# My car buying experience so far.......stress



## tmitch45 (Jul 29, 2006)

As some may have seen in various posts I've been looking for a new (to me) car for a few months. I'm a self confessed car guy watching any form of motor sport watching most of the car stuff on TV and going to cars shows and motor racing events during the year. So you would have thought that buying my next car would one of my highlights of the year? Much to my dismay I have found it to be one of the most frustrating and stressful things to do. Like I'm sure most of you I've done my research, read the reviews in magazines, watched the videos on youtube which I really enjoyed that but once I've actually had to step into a dealership that all changed and I've felt nothing but stress. Now before I go any further and get labelled as a time waster/tyre kicker I fully respect the difficult job that car salespeople have to do and the need for them to actually sell to earn a decent wage. I also want to reinforce that I'm always open and honest when I start talking to a salesperson and tell them exactly what I'm doing and that I won't be buying a car that day as others to test drive. 

The experiences I've had the last week have been on totally opposite ends of the scale. Experience one, I went to a vw garage with the only objective to sit in a golf R estate to see if it was big enough for us as a family. I told the sales man this and what followed was 100% pressure selling. We were pressurised into taking a golf r out for a test drive which we didn't really want and in hindsight it was my mistake to agree (who wouldn't pass the chance to drive this car which is big enough we would have done anyway). after this another guy was wanting to value and test drive my car I told him it wasn't worth doing as we didn't need figures as we weren't buying but he again pressured me into it. When we go back from the test we then endured 45 mins of again what I would call high pressure selling tactics. We sat down he said how much deposit can you afford I said I'd already told him we weren't buying today but wasn't listening. The other joke was they didn't actually ask if we wanted a new car or used so just presumed we wanted new which we didn't want anyway. When we tried to make our escape we were asked why we weren't buying and told to wait so he could introduce us to his manager? Why we were by now sick of telling the guy we were not buying!

The second experience was just yesterday. It started the weekend before, I'd driven past a different vw garage and seen a new arteon outside as a demonstrator. We visited last sat to ask about the car. The woman on the desk was chewing gum and texting on her mobile and barely had the curtesy to look up and talk to us. She said there wasn't such a car at the dealership when we asked. I told her I'd seen one in the week and I'm sure she sighed as she then stood up and went to ask a salesman. She came back and told us it was the managers car and he had the weekend off. Now surely at this point her next question is "would you like me to arrange a test drive"? nope she just looked down and carried on with her mobile. In the week I decide to ring the dealership and speak to a guy who confirmed they had a demo arteon that would be around at the weekend. He says you must book a test drive you cannot just turn up. So the test drive is booked for 2:30 and we arrive at 2:25. I see the car at the front of the dealership so go to have a look at it. As I get closer I'm amazed to see that the car (which is also for sale) is really dirty. As I look closer I see part of the rear spoiler is lifted up and also that the interior of the car is littered with what must be the managers personal possession. So already I'm thinking this is not good and TBH should have turned around and left at that point. We go inside and report to reception and tell the lady we have a test drive booked. She goes off to find some one and comes back saying she is sorry but they are running late and offered us a drink. Ten mins later a saleman appears and comes over to us and I'm thinking this is it..... but no he asked who arranged the test drive with us and explains that the salesman who he thinks arranged it has gone out with someone who 'just called in' and would be back soon. SO we agree to wait, its now 3:15 and a guy who I presume is the salesman comes back from test drive with a customer and starts making him a drink so I'm thinking this is unbelievable hes going to be ages, the car is outside and dirty they couldn't give a crap so we decided to abandon ship and go home. Now we had the cash ready to buy, if the test drive had gone well and we could have got a good deal we very well could have purchased the car yesterday but that dealership could not give a crap and as far as I'm concerned I won't be returning there. It will be interesting to see if we get a call from them today or not.

Really is it that difficult to get selling a car right? Surely knowing that someone had booked to test drive the car you would clean it and take your dirty tissues from the inside?


----------



## davies20 (Feb 22, 2009)

The first situation i think is just the nature of the industry, although frustrating, is no different to going on holiday & getting harassed by lucky lucky men, you just switch off to it!

