Dealership - is this normal practice?

[ivrytwr3]

Initially offered £50 off due to the mileage inconsistency. Said no and either a bigger reduction or to refund £100

Also, it was a reserve fee, which they state is fully refundable of not happy when viewing the car. We'll see how that plays out!

 

[theone8181]

That ones not quite as straight forward, they sold some U.K. performance cars without the performance pack in the fist few months. They look like long range (wheels brakes, suspension) but they have the performance power and are referred to as P-. There’s also the chance they could be taking the pee too.

Fair enough, I still think most dealers will be trying it on. Its not like the difference between say an s6 and an rs6.

 

[b0rn2sk8]

Fair enough, I still think most dealers will be trying it on. Its not like the difference between say an s6 and an rs6.

They are badged on the back with the underline under the dual motor but that can be faked of course.

It’s easy to tell when looking at the screen, it will tell you what the car is and that’s much harder to mess with.

 

[Kenai]

Firstly, why did you put a deposit down to view a car you've never seen or at least done significant checks on?

I think some dealers are trying it on still with COVID, only taking viewings by appointment and demanding deposits to 'secure' a viewing appointment.

 

[ZG002]

I think some dealers are trying it on still with COVID, only taking viewings by appointment and demanding deposits to 'secure' a viewing appointment.

Pretty much, complete joke.

 

[Semple]

Firstly, why did you put a deposit down to view a car you've never seen or at least done significant checks on?

You don't put a deposit down when you go browse TVs in a department store, or place a holding deposit for groceries before you enter the store.

It's a car not some rare gem or one off piece of jewellery.

Go view the car, if you like it, haggle and get it bought. If it's not as expected or they mess you around then walk away, there are plenty of others to choose from.

It's their way of ensuring the car is not sold before you turn up to view it. Afterall i'm sure we'd all be rather ****** off to make a 90 minute journey to hear "sorry Sir that's just been sold".

As long as the deposit is returned in full no questions asked if you decide you don't like/want the car then i don't see the problem really.

It's a bit different viewing a TV in Currys because it's highly likely they'll have more than 1 in stock, and you have a chance of doing click and collect.

 

[ash_scotland88]

I benefited from a dealer underlisting options.
Nice well specced XE, not sure what it doesn't have apart from the confusion that the plate age should have been some standard tech upgrade but didn't know about said tech till afterwards so no biggy.

 

[lordrobs]

Shopping for a nearly new company car I was told by the SEAT main dealer that they could just activate the Full Link system (Car Play / Android Auto) "no problem, we can get that done" which then became. We can do that... for £250 when the boss actually tried to buy the thing. That was after waiting to try and get someones attention while the salesman flirted with the receptionist across the sales floor with every other word being an f or c bomb

I'm sure there are good dealers out there but I just picture some sleaze waxing lyrical about what he's "closed" this week while ordering his new Omega on his phone. "That car you were going to demo has gone Dave." "Oh well, there's another blue one, that'll do. They won't even notice. Now where did I put that lacquer, my suit is looking a little matte..."

 

[gamerTM21]

I think it's just a lazy copy and paste job from a wrong spec or a previous car they had listed.

I went to view an Audi A4 which had in its listed as having heated seats, rear camera, front sensors etc. Whereas in reality it was just a basic model.

The ones I actually bought from also had it listed as it was in reality, but had a paragraph after that was clearly copy and pasted from the Audi site, but stated that it has a 10" infotainment screen and virtual cockpit, when that was also clearly wrong.

I'd still use that and most definitely the higher mileage (more wear and tear, servicing due sooner etc.), to get a few hundred off.

 

[Housey]

The churn rate of sales people in the motor trade is incredible, I think around 60% year on year which is crazy and shows why building a quality business that offers a consistent level of service is so hard. The issue is the pay for car sales people is relatively awful until you sell in volume and most never do. The role is attractive to young people and frankly the unskilled as it has a simple point of entry (because they pay very little, so why not give him/her a month to see if they are any good).

Nice desk, company car, lots of opportunity to grow, fit bird on reception desk and let me tell you about 'Dave' who did 100 grand last year.....at which point you add the general public and a massive lack of skill and there you go.....and no one ever gets to meet Dave.

 

[Slackworth]

The churn rate of sales people in the motor trade is incredible, I think around 60% year on year which is crazy and shows why building a quality business that offers a consistent level of service is so hard. The issue is the pay for car sales people is relatively awful until you sell in volume and most never do. The role is attractive to young people and frankly the unskilled as it has a simple point of entry (because they pay very little, so why not give him/her a month to see if they are any good).

