Why GM cant sell cars: What employee pricing cant fix.
It’s no secret that General Motors is having a great deal of difficulty moving cars. In an effort to boost sales GM announced the resurrection of employee pricing for everyone… translating to roughly 10% discounts on most cars, and much larger discounts on most trucks and SUV’s. There are two ’08 GM models that have interested me: The Pontiac Vibe and the Chevy Malibu. The Vibe represents the practical choice while the Malibu represents the more luxurious choice. With the prospects of getting a deal I could not refuse I went down to each dealership.
The Pontiac Experience
I entered the Pontiac showroom and immediately noticed it was completely devoid of prospective buyers. There were 4 employees and one desk manager, 3 of which were holding conversations amongst themselves. Not a single employee so much as muttered a hello upon my entrance. Being interested in the Vibe I figured I would sit in the car for a few minutes before finding out the price. Hrmm, Wheres the Vibe? Ok, it’s not in the showroom, I will just get a price. I went over to the only sales rep that was at a desk and asked for a price on a Vibe GT Automatic. He quickly snapped he didn’t have one in stock and that he couldn’t give me a price. When I pushed for the price he opened a folder, tells me the name of someone who bought the same trim I was interested in last week and then muttered off the Employee Price on that sale… but reinforced that it didn’t matter since he had none in stock. When I questioned if any were in transit he returned with a model which had extra options I was not interested in, with a significantly higher price. Needless to say I left rather turned off by the whole encounter.
The Chevy Experience
I entered the showroom and just like their cousin, Pontiac, the Chevy dealership was empty. A sales rep came over, never lifting his head from his blackberry as he busilly typed, asking if I needed any help. I replied that I would sit in the car for a few minutes and then we could talk turkey. I found a Malibu LTZ proudly displayed with the employee price marked on the driver side window. Bummer, it’s a 6cyl and I’m interested in the LTZ 4cyl. No big deal, I will just get the price from the sales rep in a few minutes. Easier said than done. The sales rep was now no where to be found. I went over to the desk manager and asked if he could give me a price. He wanted to know what trim and I said “The 08 Malibu LTZ 4cyl”. He replied, the LTZ does not come in a 4cyl. I explained that it does, and I have test driven one. Then two sales reps in addition to the manager snapped that I had better check my information as only the lower trims are available in a 4cyl. Ok, thanks for insulting me, I will leave now. After returning home I looked up dealer inventory to make sure I wasn’t crazy. Half of the dealerships in NY have LTZ 4cyl’s in stock. It’s funny how I was told to check my facts when in fact the dealership doesn’t even know their own product. A day later I’m still amazed at just how combative this dealership was over the existence of an LTZ 4cyl.
GM should take note, the dealerships are half your problem. With experiences like this it’s a wonder you sell any cars. Tonight I’m off to Toyota for some hard numbers on a Matrix and Camry.
Aug 21st, 2008 at 3:37 pm
This is not something new –
Upon getting a promotion at my current employer, I decided it would be a good idea to look into a new car. Upon entering the dealer (we get discounts through our employer) it took over 30 minutes to find someone to ask about pricing, avaialability, etc. Apparently I had interrupted something very important as he would not stop fiddling with his blackberry and would only give snappy answers. At the end of the conversation, if you can call it that, he told me I should come back later with my parents and we can talk price. Quite insulting since i’m 26 years old and haven’t lived at home since 18.
But, its not all bad. Love my new Toyota.
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Aug 21st, 2008 at 4:01 pm
Pontiac Vibe = Toyota Matrix. I like my 2003 Vibe so much I’m thinking about replacing it next year with a new Matrix. Love the car, hate the customer service.
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Aug 21st, 2008 at 4:14 pm
For 20 years, I would only buy GM. Then I got screwed out of some work that should have been under warranty on a 99 Montana. My subsequent Honda Odyssey and Toyota Camry purchases make me wonder why I didn’t switch sooner. My “American” pride cost me big bucks.
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Aug 21st, 2008 at 4:15 pm
Consumerist is a bunch of asshats for blocking your comments then stealing your story.