The second one does frustrate me, as i get this alot purely just through being young & they don't generally take you seriously - which is daft of them!

However, it sounds to me he was thinking a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush - which in that sort of job you cant blame!

I do agree its rubbish buying cars, ive never really had one id call enjoyable - but hey, that's what silly sales targets & bonus do!


----------



## eddie bullit (Nov 23, 2007)

Try another dealership or look for another salesman where you felt pressured. I always brush off the idiot salesman until I get to one that knows I'm not a punter and will treat me with a little respect. You must also not be a push over. No way will I sit there and be pressured. Make sure when you say no and your not in a position to purchase there are no doubts. He obviously thought you were undecided so continued to chase. 
Out of the two I'd never go back to the chewing gum and filthy car dealer. Smacks of couldn't care less.
Good luck.


----------



## DLGWRX02 (Apr 6, 2010)

I have a bit of empathy for the sales guy in scenario 1, as he’s probably being hassled by his superiors to hit targets make sales etc and therefor without realising rightly or very much wrongly is putting that pressure onto customers. Scenario 2, I would copy and paste what you have posted and send an email to the dealership manager, should be easy to find it from a website they have. At best you could get an apology and a discounted offer, at worst you could be totally ignored. Either way it’s no skin of your nose as you wasn’t intending to go back.


----------



## Caledoniandream (Oct 9, 2009)

We just bought a new Lexus and the experience couldn’t have been more pleasant.
No pressure at any point, but pleasant and informative, we got a good deal done, very satisfied.
I could have pressured for a slightly better deal, but I rather do pleasant business.

I went first to a different dealer but you had to make an appointment for a test drive, which they cancelled last minute and wasted my day.
I just drove to a different dealer, who welcomed me and took plenty time to talk to me and give me the opportunity to drive any car I wanted.

It can be fun, but more and more sales people are not tooled for the job, are not able to read between the lines.


----------



## Blackroc (Dec 10, 2012)

Salesman are properly under pressure to get you sat down and as much info onto their system about you as possible - usually with threats of their job if they don't. That said - finding a good salesman (and they are rarer and rarer in the industry) is worth its weight in gold when buying a car.

The difficult bit is that you sound like you don't know what you want yet - a salesman's worst nightmare! Lol

Do yourself a favour - get on a few Facebook or online car forums that match the cars you are looking at and ask the questions you want answers too from real owners to help narrow your choices down. It might generate even more questions for you but actual owners will know more about the cars than salesman anyway!

You will also find out the best dealerships / salespeople to go and discuss the cars for test drives with too - the best always get recommendations from happy customers 

FWIW - we recently bought a new Golf R (great car by the way) by turning the tables on the salesman. We told him we were straight up after the best deal we could get and would use CarWow as the barometer. Armed with 3 offers from local dealerships he had to match or better the best price - which he did at 13% off

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Andyblue (Jun 20, 2017)

Unfortunately, have been through very similar in the past, with not being listened to / wasted time / being ignored - now, it's every dealership, but the issues I had were all with either VW or Audi dealerships. Like I said, not all dealerships - as the local (independent) VW dealership near work was brilliant and couldn't have been more different from the others...but I do think there is something of a common pattern ?

My local BMW dealership leaves them all behind, so warm and welcoming and can't really do enough for you. 

I also have had a superb experience previously at Lexus as @Caledoniandream (above) did above and would definitely return next time to see what they have.

Sometimes it is pot luck who you get to deal with as well...


Don't despair, make some calls and keep on trying and it shouldn't and generally isn't a stressful experience, it should be a great time and enjoyable and if it isn't then personally, go somewhere else - other then handing the money over that is


----------



## Radish293 (Mar 16, 2012)

Fortunately the last four I’ve bought have been through an agreed affinity scheme with a minimum guaranteed discount. I’ve just gone on the manufactures website configured what I want emailed them the PDF and got a price no silly sales games. A simple that’s the price if you want to go ahead. It’s a nice way to buy cars. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## tmitch45 (Jul 29, 2006)

davies20 said:


> The first situation i think is just the nature of the industry, although frustrating, is no different to going on holiday & getting harassed by lucky lucky men, you just switch off to it!
> 
> The second one does frustrate me, as i get this alot purely just through being young & they don't generally take you seriously - which is daft of them!
> 
> ...


