Posted on 03/09/2014 5:43:23 PM PDT by nascarnation
That Saturday was my first at Wayne Nelson Automotive. I was fresh out of collegeand when I say fresh out of college, I dont mean I was a college graduate. I mean that I was fresh out of money. My parents hadnt been able to give me much help for college, so I had been forced to take a break, as I called it, just after my twentieth birthday. The job market for under-experienced kids wasnt so hot, so I answered an ad on a jobs board for a New Car Consultant at Wayne Nelson, which was the biggest dealer in town. We had eleven rooftops, all in one big row just outside of the outer belt. I had seen more Wayne Nelson commercials growing up than I could remember. He was known throughout the city as being a drunk and a philanderer, but he was also a big supporter of local college athletics, which forgave a lot of sins in the South. Nobody in the city knew it, but Wayne was just the face of the dealership. His older brother, David, was the brains of the operation. He gave Wayne enough money to be dangerous and to deflect the attention of the public while he did the day-to-day operations.
(Excerpt) Read more at thetruthaboutcars.com ...
Nena video coming up.
Count on it.
Live! Berlin 2010: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LinLKMakGgM
Nicely done!
Ha! Local Furd deer hired only kids. Who knew nothing about cars.
How they found so many boys so ignorant about cars ???!! Ask them if Shelby Cobra engine is regular or aluminum block. Get shown instead all 69 buttons that you need to push to actuate the “stereo sound system,” aka radio. Had to go out of state to find a salesman who could answer simple car questions.
a very good read...
Agree.
My (adult) daughter had a good friend who did the car sales gig at a local Toyota dealer with the same depressing results.
He said there was a huge number of prospective buyers and a trivial number who could qualify for financing. Basically his day consisted of shattering people’s dreams. After about 18 months he couldn’t take it anymore.
Perhaps it is churlish to say this so soon after the announcement of that old man’s death, but I have found Ford salespeople to be universally dreadful. I thought it might be a Jersey thing, but the guy in Virginia was just as bad.
One guy (Jersey) refused to give us prices on two used cars we test drove, he’d only give us a price on one. So, obviously no sale there.
The guy in VA wanted hubby to sign a napkin (literally a napkin, not even a page from a notepad) with a number on it, and then he’d try and get the manager to agree to the sale. Hubby was like: I’m not signing a napkin.
Their cars might be great, and I suppose these techniques work with many (most?) people, but I’ll never set foot in a Ford dealership again.
After a dozen attempts to get my very simple engine question answered by our Furd dealer’s stable of cute but amazingly ignorant little salesboys, I finally located and asked the adult sales manager. His answer was why didn’t I go home and look up the info on the internet instead of bothering him.
Thank goodness she’s finally shaving.
She’s not doin’ bad for 54
“His answer was why didnt I go home and look up the info on
the internet instead of bothering him.”
That’s sadly typical today.
The same thing happened to me at a Toyota dealership. Weird. It must be in the Universal Salesman's Handbook.
And like your husband, I told the salesman that I'm not signing a napkin. I'm not signing anything at all.
Three tips for buying a new car:
Never finance through the dealership. Not even the 1.9% or 0% scams. Get your financing done ahead of time with your bank or credit union.
Don't take your trade-in to the dealership while negotiating for they will definitely find reasons to low ball you on the trade-in. Borrow your uncle's BMW or something. Or better yet, sell your old car on your own and use the proceeds to go towards your down payment.
Never negotiate on the monthly payment, or the down payment or the trade-in. Always focus on the price of the car.
Always be prepared to walk away. Never fall for the "what will it take for you to drive the car off the lot today" ploy.
Lastly, 99 Luftaballoons is a great slice of 1980s pop.
yes.
i did go home and look up the info on the internet, like he told me to do
while on the internet, i came across a Furd salesman in another state who knew everything about the cars.... and who spent the time to answer my questions.
within 3 months, I was on the airplane to buy a car from him. ring up one $73,000 sale that did NOT go to my local Furd dealership, since they would not spend the few minutes required to answer my (simple) questions about the cars.
I love the car.
(PS: I am given to understand that Furd has since found a new local proprietor for the unhelpful dealership...so there is hope...)
We called the credit challenged, slugs. They moved slow to make payments and left slimy trails behind them.
I always hated sales like he spoke of. Worked for a dealer that would have them every few months and the hot dogs we didn’t give away he would refreeze for the next sale. No one who worked there ever ate them.
When I started in the business my first month I was the number salesman. My first year I earned car and truck salesman of the year from Chevy for my dealership. You either got it or you don’t.
Selling cars is really all about learning to deal with rejection. Being born not good looking was an advantage for me, I had previous experience in overcoming objections.
This may not seem possible to people who have never sold cars but some of the most honest people I have ever met were car people. The most dishonest people I have ever met were the public. The old saying in the car biz is how do you tell a customer is lying? Their lips are moving.
It seems your customers are getting the politicians they deserve then
It remains one of the more astonishing experiences I’ve had.
I have to say the guy at the Mazda dealership on that same trip (we were shopping for our daughter) was great. We didn’t buy a car from him, but I’d definitely check them out in the future.
It must be a really nice car. I’m glad you found a good salesperson, because their price is above rubies!
That made me laugh, Sam.
My trade-in has a blue book value of $580.
Thanks for the info, though.
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