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Aug 21st, 2008 at 4:19 pm
a bout a month ago I was asked by my sister to accompany her as she wanted to buy a car. She was debating between the gmc acadia and the nissan murano. She really liked the acadia so we decided to go to the gmc dealership and get a price and a test drive and then go to the nissan dealership which happened to be directly across the street. We were approached by a sales man…we said we were looking for an acadia, with a basic trim. He said he didnt have any on the lot but that he would gladly let us drive one of them with a higher trim and try to find the one we were looking for from a nearby dealership. He went to “get the keys”, sent another salesman, the second salesman “went to get the keys” then a third salesman showed…really really young..just out of high school I supposed. Took us for a test drive and knew nothing about the car he was trying to sell….
I told him i was going to go over to the nissan dealership to “compare prices”. As soon as I stepped off my car I was approached by two different salesamen. He immediately asked what we were looking for and and said that he had a brand new 09 murano with the plastic still on…went to get it…took off the plastic and went on a test drive. Came back to the bargaining table and got a deal done in about 30 min…
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Aug 21st, 2008 at 4:22 pm
I absolutely love my Corolla. I didn’t know anything about Toyota before I owned it, and now I don’t think I’d want anything but Toyota.
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Aug 21st, 2008 at 4:22 pm
Car salescritters are mostly salescritters who happen to be pushing cars this month. (There are exceptions of course, but it’s typically not a career position in the US at least.) They don’t want to sell you a car tomorrow or next week, they don’t want to put any effort into selling a car, and they CERTAINLY don’t want anything to do with an informed customer who knows what they want.
The way to buy a car is to either know that Dealer X has the car you want, tell them what you’ll pay for it and let them deal (or not) or to fax or email dealers within whatever distance you’re willing to drive, tell them exactly what you want and have them make you an offer. Driving from dealer to dealer subjects you to more and more of the bad salescritters, the law of averages is against you.
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Aug 21st, 2008 at 4:23 pm
I had exactly the same kind of experience at a Pontiac dealership. Met a great salesguy who showed me the Grand Prix I wanted and sold the car with honest enthusiasm. I told him I appreciated his understated salesmanship, and that I would be arranging my own financing, but would return to buy the car. I asked him about the cost. Big mistake.
Out of the depths of the used car lot, waddles this overblown dinosaur with the cufflinks and the “wadda we gotta do to get you to buy this hear car today”? When he trotted out the four-square, I crossed out the trade-in, and the percentage and told him I would be arranging all that. We sparred around for fifteen minutes before I finally told him I would buy from another dealership. He told me as I was leaving that “I should be sorry for wasting their time because I wasn’t serious about buying”.
I emailed both of them a picture of my new Grand Prix from a competitor.
GM’s weakest link is their dealers.
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Aug 21st, 2008 at 4:55 pm
This is insane because I was in the same boat. I thought I would also have “American” pride but my parents have told me countless times that the service sucks and you’ll put thousands in unwanted repairs.
I just purchased a Toyota just like my Mom and Dad and now I can see why they are #1. Excellent service and an amazing car, the American car industry is just going to the crapper.
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Aug 21st, 2008 at 4:58 pm
Vanessa: If you can drive a Corolla without being bored into a coma, that’s wonderful. The car is likely to run for a long time if you take reasonable care of it. Don’t write off every other manufacturer because you Corolla is nice, though… there’s a lot of competition and in the B and C segments it’s only going to get tougher, because Americans have finally figured out that you don’t need a Suburban to haul one person to the office or the mall. By the time your Corolla dies there’ll be lots of good cars of similar size that are WAY more fun than the Corolla… right now you could get a Mazda3 (very fun drive) or a Subaru Impreza (costs you a bit in fuel, but the AWD lets you stop caring about weather conditions.) The Saturn Astra is very interesting, but many people are afraid of GM’s reliability (more because of their history than because of the quality of current cars.) Even Hyundai and Kia are getting competitive at the low end, offering some very nice cars instead of the penalty boxes they used to sell, they have a super warranty and you can beat the hell of them on price because they still have to build a stronger “decent car” reputation.
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Aug 21st, 2008 at 5:34 pm
We recently had the same problems at both GM and Pontiac dealerships. We ended up filing formal complaints with the local government consumer protection office(Canada). In the end we bought a 2009 Toyota Corolla and couldn’t be happier.
