Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Apologies
For anyone out there actually reading this, it will be a few days before a big update. I recently switched from domestic to luxury imports, and am undergoing training. Yay, fun.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
My side of the desk
Every customer, when they walk on a car lot, is scared. Whether they admit it or not, they are. I mean, customers buy a car once every 3-5 years on average. I do it for a living.
But the funny thing is, they are all afraid of being lied to and cheated by the slimy salesman, right? Guess what...in my experience, customers actually lie more than the salesmen do. Seriously. Their credit, other deals they are working at other dealerships, numbers they have been quoted, their trade-in condition...they lie about everything. Hence the saying amongst car salesmen, "Buyers are liars".
But it's an adversarial process (or has been made so over the years), and I understand why people get nervous. I'll let you in on a little secret...a lot of salespeople, the really good ones? They aren't out to screw you over. They want to make money, sure, but a fair deal for both sides is actually the ideal as it means happy customers who in turn send other customers to buy cars. So yes, I want to make a profit on the car (shocking, I know), but ripping someone off is a bad move for me professionally. Good pro's know this.
Somehow, over the years, the thought that dealer's make a profit selling a car has become a bad thing. I can't name another business where people EXPECT you to lose money to run the business. A lot of people have flat-out told me they won't buy a car if the dealer is making a profit on it. I don't go to Best Buy and demand a TV at their cost...I'd get laughed out. Same with milk at the grocery store, etc. There is nothing wrong with making money (My limit is sticker price for a car. I won't charge over that. After the MSRP, it just becomes price gouging.).
Are all dealerships like that? Not even close. There are good dealerships and bad dealerships, and the bad ones are unbelievably bad. Sadly, they drag the good dealerships down with them.
In the next few days, I will talk about good and bad dealerships, how to tell the difference, and tell you about some sales from my point of view.
But the funny thing is, they are all afraid of being lied to and cheated by the slimy salesman, right? Guess what...in my experience, customers actually lie more than the salesmen do. Seriously. Their credit, other deals they are working at other dealerships, numbers they have been quoted, their trade-in condition...they lie about everything. Hence the saying amongst car salesmen, "Buyers are liars".
But it's an adversarial process (or has been made so over the years), and I understand why people get nervous. I'll let you in on a little secret...a lot of salespeople, the really good ones? They aren't out to screw you over. They want to make money, sure, but a fair deal for both sides is actually the ideal as it means happy customers who in turn send other customers to buy cars. So yes, I want to make a profit on the car (shocking, I know), but ripping someone off is a bad move for me professionally. Good pro's know this.
Somehow, over the years, the thought that dealer's make a profit selling a car has become a bad thing. I can't name another business where people EXPECT you to lose money to run the business. A lot of people have flat-out told me they won't buy a car if the dealer is making a profit on it. I don't go to Best Buy and demand a TV at their cost...I'd get laughed out. Same with milk at the grocery store, etc. There is nothing wrong with making money (My limit is sticker price for a car. I won't charge over that. After the MSRP, it just becomes price gouging.).
Are all dealerships like that? Not even close. There are good dealerships and bad dealerships, and the bad ones are unbelievably bad. Sadly, they drag the good dealerships down with them.
In the next few days, I will talk about good and bad dealerships, how to tell the difference, and tell you about some sales from my point of view.
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