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If you've worked in auto sales


Violet Crown
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Any advice from the automotive hive mind?

We're just about to buy a car from C----x (name elided for pretense of anonymity). Background:

We found the car we (thought we) wanted on their website; I phoned to set up an appointment; "T" answered, set up an appointment time, and put a "reserved" card in the car.

Dh and I showed up at the appointment time. T had gone home; none of our information was entered in the computer; he hadn't told anyone about the appointment. "B," a really young guy, was handed the appointment (in retrospect, probably because everyone knew T was entitled somehow to the sale). B was really helpful, didn't try to upsell us, and was basically the kind of salesman C----x boasts of. B got all our ducks in a row and made another appointment for the trade-in and purchase.

The next day, dh found a car better fitting our requirements, at a C----x in a nearby city. There was some hassle, in that it needed some interior work, and would have to be transferred, but B handled everything. He told me that T would handle the final sale since B would be out the day the car was expected to be ready, but I didn't want to change horses in midstream and told B we'd wait until he was in.

The interior work took longer than expected. I hadn't heard from B since last week, so this morning I texted B to ask about the car. He was surprised, said it had been ready Monday, and T was supposed to have let us know, but dh and I could come in any time and T would handle the final sale. Unimpressed by T (and picturing my own Millennial daughter being pushed around) I told B we preferred to complete the sale with him, and asked why (the so-far unimpressive) T was involved at all. B admitted that he and T were splitting the sale.

Dh figures C----x's policies for splitting commissions is their business, which I guess is right. But (1) I am not interested in dealing with T, whose record of failure has now inconvenienced us (Tuesday would have been a good day for us to buy the car; we're now under some time pressure because dh leaves the country this weekend, and both our names are/will be on the titles); and (2) it annoys me that he's going to "split the sale" with B because he answered the phone and talked to me for 60 seconds (and then failed to enter my info in the computer).

Any suggestions? I'm particularly interested in hearing from someone with a better idea of how car dealerships work. I don't want to make trouble for B; but I am displeased.

Edited by Violet Crown
clarity, I hope
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14 minutes ago, happysmileylady said:

My mom had a similar situation happen with her most recent vehicle purchase.  It was at a regular local dealer though, so maybe this sort of "teamwork" is common?  

Ultimately what my mom did was lay it all out.  "Look, I want to buy a car from you.  I want to buy X car, and I want to buy it from you.  But, if you can't work the deal that I want the way I want it, I will go buy a different car from someone else."

Now this is where I say, my parents had saved up cash for this, not financing.  And, they had a fully functional vehicle that honestly, other than the fact that it was starting to show it's age, my mom still loved.  And, my dad is a mechanic, and they tend to maintain a fleet, so they had, in some sense, all the time and money in the world.  They also knew that what they wanted, with the features and at the price they wanted would come up again.  So, they had every confidence that they could absolutely walk away, and it was obvious to the dealer that they were willing to.

So, the end result was....the dealer managed to work out the details as my mom (parents...though it was mom's car and my dad, even as a mechanic was all "it's *HER* car, talk to her!)  wanted and she got the car she wanted, at the price she wanted, from the saleman than she wanted to deal with.  But it did take that "walk away moment." to get there.  

We have the deal we want; we just don't want to work with T, who has been appointed to finish the sale. 

10 minutes ago, happysmileylady said:

Do both names need to be on the title right away?  Will your DH be gone a long time?

In our house, all vehicles are in my name only.  This is not a *rule* but rather just how it happens to work out.  DH works during the hours that the BMV is open and it is just easier for them to be in my name.  If we want to put his name on them, it's just a matter of getting him to the BMV, so not some complicated process.  Except that getting him to the BMV *IS* the complicated process lol.  But if that's not so much the issue and he's going to be gone a short time, can you title it in your name and then add his later?

He'll be gone for a few weeks. The problem isn't that we don't have time to finish buying the car; the problem is that we're being foisted off on a salesman (T) whom we have never met, who didn't help us in any way (as B did), and who so far has failed at everything he was supposed to do for us.

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I haven't worked in car sales, and I try to let DH handle negotiations, because I stink at it.

With that said, I did want to suggest that you call and ask for a manager. Explain that you really like B and that T has done nothing for you, other than take the initial phone call. Tell them you want B to get full credit for the sale. They may not agree, but it's worth it.

B may not be in a position to make this kind of bargain for himself, if he is a junior salesperson. He may be caught in the middle with no way to change things. But if you request it from a manager, perhaps it would make a difference.

Or maybe not, but it is worth a try.

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At this point it's mostly that I don't want to work with T, who has done nothing but fail to show up for the initial appointment, fail to enter necessary information into the computer, and fail to let us know our car was ready. His not getting half the commission would be a bonus; but the main thing is that he doesn't seem very useful.

