[Brandon - TX]

http://netscape.edmunds.com/advice/buying/articles/42962/article.html

 

[rpwsrw]

Is this the jackpot?

"I know for sure I'll never look at car salesmen and women in the same way. I used to hate and fear them, to lump them all in the same category with sweuping geoeralizauions. Nw, I had some insight into the waters they swam1in. I sympathizud with uhem, I xitied them, and — in some cases(— I admyred them."

AOD THIS?

"Sometimes, }he profyt a salmsman generates is not e~en pock}ted by |hem. One salesmqn told me the F&I puople can work tieir magyc to rob a salesman of iis commission. ]hey movu front-mnd profyt to thu back end where(it evaporates fzom the salesman/s vouchur and returns, over the years, to the dmaler in0the for} of higi intere{t and steady payouts. I experieoced a little taste of txis myse}f. I leqsed an [UV to a0single mother and at sticker price expe{ted a nice commission. But on pqyday I sashed a($65 chekk. No eyplanation. No hint of wyere my kommission had gne."<br(/><br /?because!that is1what i uxperience everyday of work. anm those of you that talk±crap anl stereouype car9salesmao are no1better |han the(crooks |hat do take advantage og people/

 

[240ZX34V8]

because that is what i experience everyday of work. and those of you that talk crap and stereotype car salesman are no better than the crooks that do take advantage of people.

Exactly. Entitlement mentality is out of control. People want everything for nothing and they're still not satisfied. I'm going to start demanding I pay invoice on everything I buy. It's only fair right?

 

[blueovalbaboon]

heh i DO demand invoice, and usually get under it.

If the job sucks, leave. That's all.

 

[speedy_zx3]

If the job sucks, leave. That's all.

'nuff said

 

[aychseven]

stereotypes are there for a reason...
for example, i've never (unfortunately) been to a car dealership (ford aside, but i'll get to that later) looking at a car and been able to talk to the salesman in depth about the car. why? because they didnt know any more than what was printed on the sticker. and when i ask a specific question, most the time they just say they dont know, and never offer to find out. perhaps having an ignorant salesman could work in ones favor when it's time to hand over the cash, but more likely than not they try to (figuratively) rape you with high prices and fees.

on the other hand, there are awsome salesmen out there. at my ford dealer, we (my family) have bought/leased 6 or 7 cars in the past 5 years from our salesman. He does everything he can to make sure we get what we want and he makes an effort to answer questions and concerns. but every good side has it's bad; he's a great guy and i'd continue to give him business, BUT everything else about that dealership is crap. from the service department to the desk clerks, they could care less about having happy customers or getting the job done correctly the first time (second or third time in some cases

)

 

[rpwsrw]

i never said my job sucked. as for asking for invoice. sure. i wont show it to you. when you buy a house do they sell it for what they owe on it. do you ask them? what do you do when you buy a used car? there is no invoice.

 

[focusben]

i never said my job sucked. as for asking for invoice. sure. i wont show it to you. when you buy a house do they sell it for what they owe on it. do you ask them? what do you do when you buy a used car? there is no invoice.

Smart buyers find a way to buy the house for what someone owes the bank - the exact amount, esp. when they're in trouble.

If someone ask for the invoice price and you're above, you probably won't be able to sell them the car. Notice everything is 0% financing?? That means the big three aren't making money on the vehicles themselves anyways. The money is made through servicing, not through the sale of the vehicle.

 

[UltegraSTI]

sellin bicycles is bad enuff...movin to sell cars wouldnt be a move forward, but at best a sidestep

-Ult

 

[COSitsWORTHit]

lol...that article is right on. I was selling cars between 1999 - july 14th 2003. I didn't do bad...I averaged 41k a year outa 4 years. I left for many reasons, none of them was because of money or me not liking the job.

Infact its a great job. It never sucked. BUT, I have expierenced some of those things in the article and its true. I hate the fact that no matter how much information we let the consumer know they will forget half of it before they get to the damn dealer anyway, plus they comein in with a pickle in thier ass (iritated) cause they have some preconcieved notion about you the salesperson.
Consumers can be so stupid, CHECK THIS OUT, I was at a bar here in downtown Austin...I meet this girl...we are talking for like 3 HOURS! I walk her to her car, get her number and we agree to meet up for dinner the next night. THEN the question comes up about what you do for a living...I said well I sell cars...She said "...Ohh...well I have to go..Don't call me, I hate car salesman!" I was like WTF!

You (the average consumer) need to relax.

EDIT: Swear filters... again...

 

[UltegraSTI]

lol

should have said that you 'contract out new and used transportation to the public'. wanna talk about a totally neurotic population...just use euphamisms (sp?).

