I did try another dealer, admittedly over the phone. A BMW dealership. He told me the car I was asking about already had a deposit on it and they would give me a price for the SLK he knew I wouldn't be happy with without actually saying what it was!
He then said I should sell the Merc privately (which is probably true anyway) and then made it clear the telecon was over! He also spoke in sales terms the whole way through such as "What does the SLK owe you" and "We took a deposit on that car not sure I can get you in another like it soon"
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In 40 years of motoring I have only twice bought a car from a dealer. Both times I ended up feeling that I had not got the best deal that I could have. The second time I was in the market for a new hatchback and dealing with the salesmen was terrible. I couldn't get straight answers from any of them except for the local Ford dealer. I ended buying from him but I didn't manage to get any worthwhile discount at all. After that I reverted to buying from auctions. If you get an 18 month or 2 year old car at auction with all the stamps in its service log you get a better price, the remainder of the new car warranty and you don't have to deal with salesmen. I am amazed that any one buys from a car dealer.
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A late friend of mine used to be a salesman at a major BMW dealers. 5-6 years ago he was picking up about an average £700 commission for each sale. No idea what it would be today. The majority of his customers were company buyers - either larger co. 'user chooser' or small businessmen (he had a chip shop owner come in with a bag of fiver's to buy an M3!). Nearly all of these people would come in knowing exactly what model they wanted and his major task was disussing options, colours etc and then sourcing a car that they would accept. He had no time for 'browsers'and was very dismissive of punters coming in for brochures etc.
He was with BMW for about 10 years - he must have been good at the job and made a lot of money because he bought a large six bedroom house and then his own 'indendent' car sales pitch. He was just setting this up and buy stock when he was killed in an RTA (testing a prospect 'stock' purchase).
At the end of the day these guys try as hard as they have to. If they are really not getting punters through the door and making sales then they will be all over you when you enter the showroom and phoning you at home etc.
Years ago I used the sell used cars off our own pitch. Our main business was servicing though. We used to stock decent cars and would try very very hard to get a sale and keep the customer happy - main incentive was that if we could get them to come back for services & repairs then it was a regular source of income for years ahead, and many would come back for another car in 2-3 years time.
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A late friend of mine used to be a salesman at a major BMW dealers. 5-6 years ago he was picking up about an average £700 commission for each sale. No idea what it would be today. The majority of his customers were company buyers - either larger co. 'user chooser' or small businessmen (he had a chip shop owner come in with a bag of fiver's to buy an M3!). Nearly all of these people would come in knowing exactly what model they wanted and his major task was disussing options, colours etc and then sourcing a car that they would accept. He had no time for 'browsers'and was very dismissive of punters coming in for brochures etc. He was with BMW for about 10 years - he must have been good at the job and made a lot of money because he bought a large six bedroom house and then his own 'indendent' car sales pitch. He was just setting this up and buy stock when he was killed in an RTA (testing a prospect 'stock' purchase). At the end of the day these guys try as hard as they have to. If they are really not getting punters through the door and making sales then they will be all over you when you enter the showroom and phoning you at home etc.
Interesting. BMW UK's MD was in the press recently complaining about his dealer sales force. The average sales guy stays 3 yrs (which obvously means they lose a third of their salespeople every year, so training (provided by BMW) is a nightmare. Main reason for leaving is they don't like working weekends.
I was most surprised when he said the average BMW sales person earns £30K/yr - they look and speak to you as if they're on some kind of higher social plane, but £30K must be way less than their average customer earns.
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I've never bought a new car came close about 6 years ago...
Still waiting for the telephone call from the VW dealer as to avilability of my prefered colour.. The whole experience was not good, felt as though i was wasting the salesmans time.
Went and bought a ex demo Nissan Primera, friendly staff not pushy but felt that they understod my needs
Move on five years to this time last year, fancied a Honda FRV dealer treated me like a lump of of dog dropping. Worst PX offer by a long way. Got my Rov75 fron a local Ford dealer 5 min walk from my house there again the salesman not pushy but the big thing he was willing to deal. I hindsight he was probably glad to get rid as rover went belly up 4 weeks later but i'm happy with my purchase
Go for a Skoda always found them good to deal with
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If I'm wearing office wear (suit/tie) I find I'm always treated better in retail outlets (incl showrooms) than if I'm in weekend gear.
