I got a new / used car this weekend. I actually enjoyed it this time. I brought a friend of mine to do the haggling. Very cute bleach blond with 38 Double D's, wasn't wearing a braw.. well you get the picture. She used to be married to a car salesman so she knew all the tricks. That poor salesman was off balance from the moment we got out of the car. She would flirt, flirt, then drill him about the mark up etc.... She saved me over 3k.

Any other perks you get from that blonde?

What ever dude, like I need validation from you, I have just been explaining a misconception....my dealership sold 250 cars last month. Today is my day off, but I am here just to help out. You guys keep on thinking you don't need salesmen.

DAMN YOU!!! That is not fair! ;) Good move.

Uh huh...right. Does that mean he had an extra layer of brylcreem in his hair and an XL braided gold chain on? I got the deal I wanted, I don't really care whether you think the dealer came out ahead or not. The really nice thing about it is that I got a couple of these dealership cocksmokers bidding against each other, it was fun. It's also no wonder Ford and GM are sliding into oblivion with Dale Mercers of the world working for them.

Nice life there, tirekicker.

Hey fish, just curious, what do you do?

Question: Can you swing these deals with the internet deparment/fleet manager apart from dealing with any salespeople on used cars too? Anyone had any luck doing that?

If He didn't want them sheared, He wouldn't have made them sheep.

What does a salesman do for me?

I'm not saying you as a person are worthless to the human race or anything. I'm just saying, what is my motivation to talk to one? Their job is to get the most money out of me that they can. As a consumer, what is my motivation to want to work with one?

I deal pot.... some meth on occasion....

Why?

Sorry if I offended you with the truth. The way I see it, good customers are my friends, weather they purchase on the internet or not. I also believe the dealers that you purchased from made a profit that they were fine with, otherwise they would have told you no. I hope they made a great profit from you, since you have such a negative image of them.

Now, it appears that you have an anger problem...using stereotypes, slurs and intentionally insulting me. I feel kinda sorry for you.

Please note that I haven't said anything negative to you, about you or my customers. I assume that my customers see value in us, otherwise we wouldn't sell over 1000 vehicles a year.

I will continue to serve my customers with honesty, and concern for their needs. I will assist them in determining what vehicle meets their needs then servicing them after the sale. I will continue to value them and hope they will do the same for me.

and please, you just continue in your quest to devalue others with your negative stereotypes....I am sure that makes people want to help you get great deals when you let them know that you believe they are "cocksmokers".

Lastly, regardless of you opinion of GM, they are still the #1 automobile manufacturer on the planet.

Funny story

http://www.madisonrecord.com/news/newsview.asp?c=148217

It is almost impossible to purchase anything without a salesman. A good Car Salesman can inform you about vehicles as well as answer questions that you don't even know enough to ask. He/she can make the process a good process, and a bad one can make the process unbearable. A good salesman can be there at the dealership to advise you in the years that you own the vehicle. I have saved many people money because they had a paint problem, hit the garage pulling out, had servicing questions.

Internet Car salesmen, can do the same. Some people don't want to spend a lot of time shopping, or negotiating, some actually just want to steal a vehicle, some are looking for something that is very hard to find. The internet is a useful tool for this, but the people on the other end of your keyboard are just salesmen too.

As far as profit....whether or not you are on the internet or dealing with a salesman on the lot....the dealer will make a profit. Profit is NOT a dirty word. I firmly suggest that car buyers research the vehicle they want to purchase....and decide what is an acceptable profit. If the dealer agrees, purchase it. If not....go else where. But a profit will be made.

I also suggest to my customers that they shop interest rates before sitting with those terrible finance guys. If my finance department gives them a better or comparable deal go thru them, if not go to a lending institution of their choice.

Lastly, there are good mechanics, there are bad. There are good doctors, there are bad. There are bad football players and there are good. It's the same with car salesmen. Please don't judge my profession by your last saleman, and I won't judge you by my worst customer.

Not necessarily true.... people will buy cars whether you are nice or not. A dickhead salesman can sell just as many cars as a nice guy salesman if he offers a good enough deal. People are there for one reason only: To buy a vehicle. The salesmen are seen as just a frustrating and annoying obstacle in that process. Nobody gives two shits who the salesman was, it's all about how willing Salesman X is to give you that vehicle at a fair price. And if Salesman X won't budge on the price, move on to Salesman Y. Nobody goes back to Salesman X because he was a nice guy. If Salesman Y offers a better price, Salesman X is forgotten rather quickly.

A car salesmen's value is directly proportional to the price he gives the customer.

Most salesmen have no say whatsoever in the price of a vehicle.

If they are honest that is.

I agree that a dealer is entitled to a fair profit and I don't expect them to sell cars at a loss.

The consumer's perspective is that the amount I pay above the minimum profit a dealer would accept on that car is money that I left on the table. If I pay $2000 more than the dealer would have accepted I wasted that money. I may as well have flushed it down the toilet. My job is to minimize that waste. The salesman's job is to try and maximize that. Therefore, we are at odds.

If you are friends with your customers and make them feel good that's wonderful. A lot of people will pay a lot extra for that.

You are speaking from your personal experience. I have numerous customers that would pay more money to deal here than at another dealership. Happens all the time. Many deal with my service department and have a long lasting relationship with them. They really want to deal at the same dealership. I carry $14 million worth of inventory, so I have just about any Chevy that a person may want, many dealers can't say that.

