Thread: Car Salepersons.....do you dislike them as much as me?

You're dealing with people and everyone is different, although car sales staff are a special breed.

I was looking at buying a new Isuzu earlier this year.

Phone call to dealer 1 :
I asked for a brochure he said he's email....never arrived.
One comment he made on the phone annoyed me.
I was being given delivery dates of next year, he said "we're not selling cars at the moment we're just taking bank details" !

Visit to dealer 2 :
Phoned and salesman was very helpful, brochure emailed. Explained that I wished to get the car sooner rather than later. 2WD next year 4WD maybe November.
Arranged a test drive, was well looked after. Took the kids and he showed them round, how to adjust rear seats etc.
Came back and he asked whether I was bothered about the colour. Turns out he had one available the following week !
Worked out a reasonable deal and he gave a trade in value on our old car. Deposit paid.

Handover a couple of weeks later was straightforward, helped me pair the phone etc.

I have had bad experiences in the past, the comment I always like is "I must introduce you to the Sales Manager". Why ?
Buying a car for my wife some years back and we had to get introduced to the Sales Manager. The salesman explained that the car was for my wife and the Sales Manager completely ignored her ?!

At the moment they don't need salesmen to sell cars, there's a shortage of cars.
Maybe if you're contacting them by email you get a lower priority over people contacting them in person ?

Colin

Car (and some other) Salespeople are getting it far too easily at the moment due to shortages etc, but having said that I think most of them have no clue whatsoever re customer relations.

Example: June 2021 we ordered and put a deposit on a new Mitsubishi ASX for my wife. It arrived in the first week of January this year and as "our" salesman was on annual leave, another fella went through the Delivery Service with us.
Our original salesman has never contacted us.......

During that process of car hunting we looked at others and had a Honda CRV and a Suzuki 4WD on the final list with the ASX. I sent an email to both those salesman thanking them for their time with us and said we'd decided on the ASX.
Neither the Honda or Suzuki guy replied. Rather silly in my opinion as if the ASX sale had fallen thru for some reason we 'could' have bought the Honda or Suzy. Had they the grace to reply and say "hopefully I can help you next time", we would have contacted them if the ASX fell through.

Many years ago in another work life (early 1970's) I was the head mechanic/workshop supervisor at the local L/Rover, R/Rover, Jaguar, Rover and Triumph cars dealer in Hobart.
Their #1 salesman was the late Cec (Cecil) Schofield a 'mature' Englishman in his early 60's who had built up an enviable & loyal customer base over the years due to providing outstanding customer support. All the prospective purchasers wanted to talk to Cec and no one else.

He had outstanding product knowledge, and..... he did little things to satisfy his clients, eg, one particular owner with a Rover 3500 would flick his seatbelt chrome steel buckle out of the door as he got out. The steel buckle would put tiny chips in the paint on the RHR door. Cec would see the car in for a service and get some touch up paint to fill in the chips. Every two years that person bought a new Rover only from Cec.

I saw him paint dirty towbars on Range Rovers on many occasions.

.... it's the little things....

Is both people and the business. Large dealer groups move lots of metal which the manufacturers like. Smaller dealers tend to provide customer service and build loyalty. Trouble is this loyalty is to the dealer / sales person not the manufacturer. While a generalization many years in the trade and CSI scores have shown this to be true

As the manufacturers are globally moving from franchise to agency sales model the customer relationship aspect will fall away. This is due to the new sales process being internet driven with the part exchange handed on to an outsourced business making the purchase and trade in separate transactions. Manufacturers do not want to be involved with trade in vehicle

New car Pricing set centrally based on customer type and location of applicant eg retail, small fleet or large fleet in Sydney will have a different price to Dalby

Dealer paid a delivery fee to hand over the car if it is not delivered direct to customer by manufacturer and becomes a primarily used car operator. Large dealer groups are already expanding into used cars for this reason

Service of the vehicle handled by another company in a shed somewhere with pick up and delivery so no need to visit them

You always were (and it is now only more clear) a number to the manufacturer

I bypass them like they have a disease....

Work vehicles,i know exactly what i want,email the usual dealer and another to keep him honest.Talk on the phone,and Email.
Fleet sales people are usually pretty good,know their stuff,but still didnt go in to see them.Only to pick up the vehicle.

Private vehicles,the last LR we bought new from a Melbourne dealer,email and phone,flew down and picked it up.A contact on this site also helped as he worked at the dealer.
Local LR dealer was a pain to deal with,in fact both of them,bought vehicles off them before,nothing had changed.

The LC,we knew what we wanted,spoke to local fleet guy we used for work vehicles,couldnt supply,6 months minimum.
This was before all the Covid nonsense.
I knew a guy at a regional dealer,North Qld,over phone and email,delivered in 2 months,same price,not the colour we wanted,but took it.
We were very lucky,because about a month after we got it,the Covid nonsense started,stupid prices,etc.
But then again,the buyer of our D4 also got a good deal,got in just before the prices of second hand vehicles took off.

I don't particularly like or dislike car sales people, they're doing what they're paid for. I certainly do hate buying a new car and selling the old one privately though as the viewers that turn up are awful in so many cases. Smokers who think it's their right to smoke in your car because they may buy it. Dog and children owners who must have them along for the ride. Tojo owners who just want to boast about their unstoppable, unbreakable..... Drivers who don't like their licence being checked, pic taken and emailed just in case their driving causes damage or collects fines.
Next new vehicle and I'm going to see what I can get as a trade in as my nerves won't take another bout of shocking driving and basic stupidity and rudeness from possible purchasers. I don't care any longer how smarmy the git is flogging whatever I choose, I reckon it may just save my nerves from more stress.
AlanH.

Only ever bought one car from a dealer and it was my D1, sales guy was so laid back and not pushy at all. I took the car overnight leaving my RRC in their yard so i could show the wife and give it a good test, signed the papers on return to the yard the next day.

The last car dealer i dealt with the salesman was rude & unhelpful & it was a chore to keep me informed.

To be fair price was good.

Service was lousy

The car was in the country for two months before he told me it was here, and this was after a 10 month wait

The car was held up for an additional three weeks because the bracket to fit the number plate to the tray was not available.

The manufacturer gave him a sales award which was posted on social media - lol

Originally Posted by ATH

I don't particularly like or dislike car sales people, they're doing what they're paid for. I certainly do hate buying a new car and selling the old one privately though as the viewers that turn up are awful in so many cases. Smokers who think it's their right to smoke in your car because they may buy it. Dog and children owners who must have them along for the ride. Tojo owners who just want to boast about their unstoppable, unbreakable..... Drivers who don't like their licence being checked, pic taken and emailed just in case their driving causes damage or collects fines.
Next new vehicle and I'm going to see what I can get as a trade in as my nerves won't take another bout of shocking driving and basic stupidity and rudeness from possible purchasers. I don't care any longer how smarmy the git is flogging whatever I choose, I reckon it may just save my nerves from more stress.
AlanH.

The last worn out work Van i sold private a month ago,guy called two hours after the vehicle was listed,said he would be around 3.00pm the next day with the cash.

He was there at 2.30pm,signed all the transfer documents,after taking it for a run around the block,and took it.I also had four others call about it.

But yes i have sold vehicles before and had to put up with all the pain in the asses.I just ignore them until someone genuine comes along.
Its supply and demand as well,some vehicles are much more sort after than others.