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Aug 21st, 2008 at 6:33 pm
I had considered a Vibe until after I saw the sticker price with what I had wanted added on. After weeping like a little girl, I made my way into the local Scion Dealer. I picked up a Scion xD and fell in love with it. Its no Dodge Caliber or Pontiac Vibe but it handles like a dream. Plus it has get-up-and-go when I need it. Saved me a few times from some potentially hazardous incidents.
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Aug 21st, 2008 at 7:47 pm
Toyota stealerships are not immune to bad sales people. When I went to look for my first new car to replace my hand me down Saturn I went to Toyota. Wanted a Matrix, had not considered another car. Asked for an XR with AWD, the salesman repeated really loud so the other sales guys could hear and then laughed at me and said “good luck, it aint going to happen, but we have a used Echo for you” I have a Suzuki SX4 and could not be any happier. Moral of the story, stick to Japanese cars, but Toyota does not guarantee a good dealer experience.
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Aug 21st, 2008 at 9:17 pm
It’s not just American cars. About ten years ago, give or take, I wanted to buy a Mazda Miata. I knew the model I wanted (the 1999 “10th Anniversary Edition”. So I walked into my local Mazda dealer. No acknowledgement. I jump into the car on the showroom floor, pop the hood start looking at the engine, no contact. slam the hood down. no contact. I walk out.
Go to second dealer. Repeat above steps. Add “honking the dismal miata horn inside the showroom”. Nobody wants to sell me the car.
Go to third dealer. See salesguy across floor. Shout at him “You, over there, come here now, I want a Mazda Miata, and I want to write you a check tonight, something your two competitors seem incapable of doing.”
I drove by the other two dealers a week later, asked to speak to the mgrs. Explained that I had walked into their competitor and paid sticker (I was seriously pissed off at that point and just wanted to buy the damned thing already), and that their incompetent sales drones had cost them a very lucrative sticker-price purchase. They seemed… disinterested.
It’s the entire industry, full of slackers who can’t get real jobs.
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Aug 21st, 2008 at 10:48 pm
Bad dealers come in all flavors and for whatever reason people like to complain about the American ones more. Personally I get sick if the swarm tactics used by the Japanese car dealer the most. As far a knowing product most of the sales people are weak. I’ve bought 14 cars so far and I’m always amazed at how little they know…and even less about the competition.
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Aug 21st, 2008 at 10:58 pm
@Mike, You are correct in stating that the japs are not perfect. While I can not say every trip to the toyota dealer was a pleasure I have never had an experience like I had at Chevy/Pontiac.
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Aug 22nd, 2008 at 12:37 am
I think toyota dealerships are not nice at all. The 2-3 time i have been to them [with other people who were buying a car] the sales people descended on you and then proceeded to treat us like we knew nothing. They tried to tell us we needed certain options or that they did not have the vehicles they had advertised. One salesperson [who gave their name over the phone] actually quoted a price over the phone said they had plenty of vehicles at that price and then when we arrived at the dealership said they were not the one who talked to us on the phone. Uhhh – I would not consider a toyota just because of the dealerships
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Aug 22nd, 2008 at 12:55 am
Have you tried Nissan? I like the Sentra personally.
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Aug 22nd, 2008 at 6:31 am
Chris,
Please drop me a note so I can send you some info on this topic that I’d rather not post.
Thanks,
Craig
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Aug 22nd, 2008 at 7:41 am
I bought Fords all my life, till I got a Honda, at that point I decided I might never buy a Ford again. Had a Nissan 350z since then, it was a wreck, and the dealer could not fix anything in the first visit. Sold it after 8000 miles.
Now I have a Subaru Impreza WRX Wagon (fun, fun, not economical, but otherwise practical) and a Honda Odyssey. These cars are part of the family, I would consider Toyotas. Hondas, Subarus and maybe Toyotas are all I would even think of buying right now.
American car makers better get their act together, they are losing us many buyers at a time: Last month my buddy bought an Odyssey, he proposed looking at the Chevy, and his wife said, “we are not Chevy people”.
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Aug 22nd, 2008 at 7:59 am
The Consumerist.com does suck, and does block VALID comments. Then steals your story. Talk about Garbage, that site is in the league with GM/Bestbuy.