I will also state that a dickhead saleman would drive a customer off BEFORE the negotiating stage. So the customer wouldn't know who has the better deal.

I have worked at 5 dealerships in my time of selling vehicles. I have had many customers follow me to other dealerships, because I was good at selling vehicles, and, yes, I gave good deals.

Here's the thing, everyone hates car salesmen BECAUSE the have dealt with a bad car salesman. Qhen someone finally deals with a good one...they will come back, I have seen it over and over.

Correct. The Salesmanager does.

Why should I pay a commission for someone to walk back and forth between the table where I am sitting and the Sales Manager's office? Why not deal directly with the sales manager?

A good salesman will sit down with you...and discuss profit. It doesn't have to be negative, or mean spirited. A good deal makes sense to the customer and the dealer.

I have old timers that come in and say, "Just give me your best deal."

And I proceed to tell them that they are asking me to lie to them. If I say $100 over cost is my best deal and that is, say $10,100.00, if you offer me $10,097.00 I may take it, and now I am a liar. A good deal it the deal we agree on.

The salesman does plenty of work to deserve a commision. The salesmanager can't find the right vehicle, Present the vehicle, demo the vehicle, write up the vehicle, fill it with gas, take it to clean up AND negotiate with every customer. The salesmen do that...I mostly work the numbers. I will come negotiate, if that is what it takes....but there is much more than that. That is why a salesman deserves the commish.

Plus the manager has many other responsibilities other than JUST working the numbers and negotiating. Woe is me.... ;)

That's OK, I purchased my last two vehicles from private individuals.

That's great. You paid less that you would have at a dealership. But...went thru the same basic process. He wanted X amount and you offered Y amount and the final deal was agreed upon by both parties.

The upside, you got 2 cars at a good value. The downside, if you buy a used vehicle from my dealersip, it has been thru my service department..and has a limited warranty, so IF the car has problems that you or us didn't know about, you have recourse.

I have done both, and I can't actually say which process is better.

I have looked at dozens of used car warranties and have yet to find one that actually backs the vehicle beyone a certain percentage of the repair cost, always at a service shop selected by the dealer. Naturally, if the dealer uses their own shop, costs are inflated to ensure the dealer has no out of pocket expense, or the dealer selects a buddy who does the same thing.

It's not that dealers won't honor the terms of their warranties, it's that the terms of the warranties are such that they really are of no benfit to the purchaser.

Unless I was buying a "certified preowned" Lexus or Jag or something similar with a 100% 20k mile warranty, I really wouldn't consider the warranty as part of the purchasing decision.

Thats the bottom line. I suppose many of us have stories why they dislike car salemen as a whole.
Realistically i see it as this is America, and if that is how one chooses to make a living i have no problem with it. Car salesmen need to make a living also. I know they are puppets of sorts with management telling them what to do and say. I guess as long as they believe they are doing it honestly then thats all you can ask of them. Unfortunately from the comsumer side it is somewhat difficult to tell how really honest the salesmen they are dealing with are.
I also see it as the consumers responsibility to do their homework as best they can before they go to a dealership. If you don't like the salemen you are dealing don't hesitate to ask the manager you seem to be having problems with him and assign you another. I've had to do that before. Go to more then one car dealership for pricing. Use the internet or what have you.

They don't have a say in the lowest model price, but they have a say in how much that vehicle is priced at on the lot, which is over final cost.

And that amount is what the salesman has to work with during the sale. He's working for that commission... and he knows what price limit that he has to say no to.

Well then good for you... you're doing a good job then. But in most cases, this does not hold true. Ask the average person if they'd rather pay $10,000 to the nice guy or $9,250 to the jackass. No offense, but the jackass is gonna win more often.

Please don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to say that your job isn't important. And I'm not saying that a considerate salesman isn't appreciated. I'm just saying that nice guy or not, business is business.

It doesn't take too many times getting burned by a jackass before you change that attitude.

Maybe we should start a poll... might be an interesting discussion...

How many people have bought consecutive vehicles from the same car salesman?

How many people remember the name of the car salesman that sold them their last vehicle?

How many are first time buyers?

Would you buy from the same salesman?

Why does beer go so well with pizza?

How does the Posi-Trac on a Plymouth work???

Nobody knows...it just duz!!!

:)

Very interesting to read the last few pages of this thread. A few of you are of the opinion that the salesman has no value in the transaction but everone who is making that argument is motivated strictly by price as far as I can tell. That is fine but not every customer has the same motivations. Someone posted earlier something to the effect that anyone dealing with a salesman is an idiot. That's a very egotistical attitude to assume everyone should make their buying decisions the same way you do.

I'm not a car salesman but I'm fairly sure that both the auto manufacturers and auto customers would suffer greatly without dealerships and salespeople. There are many reasons for where customers decide to buy a car other than price.

It would also be interesting to see the results of the same poll with a different audience. Maybe single/divorced women or people over 50 or families with yearly incomes over 150K, to name a few.

Beer goes so well with pizza because beer goes well with almost everything.........german chocolate cake is an exception.

I have bought my last 3 Cars from the same salesman at the same Toyota dealership, each time the experience has been better. I am going to buy a Tundra after the start of the year of the truck is still there.

Great points.

I respect your loyalty as well as your choice. The new Tundra will be awesome. And that is from a Chevy Dealer.

But the terms can be taken care of well in advance, that was my primary point slim. :spock:

um.....thanks for calling me slim?????