Nice desk, company car, lots of opportunity to grow, fit bird on reception desk and let me tell you about 'Dave' who did 100 grand last year.....at which point you add the general public and a massive lack of skill and there you go.....and no one ever gets to meet Dave.

Amen to this - I'm sure there is some younger guys out there who do ok and spend a bit more time doing their homework but on the whole I always prefer to look for a slightly older salesperson and generally have a much better experience as a result - the guy at Snows BMW in Portsmouth when I brought mine was superb from start to finish and even after but he must have been in his 50s. The guy at VW (who was no more than 20 at best) on Saturday however was clueless - despite having an appointment, he did not spend 5 minutes beforehand checking the service history etc. so every time we had a question, he left us in the rain outside, went into the office and came back out...next question rinse and repeat. If you were buying a car for £500 then maybe I'd expect it to be slapdash like that but not something I expect from a main dealer. He did not even know when the car would need it's first MOT! It very much felt like they knew they would sell it anyway so why bother giving a stuff - total CBA attitude about it all. In some respects it's wrong as it's about the car itself but I would happily walk away from a car when the sales person has this kind of attitude.

 

[CaptainRAVE]

Typical of dealers to have no clue of what spec the car actually has

Every single time and never conservative guesses either.

 

[Housey]

Amen to this - I'm sure there is some younger guys out there who do ok and spend a bit more time doing their homework but on the whole I always prefer to look for a slightly older salesperson and generally have a much better experience as a result - the guy at Snows BMW in Portsmouth when I brought mine was superb from start to finish and even after but he must have been in his 50s. The guy at VW (who was no more than 20 at best) on Saturday however was clueless - despite having an appointment, he did not spend 5 minutes beforehand checking the service history etc. so every time we had a question, he left us in the rain outside, went into the office and came back out...next question rinse and repeat. If you were buying a car for £500 then maybe I'd expect it to be slapdash like that but not something I expect from a main dealer. He did not even know when the car would need it's first MOT! It very much felt like they knew they would sell it anyway so why bother giving a stuff - total CBA attitude about it all. In some respects it's wrong as it's about the car itself but I would happily walk away from a car when the sales person has this kind of attitude.

We have a few car sales people on here, it would be interesting to get their POV (not to pick it apart either, just view from the front). On occasion previously, I have seen the odd one say "we don't have time, it's all about selling cars". All that shows me is they have lots to learn about being a sales person for the long term.

It is a culture however and an often tough one. Think boiler room, daily sales meetings, score boards, pressure. The good people can make a great life for themselves, but they are the 1-5% at most. They are the future DP's etc, most will move from dealer to dealer until they find something different they are more suited too. I have met some great ones, but most have been not great to useless.

It is a Layer Cake....like life.

 

[ivrytwr3]

We have a few car sales people on here, it would be interesting to get their POV (not to pick it apart either, just view from the front).

Do we? Any one of them want to give me a deal on a 2nd car for the Mrs?! £10k budget, looking to buy asap and would be an easy sale for someone We're just after a Yaris sized motor to get her around the county and part time job, but would like a decent deal and an accurate description of what we are buying

I'm away with work for the next few weeks and am struggling to help her

 

[lordrobs]

It is a culture however and an often tough one. Think boiler room, daily sales meetings, score boards, pressure. The good people can make a great life for themselves, but they are the 1-5% at most.

This is very true. I was briefly in retail electrical sales and the other sales people taught me fast that explaining the product to the customer was not the way to get results. I'd happily answer their technical questions and they would laugh at me and say "mate, just tell them it means it's got a better picture or sound".

That job was all about margins though. The price tickets actually had the profit margin on them (if you knew where to look) and salesmen would always be squinting at the two digit codes in tiny font and directing customers to something that would "better suit their needs" which also happened to have an extra 10% mark up to boost their figures. Premium brand SCART leads were the holy grail. Shift a £60+ SCART lead and you'd even surpass the 78% profit of the 5 year warranty you were also expected to push. I think the highest I remember was a 92% mark up

Anyway, tangent alert but as you say it is a culture and not for everyone. Probably why I lasted just 3 months in that job and eventually found myself in customer support for a company where one of the main USPs is the level of support they give their customers.

I think the people who don't get on well in the automotive sector are often the ones who have an interest in the cars they sell beyond seeing them as 'product' and 'margin'.