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Aug 22nd, 2008 at 8:04 am
What do you expect when you attend a business driven by comission sales? If I am a 18-26 yr old employee, charmismatic, and met my quota….I’m not doing anymore work. What are the perks? Obviously not GM Employee Pricing, since that’s for everyone now. I get fired? I can just work at another dealership…. It amazes me how many people demand amazing customer services from people who get paid minimum wage, or are on commission. Those employees don’t see a dime…it all gets kicked up to the corporate wise guys upstairs. Then they’ll go bankrupt, get a fat severance package, and you’ll get laid off.
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Aug 22nd, 2008 at 8:46 am
I hope you find a car soon! Good luck. GM is probably not worth the hassle.
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Aug 22nd, 2008 at 11:23 am
Austin, TX – Went to a Pontiac dealer last week to check out a Pontiac Solstice GRX – the salesmen were very helpful and in 10 minutes the missus & I were test driving the little fire-breather. We didn’t buy the car as it was wildly impractical (yet immensely fun to drive!), with the top down & two adults we couldn’t fit as much as a single bag of groceries unless they were on the passenger’s lap. But the salesmen were great!
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Aug 22nd, 2008 at 1:07 pm
Chris Schiffner,
I’d like to learn more about your experience at two GM dealerships. Please call me at 313.667.[Contact Information Removed by Editor].
Best Regards,
Susan T. Garontakos
Manager, Dealer / Field Communications
(313) 667-[Contact Information Removed by Editor] (Office)
(313) 268-[Contact Information Removed by Editor] (Cellular)
e-mail: susan.[Contact Information Removed by Editor]@gm.com
General Motors Corporation M/C: 482-A38-D21
100 Renaissance Center, Detroit, MI 48265-1000
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Aug 22nd, 2008 at 1:26 pm
Susan,
Rest assured I have received your contact information above. I will contact you early next week.
Thank you for the response!
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Aug 23rd, 2008 at 4:14 am
I thought I’d add a good experience at an American car dealer since everyone seems to be bashing them. I got a Mustang (granted, most of the bashing is of GM) and couldn’t be happier with the car and the service. The sales guy was really nice, knowledgeable, and didn’t even hassle me when I told him I had my own financing (I was expecting to be hassled). Since then, he has called me a couple times to make sure everything is cool. I have also taken it into a different dealer for service and have not been hassled to pay for anything extra.
That being said, when I was looking for a car, I received good service at some Ford and GM dealers, bad at others. I think it all depends on the dealership (and maybe even to who is working that particular day) and less on the make or nationality of the vehicle.
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Aug 24th, 2008 at 12:48 am
My wife and I have a ’97 Dodge Intrepid. After 100k, the thing literally started falling apart. (We don’t buy another Dodge, obviously.)
Since we both love my ’02 Mazda Protege, we went to check out a Mazda 5 and had a good experience at the dealership in Lansing, MI. We told the salesman up front that were weren’t looking to buy just yet as we had to do some comparison shopping (and couldn’t pay for the vehicle yet anyway) and he seemed fine with that. Even took us for two separate test drives. The Mazda 5 is a good little number with decent mileage for 3 rows of seating. In a few months, we’re likely to go back there to buy the car.
My only nit is that he seemed determined to sell us one of the three cars on the lot and really downplayed the fact that we could order one, even though that’s what we’re most likely to do. Probably messes up their sales figures or something.
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Aug 24th, 2008 at 9:58 am
My experiences can basically be summed up as: there are good people in the world and bad people in the world – whether it be salesmen, bosses, doctors, dentists, whatever. If you don’t like the situation you’re in, you can simply leave. I have had both good and bad experiences at all types of dealerships (Acura, GM, Ford, Subaru, Honda, Toyota, VW, etc.).
If I don’t like the way I’m treated, I simply walk out the door – it’s my money I’m spending, not theirs.
It’s one of the reasons why my wife and I purchased a Saturn Outlook versus a Toyota Sienna last year. Now if GM can just work on quality… (it’s probably too much to ask!)
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Aug 24th, 2008 at 3:19 pm
- went to purchase a new minivan at chevy in newtown, pa. no interest shown at all by dealer. generally experience of all the american dealers was same – wouldn’t say it was “bad”, but just like they didnt expect i would buy. this was my first minivan and before it i’ve always bought ford / saturns.
considered both toyota and nissan. ended up with a sienna. no regrets.
