Bad car salesman experience

[maddogchen]

So my friend wanted to buy a Nissan Altima so we went to a local dealership to look at the car and get info about financing.

So we get there and meet the first salesman that walks up to us. Introduce ourselves and said we were interested in the Altima. He took us over and showed us the 6 Altimas they had on their lot.


Cliff Notes
-Did not know where Altima was made in, thought it was China or some foreign country. Because it says final place of assembly was Canton and others said Smyra. Turns out Smyra is in Tennessee
-Thought Altima only came in automatics.
-Thought Altima was bigger and more expensive than Maxima. We had to prove him wrong.
-Did not know 0-60 times of car.
-Dealership had $4000 markup and kept saying that was a great deal.
-Kept asking for our names 3 times even though we told him each time.

We got fed up and walked out. Seriously this guy didn't know the car he was selling. How are you going to get a customer to buy it when you don't know jack about the car you're selling?

 

[z0mb13]

must be new

 

[Pepsi90919]

your cliff notes are longer than your post and this post reeks of WTF.

 

[Yossarian]

why do you need the salesman to tell you about the car? dont' you research this crap ahead of time? were you just asking questions that you already knew the answers to so you could feel superior?

 

[Saulbadguy]

-Did not know where Altima was made in, thought it was China or some foreign country. Because it says final place of assembly was Canton and others said Smyra. Turns out Smyra is in Tennessee - Who cares?
-Thought Altima only came in automatics. -Thats a bad thing.
-Thought Altima was bigger and more expensive than Maxima. We had to prove him wrong. - Also a bad thing.
-Did not know 0-60 times of car. - Who cares?
-Dealership had $4000 markup and kept saying that was a great deal. -Heh.
-Kept asking for our names 3 times even though we told him each time. -Whoops.

 

[Heisenberg]

I expect salespeople to have at least basic familiarity with the products they sell. I always try to ask a few questions I already know the answer to just get a feel for how competent the person is.

 

[maddogchen]

Originally posted by: Yossarian
why do you need the salesman to tell you about the car? dont' you research this crap ahead of time? were you just asking questions that you already knew the answers to so you could feel superior?

No we didn't ask those questions, it was just pointed out to us in the course of the conversations. Like when we asked if they had one in manual, he said no they don't make manual altimas. Or when we asked if we could order a specific color and model and he said we wouldn't want to wait the 6 months it would take to ship from China. And then when we complained the price was too high, he said why not look at the Maxima, its smaller and cheaper.

Okay...

 

[CRXican]

Sadly it's your job to be more competent. You know exactly what you want before you buy and use the salesman to gain access to the cars to determine which one has exactly what you want. Expecting them to know 0-60 times is a joke.

 

[GTaudiophile]

We are car enthusiasts! Of course we know more than they do. It use to piss me off too when a salesman knew jack about the car, but then that started happening with every salesman I dealt with, so I know I just shut my mouth and laugh internally.

 

[vi edit]

I just want to know why I have to go through the trouble of even dealing with these chuckleheads instead of just calling up GM/Toyota/Ect direct and just saying...

"I want a cobalt blue model, this trim level, and with these options". GM/Toyota/whatever says "Ok..that car will be ready for pickup at this location on this day." And at that point you either apply for their financing and are approved over the phone or you get the address to mail the check to and all is well.

I hate having to go through a dealer and waste my time with them.

 

[Demon-Xanth]

Heh, I had a salesman make the following little nuggets of joy:
"What about this Camero?"
"It looks like a V6"
"But it's a really hopped up V6, around 200HP"
*pop the hood* 3400, 160HP. Not exactly a step up from my 3.1L Grand Prix at the time.
C'mon man, the 3.8's weren't bad. But the 3.4's were anemic for that type of car.

"Check this car out, it's really clean"
I stare at a pair of silver dollar sized spots on the hood that lack paint.

I walked out of there nice and fast.

 

[maddogchen]

Originally posted by: GTaudiophile
We are car enthusiasts! Of course we know more than they do. It use to piss me off too when a salesman knew jack about the car, but then that started happening with every salesman I dealt with, so I know I just shut my mouth and laugh internally.

oh really? damn, i guess I have to lower my expectations of car salesmen. The only other one i've dealt with knew everything about the Acura TSX and even pointed out little cool things about the car that made me want to buy the car even more. I think he was a big time Acura enthusiast though. Even owned a TL.

 

[CRXican]

There's no rule that says you have to talk to the sales man. You can ask for the finance manager.

 

[UDT89]

every salesman has a first day/week.

you just taught him everything he needs to know for next time.

we've all been there......just be happy you werent giving blood and they asked if a intern can do it for her first time.

just curious why you wanted to know where the car was made?

 

[HamSupLo]

talking to the salesman is a waste of time. ask for the guy doing fleet sales.

 

[maddogchen]

Originally posted by: UDT89
every salesman has a first day/week.

you just taught him everything he needs to know for next time.

we've all been there......just be happy you werent giving blood and they asked if a intern can do it for her first time.

just curious why you wanted to know where the car was made?

when we asked if we could order a specific color and model and he said we wouldn't want to wait the 6 months it would take to ship from China. We were like its made in China? because we thought it was made in the US.

 

[maddogchen]

Originally posted by: HamSupLo
talking to the salesman is a waste of time. ask for the guy doing fleet sales.

guy doing fleet sales? whats that?
I told my friend next time to email all the local dealerships and asking for prices and if they had the specific car type instead of just picking a place out of an ad in the newspaper.

 

[UDT89]

oh lol

i cant ever get "mad" at a salesman.

its partially the responsibility of the consumer to know the product, especially one that costs as much as a car.

dont get me wrong, this guy was a erk-off, just that i've done sales and its a rough business. lots of BS and you only get paid when you sell.

its like everything else, until you've been in that position you cant truly understand it.

like being a waiter, used to do it, and now i have a greater respect for these people that most who havent done the job.

know what i mean?

PS
dont take this as a personal attack against you and your thoughts, just making convo. work is dead

 

[MikeMike]

Most salesman dont last long, its one of the most difficult things to do. it takes so much more to do than people

MIKE

 

[CRXican]

I know a lot about cars and have been working at a credit union for almost 4 years. I started out here in the Indirect Lending department and now I work in collections. I've seen hundreds of contracts and know all the ins and outs of financing and such.

I'd like to think I'd make a great car salesman because of all this but I don't think I could ever bring myself to try. I know how cheap people can be and couldn't stand having the majority of my income based on them. I'd end up telling them everything about the car and they could so easily walk away. It would get very frustrating.

 

[Vic]

I think you meant to say, "All car buyers should know about the car they want before they start buying."

If the salesman doesn't know his product, and keeps acting the idiot, he just loses my sale. Nothing to get upset about.

 

[maddogchen]

Originally posted by: UDT89
oh lol

i cant ever get "mad" at a salesman.

its partially the responsibility of the consumer to know the product, especially one that costs as much as a car.

dont get me wrong, this guy was a erk-off, just that i've done sales and its a rough business. lots of BS and you only get paid when you sell.

its like everything else, until you've been in that position you cant truly understand it.

like being a waiter, used to do it, and now i have a greater respect for these people that most who havent done the job.

know what i mean?

PS
dont take this as a personal attack against you and your thoughts, just making convo. work is dead

yeah I understand what you mean. I guess I overreacted since it was the second car salesman i've dealt with and the first one was so much better. He convinced my other friend to buy a car and almost made me want to buy one too.