I wish that was the case but if it was they shouldn't discriminate because you are young. I was chatting to one of the dads at football the other day. He used to work at an AUdi dealership. I guy walks in with sandles on dirty jeans and what looked like his lunch down his white t-shirt. He asked the receptionist about test driving an R8. Non of the salesman wanted to take him out as they thought he was wasting time. The dad I spoke to ended up taking him and he bought the R8 for cash!


----------



## tmitch45 (Jul 29, 2006)

Blackroc said:


> Salesman are properly under pressure to get you sat down and as much info onto their system about you as possible - usually with threats of their job if they don't. That said - finding a good salesman (and they are rarer and rarer in the industry) is worth its weight in gold when buying a car.
> 
> The difficult bit is that you sound like you don't know what you want yet - a salesman's worst nightmare! Lol
> 
> ...


We weren't undecided we had 3 cars in mind but were concerned that the GHolf R estate was too small. AT the time we didn't have the finance inplace to buy the car which is what I told the salesman. He could have knocked £6000 off the price of the car on the day the fact was at the time we couldn't afford it so he was wasting his time. Also we would have been looking at a used Golf R anyway which if he'd bothered to ask us about he might have at least been on the right track.

The Golf R we tested was a great car just not right for us as a family and no one could tell us if we could have a tow bar on the estate which we would have needed. Enjoy your car mate!


----------



## kingswood (Jun 23, 2016)

buy a used one private and save yourself a fortune. 

will still be in warranty and get it HPI checked etc. fail to see what dealers actually offer these days :-/


----------



## wish wash (Aug 25, 2011)

There's good and bad garages just like good and bad customers. I was buying a car in a garage and 2 chaps came in wanting to test drive a Lamborghini hurrican, no problem put a 5k deposit down and you can take it out. Oh no, we don't want to buy it we just want a test drive. What goes on in there head I don't know


----------



## DrEskimo (Jan 7, 2016)

The magic of franchised dealerships....


----------



## tmitch45 (Jul 29, 2006)

I guess when your talking about mega expensive cars things are different and massively open to abuse. But to be fair would anyone on here drop £30-£40K on a car you haven't test driven? or at least not test driven the same make and model somewhere else??

I've been quite clear that I'm serious about a car but have other test drive setup.


----------



## MDC250 (Jan 4, 2014)

Thing that gets me is if you waltz in with a few grand to put down with a PX etc and want dealer finance the red carpet is rolled out. Doesn't matter if you are in a Hugo Boss suit or an Adidas trackie 

Rock up and be straight with them that you're not taking finance, don't want GAP or paint/interior protection and the interest wains.

Appreciate margins might be slight on car sales, equally they are not charities so won't sell unless they are making money, but still makes me laugh that somebody who hasn't actually got the money will generally get better treatment.

The 'system' encourages you to play the game, take finance and settle in 14 days etc. The dance that you have to do borders on the pathetic would be nice to just get a straight dealer and do the deal.


----------



## Rayaan (Jun 1, 2014)

Cant fault Lexus - been using them for years. Have dealt with dealerships in the North including Stockport, Leeds, Bradford, Manchester (now gone), Bolton, Chester and Lincoln and one in the south - Cheltenham.

Never had anything but pleasant business with no pressure. They're very upfront about what they can and can't do in terms of pricing unlike the salesman who go around the back to "speak to their manager".

Cheltenham even drove the car over to Lincoln when I bought my RX as it was closer for me.


----------



## Pinky (Feb 15, 2008)

tmich What area are you in ?
I would deffo be e mailing the garage manager and dealer principle to tell him you are not happy .
If anywhere near Dumfries go to Lookers and any of the sales people will deal with you brilliantly .


----------



## tmitch45 (Jul 29, 2006)

Pinky said:


> tmich What area are you in ?
> I would deffo be e mailing the garage manager and dealer principle to tell him you are not happy .
> If anywhere near Dumfries go to Lookers and any of the sales people will deal with you brilliantly .


I'm in the midlands mate.