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Aug 25th, 2008 at 4:50 pm
Toyota hardware I like, but some dealerships are beyond reprehensible.
My parents leased a new 2008 Toyota Corolla this spring. Unfortunately, my mom unexpectedly passed away a few months later. They had purchased the so-called ‘walk-away insurance’ on their lease that was pushed on them by the dealer. It was to cover a situation just like this.
Any chance the Toyota dealer would actually honor it? Nope!
They dragged their feet on the whole process, and finally, three months later had the nerve to bill my Dad over $2500.00 to let him return the car. Cost my Dad the $2500, plus three extra months of lease payments. The car itself had less then 4000 km (<2500 miles). With the current demand for fuel efficient vehicles, the dealer won’t loose a dime on that car. Plus the money extorted from my father will look good on their bottom line.
At the end, of the whole process when I asked the dealer what good the insurance was, he just shrugged his shoulders, mumbled something unintelligible, and hustled us out of his office. I used to really like Toyota but in the future I will think twice after that kind of treatment. Most certainly, I will NOT use that dealership under any circumstances.
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Aug 26th, 2008 at 1:04 pm
I visited a Pontiac dealership back in July, to check out the Vibe. And yes, that dealership was also completely devoid of customers, and they had the AWD model on display, but the salespeople were too preoccupied with chatting amongst themselves to bother to assist.
Because of the “employee discount” sale occuring right now, I considered the Vibe again last weekend. The out-the-door quote I received for a 2009 1.8L Vibe with auto, air, power accessories is actually *still* higher than that for a normally priced 2009 Scion xB, after the discount and the $500 rebate. I was hoping for a decent deal that would undercut the Scion’s price, but in light of the higher intial price and lower eventual residual value for the Pontiac, I’m going to pass on considering the yet Vibe again.
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Aug 26th, 2008 at 3:28 pm
Please give GM and Ford $50 billion of out tax money. They so clearly deserve it.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26381283/
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Sep 6th, 2008 at 10:26 pm
My experience at a Chevy dealer was awful so its no wonder they can’t sell a thing. I was falsely imprisioned at a dealership at a time when I didn’t know what it was and what to do. Somehow I left with a Cobalt and its been nothing short of a headache. I tried to give it back 3 times. Once after signing papers, then when I turned around and went back, and after talking to their G.M. about the horrid salesmenship tactics, unprofessionalism of the entire staff, being lied to about what I was getting on trade in and my plain ole dislike of the car completely. I was then told I was suffering from buyers remorse when I was in fact in the market for a new car. Later I come to find out my car is leaking oil and that underneath my car is damage. I already didn’t like the car now I’m having to put it in service for something that was done to the car previously before purchase. So that Thursday the car was in for repairs at a local dealership near me. I assumed I was getting warranty work for the damage but no I was charged for it. Over $550! I called the original dealership and spoke to the salesman and his reply was send it to your insurance and you’ll get reimbursed. Another guy at the dealership I speak with later asks me why I didn’t drive the car 100 miles to their service department for work. Bright idea! I also asked about college incentives as it was a month til I graduated from college and was told flat out “GM doesn’t offer that, only desperate companies have those” so I assumed it was right since Ford offers one and VW. I later learn about the GM College Incentive for college grads about a month after purchase getting advertising. I now face issues with the car shutting down while driving. I cannot take it to any dealership I have been denied and according to GM they have the right to refuse me warranty service at any GM dealership. I have been told by many service managers that they will not get reimbursed for work done so I am stuck taking days off work to drive to have repair work done on my car that is covered under warranty. The car also leaks through its windows when it rains or is in the car wash so I have to be careful about water now and I deal with bad gas milage. I get 16-17 mpg driving around my small city here. Highway I get normally around 25-26 with me reaching 30 twice. One of those days, this past Saturday, was a day when I reached it and they were finally going to check on it but instead I am told my car says 30 so I’m getting the gas milage but in reality I’m not. It costs about $75 a week to keep my car fueled. I fill up on Fri of a payday then Wed because the car is below half a tank with me driving, get this, 68 miles. I then have to fill up again on the Friday coming up because by then the car has went around 50-60 and is back well below half a tank. GM has been awful in helping get this fixed and nobody seems to help. They also threw out my BBB suit without my knowledge or permission. I’m at a loss on what to do with this car. I just graduated college and I have to deal with searching for a job, but I now have to figure out how I can get around without my car stalling out before job interviews, trips to visit family, or regular city driving. Its no wonder GM isn’t selling anything when they are making cars like mine, providing us with inadequate dealerships who they cannot control, and customer service that is completely and totally helpless in any situation. Also on that note calling Chevy Roadside they cannot be sure if you have to pay for assistance like I was told I would have to. They also will not pay you back for this supposedly “complementary” tow to the nearest dealership when your car has died. Thanks Chevy for giving me the worst warranty in America’s history.