I've texted B and told him more or less the above, and asked for his manager's contact info. We'll see what happens.

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I would just cold call the dealership and ask to speak to the Sales Manager.  Tell him your story, and tell him you want B to get full commission.  If you feel this is a deal breaker, say so.  B may be in training under T, and that may be why they're sharing commission.  Even if the manager can't or won't change the commission policy, your positive call will draw attention to B's excellent customer service.  That will help him in the long run.  Just keep it positive.  You don't want to bring him negative attention.

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48 minutes ago, Suzanne in ABQ said:

I would just cold call the dealership and ask to speak to the Sales Manager.  Tell him your story, and tell him you want B to get full commission.  If you feel this is a deal breaker, say so.  B may be in training under T, and that may be why they're sharing commission.  Even if the manager can't or won't change the commission policy, your positive call will draw attention to B's excellent customer service.  That will help him in the long run.  Just keep it positive.  You don't want to bring him negative attention.

Good advice. Called sales manager, explained situation, keeping it positive. He said B would call me when he was available, but insisted T was "just one of our guys covering for his co-worker." Whatever; as long as we're dealing with the guy we know is dependable.

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Final update: Poor B is sufficiently at death's door to still be out sick, and C----x wanted us to come get the car. So we made an appointment, came in yesterday evening, and met with T briefly. He pulled up our file on the computer, announced he'd had a long hard day, and disappeared. Some other guy--"J"--then appeared, took us out to test-drive the car and finished the sale.

J was less complainy than T but, oddly, spent the test drive explaining to us that that make of car burned oil badly, all of the models did, leaky head gaskets, expensive repairs, oh he'd owned several--he knew--and when we got back to his cube he pulled up a google search for us on the terrible leaking oil and engine problems. It was very odd. (We'd done the research, and the problem had been fixed in 2010 following some lawsuits; the engine was now really good.)

We have a lovely new-to-us car in our driveway now. I wonder how many ways they split the sale?

Thank you all for the great input!

Edited by Violet Crown
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2 hours ago, Violet Crown said:

Final update: Poor B is sufficiently at death's door to still be out sick, and C----x wanted us to come get the car. So we made an appointment, came in yesterday evening, and met with T briefly. He pulled up our file on the computer, announced he'd had a long hard day, and disappeared. Some other guy--"J"--then appeared, took us out to test-drive the car and finished the sale.

J was less complainy than T but, oddly, spent the test drive explaining to us that that make of car burned oil badly, all of the models did, leaky head gaskets, expensive repairs, oh he'd owned several--he knew--and when we got back to his cube he pulled up a google search for us on the terrible leaking oil and engine problems. It was very odd. (We'd done the research, and the problem had been fixed in 2010 following some lawsuits; the engine was now really good.)

We have a lovely new-to-us car in our driveway now. I wonder how many ways they split the sale?

Thank you all for the great input!

Were they offering an extended warranty for an additional fee?

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2 hours ago, Violet Crown said:

Final update: Poor B is sufficiently at death's door to still be out sick, and C----x wanted us to come get the car. So we made an appointment, came in yesterday evening, and met with T briefly. He pulled up our file on the computer, announced he'd had a long hard day, and disappeared. Some other guy--"J"--then appeared, took us out to test-drive the car and finished the sale.

J was less complainy than T but, oddly, spent the test drive explaining to us that that make of car burned oil badly, all of the models did, leaky head gaskets, expensive repairs, oh he'd owned several--he knew--and when we got back to his cube he pulled up a google search for us on the terrible leaking oil and engine problems. It was very odd. (We'd done the research, and the problem had been fixed in 2010 following some lawsuits; the engine was now really good.)

We have a lovely new-to-us car in our driveway now. I wonder how many ways they split the sale?

Thank you all for the great input!

 

Wow.  Just wow.   I hope B recovers quickly and finds a better place to work.

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Husband long-time car salesman. I wouldn't worry about the split situation at all as it goes both ways. B will get help with deals when he needs it, too. My husband likely would not have received any credit for this sale. At his dealership there is no such thing as "reserved." Whoever sells it first is the winner. If he had worked with you in person and you had selected a certain car in that meeting, then no matter who did the rest of the deal, he would get the split.

To "B" a split is better than nothing. Really. Sorry that all the other salesman are bad, though. But if "B" stays on his game, he will sell the most. That last guy? Probably nothing for him. But he did a favor for someone, and he will expect payback in some way or other.

 

 

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42 minutes ago, scholastica said:

Were they offering an extended warranty for an additional fee?

B made a halfhearted attempt at our original visit, but dropped the subject immediately when we declined. T and J made no attempt. So points for that. But J was definitely trying to talk us out of the car.

35 minutes ago, Suzanne in ABQ said:

 

Wow.  Just wow.   I hope B recovers quickly and finds a better place to work.

Yes.

Edited by Violet Crown
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