----------



## andy665 (Nov 1, 2005)

As someone who works in the industry and on the training side I find this treatment of a customer disgusting but sadly not at all surprising. Too much focus on product knowledge and nowhere enough on people skills - been like this for as long as I can remember and it is frustrating in the extreme. Unfortunately the decision makers in the industry have rarely worked in a dealership, rarely have spoken to cystomers and rarely speak to either sales people or more senior dealer management so are totally clueless about the true state of affairs


----------



## steveo3002 (Jan 30, 2006)

if you get leaned on too much , you know you can just stand up and walk out right?

i simply wouldnt put up with being treated how you describe , no need to be mr big mouth or get stroppy , just leave if theyre being pr1cks


----------



## Caledoniandream (Oct 9, 2009)

Where are the times gone, that you just could walk into car showroom, have a look about, have a coffee and go home without getting bordered?
I use to spend a lot time in different dealerships, eventually we would buy a car.

Nowadays I don’t even contemplate to go into a car showroom, it’s a no go, if you are not in the market for a new car.
It’s a shame, because it use to be good fun, you did get to know the sales people everywhere and build relationships. 
Also the smell of nw cars add to the experience.

Up to now, Lexus has been the only one who give you all the time of the world. 

Years ago (40) when I did my apprenticeship, customers would just pop in for a coffee and chat.
It made a lot of dealerships very successful, most cars where sold in a relaxed chat, and customers where always invited when the new models came out.

Companies need to bring that atmosphere back and the sales will do theirselves, bring back the fun of car shopping, don’t make it a drag.


----------



## bradleymarky (Nov 29, 2013)

I dont like to give any details to salesman unless i`m buying a car, they never stop ringing or emailing you.
Even stopped going for a test drive until the cash part is sorted first, i`ve walked away from 3 cars so far due to poor trade in or being treated like an idiot.
I normall take over the conversation and dont let them waffle on otherwise you`ll never leave.
I know they have a job to do but i`ve heard it all before.


----------



## 182_Blue (Oct 25, 2005)

The best experience i have had was with a dealer through Carwow recently, he got me the car i wanted, he had a very good set price and didn't pressure me at all.

I have had the same experience as above before, i just walk away, i went to a dealer recently and the car park was full and nowhere to park on the road either so i parked in one of there spaces near the showroom window and a salesman ran out and in a snotty way said i couldn't park there , i asked where could i park and he shrugged his shoulders !, i got back in my car and drove off.


----------



## robertdon777 (Nov 3, 2005)

This is why VW/Audi sell so many cars... people say yes under pressure.

Not the best for the customer but great for sales.


----------



## bradleymarky (Nov 29, 2013)

And dont even get me started on Admin fees !!!!!!!!

Evanshalshaw are £100
Pentagon are £149.
And an Audi garage by me are £359.


----------



## Darlofan (Nov 24, 2010)

robertdon777 said:


> This is why VW/Audi sell so many cars... people say yes under pressure.
> 
> Not the best for the customer but great for sales.


This is the issue. While customers buckle and buy a car they'll carry on doing it. Until the majority start saying I've had enough and walk out it won't stop.


----------



## andy665 (Nov 1, 2005)

I had a great experience with Paul at Hortons Skoda in Lincoln. Initial email enquiry followed by a quick phone call and two more emails. 

Deal done and sorted within 3 hours - this was after my local Skoda promised to call me aback - they didn't - don't give people second chances if they can't even do something as basic as return a call

I have shopped 25 dealers in the last 2 weeks - email enquiries, telephone enquiries and walk-ins - all in the name of a work project. There is no pattern to method of contact, brand or location - standards are horribly low and finding a decent sales exec is a rarity


----------



## 182_Blue (Oct 25, 2005)

robertdon777 said:


> This is why VW/Audi sell so many cars... people say yes under pressure.
> 
> Not the best for the customer but great for sales.


Actually been in two Audi garages and the staff couldn't be bothered to even speak to me.


----------



## J306TD (May 19, 2008)

182_Blue said:


> Actually been in two Audi garages and the staff couldn't be bothered to even speak to me.


