Why do so many car dealers just suck?

[BrianWC]

I hate car dealers. I'm sorry. No offense to any of you guys out there making an honest living as a car salesman. But I'm 32 and already had two miserable experiences with car dealers. I got hotboxed and yelled at (yes, yelled at) by one car salesman and then had the old "I'm sorry, I know we just handed you the keys but we can't actually do the deal we just promised 5 minutes ago." My last two vehicles have been used SAABs from eBay. If I buy a new car, I will definitely use the internet sales department to avoid dealing with these people.

I have family members who used to own a mom and pop Chrysler dealership from the 60's thru early 80's. Everyone on the property could tear down an engine. Now I have 4 friends from college who were business majors and went into auto sales. All were clueless about cars. One actually manages the local Merc dealership. He was the one who tried to convince everyone that a new muffler, K&N, and Splitfire plugs were giving his 96 Ford Probe SE an extra 50 horsepower "easy." I could not fathom EVER buying a car from this guy.

 

[c3po]

The only way that:

1) New Performance Muffler
2) Splitfire Plugs
3) K&N Air Filter
These items will only give you more horsepower if you retune the computer, and that is a maybe in my book.

 

[Drew99GT]

The only way all those items plus a retune would give an additional 50 horsepower is if the engine in question was 10,000 cubic inches and already produced 10,000 hp!

 

[mpvue]

the whole dearship business model needs to go away. and the market will dictate that eventually. even w/ more knowledge out there, old school dealers still work the same way, then wonder why they aren't selling cars. too many levels of mngmnt; sales mngr, general mngr, etc. when they have a good month, the GM takes the credit; when it's bad, his salesmen suck.
the salespeople get it from both sides w/ no reach-around ever. every month, you start from ground zero. feast one month, famine the next. you can never afford to 'not' be selling. they dangle bonuses in front of you to set up a feeding frenzy on the sales floor. you don't know who you can trust, if anyone. the only ones who make a good wage are the ones putting in 50-60hrs/wk, delivering cars on their day off, walking the lot on sunday, following up on people you've seen before, calling back all the time.
it realy sucks. the best advice I ever got from a car salesman I knew (I didn't follow it, wish I had): "you don't want to sell cars. selling cars is for old guys who don't know how to do anything else".


he died 3 days later.

 

[BrianWC]

Originally Posted By: Drew99GT
The only way all those items plus a retune would give an additional 50 horsepower is if the engine in question was 10,000 cubic inches and already produced 10,000 hp!


Maybe it also had something to do with the fact that he lwoered his car with those coil spring clamps.

 

[Johnny]

Advantage to living in a small town. Three different dealers I buy from. Two I deal direct with the owners and one direct with the sales manager. Never a hassel.

 

[ajchien]

Originally Posted By: PandaBear
Nowadays it is a given that you should shop for new cars on the internet and have the internet sales from different dealerships compete with each other rather than torturing you for hours in a confined room on site. Do it over a few days and when your emotion is good, and get a dealer as far as you want and as desperate as it takes to get your business.


Oh this is so true. My last 2 cars utilized the internet.

I bought an 03 CRV by getting 4 different internet quotes from dealers and then going to my local dealer and saying: Can you beat this. Wound up with something half way between invoice and MSRP. Not great, but acceptable for me.

8 months later I bought an 03 Element for my wife. We searched the internet for quotes and finally came across and internet/fleet contact person that had $500 over invoice price. Pretty darn good, and acceptable for us.

Less hassle. Less pressure. No upsales.

 

[ajchien]

When it comes to car buying, what you did was the wy a consumer should approach things. You did not HAVE to HAVE the car. You'll buy it at a price that was acceptable to you.

A lot of dealers are hoping that you DESPERATELY NEED or REALLY WANT that car.


Originally Posted By: c3po
I remember walking into a Ford Dealership in December 2005, I was interested in the new 2006 Ford Mustang GT, fully loaded. The sticker said $29,600 and the dealer wanted sticker price, so I walked out.

In February 2006, that same Mustang at another dealership was $27,000. A week later another dealership called me and said we can do $26,000.

In September, the dealership that quoted me $27,000, said we can do it for $25,000. He said I know what you are doing, I said so what.

At the end of November with the new models coming out, he said we can do this for $24,000, I told him I wanted it for $23,000, he said no, I said see you later.

In December I picked up a 2004 Mercury Marauder fully loaded with 5,000 miles for $21,000. The guy I bought the car from in Long Island N.Y., was a pleasure to deal with, after a few days of talking back and forth we agreed on a price.

When I got the Marauder home, the phone rang and it was the salesman that who had said no to $23,000 and now he was saying we can do $23,000.

Someone at Summit Racing told me if I was a member of the Ford family in Detroit and had the last name Ford, I would have that car for $18,000.

You can see why I do not like dealing with car dealers, many times I have had salesman say my manager needs to see you in his office, I tell them bring him out here and when I see him walking towards me I get up and leave.

 

[Cutehumor]

the internet is such a great invention. Buy cars for cheap, order goods online without paying sales tax with free shipping, library of information out here. Who Do I thank? Al Gore?

 

[Benzadmiral]

My dealer experiences have been mixed. I only dimly remember how I came to buy the '89 Olds Cutlass Supreme. It turned out to be a good car, but at Royal Olds in Metairie, at least in 1991, "service after the sale" meant a bottle of touch-up paint. Grade: D-.