All comes down to perception. It should n't but it does (eg: see thread on poorly spelt adverts).
_______
IanS
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Yes Perception is often (not always) all.
In jeans: ignored.
Jacket, trousers and tie. What can we do for sir?
If I'm serious, I dress up.
madf
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Are you seriously saying I need to dress up to buy a car?
Blimey.
I thought the relaxed look of the leopard skin leotard would put the salesman at ease.
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My friends son went into a BMW main dealer to buy a car. The chap's only 21 but has a very good and highly paid job.
The salesman treated him as a joke, he didn't take him at all seriously, so he walked out, went to another dealership, and purchased his new car there!
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A pound of my money is as good as anyone else's. If a dealer can't accept that, I shall go elsewhere.
Try Lexus dealers, I have heard they like to sell cars.
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Yes perception is great.
When I am at work in a large supermarket, I wear a suit. On my day off, if I happen to go into one of our chain's other store's, I tend to get followed by the security guards or store detectives!
Must be something to do with the joggers and baseball cap....
Seriously, going back to the subject, I have bought my last 4 cars off the same guy. Just a salesman with one of the big chains and that has been over 3 different showrooms. He knows what i want, knows what I know, and always gives me a good deal. In fact, one sale was conducted over the phone and it lasted 3 mins from start to finish!
But, agreeing with an early post, having been to a few auctions lately, I would certainly be tempted by them.
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I have a mate who's a salesman in a large Landrover Dealer asked him about punters he says he treats everone the same.
Must be used to scruffy farmers comming in and buying new Defender and rangerover at the sametime
But as a general reply to this thread as my old Dad says (in sales all his life not cars) "These people are not hungry enough"
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Wans't there a rather successful young pop star in the late 80s who went to buy a sports car (Porsche or BMW as I remember) and the dealer refused to talk to him or let him have a test drive on the grounds that nobody under 25 could afford such a car?
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About 6 years ago I worked with a chap who wanted a brand new fiesta. Went down to the local ford dealership with cash in his pocket.
Was left standing around for 20 minutes with no one approaching him. So he walked out and into the vauxhall dealer next door. Walked upto the first sales person he saw, waved the money under their nose and stated he wanted to buy a corsa.
He has brought 4 new vauxhalls since then and said that he would never buy a ford due to that experience.
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A recession may focus these dealers' minds somewhat. According to this story, that may not be too far away...
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4601442.stm
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A recession may focus these dealers' minds somewhat. According to this story, that may not be too far away... news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4601442.stm
Yes, but then we won't be able afford to buy cars anyway!
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An experienced salesman can spot a serious punter, with or without a suit and tie on. They are not daft and know that lots of 20-somethings have serious money. If you walk in wearing £3 Tesco jeans and sweatshirt, looking a bit uncomfortable, then they know you haven't got the money or might struggle to get finance. Walk in to a prestige dealership wearing Versace jeans and £1000+ watch and you'll be taken seriously.
Just from my own limited experienced of selling used cars I can spot whether the buyer is serious or not within the first few minutes. If the guy is ready to buy and has money burning in his pocket he'll behave differently from a browser/wally. Similarly, if advertising a car and the punter's wife rings, you know they are not that serious - if he is really interested then *he* rings. Never believe a wife when she says they'll come to look at it, 90% of the time they won't turn up.
BMW salesman is not going to waste his time on someone who 'might' or 'is thinking about' buying a BMW, Audi or Merc., not when he's got 3 or 4 ready buyers coming through the door that week. Often he will be limited on allocation too, so will be able to sell all he gets.
On a similar note, much further down the scale, some of you may remember I asked questions about the Kia Rio last year not long after the latest version was launched. A lady I know was thinking of buying one. We visited local Kia dealer and she liked the car. It would have been a cash buy (no p/x) and I broached the subject of a discount. His response was bascially 'take it or leave it, it will sell at list price'. No effort to "sell" it and no interest is dropping price or offering any incentives. He was obviously confident enough of shifting all of his allocation at list price without having to work too hard....Now I see they have put the prices up! Things obviously not too tough then....