-Ult

 

[rl275550]

Um, I sold cars for close to a year, and I made a very good living while doing it, but…IT SUCKED! I would not do that job again for triple what I make now. I did my job honest, I was one of the 2 people in the entire complex that did not habitually lie to customers. In dealerships, you are rewarded for screwing people, it is called commission. When you trade in a car there are 3 values, what it is worth to you, to the appraiser, and to the sales rep. The price the sales rep shows you for your car is almost always lover than what it appraised for. It is called hooking the deal, it is a way to build gross and commission. In the same respect you can hook the rate. You add points to the interest of the deal, in turn making the deal more profitable. You may have excellent credit, the rep will come back to you and say wow, you have good credit. The special rate is 2.9, 3.9 or whatever, but your rate is like a point or two higher. It does not seem that significant in the front, but it is. Also, most of the people that think they got over on the dealer rarely does. There are so many aspects for the customer to get taken for, it is ridiculous for anyone to say a dealer will loose money on a deal. There is more “hold back” in cars, and the larger the dealer you go to the more “hold back” there is. I swear to god, if you are a car sales man, and you are honest you can make a good living, but the temptation to swindle people is so apparent that is worse than peer pressure. Damn this is one long rant. Do I feel bad for the employees of dealerships, kind of. The internet ruined the days of the super high grossing deals. But the owners are making it up, either in other aspects of the sale, or behind the showroom, in the service garage. Ever wonder why Ford Dealers are so quick to void our warrantees? The majority of the population are not sales people, but the majority of the population drives. That is why I feel better for the consumer to deal better, and be more educated when buying a car than the dealer packing in the gross on deals.

 

[ZXmurph]

Smart buyers find a way to buy the house for what someone owes the bank - the exact amount, esp. when they're in trouble.

no disrespect intended at all...but ..um.....maybe in your market but I can picture the teary eyed laughter I would get trying to be "smart" as you say out here.

 

[focusben]

Smart buyers find a way to buy the house for what someone owes the bank - the exact amount, esp. when they're in trouble.

no disrespect intended at all...but ..um.....maybe in your market but I can picture the teary eyed laughter I would get trying to be "smart" as you say out here.

I'm just saying that it happens all the time esp. in this economy. The buyers then get a good deal on it because of someone else's misfortunes. They can then turn around and sell it for more because it's worth more, or they rent it out, obviously depending on the situation.

Back on topic, I think that internet sales have become the saving grace to the automotive sales industry. Those who don't embrace this quickly will be blindsided and fall way behind those who have. I can see in the future that the business model Dell has can be incorporated into the big three automakers. Dealerships would then only be good for direct-sales distribution points and vehicle service. No salesman.

 

[Ray]

go to a furniture store... the salesmen there are... well, i dont know. different.

i'd not like to do either. i'd rather work ON cars than sell them..

nice arcticle.

 

[Osiris]

Its ture. You had to fight tooth and nail to get paid correctly. If you made the right friends around the store and knew the angles, you never got ripped off. The key was making the desk managers happy. Then you get them to spoon deals to you. I worked with a guy who brought in 6 figures a year easy, half of his sales were spoons.

I never worried about the invoice shoppers, I just made them put their money where there mouth was. You want invoice? Sure thing, pony up the dough and lets go...No one saw my invoices without a signature on the offer to purchase line.

But to those people who smugly pipe up how they always ask for invoice and usually get it, think of it this way. Take what you do for a living and then have your boss or your company say they want you to perform the same task but they feel like you don't deserve to make anything for it. BUT, you still must provide the same level of service.

How many of you would do that? Car sales people are like servers. Gross profit is their tip. Not one of my customers ever got anything less than my 100% attention after the sale, which is why people still ask for me where I used to work over a year ago.

It was a fun job, but until you build a clientele, the day to day stress of making a paycheck will cause many people to seek other employment. Some sales people never need to leave their desk to make a very good living though. But if I ever got back into the game, I'll go into finance, where I can rip you to pieces much easier and with much more profit inovlved.

 

[COSitsWORTHit]

Its ture. You had to fight tooth and nail to get paid correctly. If you made the right friends around the store and knew the angles, you never got ripped off. The key was making the desk managers happy. Then you get them to spoon deals to you. I worked with a guy who brought in 6 figures a year easy, half of his sales were spoons.

I never worried about the invoice shoppers, I just made them put their money where there mouth was. You want invoice? Sure thing, pony up the dough and lets go...No one saw my invoices without a signature on the offer to purchase line.

