How much do car salesmen make?

[Spac3d]

My friend makes between 150 - 200,000 a year. I am hoping he will become my mentor. It is sick how many cars Lexus' he sells. He is ALWAYS their sales member of the month and always sales member of the year.

 

[T2T III]

Originally posted by: Mallow
There are three jobs I couldn't live with myself if I did them for a living. Car Salesman, telemarketer and lawyer.

They are all scum of the earth, however, I know some people take telemarketing jobs b/c they must make ends meet... :/

So true, so true. If anyone was considering getting into the car sales business, they might consider doing it on the side. Become an indepdendent dealer and pick up cars at the auctions. Establish relationships with a good mechanic and a detailer. Have them do the prep-work on the vehicles so that you can focus on the sales end of it. Keep 4 cars or so in your inventory at any given time. I'm sure the $500, 600 or 700 of profit that you'd make off of each vehicle would be more than what you could get selling 10 cars in a month at the dealership.

 

[Epoman]

Originally posted by: Cyberian

Originally posted by: ElFenix

Originally posted by: AgentEL

Originally posted by: JeffreyLebowski
a coworker just told me that a local dealship ran her credit as she was driving up. The salesman pulled her info from her plates and ran a credit check off of that. He met her in the lot with her credit report in hand and said, I can get you into anything on the lot.

that's kinda shady. doesn't your credit rating go down whenever someone checks on it?

your credit rating goes down if they check and you're not extended credit.

Didn't that change just recently?
Where is Rossman when you really need him?

Your credit rating goes down for EVERY inquiry UNLESS you are the one checking, Your rating goes down 3 points for EVERY inquiry on your report. THATS why Never let the dealer run your report until you have decided to buy the car at that dealer. Before you go to a dealer get a copy of your report your self so they don't try to lie to you and tell you your score is 600 when it really is 700, You see
the lower your score the HIGHER the interest they can charge you! In the Business anything over 700 is considered "Gold Balls" yeah
I know it sounds funny but thats what salesmen call people with a 700 or more score. And yes it means what you think it means

When you have 700+ and a job you can easily finance a car.

 

[Pacfanweb]

Originally posted by: NogginBoink
Now that consumers can easily get the invoice price of a car from the 'net, the salesmen are working a lot harder for a lot less money.

Used cars might be a higher earning potential than new car sales.

Ding Ding Ding!!! We have a winner right here!!

Much more money in used car sales.

Car sales suck. Hours are terrible. Customers think you should give them everything, plus make no profit on the car. No wonder lots of salesmen are crooked.

<------tried it, now back in service.

 

[Epoman]

Originally posted by: Tiles2Tech

Originally posted by: Mallow
There are three jobs I couldn't live with myself if I did them for a living. Car Salesman, telemarketer and lawyer.

They are all scum of the earth, however, I know some people take telemarketing jobs b/c they must make ends meet... :/

So true, so true. If anyone was considering getting into the car sales business, they might consider doing it on the side. Become an indepdendent dealer and pick up cars at the auctions. Establish relationships with a good mechanic and a detailer. Have them do the prep-work on the vehicles so that you can focus on the sales end of it. Keep 4 cars or so in your inventory at any given time. I'm sure the $500, 600 or 700 of profit that you'd make off of each vehicle would be more than what you could get selling 10 cars in a month at the dealership.

Well when I sold only 10 cars in a month I would make at least $8,000 (thats $800 X 10 = $8,000 its easy to make $800 on a deal especially if it is a lease or used car) BUT I might make $1,200 on 1 deal and only $200 on the 2, But the 3rd car I may make $900 some deals are great some are low.

Try to understand not every salesman sell 10+ cars a month MOST salesmen only make 1 or 2 sales a WEEK, Alot of salesmen just make ends meet those are the average "Honest" or NEW salesmen.

Some people are just Natural salesmen.

Its simply ABC = Always Be Closing.

 

[Wingznut]

Originally posted by: Spac3d
My friend makes between 150 - 200,000 a year. I am hoping he will become my mentor. It is sick how many cars Lexus' he sells. He is ALWAYS their sales member of the month and always sales member of the year.

Mentor???

"When I grow up, I hope that I am able to lie and cheat as good as you!"

A car salesman as a mentor... That's just sick.

 

[Epoman]

Originally posted by: Pacfanweb

Originally posted by: NogginBoink
Now that consumers can easily get the invoice price of a car from the 'net, the salesmen are working a lot harder for a lot less money.

Used cars might be a higher earning potential than new car sales.

Ding Ding Ding!!! We have a winner right here!!

Much more money in used car sales.

Of Course why do you think EVERY new car dealership has a USED car dept. There has ALWAYS been more money in used cars, Dealers just sell new cars so they can not be considered a "Used Car Lot" hahaha People have more trust in buying a used car from a dealer then some dude on the corner with 20 cars on his lot called "Crazy Eddies Autos" Plus here's the truth When you buy from a small used car lot most of those cars are wholesale cars with probally many previous owners BUT at a dealer there mostly Lease trade ins or just trade-ins.
I would never buy a car from "Jim Bobs Auto-Haus".

