mmarshall

Have to agree...........I didn't particularly like the place that I bought my Lexus IS300 from, or some of the polices that the General Manager enforced.

SW17LS

The Lincoln dealer I was at was Sheehy in Gaithersburg. The Lincoln section is off to the right and they have a few dedictaed Lincoln salespeople who can also sell Ford in case there is overlap, but they are clearly more professional and experienced and the way they interact with customers is different.

I drove a Genesis at Hyundai/Genesis of Chantilly once, the experience was fine. Nowhere near as differentiated though as the Lincoln dealer. They basically just sell Genesis models like any other model on their lot.

I've dealt with a LOT of dealers and dealer salespeople. Before I got into what I do now I consulted with car dealers, I sold and implemented conversion programs to help dealers convert sales business to service business. There is an undeniable difference in the quality of a luxury car dealer and a mainstream dealer. That just comes out of necessity. Luxury car dealers compete for awards and recognition based on quality of service AND volume while at a mainstream dealer the focus is much more on volume. Luxury consumers also are more loyal, so there is more value in cultivating longer term relationships. Luxury consumers are more likely to be in high profile customer service positions in their own careers, so they are more sensitive to and critical of the quality of service than mainstream consumers. The consumers are just quite different, which is why the approach to selling to them is different.

Every facet of the process in a dealership is designed with purpose in mind. Nothing happens by chance.

Biggest differences:

1. The surroundings. Quality surroundings have a huge impact on a customer's likelihood of spending money and how much they will spend. Nicer dealers get customers to spend more, bottom line. A consumer is psychologically driven to spend more in a luxury dealership than a mainstream dealer.
2. The experience of the staff. Luxury dealers have more experienced staff. You don't find a brand new car salesman or finance manager at a luxury dealer.
3. The process. Mainstream dealers are more aggressive, upsell customers more, and put way more pressure on customers than luxury dealers. You don't get "worked over" in a luxury dealer in the finance office the same way you do in a mainstream dealer, for instance. All of the times I have ever been really hard sold paint sealant and warranties and BS like that have been in mainstream dealers. Thats a function of profit, there is way more profit in a luxury car and the dealer doesnt have to rape you as hard to turn a $$, and it just plain doesnt work as well on more affluent, savvier higher ego customers in a luxury dealer

The two types of dealers are largely the same, but with really important key differences.

Where did you buy it and what didnt you like?

Toys4RJill

These are some very good points. A luxury dealer as well as experienced, and properly trained staff help seal the deal. The Genesis brand really has no chance without dealers. And for those people who owner Genesis cars where they come towards you at your home or office, I am pretty sure they are not Hyundai dealer employees behind the scenes....the Toronto Genesis staff are workers who work for an agency inside shopping malls..its very tough to get it right

SW17LS

One of the big differences is the "hand off" to a closer. In a mainstream dealer the salesman hands you off to a closer before you leave. "let me introduce you to my manager", the "manager" then ascertains your motivations and tries to close you before you leave. You rarely see that in a luxury dealer. Luxury dealers also don't play mind games the way a mainstream dealer does, trying to get you to sit down, using a 4 square to try and move money around, soft closing you when having a conversation "Would you prefer red or blue?" "do you want to transfer your tags or buy new ones?" In luxury dealers the salesperson is much more autonomous and is more responsible for closing and converting their own customers where in a mainstream dealer the management stays on top of the customers more. Thats why luxury salespeople seem more authentic.

Being a highly trained and experienced salesperson myself I find it fascinating. And times when I have been shopping simultaneously in luxury dealers and mainstream dealers like I have been lately, its even more fascinating.

If you are looking at luxury cars and dealing with luxury dealers and then wander into a Hyundai dealer to look at a Genesis, the change in how you're dealt with is quite striking. Which, is another reason why Genesis needs dealers.

LexBob2

We bought a new BMW about 5 months ago and the only time I saw a manager was when we were in the new car delivery area. He stopped by and thanked us, gave me his card and said to call if I needed anything, and moved on. Other recent purchases have been similar. In fact, with a couple I didn't even meet a manager.

SW17LS

All luxury car purchases? Doesn't surprise me. In mainstream dealers though thats not the case.

As an example, when I drove the Palisade and the S450 in the same week. When I took the Hyundai salesman's card and told him I would be in touch when we get closer, he brought me in, sat me down, made me wait for a manager, manager comes over and gives me the harder sell, trying to scare me about scarcity that the car I had driven was the only Limited Palisade I would ever see again, then I leave. At Mercedes, he gave me his card, we shook hands, and I left. No games.

Then follow up. Hyundai's follow up is all about getting me back in. No numbers, they don't want you to make decisions in private they want you there where they can pressure you. MB Followed up with some numbers educated based on what we discussed, very soft and giving me space to look at everything vs trying to trap me in there and sell me a car that day. Night and day.

Approaches are totally different, and as a customer who is accustomed to MB's way vs Hyundais, dealing with them being that way they were about the Palisade trying to sell me a G90 aint gonna work.

