Why do salesmen think if you test drive a car, you

[Mr Nice]

Originally Posted By: bdcardinal
Trust me, you don't even have to test drive a car to have them hounding you, try working at a dealer. Completely without my knowledge one of our sales people decided I was going to trade in my 2014 Mustang, he wanted it, and that he was going to then sell me a new Mustang. His plan was foiled when I informed him that 1. I don't like the new Mustangs enough to buy one, and 2. If I did trade my Mustang in, I would walk across the street to Chevy and buy one of the SS sedans.

O and the sales people are trained that people want to buy even when they say they are just looking. If you come in and the sales person that has you for an up does not get all of your info so that they can harass you later, they get punished. Usually involving being sent home for the day or having to spend a day cold calling people.


Sounds like a terrible job. No wonder why dealerships have such high turnover for salespeople.

I once knew a Pontiac salesman (late 90's) that worked 60 hours every week, said he could make the same money working less hours in a supermarket.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

Jeep compass is a piece of garbage. RUN away. Test drove one and a Patriot a few years ago before settling on a forester. Bottom of the rung. Kia Sportage are MUCH better.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

I brought my car in for SRVICe and they are hounding me to buy.

We will pay for your heafty service bill (>1000.00) and give you a goaint discount on a 2017 Rogue and lower your monthly payments.

I said I just bought this car 2-1/2 years ago, why would I trade it now? (given the CVT hasn't lunched yet )

I Still get call 2x week and daily emails.

AUTOFAIR NISSAN.

 

[Lolvoguy]

Originally Posted By: Mr Nice

Sounds like a terrible job. No wonder why dealerships have such high turnover for salespeople.

I once knew a Pontiac salesman (late 90's) that worked 60 hours every week, said he could make the same money working less hours in a supermarket.


Lol yup, and the supermarket would be less stressful !

 

[Virtus_Probi]

Originally Posted By: bdcardinal
Trust me, you don't even have to test drive a car to have them hounding you, try working at a dealer. Completely without my knowledge one of our sales people decided I was going to trade in my 2014 Mustang, he wanted it, and that he was going to then sell me a new Mustang. His plan was foiled when I informed him that 1. I don't like the new Mustangs enough to buy one, and 2. If I did trade my Mustang in, I would walk across the street to Chevy and buy one of the SS sedans.

O and the sales people are trained that people want to buy even when they say they are just looking. If you come in and the sales person that has you for an up does not get all of your info so that they can harass you later, they get punished. Usually involving being sent home for the day or having to spend a day cold calling people.


I got a special kick out of this because I was given a card by a Ford salesman many years ago while my wife and I were just strolling through a lot looking but not interested in driving...he was very friendly and said to call when we were ready.
We went back a few weeks later wanting to test drive and were sent to this salesman's desk to wait as he was finishing up elsewhere. He really gave us the stink eye when he showed up and practically went off the deep end when I showed him the card he had given me..."Where did you get this? WHO GAVE YOU MY CARD?!?!" He finally sort of accepted that it had come from his hand and rushed off to talk to his manager about something...my wife and I conferred and decided to waste as much of this jerk's time as possible. Drove a Taurus, F150, some kind of van, maybe even a Mustang...
I can't even imagine why he reacted the way he did to a potential customer having his business card, he acted like I showed up with his wife's wedding ring in hand...

 

[OneEyeJack]

It comes down to you figuring out what you want/need to buy. If you are so unprepared that a salesperson can offer something you don't know then you are not ready. Buying any car/van/SUV/pickup is a big investment. This is especially true if you're the kind of person that will be making car payments the rest of your life.

 

[Linctex]

Originally Posted By: demarpaint
My favorite is "I got a better deal from someone else and bought from them". Then hang up.

That works!

 

[JTK]

Originally Posted By: jeepman3071
$31k for a Compass? Are they out of their minds?


As insane as it sounds, it looks like the new style 2017 Compass starts at an MSRP of $19940. The "Latitude" package starts at $24340. This pricing doesn't seem all that different than the previous generation 2016 and older Compass.

I think it's great that this salesperson followed through. You can walk around many of the dealers in my area and not even have someone ask to help you.

 

[bdcardinal]

Originally Posted By: Mr Nice
Sounds like a terrible job. No wonder why dealerships have such high turnover for salespeople.

I once knew a Pontiac salesman (late 90's) that worked 60 hours every week, said he could make the same money working less hours in a supermarket.


Sounds about right. Also whenever something doesn't go right with a sale the first people to get thrown under the bus is the parts department. Usually sales will promise the customer something that was an option can be added for the same price as if it came with the car new. Then they come to us and we explain life to them. It is real fun when other dealers sell a Ford/Mazda used and promise that something like Sync can be added, which it can't for the most part. Then it turns into a giant yelling match.

 

[JTK]

Originally Posted By: ARCOgraphite
I brought my car in for SRVICe and they are hounding me to buy.