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Sep 16th, 2008 at 1:59 pm
A car dealership that doesn’t have a bunch of sales-jackals hounding you the second you step through the door? Show me the way! I’d much rather have to chase down a salesperson than beat one back with a stick.
PS – the Vibe GT barely gets over 20mpg. That kinda sucks for a small car. Unfortunately if you get the smaller engine with better gas mileage you will find that many options and upgrades are not available to you. Advise to Pontiac: lose the big engine…it sucks.
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Oct 9th, 2008 at 3:16 pm
[...] for GM. You gotta keep the few customers ya’ got left. Especially in the face of recalls and bad experiences taking up tons of code across the [...]
Oct 14th, 2008 at 4:35 pm
The woman I’m dating is a very well paid professional. She is not a “car nut”. To her cars are appliances; something to get her from point A to point B. She was driving a 1994 GMC Jimmy with over 225,000 miles on it. She bought it in 1995 and it has served her well. It’s starting to rust badly and she was afraid it wouldn’t pass (MA) state inspection.
Friday, she called me and asked if I would find a new vehicle for her. Her only requirement is that it was an SUV and black in color. She preferred a GMC as the last one had served her so well. She had around $30,000.00 cash to spend, but would like to spend less. A “certified” used car was OK. She was going to donate her ’94 Jimmy to the Kidney foundation, so she had no trade-in.
Across the street from my business is a Pontiac / GMC dealership.
On the lot was an ’07 Envoy, black in color. There was a big “SPECIAL” sign on the windshield.
I went in and, like the author, was ignored. I finally found a rep and asked the price of the Envoy in the lot. I explained that it was for Susan and that she could be here in 30 minutes if the price was in her range. I also told him that she’d be paying cash and had no trade-in.
FOR 20 MINUTES I TRIED TO GET A PRICE OUT OF HIM! It was insane. This guy talked about everything but the price. I asked if he had an 08 on the lot with a sticker in the window. He said he didn’t know. He finally said he would have to meet Susan before he could quote a price on the 06 or a new one. Huh?
Down the street is a BMW dealership. They had an 07 X5 on their lot. It was black. I went inside and asked the price. They told me. No hassle, no run around. Susan arrived 45 minutes later, drove it and liked it. They knocked another $1500.00 off the price. She picked it up this morning.
The difference between the Pontiac / GMC dealer and the BMW dealer was amazing.
If this is how GM treats all its customers they will have a tough time selling cars in the future. I’m not sure the citizens of the US should be pumping money into this company.
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Oct 28th, 2008 at 9:32 pm
A friend of mine ask me to help him look for a new car. We stopped at a chevy dealer, no one offered to help, or acknowledged we were
there. He became very annoyed and we left, you lost a sale, he purchased a new Honda, as a result he said he would never considered a GM product, also word of mouth gets around.