I found this also with our local Audi.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk


----------



## Sam6er (Apr 3, 2016)

Last time i went into an Audi garage i had cash in hand ready to buy a car. I had done my research and looked at the car online before hand and had decided thats the one i wanted, all they needed to do was point me towards it so i can have a sit in it and a little play. They couldn't even be bothered to speak to me. After waiting around for 30 mins, i left and bought a BMW. Never visited an Audi dealership after that. I know that one dealership is not representative of all dealerships but they are representing the brand, for me that was enough to not bother with the brand again.


----------



## PugIain (Jun 28, 2006)

Last car I bought I went for a look. Drove it, haggled over the price for 10 minutes then out a deposit down.
Picked it up a week later. Easy.

Then again that wasn't at a fancy main dealer.

Sent from my VFD 710 using Tapatalk


----------



## eddie bullit (Nov 23, 2007)

MDC250 said:


> Thing that gets me is if you waltz in with a few grand to put down with a PX etc and want dealer finance the red carpet is rolled out. Doesn't matter if you are in a Hugo Boss suit or an Adidas trackie
> 
> Rock up and be straight with them that you're not taking finance, don't want GAP or paint/interior protection and the interest wains.
> 
> ...


very true. We had a great buying experience from our VW dealership. We were advised to buy with finance which we settled the week or so afterwards. Doing this activated additional funds from VW. We got a fantastic deal using buying apps as a negotiating tool as well.


----------



## ollienoclue (Jan 30, 2017)

You would not get me to buy a car from an Audi dealer these days, not after a recent revelation from an acquaintance of mine, has dealt with the dealer for years, had multiple cars, from new, and I don't mean 1 litre A1s.

Most recent had an S4 with a variety of mechanical woes. Nearly ended up in a legal battle over it, would not get any sense of the dealership nor the management of it. Turns up and promptly blockades the entrance to the dealership it with a tractor and trailer.

Suffice to say the car got taken back. He drives a spanking new Lexus now.

If you even mention the cost of Audi dealership labour charges steam comes out of his ears, I swear.

As for the rest of the sales behaviours in this thread, that is a disgrace. I was in the sales game for 5 years face to face, and at all times tried to retain loyalty. I often got business simply by word of mouth. Hundreds of thousands of pounds per year, no high pressure nonsense or tricks, just honest and straight up talking. I am very tempted to try and enter the car selling game myself because of this thread.

Not listening to the customers needs- automatic failure in my book. These guys seem to be focusing on achieving a single transactional sale, that is useless, a lot of people are now leasing or replacing their cars in a very short time frame, you want the same punters coming back for more time after time, not buying and never seeing you again, this isn't like buying a damned coffee, it's the second most expensive item average Joe might ever buy FFS.

How hard can it be to sell a fupping car, the customer _comes to you_, all you have to do ascertain what he is looking for or make suggestions, and be done with it.

No wonder so many people are buying from websites these days.

If someone tries that distraction or high pressure nonsense again, tell them straight: that they aren't listening to what you want, so no interest. If they still won't play ball ask for a different sales person. If he isn't any good then walk out. Don't get lairy, just walk out and say nothing. Then laugh about them as you drive away.

All the chap had to do was let you sit in a damned car, even if you had not found it large enough, he might have had the chance to slot you into a larger car like a Passat or something. It's not rocket science. People generally go ga-ga over new cars and new car smell, you would have odds on probably bought something.


----------



## Cookies (Dec 10, 2008)

I went to look at a two year old Audi a4 a few years back. The car was really nice, but my experience at the dealership was just awful. First, it was raining, and the salesman said it was too wet to go on a test drive lol. (by this point I knew I wasn't buying from him). 

Upon asking for prices, they brought over their finance guru (possibly the only individual who was fpc qualified} who told me how fantastic their finance packages were, and we're very keen to get me to sign on the dotted line, them and there. I noticed that the price they were using was exactly £1000 more than the screen price on the car. It emerged that they had added Supagard and Gap insurance without ever having discussed these products. 

I asked for the manager, and had a very honest and frank conversation with him. I pointed out that the fca would be very interested in their selling of insurance products without discussing those products with the customers. I left, and bought a BMW. 

In my experience, good sales people shine like bright beacons of success, purely because the bad ones are flippin awful.