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Often he will be limited on allocation too, so will be able to sell all he gets.
Being a BMW salesman sounds like a challenging job!
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>> Often he will be limited >> on allocation too, so will be able to sell all he >> gets. Being a BMW salesman sounds like a challenging job!
They're an insult to the trade of selling. They should be called 'order writers'.
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>> >> >> Often he will be limited >> >> on allocation too, so will be able to sell all >> he >> >> gets. >> >> Being a BMW salesman sounds like a challenging job! >> They're an insult to the trade of selling. They should be called 'order writers'.
That's not really fair. Many manufacturers have models where demand outstrips supply (even Kia, judging by recent price rises). A guy I used to know (lost touch recently) used to work at the local Subaru agent and a few years ago they could sell any Imprezza turbo twice over. He just sat at the desk and 'allocated' the cars as they became available. The salesman's job is also about selling options and other services such as finance, of course.
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>> They're an insult to the trade of selling. They should be >> called 'order writers'. >>
...The salesman's jobis also about selling options and other services such as finance, of course.
They don't make any attempt to *sell* options. On out last new car purchase, even SupaGard was only casually mentioned. I was conned into having on a recent nearly-new car, but only by it being included in the price already agreed, which of course just made me think I'd paid more for the car than I needed to.
Finance is all dealt with by what's laughingly called a 'specialist'. I ended up with a deal from MB that was cheaper than taking money out of my bank!
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Finance is all dealt with by what's laughingly called a 'specialist'. I ended up with a deal from MB that was cheaper than taking money out of my bank!
So he was a specialist then....?
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Like I said in the first post you'd think pulling into the car park with 30k worth of merc would get you through the "are you serious" quesitons. It's not like I'm after an M5/M3/S4 jolly either is it?
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Like I said in the first post you'd think pulling into the car park with 30k worth of merc would get you through the "are you serious" quesitons. It's not like I'm after an M5/M3/S4 jolly either is it?
Olf,
NOI, but you did say: "oh no, as soon as you reveal you're looking at a couple of options, want to drive a sprot and a non-sport car and also thinking about the Audi, the shutters come down."
Are you surprised? Does the salesman spend 1-2 hours with you, talking and on a test drive, or does he deal with customers who have already committed to buying a BMW? Remember that, depending on the model you're interested in, his income may be more limited by supply than by demand.
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Are you surprised? Does the salesman spend 1-2 hours with you, talking and on a test drive, or does he deal with customers who have already committed to buying a BMW? Remember that, depending on the model you're interested in, his income may be more limited by supply than by demand.
So by the above then you are saying that they are not "Salesmen" but more "Order Takers", I have not actually sold cars for a living, but I have sold Logicstics for a few years, now you never belittle a customer or take them less seriously because of what they wear or drive, I always work hard for a sale, it may not come off, but if it does great - on the other hand I am sure i have gained referall business through my approach - obviously car dealers do not want this, I would like to see them sell other goods and see where their approach got them.
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I have only ever bought one new car, a Citroen Dyane around 1970, from a central London dealership. When I went to collect it the showroom salesman from whom I got the keys sneered openly at the car which he clearly regarded as a piece of rubbish. I have despised car salesmen as a species ever since although there are obviously some very honourable exceptions (he added hastily but sincerely). The dealership always improved the car when it went in for servicing, however, the workshop foremen being a mustachioed Frenchman who clearly knew his onions.
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"a Citroen Dyane around 1970"
"salesman ........... clearly regarded as a piece of rubbish"
To be fair to the salesman, on this occasion he was right!
_______
IanS
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Whether or not he was right about the Dyane - I don't agree but it's a defensible view - his behaviour was ill-mannered and stupid in the extreme. Nothing would have induced me ever to speak to the little swine again.
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I thought Dyaene was a blow up dolly?
Sorry, bad lemon joke there.
Anyway. There we go. You'd think getting it would all be easier.
