Completely agree, being able to compare different offers without being pressured is much more pleasant. Plus, if you're negotiating over email the other dealers already know you're going to cross shop so they (hopefully) play less games

 

When did we get to the point that we need to cater to the sales people and not other way around.

Next time i have a meeting with my clients- i will make sure to tell them what are you guys doing to make my job easy lol

The dealer has a right to say no to test drive which they did. To me - its not a good business model. Obviously, others here feel certain screenings need to take place.

Again - i wish more automakers would do “product showcases” where ppl can test out new vehicles and get the word out. They used to this at some auto shows before Covid.

 

Its a two way street. Customer Service doesn't mean doing everything you want the way you want to do it.

I would imagine your clients are paying you for your time, I would also imagine that you have certain ways of doing business and policies and procedures in place and that you don't just do whatever your clients want you to do whenever they want you to do it. I would also imagine your policies and procedures with clients are designed to provide great service AND to make your life as easy as is possible, limit your liability etc.

Lets say someone called you up who is not your paying client and demands that you do a bunch of stuff for them and meet them in a specific place and at a specific time...how are you going to respond?

Its a mentality thing...you sound like you believe that dealership and that salesperson exist to serve you in whatever way you want to be served...and it doesn't work like that. They provide a service under certain terms and conditions just like everybody else.

 

The manufacturer is responsible for getting the word out and providing a showcase for customers to check out their products. This is exactly the definition of an auto show, most have even started keeping cars onsite and outside available for test drives for anyone they want to demonstrate how a vehicle does on the road. They don’t advertise this, for obvious reasons.
The dealerships are there to sell cars, however they find most effective. It’s not designed to be easy to drop by and get a brochure and test drive quickly. It’s designed to sell cars, they only get so many opportunities to do that, and want to make the most of those opportunities. It’s hard to blame industries for doing what has proven to be most effective. It is worse for everyone when business’s fail and can’t find a viable business model.

 

I am not suggesting anything about catering to the sales rep, Just giving an explanation from the sales reps side of the interaction. Which is the subject of this thread.

 

What 2 way street- I don’t need anything from the sales person, literally zero. They will add no value to me as they know less about the car than i do.

I emailed the dealer and sales guy emailed me back. I was not demanding a test drive right now or else attitude lol. He could have told me some available times. This is usually the standard process. Takes all of 5minutes.

You are reaching here for something that didn’t occur. I just refuse to go into dealerships and make small talk. I make appts by email and the car is usually prepared for test drive even with that it takes an hour of my time. Too much aggravation…

In my professional life, I don’t say no to clients or potential clients. Either myself or someone on my team provides a response even if it doesn’t provide us a direct benefit today but may in the future. I don’t sell widgets though.

BTW I inquired same way by email with my BMW dealer about M240ix. No problem to test drive lol Unfortunately by the time i was available about a week later the car sold, but they will call me when the one at port comes in. Nice and easy.

 

While your obviously passionate about your vehicles, know what you like and want, that is rare. The large majority of consumers need the guidance of a good sales rep to take them through the selection and purchasing process. It’s unfortunate that you’ve not found any sales reps that were as knowledgeable about the vehicles as yourself, generally most sales reps are trained extensively in the vehicle features and benefits of the product they are representing and their competitors. So they can inform and guide the shoppers in their decision making process. And also with any questions they may have about caring and maintaining the vehicle after the purchase is complete. The value that a good sales rep brings to the table varies from buyer to buyer, and while you have chosen to make your purchases without any input from a sales rep, it has been available to you. If all buyers were this passionate about cars, then the sales reps would be reduced to order takers getting paid a hourly wage and not a commission. Until that becomes the norm, instead of the current situation, in which many buyers know very little about all the cars on the market, and need the guidance of good sales rep, I don’t see any major alternatives from the current arrangements offered by the automotive industry.

 

You do need them...you need to let them let you drive the car.

Same, but in this situation that approach isn't working.

I absolutely do not believe you never say no to clients. Of course you respond, and provide service and value but you of course say no at times.

 

Lol, text even. Or wait, no, they might call you. Lol. Email for sure.

Considering it's been a decade since I bought my LS430 (wow) and the LX I bought from a friend with his own business I could be all wrong. I don't buy cars often.

 

They try and call all the time, I just keep emailin' lol

 

I purchased my LC over text with the sales rep. It pays to have a good working relationship with the dealer since they have the product… has made my 5 Lexus purchases (so far) a great experience each time.

 

Good to know it works well with new cars, too!

