Remeber when all new car salesmen drove new cars?

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Today, when you go to buy a new car, the salesmen drive cars of all makes and models and the test drives are given in cars out of new car inventory.
Back in the day, the manufacturer's captive finance arm offered the least costly floor planning (financing) for new car dealer inventory and also offered cheap demo plan leasing for employee cars.
Therefore, new cars in inventory were not routinely used for test drives and all of the sales guys drove new cars of the make they were selling.
Not sure when this practice ended, but it did some years ago.
I find it a little disconcerting that a guy selling Subarus is driving a Honda, but then most of these guys will get churned and burned, unlike the old days when a salesmen would stay with a dealership for many years.
The world has changed and maybe not for the better.
 
Originally Posted By: Garak
Yes. Years back, salesmen spent years in a dealership. Now, they're all over the place.


My son sold cars for a VERY BUSY new car Toyota dealership. The issue is that nobody knows what the dealer pays for the car. My son was very good at sales. The issue was that no matter what he car he sold-or what he sold the car for, his commission was an average of $100.00. Needless to say it's very, very hard to make a living at that rate.

The ONLY SALESPEOPLE that had long tenure-were those supplementing a retirement income of some sort.

My son came home with a story about how they finally sold their one and only $85,000.00 Land Cruiser-and you guessed it the salesman was paid a whole $200.00 commission.


As someone stated above-they treated their sales people like garbage. Don't know about how they treated their other employees.
 
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keep'em hungry. Very few 100,000 year heavy hitter car sales guys anymore. Just #20,000 to $40,000 and less one.
 
Originally Posted By: Mainia
keep'em hungry. Very few 100,000 year heavy hitter car sales guys anymore. Just #20,000 to $40,000 and less one.


Wasn't there a cable TV show a few years ago about car salesman?
 
I was in the business from 87 to 2000, and even then, we didn't drive demos as we were taxed on them, can't remember exactly how much, but it was a percentage, and then, also had to pay something for the monthly "honor" as well. Was just too expensive.

I used to buy an in-demand unit, drive it for a few months and then sell it off, still making a bit of money. When things got really expensive, I'd cherry pick a nice used unit and do the same. As we all know, driving costs alot of money.
 
Originally Posted By: Mr Nice
Originally Posted By: Mainia
keep'em hungry. Very few 100,000 year heavy hitter car sales guys anymore. Just #20,000 to $40,000 and less one.


Wasn't there a cable TV show a few years ago about car salesman?


King of Cars.
 
Originally Posted By: jeepman3071
They work long hours too.



This^^^^^^^^^^^^^^. It's NOT A JOB to make serious money.
 
True story.

In 1962 when I was 18 y.o., our family bought a new Buick LeSabre. One hot summer day I took it in for routine service. Our salesman said "How would you like to drive my demo, I won't need it for a few hours". It was a new Electra 225 4DHT with A/C, never drove an AC car before. Remember he called that a "Doctors Car".

5 years later after I graduated from college, I went back and bought my first new car from him at same dealership.

Frascona Buick, Milwaukee, WI

Dealers used to be smart.
 
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Nice post user52165. I appreciate your story. I took a moment to look up the 62 Electra on Wikipedia just to imagine what it was like.

It was a great name for a car, that's for sure. Buick might do well to bring that name back. But Buick, if you bring it back, bring it back for a nice car please!
 
I think the Honda and Acura dealer near me still do it. I overheard a salesman talking to another salesman, he said after a certain number of years and if they sell a certain number of cars they will get a demo. to drive.
 
At my local dealer (where I got the Jeep) the more senior sales staff and of course management all drive demos. My Jeep was the President's demo that he drove for a few months, which is why I got the deal on it I did.

Most of the mechanics also drive dealer product except for the really new guys.
 
Originally Posted By: 5AcresAndAFool
It seems many dealers today treat their sales people like garbage, as well as many other employees.

I had friends and relatives in the dealer business until recently. Local big Ford dealer went through and normalized all the salaries, that meant all the senior employees got pay cuts. This well after the great recession when sales went through the roof as demand caught up with supply and they started making money hand over fist again. Result, all the best service writers and other paid staff left within a few months, probably what they wanted to happen. Of course the quality of customer service took a nosedive. Who cares, I guess, car dealers in an Up economy is like printing money.
 
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