I won't even start on about how the merc dealers have a cartel running to keep the p/x prices down so they can make a killing every time. And how other dealers won't even think about offering you what the car is worth - oh we'll have to speak to a mercedes dealer about that, we can't sell it - blah blah blah.
It is all a big scam.
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In September 2004 I went to my local Subaru dealer to ask for details and a test drive of a 3.0 Outback, an appointment was made which I kept. The salesman failed to turn up, no one else in the place knew where he was and none were interested in my desire to try a car; after waiting a further 20 mins. I walked out. That evening the errant salesman rang me and promised to arrange another test drive next day, said he would phone me in the morning to finalize a time. He never did. The following day I went to another Suby dealer 20 miles away and was treated like royalty, introduced to the owner, given detailed info. on the new model, which I then drove for a couple of hours. When I returned we agreed a deal and the car was delivered when I asked for it. A week later I was contacted by the salesman who asked if everything was satisfactory. Guess where I am going for my servicing and my new Outback?
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The dealership always improved the car whenit went in for servicing, however, the workshop foremen being a mustachioed Frenchman who clearly knew his onions.
And was wearing a string of them round his neck together with a beret and stripy shirt?
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Yeah, yeah. Gauloise, glass of Calva, the lot.
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I had an identical experience to the OP at a BMW dealer recently. I must have told a dozen or so people about it (more now!)
Audi, Jaguar, Volvo and Lexus were all excellent. Saab rather off hand.
I do have a slight concern about Audi. The range is SO wide in terms of suspension, engines, transmissions bodyshapes, that it's dead hard to drive the car you really want. Having said that, Bishops Stortford Audi were very helpful about this.
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Just from my own limited experienced of selling used cars I can spot whether the buyer is serious or not within the first few minutes. If the guy is ready to buy and has money burning in his pocket he'll behave differently from a browser/wally. Similarly, if advertising a car and the punter's wife rings, you know they are not that serious - if he is really interested then *he* rings. Never believe a wife when she says they'll come to look at it, 90% of the time they won't turn up.
Maybe it's a bit different when selling vans - we had quite a few wives doing the phone enquiries, before they BOTH came to check us out - usually one man businesses, admitidly. More often than not he'd know the van he wanted, but was busy out working & she 'did the paperwork', so i was a joint purchase.
& we were at an advantage by employing Terry - a semi retired ex lorry driver, that would have been here 24 hours a day, if he could!! He'd talk to anyone, for as long as they wanted, about whatever they wanted to talk about!!
He'd chase phone enquires & genenrally be pleased at making contact & was always willing to help out - being nosey, I guess, any customers situations.
Every dealer should employ a Terry - rest his soul - they'd sell more vehicles & create a friendly impression, bit like the 'Meeter Greeters' the Richer Sounds, guy, introduced to Asda!!
VB
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OK - for the sake of Backroomers *thinking about* buying a new BMW, perhaps we could have suggestions for "The BMW dealer with the most friendly / helpful / polite / patient sales staff"
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From my experiences. I have to say that North Oxford Garage is the friendliest & best BMW dealership I have encountered to date. I even arrange to have my car serviced there when visiting my son, which is 300 miles from my home.
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& we were at an advantage by employing Terry - a semi retired ex lorry driver, that would have been here 24 hours a day, if he could!! He'd talk to anyone, for as long as they wanted, about whatever they wanted to talk about!! He'd chase phone enquires & genenrally be pleased at making contact & was always willing to help out - being nosey, I guess, any customers situations.
Our business used to have a 'Terry' until he was 'eased' out - it's impossible to value what people like him do, so they made him redundant. Idiots!
Every dealer should employ a Terry - rest his soul - they'd sell more vehicles & create a friendly impression, bit like the 'Meeter Greeters' the Richer Sounds, guy, introduced to Asda!!
That's a Walmart idea (they own Asda, of course). It's really weird being greeted by someone who's at least 80 and having his mate pack your bags and carry them to the car for you. Apparently Americans like it 'cos it gives their elderly parents something to do!
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A few things, Firstly I always look up and order brochures online. Secondly I always book an apointment. Thirdly I dress smart casual eg dark jeans shoes and shirt.