 

[ynot167]

I could never be a car salesman. The main reason is because I find it difficult to sell a car to people who can barely afford it. I once saw an old couple walk into a dealer wanting to buy a Honda Civic LX. Well, guess what they ended up buying? An Accord EX. Thats a good 10K difference. That car salesman must have been really convincing. But the way I saw it was an old couple who probably retired and relying on minimal pension checks and Social Security checks that would barely make their car payments.
Plus, knowing that there are holdbacks on certain cars, would bring up the salesperson's commission.

I would never want to be that person who would get duped into buying something beyond my means.

 

[Hector13]

Originally posted by: vi_edit
That's like asking how much money you can make off the stock market

you mean you can make money on stocks??!?

 

[Epoman]

Originally posted by: ynot167
I could never be a car salesman. The main reason is because I find it difficult to sell a car to people who can barely afford it. I once saw an old couple walk into a dealer wanting to buy a Honda Civic LX. Well, guess what they ended up buying? An Accord EX. Thats a good 10K difference. That car salesman must have been really convincing. But the way I saw it was an old couple who probably retired and relying on minimal pension checks and Social Security checks that would barely make their car payments.
Plus, knowing that there are holdbacks on certain cars, would bring up the salesperson's commission.

I would never want to be that person who would get duped into buying something beyond my means.

Back when I was a Salesmen a member of my team LEASED a Toyota TERCEL (Remember those? the "Echo" replaced it) to a college student for $375 a month for 5 years WITH $2,000 down (Thats $375X60months+$2000 down = $24,500 for a Tercel PLUS her residual on the lease was still about $4,000 at the end of the lease.

By the way that salesmen became a Desk Man (Sales manager) after that deal.

 

[Pacfanweb]

Originally posted by: Epoman

Originally posted by: Tiles2Tech

Originally posted by: Mallow

Well when I sold only 10 cars in a month I would make at least $8,000 (thats $800 X 10 = $8,000 its easy to make $800 on a deal especially if it is a lease or used car) BUT I might make $1,200 on 1 deal and only $200 on the 2, But the 3rd car I may make $900 some deals are great some are low.

Try to understand not every salesman sell 10+ cars a month MOST salesmen only make 1 or 2 sales a WEEK, Alot of salesmen just make ends meet those are the average "Honest" or NEW salesmen.

Some people are just Natural salesmen.

Its simply ABC = Always Be Closing.

I think how many you sell a month depends on what type of cars you're selling. At our dealership, there's nobody who averages LESS than 10 per month. There are several guys selling 25-30 nearly EVERY month. (mucho $$$$)
Now we are a huge volume dealer, the largest in the Southeast, so everything is relative, I suppose.

 

[Epoman]

Originally posted by: Pacfanweb

Originally posted by: Epoman

Originally posted by: Tiles2Tech

Originally posted by: Mallow

Well when I sold only 10 cars in a month I would make at least $8,000 (thats $800 X 10 = $8,000 its easy to make $800 on a deal especially if it is a lease or used car) BUT I might make $1,200 on 1 deal and only $200 on the 2, But the 3rd car I may make $900 some deals are great some are low.

Try to understand not every salesman sell 10+ cars a month MOST salesmen only make 1 or 2 sales a WEEK, Alot of salesmen just make ends meet those are the average "Honest" or NEW salesmen.

Some people are just Natural salesmen.

Its simply ABC = Always Be Closing.

I think how many you sell a month depends on what type of cars you're selling. At our dealership, there's nobody who averages LESS than 10 per month. There are several guys selling 25-30 nearly EVERY month. (mucho $$$$)
Now we are a huge volume dealer, the largest in the Southeast, so everything is relative, I suppose.

Yes you are 100% correct it depends on the dealer and area BUT it also depends how many salesmen there are, If a slow dealer has 50 salesman it makes it tough for 1 person to sell alot of cars a month. Where I worked both places we used the "Call it" Method on the line
Who ever calls the car first gets to "Up" the customer first so when theres 20 guys on the point or the line You better be aggressive And fast.

 

[ynot167]

Originally posted by: Epoman

Originally posted by: ynot167
I could never be a car salesman. The main reason is because I find it difficult to sell a car to people who can barely afford it. I once saw an old couple walk into a dealer wanting to buy a Honda Civic LX. Well, guess what they ended up buying? An Accord EX. Thats a good 10K difference. That car salesman must have been really convincing. But the way I saw it was an old couple who probably retired and relying on minimal pension checks and Social Security checks that would barely make their car payments.
Plus, knowing that there are holdbacks on certain cars, would bring up the salesperson's commission.

I would never want to be that person who would get duped into buying something beyond my means.

Back when I was a Salesmen a member of my team LEASED a Toyota TERCEL (Remember those? the "Echo" replaced it) to a college student for $375 a month for 5 years WITH $2,000 down (Thats $375X60months+$2000 down = $24,500 for a Tercel PLUS her residual on the lease was still about $4,000 at the end of the lease.