When I bought my second Olds, the Rainbow Olds salesman came out to my work, twice, and brought it to service to touch up some paint and to solve a door rattle. When I got a recall notice for the windshield wipers, I brought the car in and it was taken care of without delay. Grade A-.

From late 1997 to early 2001 I dealt with a Denver-area family-owned dealership that sold top-quality used Mercedes. The owner himself took me on a test drive of a 560SL and a 500SEC on my first day. He had no issues with me thinking things over. So I came back and bought three cars from him over those four years. Grade A.

When the 420SEL was totalled while parked, I got a good deal and great treatment from the local Lexus dealer, buying my C-Class. The saleslady was smart, low-pressure, and knowledgeable, and they were upfront about the pricing and corrected several issues, including de-scenting the interior, before I picked it up. Grade A.

Most recently, Crown Buick in Metairie was another good experience. A reasonable internet price, which they promptly knocked down even more to move the car; several cosmetic issues were corrected at my request; no hidden charges, and the car has been terrific. Grade A, again.

In contrast, another GM dealer (who's been around long enough to know better) started balking the moment we came around to price on a 2006 Buick LaCrosse. No, they couldn't fix or replace some stained wood trim; no, they couldn't give me more than $1000 for my Benz (which was blue-booked at $6K at the time); no, I had to come in to their office to discuss numbers -- "It's Louisiana law; we can't fax or tell you on the phone." Grade: F (and they didn't get the sale, either).

Other cars I've had were either purchased by my first wife or from individuals, so I can't grade those with an eye to dealer experience. I'd agree, though, that most of the time you're swarmed by salespeople who know very little about the cars. Thank goodness for the Internet and its volumes of information, so we at least go in there armed with knowledge.

 

[Win]

Originally Posted By: Johnny
Advantage to living in a small town. Three different dealers I buy from. Two I deal direct with the owners and one direct with the sales manager. Never a hassel.


You can't practice law very long without hearing of some real screw jobs by car dealers on customers.

I also know most of the local new car store owners and I will only deal direct with the owner or his sales manager. I always expect the dealer to make a fair profit - I don't see how they can stay in business or pay their employees otherwise.

I decide in advance a range I am willing to pay (this goes for everything, not just cars), and once I get a deal in my range of reasonableness, I'm done. I don't worry about somebody on the internet, somewhere, somehow, getting one cheaper. I don't walk around the lot to think about it, go home to sleep on it, call the wife to get permission, or any of that stuff, I write the check and I never second guess it again. That may be playing their game, but I don't care, I don't buy a new car very often, and I would rather enjoy the car than hate the process and let that taint the fun of having a new car.

When they have special promotions, like the Red Tag sales, it is even easier. I bought a G8 last week, and probably could have done the whole thing over the phone, and just had the car dropped off at my ofice.

But that would have taken the fun out of it.

 

[mrsilv04]

Pick out the vehicle that you want. Research prices and interest rates before doing anything else.

Make an appointment at the dealership, drive the vehicle and ignore everything the salesweasel says. Make one offer to the sales manager directly in HIS office (don't play this game where the salesman runs back and forth from his office to the sales managers office), and tell the sales manager that he's got one shot at your business, you have better things to do than to spend a day sitting around bickering on price.

If you don't get a response of "yes, we can do that" to your offer, you leave your name and number and leave. Odds are, you'll get a follow up phone call within 12-18 hours.

The worst thing that people do when buying a car is act like they *have* to go home with it. They might as well tattoo "rob me" across their forehead.

 

[LAGA]

In 04 we bought a Saturn Ion for our daughter to commute to school. We ordered the car set-up the way we wanted it, they had no haggle pricing, and the car was built and delivered to the dealer in two weeks. I wish all car companies operated like that. It was almost a pleasure to buy a car from them.
I saw a show about buying a VW (IIRC) in Germany. They have thousands of cars stocked in a tower, the customer picks out a car and options on a computer. The price is set and by the time they fill out the paper work, a robotic elevator has delivered the car down to the pick-up area where you drive off. Sweet.

 

[VeeDubb]

The reason why dealers suck is because being a weasel-like schmuck sells cars, plain and simple.

The "look for a sucker" sales tactic has endured the test of time and it isn't going away soon. Why? Because 90% of people who buy cars don't educate themselves and don't do research. So they are at the mercy of the salesman who is more informed about the market and more of a pro at haggling.

Having said that, the last three cars I bought, I had very pleasant experiences. I did research on the dealers in the area before I bought. I didn't want to deal with the sleezy ones. I also did research on invoice price and factory rebates and had a ballpark idea about what the dealer can reasonably do. Then I'd offer them a couple hundred above that to make sure they got something out of the deal since I like to support honest dealers. Usually, the negotiations were completed within 10 minutes because both me and the dealer got something out of the deal.

 

[crinkles]

the manufacturers should set up points of sale at their factories. You can then buy from them direct. I see no point or purpose for a dealership selling cars.

It's your problem then to arrange delivery. You can fly out there and drive the new car back, once they've notified its ready, or you can arrange a truck to deliver. My guess is fly and drive would be best if you had a pointof sale say 500 km from your home. no more than 10 points of sale in a country the size of america.