Exit/Post purchase walk through was pathetic

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My 1st world problem. Nothing exciting, just high on the lameness scale.

My purchase after ordering and waiting 3.5 months was relatively uneventful, the car is working great, but does have a steep learning curve. Mostly coming from a tame, 100% predictable Volvo. I am still just breaking the car in, going easy and slow, but no lugging, but enough RPM excursions to not be babying it.

After paying the $ people the sales weenie met me at the car. I just wanted to be out of there, but it's his job to teach me - probably not a great learning situation, but I was respectful and listened and kept questions brief. I'll just outline this for easier reading/replying if you wish.

1) General in nature. The guy didn't really cover much relative to the time it took. He insisted in setting up my cell phone in the blue tooth system, and spent a decent while jabbering about it. The reason I mention this is because there are important details they he should have talked about. The few things he did mention, I found out later he was flat wrong.

2) He did not even mention the "Hill Assist" system. The first time I discovered this on the way home, it pretty much freaked me out. Later I read all about it the manual, and all is well. I mean something like this should be mentioned when;

3) He spent a bit of time telling me I should never turn any of the ABS (and related systems - my words) off, but had no explanation as to why. All fine and good, I suppose.

4) He told me the only way to turn the front electric defroster was to crank the climate control knob to a certain position. No, the push button activates it.

5) Not really his fault but they should warn people driving off the lots the tires will be exceedingly SLICK, and I mean treacherously slippery from stupid tire treatment on the contact surface. WOW. Criminally dangerous.

To be continued.........I have more. Need to go.
 
I've bought a lot of new cars in my life and I've never been interested in the post purchase walk thru. I can't understand why anyone would even waste their time with one.

The ONLY thing I cover in a walk thru is a full inspection of the vehicle so I make sure some one didn't ding something since I last saw the vehicle.

Scott
 
It would be helpful for those of us that can't read minds, if you included the year/make/model of the car you purchased to replace the infamous Volvo...
grin.gif
 
I just bought a new Forester XT Touring a couple of months back and declined the walk-through. I knew what I needed to know going in - I'd rather not spend money on a vehicle and be surprised by any of its systems or lack thereof - and the rest I found out from reading the owners manual and forums.
 
Rare is the commissioned salesman who brings value to the transaction (and I'll concede there are a few good ones out there). Most are simply order takers. I find this almost universally true in my personal and business purchasing across a variety of industries.
 
Originally Posted By: The_Eric
It would be helpful for those of us that can't read minds, if you included the year/make/model of the car you purchased to replace the infamous Volvo...
grin.gif



http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/3227266/Re:_Subie_WRX_or_STi#Post3227266

Originally Posted By: SLO_Town
I've bought a lot of new cars in my life and I've never been interested in the post purchase walk thru. I can't understand why anyone would even waste their time with one.

The ONLY thing I cover in a walk thru is a full inspection of the vehicle so I make sure some one didn't ding something since I last saw the vehicle.

Scott


I did that for sure, but the guy insisted. I did cut him short as it was. Frankly other new cars they didn't even offer or insist, oddly.

Originally Posted By: gathermewool
I just bought a new Forester XT Touring a couple of months back and declined the walk-through. I knew what I needed to know going in - I'd rather not spend money on a vehicle and be surprised by any of its systems or lack thereof - and the rest I found out from reading the owners manual and forums.


I hear you. But I like surprises! I was expecting bare bones. My wife doesn't get it, well I mean she is starting to.

I'm cooking now, so I will add more stuff later.
 
I was with my parents at the dealer when they originally bought the '02 Ranger I own now. There was no need for a post purchase walk through. It did come with a bag of cookies and a coffee mug with the dealer's logo on it. There was a CD with the owner's manual explaining how to use the stereo and such, but it was pretty self explanatory off the lot.
 
Originally Posted By: R80RS
Rare is the commissioned salesman who brings value to the transaction (and I'll concede there are a few good ones out there). Most are simply order takers. I find this almost universally true in my personal and business purchasing across a variety of industries.


Bingo. An hour on the interwebs and you'll know more than any salesman...
 
A friend of mine recently picked up a '13 WRX, and same thing with the factory tires. He says it's like driving on summer tires, and his old Honda with A/S got better grip in the last little snowstorm we got.
 
Oh, one dealer gem from my car search occurred at a VW dealer near Boston. He opened the door of the Jetta TDI we were checking out and knocked on the B pillar, stating something about how strong it was. I've had good and bad experiences with dealers, and this guy was on the snakier side of the scale. I honestly didn't know much about the two different diesel emissions control systems (ie., passed urea injection vs Jetta DPF, IIRC) and instead of admitting he didn't know he kept changing the subject to whether we loved the color, the listed fuel mileage, etc. He asked me a few times if I was in love with it yet... It was weird
 
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Originally Posted By: R80RS
Rare is the commissioned salesman Rare is the commissioned salesman who brings value to the transaction (and I'll concede there are a few good ones out there). Most are simply order takers. I find this almost universally true in my personal and business purchasing across a variety of industries.