By the time I arive I have already looked at the dealers stock online and if new have acertained that the model is in stock.
I may look young as Iam 24, however as a selfemployed person I have money to spend and am confiedent. I think mostly it is about body languadge.
Paul
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I think some of you are being at bit harsh, to be honest. Realistically, someone entering a showroom and 'browsing' is unlikely to commit to buying that day. The salesman may help the prospect, who departs, only to come back two weeks later with buying intention and then speaks to a different salesman, who picks up the commission......
Also you have to bear in mind that these salesmen have to deal with some of the biggest jerks that stalk the Earth. Some puffed-up arrogant middle manager David Brent type comes in looking for his next co. car and expects forelock tugging and his shoes polished as part of the deal. Personally I couldn't stomach the job.
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Also you have to bear in mind that these salesmen have to deal with some of the biggest jerks that stalk the Earth. Some puffed-up arrogant middle manager David Brent type comes in looking for his next co. car and expects forelock tugging and his shoes polished as part of the deal. Personally I couldn't stomach the job.
I think that the buying public and car salesmen have differing perceptions: the punters think that they're buying a car from "BMW" whereas the salesman believes he's there to get sales for himself. Therefore someone shopping around several BMW dealers as if they're looking around for TV's at Currys, Comet etc get bad vibes from the salesman who thinking that they should buy the car from him
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I work hard for my money, customers screw me down hard. So when I come to buy a car, I'm going to do the same to a salesman. If they don't like it, I go elsewhere. I still get a car, they lose a sale. It's business.
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I work hard for my money, customers screw me down hard. So when I come to buy a car, I'm going to do the same to a salesman. If they don't like it, I go elsewhere. I still get a car, they lose a sale. It's business.
Fair enough. But I've not noticed BMW losing sales lately, so they are selling *despite* their salemen, who probably ain't going to want to deal with a punter who 'screws them down hard'. Has anybody tried asking for a discount on a BMW lately....?
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Funnily enough when I bought aused BMW years ago I recieved excellent service.. pre and post sale.Maybe it was something to do with buying cars in the winter when sales are quiet?
Looking around showrooms recently both Audi, Fiat , and Kia delaers have been very good (it's winter). Ford have been atrocious tho' - even although sales appear poor.
(atrocious as in pig ignorant.. Sorry sir Ford do not sell a 1.6tdci Fiesta...:-)
madf
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But I've not noticed BMW losing sales lately
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aprilia has got his economic theories right in this thread.
it is all simply down to supply & demand.
gm and ford are allegedly having difficulty shifting stock, whereas bmw are doing very well. bmw's 2005 record breaking sales performance is reported in these january-2006 articles (just two of many others i could link here):
www.carpages.co.uk/bmw/bmw-sales-06-01-06.asp?swit...1
"BMW Group has achieved record UK sales in 2005 ...."
abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=1486422
"FRANKFURT, Germany Jan 9, 2006 ? German luxury automaker BMW AG said Monday that its sales in 2005 were up 9.9 percent from the previous year ...."
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I agree. Remember that we are not talking about a small purchase. Your handing over a pot load of money to someone and at the end of the day, you want to be treated as such. I went to Lexus the other day to test drive the new IS. Salesman was great until we got to my trade in value. Lowest I had been offered and I told him so. "Oh well, we're too far apart then" was his comment and he shook my hand and concluded business. I haven't heard from him since.
Next stop was the VW dealer to try out a Passat. Very helpful chap, who let me have a long test drive, take the car home and try it out for size in the garage. We negotiated a deal, which I said I would take away and consider. He knew I was looking at the Lexus and was off to look at an Accord. He phoned back twice to see if I had made my mind up and on the second phone call, I told him I had decided to go for a Honda. I thanked him for his attention and told him I appreciated his help.
First Honda garage I went to, the Salesman ignored me for 15 minutes, despite me having booked a test drive, so I told him what I thought of his behaviour and left the garage. Note to Honda on its way!
Next Honda garage was totally different. Salesman was great and after much negotiation, phone calls, we agreed a deal. Only spoiler was tonight when I went to sign for it, he tried it on by saying as I wanted March 1st delivery, he could not include the additional car mats we agreed on. He swiftly changed his tune when I threatened to walk! After all that I bought the new Civic!