----------



## lbr1984 (Jun 14, 2017)

I had a terrible experience with Audi. The sales part, to be fair, was good but the after sales care was horrendous. I had bought the car outright and the moment I drove away they didn’t want to know. A few very bad customer experiences and condescending conversations later i walked out and bought a BMW then rang the dealer manager and told him why. He seemed quite shocked how badly his staff had treated me and couldn’t really say anything other than sorry.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## tmitch45 (Jul 29, 2006)

So a little up date. I was kind of expecting a phone call on Sunday or Monday from a senior sales person to find out why we had walked off and if they could re-arrange. After all I had told them I was after a nearly new car and it was either an Arteon in the spec they had or another car. They have my email, mobile, landline and address but nothing. To be honest we had already decided out of principle not to buy from them as there attitude was very much CBA. I would have though as someone mentioned a phone call the offer of a rescheduled test drive and maybe the offer of a free service or something if I decided to go ahead and buy the car. They have all my details a quick call could have turned their disaster or a situation into a potential sale. It really is laughable.

I think the VAG group need to have a hard look at their dealers and see what BMW and Lexus are doing.

Another example of VW came from Sunday. I still want to drive a damn Arteon so phoned I different local dealership. I call and eventually get through a salesman. First thing he wants is my name, email and mobile number. He didn't give me chance to even tell him the nature of my enquiry. I tell him I'm not giving him my details as I just want to know if they have an Arteon in the showroom and/or for test drive. He says they don't have one but come down anyway as we have some nice diesel Passats. I explain I don't want a Passat or a diesel car. He says if you come down I'm sure we can set up with an alternative model. I explain again I want to look at and ideally drive a petrol r line Arteon. AT this point he sounds like he couldn't be arsed and says well sorry we haven't got one. Come on people what is going on here. Like the guy above I have zero sales experience but I know about customer service but whatever the VW dealers in my area are telling or teaching their sales staff is not right!

So far its zero out of 3 possible chances to sell me an Arteon.


----------



## andy665 (Nov 1, 2005)

tmitch45 said:


> So a little up date. I was kind of expecting a phone call on Sunday or Monday from a senior sales person to find out why we had walked off and if they could re-arrange. After all I had told them I was after a nearly new car and it was either an Arteon in the spec they had or another car. They have my email, mobile, landline and address but nothing. To be honest we had already decided out of principle not to buy from them as there attitude was very much CBA. I would have though as someone mentioned a phone call the offer of a rescheduled test drive and maybe the offer of a free service or something if I decided to go ahead and buy the car. They have all my details a quick call could have turned their disaster or a situation into a potential sale. It really is laughable.
> 
> I think the VAG group need to have a hard look at their dealers and see what BMW and Lexus are doing.
> 
> ...


But in the eyes of the sales exec you were never going to buy anyway. I have seen so many good sales execs at the start of their career being really good.

Give them 12-18 months and everything about them that made them good is thrown out of the window as they are now "experts" and can spot a buyer from a timewaster without even speaking to them - and yes I have had many sales excecs tell me exactly that

Research shows that showroom traffic is at an all time low. In 2002 most people visited, on average 3.4 dealers before buying, its now down to 1.3

Internet means that customers are not reliant on sales execs for vehicle information, most visits are to confirm what they already know and thrash out a deal - ridiculous that most sales execs refuse to accept this.

Good sales execs will not pre-judge, will treat every walk-in as a serious buyer (because in most cases they are), will show genuine interest in the customer and listen to what they want / need and act with a degree of honesty, integrity and professionalism


----------



## robertdon777 (Nov 3, 2005)

182_Blue said:


> Actually been in two Audi garages and the staff couldn't be bothered to even speak to me.


Also because of all the fleet deals they are doing. Half of them ain't interested in Private sales when they can sell 10 to a company without any hassle.

Audi/VW/Merc have got it easy at the moment, BMW are losing out in the UK though this past year nearly 2 against their German rivals.


