Car dealers are cluless in selling car ?

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This is an opinion of a person after experience with buying a Chevy Camaro. My experiences are somewhat difference, may be because I am in So Cal and car dealers here are better.

I bought these cars the last 20+ years online and had no problems with getting actual selling price by email, no problem with finance person and paper works were done in 30 minutes or so. I bought my E430 from "AutoDirect.com", picked up at local dealer without any problem. I had 3-4 email responds from local Honda dealers about S2000 price, I picked the closest dealer and had no problem of any kind.

The thing is this person talk to the press and now on the net.

Quote:
Dealers are "clueless" about how difficult it is for a customer to actually buy a car, Richard F. Libin—president of consulting firm APB-Automotive Profit Builders—concluded in a recent WardsAuto piece.

Libin recently bought a Chevrolet Camaro, but throughout the process, he said he felt the three dealers he contacted all seemed to be trying to do everything they could to stop the sale.

He sent online inquiries to three dealerships, and received a mix of automated replies and prompts to direct his inquiries to specific people that were later found to be unreachable.

None of the dealers seemed willing to discuss pricing information over the phone, instead insisting that Libin meet in person before any deal could be discussed.

That's even after Libin explained to a salesperson that he was 260 miles and three states away.



Quote:
Eventually, he managed to make a deal, and drove those 260 miles to pick up his Camaro, with a certified check in hand.

Yet the delivery process proved just as onerous.

All that needed to be done was some paperwork. Libin expected that to take about 30 minutes, but it was four hours before he was out the door.

The dealer had the wrong price, didn't have the car ready, and kept trying to sell him on financing.

With that kind of experience, dealers are right to view any changes to the established protocols of car buying as a threat.


http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1105...ealers-clueless
 
unfortunately this happens all too often. It was the same way last time I bought a new vehicle.

I also had the same issue when trying to buy a new bike. Some dealers will make deals. Others wanted to sit on 2012 models because they were unwilling to sell them for a reasonable price.

A local dealer 5 miles from my house had 2 2012 model Yamaha motorcycles. I tried to buy one two weekends in a row. they wouldn't work with me on price as much as they needed to. After all these units were 4 almost 5 years old.. They kept pushing finance deals etc etc.

Luckily I changed my mind on the type of bike I wanted and I bought my XSR900 from a dealer in Indianapolis for $1500 off and it was a model that had only been out for 4 months and new for 2016.

I stopped by my local dealer the other day to pick up an oil filter and those 2012 model R6's are still there. Some dealers are just a PITA to deal with. I expect their doors to be closed on a few more years from low volume sales.
 
We bought our '16 Highlander via email. I contacted 17 dealers up to 200 miles away. Many were as the article suggested not wanting to discuss through email, etc. However, the Toyota dealer selected was as it should be - on our way in 30 minutes & complied with a couple specific requests all the while having the best price.
 
They want to get you in the showroom so they can use pressure sales tactics and push financing, where they can make more money than on the actual car sale.

I've never bought from a dealership so I can't share any personal experiences.
 
why should they bother with internet flakes when they are busy fleecing people who actually show up? The buying public doesn't realize that today's vehicle market is a sellers market.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: cptbarkey
why should they bother with internet flakes when they are busy fleecing people who actually show up? The buying public doesn't realize that today's vehicle market is a sellers market.



In trucks, SUVs and CUVs you are absolutely correct. However, if you want a sedan it is a BUYERS MARKET.
 
The Journey in my signature was purchased online. Drove 2.5 hrs to pick it up on a Sunday. Everything went smoothly until we reached the paperwork portion of the sale. The dealership had a near record sales day for a Sunday. Good for them, slow for us. They had one guy completing the paperwork and he was swamped. We were a little put out, but not upset. They treated us well while we waited. We gave them a good review when the dealership survey was emailed to us.
 
I figure if the dealer has in business for a while, they probably do know what they are doing. It is a good way to screen out the flakes or the people that are going to play hard ball by gathering up a bunch of internet quotes and making the dealers compete with each other. If you can get people who are willing to come in anyways after the hassle and no quotes, they are probably fresh meat to be devoured by the salesperson.
 
I know with the mega dealers, it's always hit/miss in terms of how things are handled. 2 dealership names handle most makes/models where I live. Even though it's the same name, the Jeep store handles things totally differently than the Nissan store across the street. For some of the vehicle brands, you could pitch a tent in the parking lot and no-one will venture out to inquire. Contact them by phone, email or over the interwebbs somewhere and they're all over you.

I prefer when the sales person handles the papwork and I'm pretty sure it's been this way for me for years. The sales manager pitch before hand is dreadful, where they push extras. I don't buy any, but most still insist they "have to" go through the whole pitch anyway.
 