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It's obviously horses for courses.
When I went to look at new vans, I do believe I was wearing my scruffiest of clothes. I was working on our house at the time and took a trip to Plymouth to look at a couple of showrooms.
They seemed to value me as coming off a job somewhere to have a buchers, rather than the guy with the £1000 Rolex.
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hugo, the important point being that most likely you were aware of desierd requierments and had confidence.
paul
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It's obviously horses for courses. When I went to look at new vans, I do believe I was wearing my scruffiest of clothes. I was working on our house at the time and took a trip to Plymouth to look at a couple of showrooms. They seemed to value me as coming off a job somewhere to have a buchers, rather than the guy with the £1000 Rolex.
With all due respect, vans are a totally different market and not many are bought new by 'private' buyers, they are usually purchased by tradesmen of some sort.
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Aprilia
This is very true, I was really just making the point that maybe I was seen as a serious punter for a panel van, whereas I would not have been seen as a serious punter had I walked into a BMW showroom looking as if though I had come off site in my lunch hour to have a look at the lates 5 series.
I suspect that dealers who do both private and commercial vehicles are probably much more open minded about people that walk into their showrooms. The same dealer who sold me the van had the top of the range 300ZX in the showroom, alongside the Nissan X Trail, and the Micra!
OK I know we're not in BMW territory here but the range does represent a good cross section of the market. Indeed I was very interested in a Discovery TD5 they had taken in P ex and couldn't sell. I phoned the day after they had sold it off in the trade, I could have probably got myself a real bargen there.
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& we were at an advantage by employing Terry - a semi retired ex lorry driver, that would have been here 24 hours a day, if he could!! He'd talk to anyone, for as long as they wanted, about whatever they wanted to talk about!! He'd chase phone enquires & genenrally be pleased at making contact & was always willing to help out - being nosey, I guess, any customers situations. Every dealer should employ a Terry - rest his soul - they'd sell more vehicles & create a friendly impression, bit like the 'Meeter Greeters' the Richer Sounds, guy, introduced to Asda!! VB
Could not agree more VB as i've previously mentioned in this thread my dad was in sales all his life (not cars) my old man has been on every course going, but i have to say my old man has a genuine interest in people. Still to this day in the nursing home where he now lives he knows EVERYTHING about the staff, because he's interested. Possibly like your Terry
That's where the difference is. MOST of todays salesmen are just trained negotiators
A bit like the woman in little Brittan who says "computer says no"
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What's so wrong with browsing? I've owned over 40 motors and these days I find I don't really know what I want because almost everything bores me. I have to browse to find something that appeals.
Having said that, I am an ordinary-looking (I hope) middle-aged man who can afford anything that takes his fancy so why is it such a problem to be taken seriously in a showroom? As somebody said further up the thread, these people can't be hungry enough. Maybe if they had to buy their own transport they would be a bit more understanding and helpful.
PS: I once waited nearly half an hour in a smallish Rover showroom for one of the four tea-drinking salespeople to notice my existence - this was when they had a new model to sell and my mint and desirable (I thought) two-year-old swapper was parked by the showroom entrance. Eventually I sat down in the middle of the floor and a salesman dashed over straight away, asking if I was having any problem! Guess what I told him...
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Personally,when I enter a car showroom I much prefer to browse the vehices on show unhindered by sales staff until such time that I decide I require their assistance when I will then make the approach. It's on a par with entering retail stores to browse and being constantly barraged by well meaning staff whose training demands that they approach you with "You all right there... need any help?"etc etc and my inevitable response of "No thanks...just looking". However its all down to personal preference and to be fair to sales staff they are in a 'no win' situation with this one.
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Having encountered the above general apathy when looking at BMWs I thought things would be different when I turned up at a BMW / Mini dealership in a 6 month old shiny black 3 series. Ignorance abounded and I struggled to even book a test drive for my wife, managed to get a 10 minute accompanied test drive which was next to useless.