----------



## tmitch45 (Jul 29, 2006)

andy665 said:


> But in the eyes of the sales exec you were never going to buy anyway. I have seen so many good sales execs at the start of their career being really good.
> 
> Give them 12-18 months and everything about them that made them good is thrown out of the window as they are now "experts" and can spot a buyer from a timewaster without even speaking to them - and yes I have had many sales excecs tell me exactly that
> 
> ...


I get what you are saying but I told them that I was after an arteon or another car which I was testing after the Arteon. So I a potential customer and surely less work to convert me into a sale than just another random person. Even if I'd not purchased at the weekend if the next test wasn't great or they couldn't do the deal I would have gone back to VW to Buy the car. They messed up big time, dirty car, nearly an hour late and no follow up. Surely all school boy errors.


----------



## robertdon777 (Nov 3, 2005)

Most sales people are exactly that just sales sales sales.

I had a quote on a Lease Focus TDCi Auto: £230 a month with £690 deposit. Had someone from Ford (through a family friend) say they can beat that no problem.

Sent me an official quote of: £225 a month... brilliant he beat it.

£1500 deposit and the car was a 1.0 Petrol Manual.... They are Sales people, they don't listen to the Customer, they just sell sell sell.. All the same in every industry.


----------



## andy665 (Nov 1, 2005)

tmitch45 said:


> I get what you are saying but I told them that I was after an arteon or another car which I was testing after the Arteon. So I a potential customer and surely less work to convert me into a sale than just another random person. Even if I'd not purchased at the weekend if the next test wasn't great or they couldn't do the deal I would have gone back to VW to Buy the car. They messed up big time, dirty car, nearly an hour late and no follow up. Surely all school boy errors.


Not being in the slightest bit critical of you - this is 100% down to lazy, arrogant sales execs who think they have all the answers.

I have worked in the industry for 25+ years, dealing with individual dealers, large dealer groups and manufacturers on a European wide basis - I know a reasonable about what is required / needed to sell a car - one thing I do know is that if you do only one thing its listen to what the customer is saying - most sales execs want to sell what they have in stock that will earn them a "spiv" rather than what the customer wants

The industry is riddled with poor business practice and management who do not know or care what is going on as long as the numbers on the spreadsheet look good


----------



## bradleymarky (Nov 29, 2013)

They actually rang me back yesterday and asked if i was still interested in the car :doublesho


----------



## MDC250 (Jan 4, 2014)

bradleymarky said:


> They actually rang me back yesterday and asked if i was still interested in the car :doublesho


That's the equivalent of a fish nibbling at the bait  If they are coming to you generally there's a deal to be done. As I've posted before it's pathetic the dance you have to do


----------



## steveo3002 (Jan 30, 2006)

should say im still after a car but disgusted at the way the sales staff treated you


----------



## Del-GTi (Mar 31, 2007)

Years ago, I was looking for a change of career and went for a sales job at a well known dealership. I'd spoke to my neighbour (who was a salesman for same company but different brand - branches on opposite side of street). He put in a good word for me, told me what they were looking for etc. 

Anyway, I didn't get the job. Sales Manager told me that because I was single and didn't own my own house, I wouldn't work hard enough to do whatever it took to make a sale as I didn't have any commitments that would push me on. I.e try and put a customer into a car they didn't really want or something other than that than they were looking at.

Which brand was it?

VW.


----------



## andy665 (Nov 1, 2005)

Del-GTi said:


> Years ago, I was looking for a change of career and went for a sales job at a well known dealership. I'd spoke to my neighbour (who was a salesman for same company but different brand - branches on opposite side of street). He put in a good word for me, told me what they were looking for etc.
> 
> Anyway, I didn't get the job. Sales Manager told me that because I was single and didn't own my own house, I wouldn't work hard enough to do whatever it took to make a sale as I didn't have any commitments that would push me on. I.e try and put a customer into a car they didn't really want or something other than that than they were looking at.
> 
> ...


In my experience the brand has very little to do with it. Most Sales Managers are dinosaurs - I have worked with literally hundreds of them and most are not very bright, are bullies, incredibly lazy and frighteningly ignorant of the rest of the marketplace

Sad that I have to say this about people who work in the same industry as I do but its completely true - very frustrating people to deal with - its never about doing the right thing, its only about doing what is easiest for themselves


----------