R80RS- To be fair at many/most places, rare is the commission too.

Most dealers pay 150-200 per car for a no profit deal and almost always there is never a profit.

When I was first in the business I sold a new Nissan Maxima at full sticker.
We took in a GOOD running old Vette that needed an interior and paint. It had 4 brand new mags and 4 brand new tires. We gave 2500. I thought I did well.
When I asked I was told no commission. I asked how that happened. I was told the full profit on the Maxima at sticker was $2500. That we overtraded $2000 on the vette as its "real value" was $500.

The $2000 extra we gave him takes away from the $2500 profit leaving a $500 dollar profit. 20% of 500 is lower than than the $150 flat.

I suggested I take the vette for 500 as the 4 mags with new tires were worth 2500 and he turned his back and didn't say another word.

At a Ford dealer in a month I sold 20 cars in about 280 hours. I made $4000 and that included the $500 "salesman of the month" Without the bonus that's 12 an hour.
If my customer comes in on my day off,just to pick up their already purchased car and I am not there the salesman who delivers it gets 1/2 my money.
I didn't care about spending an extra time. Get them out and move on.
It's a numbers game.
The dealers have made the business the way it is. Constant turnover,inexperienced salesman and people who on the whole just want to turn numbers and move on.
 
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The Post Purchase walk through for me, is for them to drive it back into the detail shop, and remove the dealer's name everywhere off of the exterior of the vehicle.

No license plate frames, no sticker on the back end, no nothing. My job isn't to advertise for them, and they sure as heck aren't paying me to do it.
 
Originally Posted By: clarkflower
Originally Posted By: R80RS
Rare is the commissioned salesman who brings value to the transaction (and I'll concede there are a few good ones out there). Most are simply order takers. I find this almost universally true in my personal and business purchasing across a variety of industries.


R80RS- To be fair at many/most places, rare is the commission too.

Most dealers pay 150-200 per car for a no profit deal and almost always there is never a profit.

When I was first in the business I sold a new Nissan Maxima at full sticker.
We took in a GOOD running old Vette that needed an interior and paint. It had 4 brand new mags and 4 brand new tires. We gave 2500. I thought I did well.
When I asked I was told no commission. I asked how that happened. I was told the full profit on the Maxima at sticker was $2500. That we overtraded $2000 on the vette as its "real value" was $500.

The $2000 extra we gave him takes away from the $2500 profit leaving a $500 dollar profit. 20% of 500 is lower than than the $150 flat.

I suggested I take the vette for 500 as the 4 mags with new tires were worth 2500 and he turned his back and didn't say another word.

At a Ford dealer in a month I sold 20 cars in about 280 hours. I made $4000 and that included the $500 "salesman of the month" Without the bonus that's 12 an hour.
If my customer comes in on my day off,just to pick up their already purchased car and I am not there the salesman who delivers it gets 1/2 my money.
I didn't care about spending an extra time. Get them out and move on.
It's a numbers game.
The dealers have made the business the way it is. Constant turnover,inexperienced salesman and people who on the whole just want to turn numbers and move on.


I didn't mean any disrespect to anyone's profession, and I don't dispute anything you said regarding the way the dealerships handle their sales staff. After rereading my post, I can see where someone could come to that conclusion. My father worked in sales when I was very young, so I have empathy for what people in sales go through and some first hand knowledge of the pluses and minuses of the job.

I think you may have hit on some of direct causes behind my original point regarding the high turnover, lack of experience and short-term thinking in the sales profession in general and at auto dealerships in particular. All these things lead to the sort of customer experience that Pablo described.

I deal with sales people on a weekly basis in my job, selling industrial and scientific equipment. Some are commissioned manufacturers reps and some salaried direct employees of the companies they represent. It is simply my experience that very few of them provide meaningful help, and many are less knowledgeable about the products they are selling than the person they are selling to. There are exceptions. For example, I specify one brand of compression fitting over all others in large part because of the excellent support and service I receive from the local sales rep.
 
When I bought the Focus, I think the guy did a good job. I wanted as close to base model as possible with a manual transmission, brand new, on a car that was no longer being produced.

However, I took delivery from another salesguy. When I got the car I pointed to the shifter and asked what it was and stated that I did not know how to drive manual transmission.

The look on his face was priceless.
 
My post purchase walk-through on my Mazda was very good actually. The salesman even called me a month after I purchased the car to make sure I was happy with everything. It pays to find a good dealership. These guys were also the only ones willing to hunt down the specific car I wanted and did a dealer transfer. Every other dealership wanted to only sell what they had on the lot.