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Nov 12th, 2008 at 5:42 pm
OK firstly if you go into a car dealership to not buy a car your not too smart are you? thats like going into a grocery store asking the stock boy,who mind you gets paid hourly, ( sales is commissioned based no sale no pay) and asking him to help you pick out all the food your looking for give you the infromation about it and spend all the time with you to answer all your questions. Then after a hour or two sometimes more depending maybe even multiply trips, you go to the check out counter. You have the cashier ring it up wow 224. dollars thats alot for food I am actually all set for now then you say to the stock boy thats for your time and put that food back for me. Now think would you have been happy if you did all that repeatly for free in a sometime 12 hour day. Do you people have no compassion. Now as far as pricing don’t go over price unless your willing to purchase something because what are you really accomplishing ?? And if you are going to purchase go back to the salesperson who spent the time with you its only fair and we are all human. Don’t goto one dealership waste 2 hours of a salespersons time with the intention to go somewhere else the whole time to compare the price or if you do give them the last chance you’ll find THEY ALL PAY the same for the car if your looking at a new car same brand the price will be close at any dealership when you get down to it. Let me tell you how sales can be and then the next time you go into a dealership you’ll maybe treat the salesperson with some respect and common courtisy. Car salespeople usually work about 50-60 hours a week. They working almost all holidays and weekends. They only get paid by selling cars but people might go in that aren’t interested in buying a car for months. They are doing research or the wife or husband is home and needs to go talk with them. they hear daily not buying today but can I go on 3 test drives thats for moving around those cars gathering the keys. They these car salesmen are on the phone doing follow up to try to call back these people that wasted hours sometimes days of there time. Then the people get made at them for calling them back. They move around the whole lot full of cars when it snows for hours for free. They don’t have scheduled lunch breaks they have to come in one days off because a customer wants to pick up there car that day and can’t wait. They have to worry about surveys that can mess up there bonus’s for that month which means if you don’t kiss ass you don’t get paid. Not to mention if a salesperson has to drive to pick up a car at another dealership because its not in stock then split the deal because it was there day off and the customer came back and bought from another sales person. They could get paid as little as 25 dollars before taxs mostly minimum deals at dealerships are 100. SCions they get paid 75 no matter what all toyota salespeople. I could go on I used to sell cars its a hard demanding job and I would love to see anyone of you people that said they are lazy liars take advantage and are scum balls. Its funny because I found thats the customer would lie and try to take advantage much more then salespeople. KNOW your facts and next time you go into a dealership be nice to the salesman say thank you if they stay late afetr hours for you or come in on there day off. Tell them This. Lets be fair and honest with each other. I want a good deal I will purchase if you give me that and we will both be happy. Don’t go whats your best price ok bye then go to another dealership because if you do think about it your truely a ass hole. Treat others the way yu’d like the be treated.
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Nov 25th, 2008 at 7:12 pm
Uh, Jake, I think you’re missing the point (or at least my point).
Im my case ALL I WANTED WAS A PRICE. The car was not for me, it was for my girlfriend. It would have taken 2 minutes of the sales reps time to look up the price and tell it to me. I then would have called Susan and told her the price. If she thought it was a fair price she would have driven up to the dealership to test drive the car. Chances are, unless the thing caught fire on the test drive, she would have bought it.
The bottom line is, I didn’t waste the sales reps precious time. HE WASTED MINE. All he had to say was “We’re looking for $XX,XXX.00 for the truck”. I would have said “OK, I’ll call Susan” or “No, that’s more than she wants to spend.” A 2 minute conversation. Instead I got a 20 minute run around.
She bought the BMW because I was able to call her and tell her a price. No games, no run around. That’s all the rep at the Pontiac / GMC dealer had to do.
I deal with the public all day long. Susan is a doctor and deals with the public. Yes, you get jerked around from time to time. It comes with the territory. But, that is no reason to treat everyone who walks through you door like an idiot. Some of us don’t want to play games. We just want to buy a car.
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Apr 29th, 2009 at 5:59 pm
Good for you! I am a Toyota guy/fan for 16 years now. Not changing the vehicles nor the customer service. Both cars you are planning to look at are great, both produced in US … so you are helping the US economy anyway …
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Apr 29th, 2009 at 6:38 pm
Car salespeople are like drones. They are taught to sell cars a certain way and only a certain way. They cannot think outside of the box because they are not empowered to do so. The whole process is designed to wear the person down. If you go to edmunds.com, there is a fantastic article called, “Confessions of a Car Salesman” that talks about the tragedy in becoming a car salesman. We recently bought a Toyota and there were some aspects of the transaction that I found distasteful so I know what others are going through albeit they do not seem as bad as the Chevy/GMC/Pontiac lines. The car dealerships will never quote the “best price” upfront because they want to maximize their profit which is why they obfuscate the buying process with that worksheet of four boxes, etc. I still don’t understand why car dealers do not adopt the Saturn approach because it would seem easier on the dealerships and customers. I enjoyed the Saturn buying experience.
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