hence the limited knowledge.

Carfreak70

iTrader: (16)

Lol this is kinda off topic, but there is a guy who comes to my work with this maxima with a ugly body kit, a big exhaust, and some rims. Well one day, I got the courage to ask him how much HP he had. He said he had 550RWHP dyno proven...I said wow...so what have you done to it? Are you turbo, supercharged what? He said nah man, just some engine work...ya know injectors and stuff...but man its fast. After hearing this I said well my car put 201HP down to the wheels with my SC400...wanna run and see what happens? He said nah, I need a new brake light... yeah a brake light. Okay....whatever...haha maximas come 225hp to the crank...550RWHP my ***.

mmarshall

Auto show people, who often wear tailored uniforms with company logo and "Product Specialist" tags, vary enormously in their automotive and product knowledge......I can't overemphathize how big the difference is between the best and worst of them. Believe it or not, THE two most intelligent reps I ever met at a car show were from Buick and Chrysler. The Buick product rep (I forget what his name was) had formerly worked in Europe for some German car companies, now he was in America working for Buick. The rep from Daimler-Chrysler was also a Chrysler development engineer.....and he knew his stuff.

mmarshall

There is no such thing as HP going to the wheels. HP is produced only in the cylinders. Torque is what actually goes to the wheels. See my earlier, detailed post on this matter.

IS-SV

Poor guy, being a Chrysler development engineer is not a resume booster. Since he was knowledgable, it was talent being wasted at Chrysler.