This one in particular was no nonsense and buying the car was a breeze. I also did the "internet shopping" so the price was negotiated before I walked in the door. From the first contact they got the impression I was no nonsense. I even requested no dealership license plate borders and when I took delivery it was written on my sales receipt comments to put not dealership materials on my car and there was none.

If you are planning to purchase a new car choose a dealership that makes the buying process pleasant and doesn't [censored] you. If you get lied to just walk away. Remember it is a big purchase and it shouldn't be a nightmare to deal with them. Support the good ones.

I can't tell you how many dealerships you walk into have a folding table in the corner, aggressive liars trying to push product on you lying to your face that they have the car you want but, "Oh, I'm sorry...it's actually not the color you want and it's an upgraded model with Automatic instead of Manual. My mistake...I read the inventory list wrong." You feel like you need to take a shower after walking through the front door of these scam places. I can't believe there are people out there who will literally spend thousands of extra dollars on cars they didn't originally want but it's "what they had on the lot."
 
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Never had one, never even been offered one. The closest I came was the OnStar setup when I bought the Cobalt, and the salesman ducked out on that one once he got me started talking to the nice lady at OnStar.
 
Originally Posted By: GMFan
If you are planning to purchase a new car choose a dealership that makes the buying process pleasant and doesn't [censored] you. If you get lied to just walk away. Remember it is a big purchase and it shouldn't be a nightmare to deal with them. Support the good ones.

I can't tell you how many dealerships you walk into have a folding table in the corner, aggressive liars trying to push product on you lying to your face that they have the car you want but, "Oh, I'm sorry...it's actually not the color you want and it's an upgraded model with Automatic instead of Manual. My mistake...I read the inventory list wrong." You feel like you need to take a shower after walking through the front door of these scam places. I can't believe there are people out there who will literally spend thousands of extra dollars on cars they didn't originally want but it's "what they had on the lot."


I agree 100%. My Mazda dealer and BMW dealer have treated me well with respect to sales, service, and parts. I am extremely reluctant to look elsewhere.
 
Originally Posted By: R80RS
Originally Posted By: clarkflower
Originally Posted By: R80RS
Rare is the commissioned salesman who brings value to the transaction (and I'll concede there are a few good ones out there). Most are simply order takers. I find this almost universally true in my personal and business purchasing across a variety of industries.


R80RS- To be fair at many/most places, rare is the commission too.

Most dealers pay 150-200 per car for a no profit deal and almost always there is never a profit.

When I was first in the business I sold a new Nissan Maxima at full sticker.
We took in a GOOD running old Vette that needed an interior and paint. It had 4 brand new mags and 4 brand new tires. We gave 2500. I thought I did well.
When I asked I was told no commission. I asked how that happened. I was told the full profit on the Maxima at sticker was $2500. That we overtraded $2000 on the vette as its "real value" was $500.

The $2000 extra we gave him takes away from the $2500 profit leaving a $500 dollar profit. 20% of 500 is lower than than the $150 flat.

I suggested I take the vette for 500 as the 4 mags with new tires were worth 2500 and he turned his back and didn't say another word.

At a Ford dealer in a month I sold 20 cars in about 280 hours. I made $4000 and that included the $500 "salesman of the month" Without the bonus that's 12 an hour.
If my customer comes in on my day off,just to pick up their already purchased car and I am not there the salesman who delivers it gets 1/2 my money.
I didn't care about spending an extra time. Get them out and move on.
It's a numbers game.
The dealers have made the business the way it is. Constant turnover,inexperienced salesman and people who on the whole just want to turn numbers and move on.


I didn't mean any disrespect to anyone's profession, and I don't dispute anything you said regarding the way the dealerships handle their sales staff. After rereading my post, I can see where someone could come to that conclusion. My father worked in sales when I was very young, so I have empathy for what people in sales go through and some first hand knowledge of the pluses and minuses of the job.

I think you may have hit on some of direct causes behind my original point regarding the high turnover, lack of experience and short-term thinking in the sales profession in general and at auto dealerships in particular. All these things lead to the sort of customer experience that Pablo described.

I deal with sales people on a weekly basis in my job, selling industrial and scientific equipment. Some are commissioned manufacturers reps and some salaried direct employees of the companies they represent. It is simply my experience that very few of them provide meaningful help, and many are less knowledgeable about the products they are selling than the person they are selling to. There are exceptions. For example, I specify one brand of compression fitting over all others in large part because of the excellent support and service I receive from the local sales rep.


I agree with you and didn't take any offense. I just try to educate.That the dealers do the same to the employees as they do to the customers.
At first after I knew the business we used to call stores managers stores. This is where the managers got paid on the back end gross profit. They got 25% of the money that was hidden from me like on that Maxima deal. Or a salesmans store where they paid on real numbers. Those salesmans stores have almost all gone but while at one I knew the line well and spent a huge amount of time. I could sell 10 cars and make 7,000. (a month)
Seems the dealers have decided the managers store is is the best way to go.
 
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