How Car Salesmen See Car Buyers
#46
Lexus Test Driver
On the subject of wasting everybody's time. lol
Many years ago I went to a motorcycle store.
They must've had a couple hundred used motorcycles of all kinds- Suzuki, Yamaha, Honda, Kawasaki, you name it they had it.
All varying condition from almost new to worn out rusty beaters that looked sketchy to ride.
These bikes were lined up like dominos outside and if you wanted to test drive one they threw you the keys no problem and you were popping wheelies and burning rubber(I'm exagerrating) but they really didn't seem to care.
On the other side of the store they had a small selection of Harley Davidsons.
From the best of my memory the sign read
"No touching"
"No sitting"
"No riding"
"No exceptions!"
I saw only one Harley I liked and I was going to buy it but I told the salesman I wasn't buying it without driving it and we were a little apart on their asking price but I was upfront.
Of course they said,"I'm sorry, we can't let anyone ride these."
Honestly I can understand why, they were chromed out and detailed and the last thing they wanted is someone to drop or lay the bike down.
I drove my old Porshe and had the title with me and let the sales manager hold it and told him if I like how it rides I will buy it if we can come to an agreement on price.
Anyway, they made an exception and moved 5 motorcycles out of the way to get the one I wanted out of the showroom and said I could drive it in the parking lot.
I really wanted to like the bike but the whole setup was wrong for me and didn't feel right- meaning I would have to change seat, handlebars and more for my comfort.
Feeling really bad I told them I was sorry but we had no deal and they gladly gave me back my car's title and encouraged me to come back and see their new bikes as they get them in.
Many years ago I went to a motorcycle store.
They must've had a couple hundred used motorcycles of all kinds- Suzuki, Yamaha, Honda, Kawasaki, you name it they had it.
All varying condition from almost new to worn out rusty beaters that looked sketchy to ride.
These bikes were lined up like dominos outside and if you wanted to test drive one they threw you the keys no problem and you were popping wheelies and burning rubber(I'm exagerrating) but they really didn't seem to care.
On the other side of the store they had a small selection of Harley Davidsons.
From the best of my memory the sign read
"No touching"
"No sitting"
"No riding"
"No exceptions!"
I saw only one Harley I liked and I was going to buy it but I told the salesman I wasn't buying it without driving it and we were a little apart on their asking price but I was upfront.
Of course they said,"I'm sorry, we can't let anyone ride these."
Honestly I can understand why, they were chromed out and detailed and the last thing they wanted is someone to drop or lay the bike down.
I drove my old Porshe and had the title with me and let the sales manager hold it and told him if I like how it rides I will buy it if we can come to an agreement on price.
Anyway, they made an exception and moved 5 motorcycles out of the way to get the one I wanted out of the showroom and said I could drive it in the parking lot.
I really wanted to like the bike but the whole setup was wrong for me and didn't feel right- meaning I would have to change seat, handlebars and more for my comfort.
Feeling really bad I told them I was sorry but we had no deal and they gladly gave me back my car's title and encouraged me to come back and see their new bikes as they get them in.
#47
Lexus Fanatic
Exactly, they knew you were a real buyer, you didn't make demands and they made it work for you. This is how it works 9/10 times.
#48
Lexus Fanatic
On the other side of the store they had a small selection of Harley Davidsons.
From the best of my memory the sign read
"No touching"
"No sitting"
"No riding"
"No exceptions!"
I saw only one Harley I liked and I was going to buy it but I told the salesman I wasn't buying it without driving it and we were a little apart on their asking price but I was upfront.
n.
#49
Lexus Fanatic
My brother went thru this when he first started out in real estate.
Yeah, he spent the first 2 years giving up his saturdays and sundays showing houses for free, not including the gas and wear and tear on his car.
Lots of entitled people thought this was ok and of course they never came back when they were ready to buy even after he felt he earned their business.
Then he got smart and started qualifing the buyer to see if they were ready to buy or just in the research phase so he could use his time and resurces more wisely.
Success for him and his customers followed.
Yeah, he spent the first 2 years giving up his saturdays and sundays showing houses for free, not including the gas and wear and tear on his car.
Lots of entitled people thought this was ok and of course they never came back when they were ready to buy even after he felt he earned their business.
Then he got smart and started qualifing the buyer to see if they were ready to buy or just in the research phase so he could use his time and resurces more wisely.
Success for him and his customers followed.
When you respect yourself, people respect you too. I mean if a customer sees that you will fall all over yourself to meet them whenever they want and you'll drop anything and answer the phone all hours of the night...how can they respect you?
#50
Lexus Test Driver
#51
Lexus Test Driver
#52
Pole Position
BTW...I was happy to hear at the time (in the 80's) that I had "gold *****!" I think that's what started the "list" conversation with my buddy...he was attempting to sell me a Corvette and he liked my credit rating.