To me as a consumer, its a respect thing. The way MB dealt with me validates me as a professional and a high caliber person. Interested in meeting my needs and creating a consensus, not just selling me a car and as much crap as they can and streeting me like Hyundai. Buying a Mercedes is an experience, buying a Hyundai is not lol

Genesis MUST have dealers at this same level if they really want to attract the kind of clientele that the product deserves to attract.

Remember, neither approach is wrong. Both approaches are designed with getting their target customer to buy ASAP and pay as much as possible in mind, and they come from their own experience. The consumers are just different.

LexBob2

Yes, most recently BMW and Audi. I've been in those situations where you meet the "manager". Sometimes it feels like you're on the wrong end of a 2 on 1 fast break lol.

SW17LS

Oh always! I edited my post above and elaborated more, let me know what you think

SW17LS

I HATE buying mainstream cars. Every time I do it it is just a painful, terrible experience. For the most part I find buying luxury cars a very painless experience. I buy one of each every 3 years.

JDR76

^^ My experience bears this out as well.

I've had the most incredibly wonderful and super easy experiences at my local Lexus dealership.

My usual Toyota dealership has had a few more hoops to jump through, but they do a reasonably good job. Though last weekend I went to a different dealer and test drove a Tacoma and I didn't think they were going to let me out of there! I said I was leaving and wanted time to think about it. "Oh come on in, let me just check one thing before you leave." So we walk in (my mistake), and a minute later the manager comes over and is talking to me about what he can do to get me in the truck that night...

LexBob2

My experience at two MB dealerships while looking at the GLC were similar. Same with the 3 BMW dealerships I've done business with. They might be a little more laid back than MB but both brands were professional, cordial, knew their product well and respected my time.

SW17LS

I think for me buying the mainstream car is so painful because I know how striaghtforward the process can be, and the dealer doesnt understand me as a consumer the way luxury car dealers do.

I am the easiest customer a car dealership will ever have, but mainstream dealers just do not want to do business the way I want to do business. I know what I want, I figure that out really quick. I have several variations on what I want (I can accept a few different colors, a few different packages but I wont take just anything, and I cant be talked out of what I want and into what I don't want). I know the numbers and I'm very fair, but I wont overpay. I wont pay a marked up money factor on a lease, I want to see all the numbers and understand them and calculate them all and make sure they mesh. You can literally sell me a car in 10 minutes.

Luxury car dealers understand this, and accommodate it, They don't try and get me to come in until its all hammered out, they respect my time and let me mull the numbers over and reach back out to them. They ALWAYS try and pad the numbers, but as soon as I call them on it they fold because theres no excuse, the numbers are what they are and I clearly have the real numbers.

Mainstream dealers however, HATE this. They do not want to give numbers. They do not want to give ALL the numbers. They want me to come in, which I wont. They try and withhold any numbers until I'm there. I've had dealers just tell me they refuse to help me if I wont come in, fine on to the next one. They pad numbers and then try and insult my intelligence by giving me absurd explanations for why my numbers are wrong and theirs are right.

Then, when you get there. Luxury dealers are prepared. The car is prepped for delivery and ready. Finance is ready. They start trying to sell me stuff in the finance office, I say no to all of it and its dropped and we move forward. Easy.

Mainstream dealers, you know I'm coming...where is the car? Its sill on the other lot in SouthWTFland, needs to be detailed, or it doesnt exist and they try and renig on everything and sell me something else and screw with all the numbers again. Finance office, oh we have 34 people ahead of you despite setting an appointment with you a day+ in advance. Oh you dont want to pay $3,000 to protect 16 inch rims on a Jeep with 60 series tires? You're crazy and how can you drive a car without the interior fabric protection, what if your brain explodes and the headliner is ruined, how can you be so irresponsible!?"

Its absurd how something so easy, and clearly that can be done well, can be done so poorly that I drive off with zero enthusiasm for my vehicle I just bought and just want to set it on fire.

Toys4RJill

You have some very strange experiences. Mainstream dealers are not that hard to deal with, there are good dealers and bad ones..same with luxury car dealers....luxury dealers just have more mark up and are willing to move more, the better brands and the higher the price, the more service you will get. Pay with cash, you will never have to meet anyone once the price is determined...better yet, pay cash..but do it at a no-haggle dealer....better, better yet pay with cash to Lincoln or Genesis who come to you. There are no percentage point discussions for interest..there is no down payment discussion...there is no qualification process for a loan...cash is king IMO.

SW17LS

Its been a very long time since you've had any experience dealing with a luxury car dealer as a point of comparison. And paying cash, its actually HARDER to negotiate a good deal because there is no profit coming from financing. There is no qualification or down payment discussion for me when I lease and finance either, I have 800 credit and significant income, its just about the terms. Thats a good example too, luxury car dealers dont even ask you to apply for financing before discussing numbers. Mainstream dealers often (not always) want to pull credit first.

Even when you pay cash you STILL go through the finance office and they STILL try and sell you a bunch of stuff, in fact they try harder because they need the profit more to make up for the financing if you've negotiated a good deal on the price of the car.

I wish my experiences were strange, but theyre not.

That was the point of what I said, mainstream dealers are more frustrating to me because I have had so much experience dealing with luxury car dealers.

Toys4RJill

NEVER EVER....tell a dealer how you are going to pay....you ask....What is the best price for this car? then you negotiate.