These guys are salesmen. They are not clueless when it comes to being able to close a deal with in-store purchasers on their products including financing, warranty etc. Don't necessarily have to know the product all that good with these buyers, rather they just need to talk a good game, which is what selling is all about.

Is it any surprise that they don't spend a lot of time and effort fussing with knowledgeable internet buyers where the profit margin is very slim. You want to save money on the purchase, well you are going to give up on a few things.
 
Originally Posted By: NMBurb02
They want to get you in the showroom so they can use pressure sales tactics and push financing, where they can make more money than on the actual car sale.

I've never bought from a dealership so I can't share any personal experiences.


Yup, that's how it works when I was selling for Ford and Toyota.

Then again, I had countless "buyers" who just wanted to squeal the tires on something new and trash it like they stole it.

Overall the process is kinda fair when all things are considered.
 
Originally Posted By: SeaJay

Is it any surprise that they don't spend a lot of time and effort fussing with knowledgeable internet buyers where the profit margin is very slim. You want to save money on the purchase, well you are going to give up on a few things.


I hear you with some of this. There is a point where some potential sales are better off shuffled to the back burner and others pushed forward, but a sale is sale and dealerships are all about volume pushed out the door. They get much more benefit from volume, over the profit from one sale.
 
Originally Posted By: JTK
Originally Posted By: SeaJay

Is it any surprise that they don't spend a lot of time and effort fussing with knowledgeable internet buyers where the profit margin is very slim. You want to save money on the purchase, well you are going to give up on a few things.


I hear you with some of this. There is a point where some potential sales are better off shuffled to the back burner and others pushed forward, but a sale is sale and dealerships are all about volume pushed out the door. They get much more benefit from volume, over the profit from one sale.


A mini deal is better than no-deal.
 
I've rarely set foot in a dealership without knowing exactly what I wanted and exactly how much I was going to pay.
There are dealers who aggressively sell to email buyers and offer really good pricing, which allows you to be in and out with your new car in less than an hour.
There are also dealers that recognize that stale inventory must be moved and must be priced accordingly. As a guy naked Macy once said, the first markdown is the best markdown. IOW, price it to move now or you'll have to price it even lower at some later date. Inventory carrying costs aren't zero either.
There are other dealers who hold out for higher prices with walk-in traffic. Their costs per sale are typically higher as well.
It's all a matter of whether any given store has awakened to the realities of an online world. Those that have will more likely survive and prosper while those who don't will likely wither away.
 
No matter how easy I have made it for a dealer, I have never gotten out of one in less than 3 hours with a vehicle.
 
There have been times I have been setting up an appointment to buy a vehicle at advertised price (deals too good to pass up) and literally couldn't reach anyone who actually wanted to sell me them.

I literally called and said, "I have cash sitting in my hand right here. I am going to come down with this money to buy this truck.", and could get nowhere.
 
Originally Posted By: DoubleWasp
"I have cash sitting in my hand right here. I am going to come down with this money to buy this truck.",


There's your problem right there. They aren't going to make any money off of you selling you financing and other add ons. You should have said you might consider financing but your fico is not great. Then you probably would have received a call within 10 minutes.
 
Originally Posted By: VeeDubb
Originally Posted By: DoubleWasp
"I have cash sitting in my hand right here. I am going to come down with this money to buy this truck.",


There's your problem right there. They aren't going to make any money off of you selling you financing and other add ons. You should have said you might consider financing but your fico is not great. Then you probably would have received a call within 10 minutes.


I bet that's quite true! Wouldn't hurt to try that next time, just as an experiment. If you do get a call back / help within minutes of offering "gee, my credit's not so great" then I wouldn't feel bad at all when you say you have cash at the last minute.
 
Originally Posted By: VeeDubb
Originally Posted By: DoubleWasp
"I have cash sitting in my hand right here. I am going to come down with this money to buy this truck.",


There's your problem right there. They aren't going to make any money off of you selling you financing and other add ons. You should have said you might consider financing but your fico is not great. Then you probably would have received a call within 10 minutes.

LOL. That's exactly right.
 
As far as "having to" go through the whole sales pitch offering extras, that is actually true. You have to present all options to a customer otherwise they could say you are being discriminatory.

Also saying "I have cash in hand" unless you are buying a very hot vehicle and are willing to pay an ADM (Adjusted Dealer Markup) will get you nowhere. Always say that you need to finance, have bad credit but are looking for a deal before going in. Then when they negotiate a good price on the vehicle thinking they are going to make money on the backend, throw down the credit card or check. Had a member of a Middle Eastern royal family do that on a Raptor we had. Said he wouldn't pay the ADM they had on it. Our sales guys figured they would make it up with the loan or extras. As soon as he walked into the finance he dropped the Amex on the desk with the amount highlighted plus sales tax. Those of us in parts and service laughed and thought the guy was awesome.
 
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