 

[theone8181]

This is very true. I was briefly in retail electrical sales and the other sales people taught me fast that explaining the product to the customer was not the way to get results. I'd happily answer their technical questions and they would laugh at me and say "mate, just tell them it means it's got a better picture or sound".

That job was all about margins though. The price tickets actually had the profit margin on them (if you knew where to look) and salesmen would always be squinting at the two digit codes in tiny font and directing customers to something that would "better suit their needs" which also happened to have an extra 10% mark up to boost their figures. Premium brand SCART leads were the holy grail. Shift a £60+ SCART lead and you'd even surpass the 78% profit of the 5 year warranty you were also expected to push. I think the highest I remember was a 92% mark up

Anyway, tangent alert but as you say it is a culture and not for everyone. Probably why I lasted just 3 months in that job and eventually found myself in customer support for a company where one of the main USPs is the level of support they give their customers.

I think the people who don't get on well in the automotive sector are often the ones who have an interest in the cars they sell beyond seeing them as 'product' and 'margin'.

Ironically the ones who know less about cars make more money selling them.

 

[Slackworth]

Ironically the ones who know less about cars make more money selling them.

You're probably right but I think the most successful ones can do both. There's certainly an element of "know your customer" which springs to mind.

Mr or Mrs Joe Bloggs walks in off the street and asks for Ford Fiesta, "it needs to be blue" and "be a little bit nippy" - that's where the 12 year old sales person can come in and go "it's fast" so that's the reason you need to buy it - for some it works. I once had a Nissan dealer trying to sell the other half a car based on the fact it had ABS and would stop better

On the flip side, I walk in knowing exactly what I want having done the research, I know probably more than the guy selling the car does about said car, know what I want to pay and willing to walk away. For me, I don't expect the sales guy to spend 5 hours learning everything there is to know about the car but I do expect him to spend 5 minutes before I get there looking up the service history, owners, MOT and feature list to answer the most basic of questions. Same with all the extra junk they try to sell - again I know it's their job and they have to try but with the guy at Snows BMW, I said no, explained my reasons why and he moved on. I've sat in other dealerships who just won't give up and in the end it just annoys me.

I think the person that can deal with both scenarios would be that 1-5% that do the best in car sales. I openly admit I would be fine dealing with the likes of myself but if dealing with the Joe Bloggs category, they'd probably be asleep in the corner bored to tears.

 

[tom_e]

Last time I bought a car I found the one I wanted, knew what I wanted to spend, walked in checked everything matched the advert, told the guy if he could knock I think about £200 off to bring it to a nice round £8.5k and sort the first MOT which was due in a couple of months anyway I'd take it.

His answer was "You didn't take the pee trying to knock a grand off a well priced car so you've got a deal, I'm not going to try and push the finance on you because we couldn't even get close to the rate you've already got and do you want any of the alloy insurance/paint protection extras?" "No thanks" shook his hand deal done.

Everyone was happy, I think for the most part if they realise you're not there to take the pee and know what you want a sensible one wont try and push rubbish.

 

[lordrobs]

Mr or Mrs Joe Bloggs walks in off the street and asks for Ford Fiesta, "it needs to be blue" and "be a little bit nippy" - that's where the 12 year old sales person can come in and go "it's fast" so that's the reason you need to buy it - for some it works. I once had a Nissan dealer trying to sell the other half a car based on the fact it had ABS and would stop better

The guy doing the paperwork for my Leon while they were finishing off prepping it for me to take started telling me all about how "you need to make sure you've got it set to sport to release the full 180 brake". Quite an impressive feat for a 120 BHP 1.4 TSI

I then get in the thing which has 10 miles on the clock, absolutely torrential rain outside and he leans in from the passenger side and starts poking the driving mode button. "I've set it to Sport mode for you so you get all the power." Er... thanks.

 

[dlockers]

Last time I bought a car I found the one I wanted, knew what I wanted to spend, walked in checked everything matched the advert, told the guy if he could knock I think about £200 off to bring it to a nice round £8.5k and sort the first MOT which was due in a couple of months anyway I'd take it.

His answer was "You didn't take the pee trying to knock a grand off a well priced car so you've got a deal, I'm not going to try and push the finance on you because we couldn't even get close to the rate you've already got and do you want any of the alloy insurance/paint protection extras?" "No thanks" shook his hand deal done.

Everyone was happy, I think for the most part if they realise you're not there to take the pee and know what you want a sensible one wont try and push rubbish.

This has been my experience. Never had a hard sell.