After asking for an extended test drive to get a true view of the practicalities of ownership, school runs etc the salesperson thought I'd come from another planet.
Eventually this was arranged, although we had to pay for the privilege and the car was everything we wanted.
Given previous treatment at the dealership I then sourced a car on the web, arranged PX and discounts etc over the phone with a dealer who was 100 miles away. This made things far easier all around and surprisingly worked out cheaper, considering the dealer I eventually bought from was in Park Lane !!
So my advice is pretty simple, use the local dealer for test drives and then shop around for the best deals.
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Experiences have been somewhat varied, like most of the correspondents here. My wife and I walked into a Vauxhall main dealer last year and were totally ignored. I even asked the service counter man if I was invisible. Later I spent a good while in a Ford dealer, asking questions but not buying. Very helpful attaitude. I returned a week later and bought a nearly new car.
Last week, wearing my work uniform,with half an hour to spare, strolled into a Volvo dealership in Nortampton, and was very well and courteously received.
I know someone who was told, at a BMW dealer, that the salesman doubted he was serious, as he could not afford one of his cars, being only a postman. On his way out he summoned the salesman and showed him his building society book, which left salesman rather sad that he had just turned this man away.
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"After asking for an extended test drive to get a true view of the practicalities of ownership, school runs etc the salesperson thought I'd come from another planet.
Eventually this was arranged, although we had to pay for the privilege and the car was everything we wanted."
You're very unreasonable. Fancy wanting to really check-out a car before buying it!
Do people really spend £20k+ on a new car without a decent test drive?
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Very valid point 'peterb'...I have had to arrange a test drive some 70 miles from my home as local dealerships do not have the model available because they are are all 'sold to order'. Apparently all of these dealerships have taken loads of firm orders for the car, which costs in excess of 25k,without the prospective purchasers having taken a test drive! Amazing.
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Do people really spend £20k+ on a new car without a decent test drive?
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in brief - Yes!
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>> Do people really spend £20k+ on a new car without a >> decent test drive? >> in brief - Yes!
I'll bet hardly anyone test drives a BMW X5, for example, especially for the first few years after that were released. And never mind £20K, they're typically well over £40K.
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Many newly-introduced cars are ordered without the buyer having even seen one in the flesh, let alone driven one.
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Try another dealer. Last time I was buying a car, having visited my nearest Ford dealer, I went an extra 30 miles and bought at another Ford dealer - largely because the salesman was more helpful.
It is entirely down to the individual dealer. Last year when I went out with my Dad to get an idea about what sort of car he'd want next, first port of call was Ford. He was impressed with my Mondeo, wanted to try a Mk3.
'Can I please test drive a Mk3 Mondeo?'
'Which spec, sir?'
'Well, ideally a Ghia X, but I'd just like to get a feel for the car in general really...'
Cue about 15 minutes of excuses as to why we couldnt try that 1.8 LX over there, and yes, that is an ST220 but its 15 grand sir and you said ideally you wanted to spend 12.. etc etc.
We left. Across the road was a BMW dealer.
Completely different story. Guy was approachable and flexible, gave us the keys to a 530i and a 530d and said go and see what you think. We did. No pressure, no hassle, no accompanied test drive, no drive around the block. Just 'Take it for a spin, come back when you like'. Even though we'd said we were 'just looking'.
Net result? 530d purchased that day. Fords loss, it seems, was BMW's gain...
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Oh, and on the other side of the coin..
I've visited 3 local dealerships so far looking at circa £8-£11k E39 5 Series. In each one, the salesmen have just stared at me and completely ignored me. I obviously don't fit the stereotype of who they would expect to buy one, perhaps had I been looking at a Corsa they'd have been right out... I can see getting some proper test drives is going to be an issue.
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When I was buying my last car, I looked at all the normal candidates. I found the BMW dealer the worst, upon arriving for my test drive (pre-booked), he told me he only had 10 minutes.
The Lexus guy had a route mapped out which involved the M3, M25 M4 and local roads and expected to be out with me for an hour.
I would have to be offered a serious deal breaker to even consider a BMW in the future.