We will pay for your heafty service bill (>1000.00) and give you a goaint discount on a 2017 Rogue and lower your monthly payments.

I said I just bought this car 2-1/2 years ago, why would I trade it now? (given the CVT hasn't lunched yet )

I Still get call 2x week and daily emails.

AUTOFAIR NISSAN.


If you still owe money on the 2014 and a new one wasn't based on some ridiculous loan term, like 6+ years, I would have been all over that. I'm not saying it's the wisest financial move, I would have just been irked to have to throw $1000 into a 2014, provided it wasn't normal wear items.

 

[69GTX]

Last time I was at a car dealership I spent 2 hours climbing around a car I would be happy to buy. Turned out they were steadfast at $1,000 (10%) over what the car was worth. I ended up buying a much nicer and lower mileage car for almost the same money. They called me every couple of weeks from December through April, even after I told them in January I bought the car I was looking for.

 

[Pajero]

I must admit, I took my Montero home in June 1994 and purchased it. The best decision I made. Been driving it for twenty-three years. I was lucky!



Respectfully,

Pajero

 

[fenixguy]

I've only ever bought used, but the wife and I looked at several dealers before buying the CR-V. I do my shopping on autotrader, craigslist, and the like and I know what I want before I go looking. Anyway, we drove a 2010 Rav-4 at a Ford dealer. Perfect car, but they wanted $2,500 over the loan value. We drove it around the block (with him in it, telling me where to go) less than a mile and when we pulled up to the front, he said, "so, are you ready to buy?". We talked, I tried to haggle, they would NOT budge of the price. I left and that was that.

We drove an '07 CR-V at a Subaru dealer. Mechanically sound car. It had a cracked rear glass, it was the base model with steel wheels, 124,000 miles. Wanted $1,500 over loan value.

We wound up buying an '08 CR-V from a private used car lot. It's an EX with no major flaws and had 80,000 miles. We got it for ~$1000 below the loan value.

The salesman from the Subaru dealer called month later and asked if we were still looking for a CR-V or similar. I said, "No. Actually we just bought a CR-V similar to the one we drove with you. This one is a year newer, has 40,000 less miles, and we got it for $1,500 (or something) less." He didn't call back.

 

[Bottom_Feeder]

Originally Posted By: fenixguy
Perfect car, but they wanted $2,500 over the loan value.
Wanted $1,500 over loan value.
We got it for ~$1000 below the loan value.

'loan value'...?

 

[HangFire]

Their job is to sell stuff. It's easy enough to shut them down, just be firm.

Some people really are on the edge about what to buy, most of us car guys know what we want/don't want, at least we do after the test drive. It's the people on the edge they are trying to turn into buyers.

I worked my last salesman hard. The first thing he said to me was "I love selling used, I don't have to find the right color or options, I just sell what's on the lot." Three attempts later he found the exact car I wanted out of state, he brought it in and I bought it.

 

[fenixguy]

Originally Posted By: Bottom_Feeder
'loan value'...?


The maximum amount the bank is willing to loan for a car. In my case, my Credit Union will loan 110% of the NADA value for a used car.

 

[dparm]

Do yourself a favor and go to CarMax. It is truly zero hassle and all of the "used car salesman memes" do not exist there, in my experience.

 

[John_K]

Originally Posted By: LotI
Chrysler really turning things around? Funny!


Yeah, circling the drain!!!

John

 

[OhOMG]

Originally Posted By: ford46guy
should buy it?

Ok, I test drove a Jeep Compass Limited 4x4. Wasn't thrilled with it, and many thumbs down here.

It is pretty loaded, stickered at around 31k (has lots of toys) and I got already 3 emails and some calls with offers for around 26-27 if I trade the explorer. I looked it up for fun and it seems like a decent deal.

I said I'm not interested, but I got a call today saying they can even do better with the price if I come in, his manager wants the 2017s gone ASAP. Then the salesman said I know you care about longevity and he said Chrysler is really turning around and their products get better and better.


Seems if you test drive a vehicle, there is almost an obligation to buy it. I didn't even ask, he approached me.

I'm not familiar with the new car sales process, I always bought used.


You've got the negotiation tactics down pat.

Keep saying you don't want it and they will eventually be begging you to take it off their hands for a song...

 

[oil_film_movies]

All this Chrysler bashing above! They do some things right.
1. RAM pickups are OK.
2. Charger-Challenger-300-Magnum LX/LD are very decent.
3. Wrangler is iconic for off-road people
4. Grand Cherokees seem to be OK
5. Cherokees may have the bugs out now, which makes it buyable finally.
6. The new minivan (Pacifica) is very good.

Compass does stink. Its a Renegade really. Fiat 500X platform, not great.

Dealerships all have their own style of selling. Some high pressure, some low-key. Just ignore what you don't like and look at the bottom line on the deal.