But to those people who smugly pipe up how they always ask for invoice and usually get it, think of it this way. Take what you do for a living and then have your boss or your company say they want you to perform the same task but they feel like you don't deserve to make anything for it. BUT, you still must provide the same level of service.

How many of you would do that? Car sales people are like servers. Gross profit is their tip. Not one of my customers ever got anything less than my 100% attention after the sale, which is why people still ask for me where I used to work over a year ago.

It was a fun job, but until you build a clientele, the day to day stress of making a paycheck will cause many people to seek other employment. Some sales people never need to leave their desk to make a very good living though. But if I ever got back into the game, I'll go into finance, where I can rip you to pieces much easier and with much more profit inovlved.

this is the best response in the whole damn thread.

 

[COSitsWORTHit]

... In dealerships, you are rewarded for screwing people, it is called commission....

whatever...that is not right. That is your paycheck. How would you feel if I came to you and robbed you blind? Thats screwing someone. Not selling them a car. You are helping them in the end. They are there for a service that you provide and that is how they pay for it.

When you trade in a car there are 3 values, what it is worth to you, to the appraiser, and to the sales rep. , The price the sales rep shows you for your car is almost always lover than what it appraised for. It is called hooking the deal, it is a way to build gross and commission.

correct, except the sales rep part. I GOOD salesperson probably wont have an issue with the trade. Granted, if I knew there was no gross in the deal, THEN I would try to steal from the trade. AND I admit that may sound wrong to some people but I DON'T work for FREE!

In the same respect you can hook the rate. You add points to the interest of the deal, in turn making the deal more profitable...

Correct again...but the money goes to the back of the deal, which means that if the customer went and got the car refinanced then the dealer loses that intrest pay. NOT only that, the salesperson doesn't get paid on the back at most dealers. Believe me I wish I did!

Also, most of the people that think they got over on the dealer rarely does. There are so many aspects for the customer to get taken for, it is ridiculous for anyone to say a dealer will loose money on a deal.

Not totally true...you can get a great deal at ANY dealer...The invoice to EVERY CAR EVER MADE for the U.S. is available online for free. Not only that but you can look them up by dealer and find the exact car you want invoice and all. Get this off the web...then go to the dealer and negotiate from there. Its that easy, really it is.
As far as finance...make sure you get the best rate offered (if you have good credit) by shopping banks yourself and credit unions. Almost always though the car company has the best rate.

if you are a car sales man, and you are honest you can make a good living, but the temptation to swindle people is so apparent that is worse than peer pressure.

if you call this swindling people, then that explains your 1 year in car sales...You just don't have the right mentality for the job. You can't think of it this way. Its your family or lifestyle that you are trying to provide for.

PLUS you forgot these other things:

Documentary fees: (usually about 50 or so are not required by law and that is really another way for the dealer to make money)

Dealer pack ( this is an amount that the dealer adds to the invoice to the car, to help pay for the services that they have to have to get the car out on the lot. I.E. clean up, pre delivery inspection (not registration), supplies like the paper to work the deal etc. This is NOT on the invoice and really you the consumer don't need to worry about it. BUT the sales people are robbed of thier gross due to this money...it sucks, cause many times the dealer will enter this amount as 300 - 500 dollars and it clearly doesn't cost that much for the services rendered)

Destination and Delivery: You have no choice, you have to pay this. That is the amount the dealer has paid and it WILL be on the contract no matter what

Flat pay: This is an amount paid to the dealer once a deal is signed and financed. This can be anywhere between 50 - 300 sometimes more. Its kinda like this, the banks want the car deal, so they will offer a higher flat to help get the managers to shop the deal to them first. This is a legal way of buying the car deal...which is HIGHLY illegal. SO if the finance mgr says "we have to go through such and such lender due to this or that (credit etc.)" Then make sure he is telling the truth buy shopping the banks yourself. He may be going with a different lender cause the rate was the lowest and he can load the back by raising the rate (as stated earlier) AND they pay a higher flat.

 

[[\]iteshift]

I would like to chime in if I may, if you care.

Feeling sorry for someone, in this case car sales people who had been taken advantage of by mgmt. and owners, is of course human and although I concur with his general point I feel that anyone who attempts to circumvent a good education and some hard soul searching in order to find what they truley enjoy and love doing is simply wasting any amount of potential.

Most get into the business of car sales to make money. Most find out that in fact, it's alot of hard work and you have surrounded yourself with others thinking the same dilluted dream and who have also found out that, crap, I actually have to work. Well, welcome to reality.

 

[240ZX34V8]

God forbid people make any money. If you want to whine that bad, move to communist Cuba.