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A mate of mine had the same experience recently. He earns very good money and likes to dress 'casually' on the weekend. He was totally put off by the BMW dealers attitude and eventually bought a Lexus instead as he said the dealers were a world apart in terms of attitude.
On a smaller scale, I did the same and bought a Toyota Avensis over a Ford Mondeo based mainly on the terrible experiences with the local Ford dealerships.
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Maybe what we should do is begin a campaign thus: whenever someone gets such poor service from dealer A that they buy a car from dealer B, write to whoever runs dealer A and let them know. Perhaps when dealers realise that poor attitude form staff is actually losing them sales, things may improve?
Just a thought.
Alex.
--
Dr Alex Mears
MG BGT 1971
If you are in a hole stop digging...unless
you are a miner.
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Is it interesting that we do not seem to have anyone admitting to be a salesman and defending their attitude on this thread - although Aprilia is doing his best to put the other side of the argument.
Could it just be that car salesmen are not relly interested in cars and, therefore, do not use this fantastic site?
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True Gengis, a lot aren't interested in cars, it's just a job they aren't up to doing. They can be remarkably ignorant about the product they're supposed to be pushing as well. But perhaps being a salesman at all is a bit unnatural for most people, a life spent trying to persuade neurotic idiots to buy something they don't really need.
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True, a lot of them could be selling potatoes for all they care. After while though, even if you are interested in cars, it can get a bit frustrating.
I have never sold new cars, but I have sold used cars. Some punters can really wind you up; e.g. they turn up and show a great deal of interest in a large estate car. So you show them round take them for a test drive etc etc. You get back and then they walk over to a small sports car - 'Oh, this looks interesting, can we have a test drive?'.....Oh dear. Two hours and three test drives later they tell you that you don't have anything suitable because they are really looking for a 4x4. Then you get moans about the condition; 'These tyres are half worn, can you put new ones on' - its a USED car for goodness sake!
After sale you can get calls three months later, "the cassette player has trapped my tape, what are you going to do about it".
There are some types of people I would never sell to, I won't elaborate on here, but let's say it is better to lose a sale then sell to someone who thinks you should grovel to them and will be a pain in the backside for months after purchase.
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That was what I meant by neurotic idiots, Aprilia. Very fair point, for those of us who haven't sold cars ourselves. I guess salesmen generalize about punters in the same way we've been generalizing about them.
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How right you are Lud re ignorance of the product....I find it really irritating when having done all the research on my chosen model, the salesperson is totally lost when you ask the most basic questions. One such salesperson went to great lengths telling me that the engine was German built when in fact it was American! I always trust my own judgement and merely use the salesperson as the 'point of sale'
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Is it interesting that we do not seem to have anyone admitting to be a salesman and defending their attitude on this thread - although Aprilia is doing his best to put the other side of the argument. Could it just be that car salesmen are not relly interested in cars and, therefore, do not use this fantastic site?
I?m a salesman, but not of cars ? I sell things to business (I would *dread* having to deal with the public), so not the same as car sales but a couple of points I?d make:
1) There used to be a thing called the 80/20 rule ? ie you get 80% of your business from 20% of your customers. I?d say that?s moved 90/10 ? therefore 90% of customers probably cost more to look after than the business they place. You fairly quickly learn to ignore the 90%, and focus on the top 10% of customers, who, by and large, tend to be easier to deal with too. I guess in car terms this would be people who know what they want and come in ready to place an order.
2) You can spend hours / days / weeks with one customer on a particular deal only to lose out. Then someone will just phone up and place an order of the same value, no hassle at all. So you quickly learn to ignore anyone that starts asking stupid, complicated questions that are going to take time and effort to answer. In car terms this would be someone wanting a demonstrator but it has to the hatchback, with the 1.8 engine, auto and leather seats ? in blue. Oh, and can you guarantee the fuel consumption figures in writing?
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I?m a salesman, but not of cars ? I sell things to business (I would *dread* having to deal with the public), so not the same as car sales but a couple of points I?d make:
Spot on, Bill Payer. I'd say that's exactly how it is. Customers may want to browse, take a test drive, ask how variable valve timing works etc etc. Let another salesman handle all that. You want them when they're ready to buy.....!
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