Other then the racist stuff, I don't have anything against car salespeople or their tactics. Every profession and business has their own "shop talk," and all want to maximize profits. I would have tried my hand at selling cars, but didn't want to deal with the 10-15% of the population who is certifiably insane. That stuff wears you down. Kudos to salespeople who manage to circumvent these waters!
#53
Lexus Champion
On the subject of wasting everybody's time. lol
Many years ago I went to a motorcycle store.
They must've had a couple hundred used motorcycles of all kinds- Suzuki, Yamaha, Honda, Kawasaki, you name it they had it.
All varying condition from almost new to worn out rusty beaters that looked sketchy to ride.
These bikes were lined up like dominos outside and if you wanted to test drive one they threw you the keys no problem and you were popping wheelies and burning rubber(I'm exagerrating) but they really didn't seem to care.
On the other side of the store they had a small selection of Harley Davidsons.
From the best of my memory the sign read
"No touching"
"No sitting"
"No riding"
"No exceptions!"
I saw only one Harley I liked and I was going to buy it but I told the salesman I wasn't buying it without driving it and we were a little apart on their asking price but I was upfront.
Of course they said,"I'm sorry, we can't let anyone ride these."
Honestly I can understand why, they were chromed out and detailed and the last thing they wanted is someone to drop or lay the bike down.
I drove my old Porshe and had the title with me and let the sales manager hold it and told him if I like how it rides I will buy it if we can come to an agreement on price.
Anyway, they made an exception and moved 5 motorcycles out of the way to get the one I wanted out of the showroom and said I could drive it in the parking lot.
I really wanted to like the bike but the whole setup was wrong for me and didn't feel right- meaning I would have to change seat, handlebars and more for my comfort.
Feeling really bad I told them I was sorry but we had no deal and they gladly gave me back my car's title and encouraged me to come back and see their new bikes as they get them in.
Many years ago I went to a motorcycle store.
They must've had a couple hundred used motorcycles of all kinds- Suzuki, Yamaha, Honda, Kawasaki, you name it they had it.
All varying condition from almost new to worn out rusty beaters that looked sketchy to ride.
These bikes were lined up like dominos outside and if you wanted to test drive one they threw you the keys no problem and you were popping wheelies and burning rubber(I'm exagerrating) but they really didn't seem to care.
On the other side of the store they had a small selection of Harley Davidsons.
From the best of my memory the sign read
"No touching"
"No sitting"
"No riding"
"No exceptions!"
I saw only one Harley I liked and I was going to buy it but I told the salesman I wasn't buying it without driving it and we were a little apart on their asking price but I was upfront.
Of course they said,"I'm sorry, we can't let anyone ride these."
Honestly I can understand why, they were chromed out and detailed and the last thing they wanted is someone to drop or lay the bike down.
I drove my old Porshe and had the title with me and let the sales manager hold it and told him if I like how it rides I will buy it if we can come to an agreement on price.
Anyway, they made an exception and moved 5 motorcycles out of the way to get the one I wanted out of the showroom and said I could drive it in the parking lot.
I really wanted to like the bike but the whole setup was wrong for me and didn't feel right- meaning I would have to change seat, handlebars and more for my comfort.
Feeling really bad I told them I was sorry but we had no deal and they gladly gave me back my car's title and encouraged me to come back and see their new bikes as they get them in.
#54
Lexus Fanatic
But ... why should you feel bad? THIS is exactly why you needed to ride it before buying--you need to know that you can live with it before you buy. To expect a customer to commit to buying a bike or car without driving it is ... insane. It's a policy that should be reserved for very exclusive vehicles.
#55
That has nothing to do with having a bad experience. You can be the most reasonable person in the world and have a dealer start with the shenanigans and the let me talk to my finance manager games. That's what tends to set people off, running back and forth lying about "Ok the best I can do is". Then go back 4 more times with lower prices. Just give a reasonable price up front and stop the BS. Then the trying to rip me off by selling all these paint protectors and other non sense. I don't even deal with dealerships in person anymore because of this. I do all my deals online with the fleet manager or through a broker.
#56
Lexus Fanatic
Doing the deal online is the way to go.
#58
Lexus Fanatic
Nope.....that is incorrect, for reasons which I explained above, which I'm not going to repeat here because of the lengthy explanation. (post #32)
#59
Lead Lap
In those circumstances you order the car which is what 90% of BRZ/86 buyers do anyway.
This speaks to the complete disconnect of whats good for the company is not good for salesperson.
Subaru created a great handling affordable sports car but people can’t even experience it so how do you grow sales? imagine how many Tesla sales would be lost if ppl couldn’t experience the cars.
I agree same thing happened with Supra, C8 Corvette etc.
Again its a detriment to the manufacturer who created a great product.
This speaks to the complete disconnect of whats good for the company is not good for salesperson.
Subaru created a great handling affordable sports car but people can’t even experience it so how do you grow sales? imagine how many Tesla sales would be lost if ppl couldn’t experience the cars.
I agree same thing happened with Supra, C8 Corvette etc.
Again its a detriment to the manufacturer who created a great product.
#60
Lexus Fanatic