 

I have a hard time believing this? I am not sure what a 4R is I am assuming that is short for Toyota 4Runner? Every manufacturer ships the vehicle to the dealership in a partially disassembled state to protect vulnerable parts like windshield wipers and antennas, they shrink wrap them, raise the tire pressure to double the normal psi. Usually there is limited electric functions and the fluids may be left at a minimum level. Once it has arrived a technician will complete the assembly and inspect it to make sure all assembly is completed and does a full inspection to make sure it’s ready for delivery to it’s new owner. Part of this is a comprehensive road test that’s probably more intensive than any customer test drive. They can’t skip any of this. They are signing their name on a variety of forms certifying that they have done the work and checked every system as the manufacturer has specified. Most vehicles arrive off the boat, train, and truck with 2 miles on rhe odometer and then the service tech adds another 10 miles during his test drive. The very minimum mileage you will ever see on any new car, even a Ferrari, is probably going to be 5 miles. And most manufacturers do a random spot check, and test drive on 1 out of every 10 vehicles. They will usually take them on a 50 mile or longer shakedown drive before they are shipped to the dealer. I have never ever seen a car reach a dealership with 0 miles on the odometer. I don’t recall ever seeing one reach the sales lot with less than 8 miles and getting one with 75 miles before a customer ever laid eyes on it wasn’t unusual. Why would it bother you if it had been on a test drive before you picked it up? Dealerships may be getting stingy with test drives,and they may occasionally let a customer take a new vehicle for a drive alone, but I never saw a new car leave the lot, that I suspected would be abused on a test drive. The dealership has insurance on them, but it’s the customers insurance that will be billed if there were any damage done to a vehicle on a test drive. Nowhere I ever worked would allow a juvenile to take a car unaccompanied. They train sales reps to qualify their customers right after introductions. And an unqualified buyer gets the Broom. A qualified customer is a customer who can be trusted not to abuse a vehicle on a test drive. So it’s unlikely to make any noticeable difference wether it had 2 miles or 200.

 

Because some things are just really special to some people...

SW loves his big flagship cars.
MM loved his Buick’s.
AT loves his LX570
Bitty loves his LC500, his G90, his Santa Fe, his GS
Motorola has a burning love for his Hyundai’s
EZZ loves his Tesla
…I am sure there are more which I haven’t listed so I’m sorry to those

so I didn’t need a new 4R. I wanted one, . I also wanted it to match my 04 4R V8 which I still drive. 4R to me are really cool vehicles and they are special. they are body on frame, they use old tech, a giant 4.0 v6 with premium interior materials. Most of the door materials are lifted from the Lexus GX with 4R material on top. My 4R has classic optitron gauges. Those little spacers between each auto window switch, it has always on 4 wheel drive with a torsen diff, the wheel wells are finished nicely with exact colour matched plastic wheel arcs, there are engine covers and sound diffusers. has a hydraulic linked suspension…a matching 5th wheel spare tire..a slightly oversized sunroof…it has puddle lamps..and the little details..a gated shifter... Finally it was made in Japan

So because I didn’t need one, it was my request it must be blue…no exceptions….I wanted it right off the truck…my build date was Aug 2020…I paid cash for it. And I don’t buy a new car all that often. . It’s mine TBH I thought that the 21 was the last for the model year (bad case of FOMO at the time) and I am not really the biggest fan of TNGA stuff coming from Toyota compared to their legacy models. The new 22 added blind spot detection which I missed out on but it is an extra cost option.


Here is my link

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...1-4runner.html




^^^. This is special to me Therefore, I want it to be with as few km as possible and right off the delivery truck. Do you see what I mean?


I remember a while back I was in Washington DC…I wanted to test drive a new Land Cruiser…I was at Toyota and they had 5 or 6 in site. I asked about the black with beige interior model they had…dealer told me that I would be permitted to test drive any colour combo on the lot except the black with beige interior…I asked why and they said that colour is a very special colour combo, very hard to get and they are reserving it as they want the buyer to have that model with as little miles on it as possible. I can respect..,that to me is a dealer thinking of their customer as someone special.

 

I ordered two BMWs in the last couple years, my M340 that was built in Germany had 7 miles and my X7 that was built in South Carolina had 5 miles so I think it may depend on the brand. For GTRs, they typically have around 30 miles on them because they are driven by Nissan on a test track prior to shipping.

I am a little tough on my test drives because I want to see what a car can do so for me I don't want one that has been test driven a bunch of times if I am buying for the long term but I typically lease so I wouldn't care if the car I get has been test driven.