mmarshall

Yes, to an extent......but he knew that Chrysler needed to do a much better job on the quality of their cars. He and I talked for maybe a half an hour. He was one of the few people I ever met who talked about the big problems Chrysler had trying to do anything under M-B leadership. Mercedes simply wouldn't let Chrysler address some of its most pressing problems. I pointed out how cheaply the Dodge Caliber was made, and he agreed and said himself that the Caliber and Compass were an embarassment (something that company reps rarely do with their own procucts, in public).

kalvano

I like that one the best.

ming15237

iTrader: (3)

Having worked in the auto industry for the past 20 years or so I can say with certainty that "If a sales mens mouth is moving, he is lying!" I can also say that the higher end dealership sales men make a VERY nice living. It is NOT uncommon for a Lexus or BMW sales person to make in the six figures range. My first real eye opener was a reading available on Edmund's.com, I believe it was called "confessions of a car sales man", it talks all about working at various dealerships, and how the money is made on sales. It really is a must read for any new car buyer!
My experience with sales men delivering cars to out shop for us to check out for customers before the sales agreement is signed has been less than stellar. They are always claiming "it has a clean Car Fax report", (Which, by the way means NOTHING, I have seen more wrecked vehicles have clean Car Fax reports than not) It was only one owner, it was garage kept, blah blah blah. Remember if their mouth is moving they are lying!

mmarshall

Having helped people shop for cars, and buy cars, for a lot more than 20 years, I can say that, in general, that is true, but there are a number of exceptions. Not all salespeople are B.S.'ers, especially those that you get to know or are repeat customers.

IS-SV

I agree, since I too have purchased and helped others purchase dozens of cars in last 3 decades. But the general state of auto salesmanship is pretty bad, with only a handful in it for the long haul.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

there are always exceptions in almost everything out there. people just have to be smart enough and use their brains on everything rather than just listen and trust.

shern

iTrader: (6)

A little off subject but it reminds me of the time I was in BestBuy and I overheard a salesman trying to sell a TV to a customer. In the process, he told the customer that he/she needed a "high end" $100 HDMI cable because the TV was 120Hz. At that point I stopped, stared the douchebag in the face until he looked me in the eyes and started shaking my head.

There is so much mis-information out there. Un-educated consumers get screwed everyday.

The G Man

I second that, I have meet many car salesman who is very knowledgeable, but every brand has its share of bad salesmen, not just BMW.

slvrboolet

The lexus car sales guys at least here locally make good money you get fired if you make 50k (u aint selling enough) my dad has a long time friend that works there thats strait from his mouth. I'm in sales (not cars) and know about lexus cars in general so maybe i found a new job lol.

Jewcano

iTrader: (4)

Been in sales before, and honestly, I tried not to lie to the customer. I would tell them the pluses and negatives to everything they wanted, and tried to guide them to what would best suit their needs (Shoe salesman at Dillards). Needless to say, it is probably different at a car dealership where it's pretty much cutthroat I would assume. How could you work at a Chevy dealership and tell the customer that the 09 aveo is the best bang for the buck.....

DRE1615

In no way would the new STI beat your a$$. I can't stand car salesmen. DBag

mmarshall

The Aveo, performance-wise, has no "bang" at all. It drives like a small appliance, but the interior of the top-line 2LT model is damn nice for the money.

Jewcano

iTrader: (4)

Well that interior looks a heck of a lot different from the rental I got to drive at work. The one I drove was stock base everything, except automatic. Manual windows, manual mirrors, no power locks.....all those should be standard on all cars today period.

mmarshall

Yes, the base Aveo's interior is as stark as a military vehicle (I drove and reviewed both versions not long ago). The difference between the base model and the 2LT interior is enormous.

The G Man

BMW salesman like to talk performance, that is BMW's edgy. They will say anything to steer the conversation toward performance to make the customers forget about BMW's short comings.