By the way that salesmen became a Desk Man (Sales manager) after that deal.

That's a BIG rip off!!!
:disgust:

 

[dquan97]

Originally posted by: ynot167

Originally posted by: Epoman

Originally posted by: ynot167
I could never be a car salesman. The main reason is because I find it difficult to sell a car to people who can barely afford it. I once saw an old couple walk into a dealer wanting to buy a Honda Civic LX. Well, guess what they ended up buying? An Accord EX. Thats a good 10K difference. That car salesman must have been really convincing. But the way I saw it was an old couple who probably retired and relying on minimal pension checks and Social Security checks that would barely make their car payments.
Plus, knowing that there are holdbacks on certain cars, would bring up the salesperson's commission.

I would never want to be that person who would get duped into buying something beyond my means.

Back when I was a Salesmen a member of my team LEASED a Toyota TERCEL (Remember those? the "Echo" replaced it) to a college student for $375 a month for 5 years WITH $2,000 down (Thats $375X60months+$2000 down = $24,500 for a Tercel PLUS her residual on the lease was still about $4,000 at the end of the lease.

By the way that salesmen became a Desk Man (Sales manager) after that deal.

That's a BIG rip off!!!
:disgust:

that's pretty sad...

 

[Vic]

Originally posted by: dquan97

Originally posted by: ynot167

Originally posted by: Epoman
Back when I was a Salesmen a member of my team LEASED a Toyota TERCEL (Remember those? the "Echo" replaced it) to a college student for $375 a month for 5 years WITH $2,000 down (Thats $375X60months+$2000 down = $24,500 for a Tercel PLUS her residual on the lease was still about $4,000 at the end of the lease.

By the way that salesmen became a Desk Man (Sales manager) after that deal.

That's a BIG rip off!!!
:disgust:

that's pretty sad...

Yes, but who's fault was it? Really? Do the stupid deserve protection?

Plus, I have trouble believing that deal. I smell bad credit at the very least with a high interest rate on the lease (and interest rates haven't always and won't always be low you know). No lender would finance that much on a Tercel (leases are still finance contracts, you finance the depreciation).

 

[apoppin]

Great conclusion to that edmund's "undercover car salesman":

And, you might ask, if the salesmen aren't the bad guys, who is?

Having been a salesman myself, I began to view the managers and dealership owners as the real culprits. While salesmen play people games with the customer, the guys in the tower work the numbers with computers, their eyes fixed on the bottom line. They can see at a glance what kind of profit they are taking from the customer and they do it any way. Furthermore, they bully the sales staff, encouraging them to manipulate, control and intimidate customers while they take the lion's share of the profit.

Sometimes, the profit a salesman generates is not even pocketed by them. One salesman told me the F&I people can work their magic to rob a salesman of his commission. They move front-end profit to the back end where it evaporates from the salesman's voucher and returns, over the years, to the dealer in the form of high interest and steady payouts. I experienced a little taste of this myself. I leased an SUV to a single mother and at sticker price expected a nice commission. But on payday I cashed a $65 check. No explanation. No hint of where my commission had gone.

The management pushes the salesman out the door, lets him meet and greet the customer, then takes the profit. Not only that, but the management also blames the salesman when something goes wrong. I saw this quite clearly when the TV news team did its hidden camera investigation of the dealership (more on this in Part 6). A salesman was made out to be the bad guy. When the camera was turned on the dealership owner he disavowed knowledge of what was happening in his business and promised a complete review of their practices. This, despite the fact that at Friday sales meetings, the owner was cheering the boys on to get more deals at a higher profit.

Profit.

By itself profit is a positive word. But in the car business, the dealership's profit is the consumer's loss. I'm not suggesting that the dealership be run without a profit, but in one case I heard about, the dealership made a 16 percent profit on a $25,000 car. That meant the consumer, the average Joe buying the car, paid about $4,000 too much.

While working as a car salesman I became impressed with the damage a bad car deal can do to the budget of an ordinary person. In one case, I participated in leasing a car to a couple at well over its value. I was haunted by the thought that this nice ordinary couple had trusted me, and I had let them sign a contract that would bind them for five years to a high-interest lease. I consoled myself thinking perhaps another dealer would have inflicted greater damage.

How did the car business get so screwed up? There's nothing else in our society that is sold with the consumer so conspicuously unprepared.

During the sales seminar I took, the instructor attempted to tackle the "Why is it this way?" question. He said that just after World War II there were a lot of people who wanted to buy cars, and there were a lot of people who had money, but there weren't enough cars to go around. So the car salesman didn't really have to "sell." Their job was merely to qualify customers, to find out who was really going to "buy today," so they could move on to the next customer. This set the tone for the business and it is still that way today.

Great read . . . even though I knew ALL of it already (which isn't bad for someone who has never worked as a car salesman). Just KNOWING how it 'works", I was able to negotiate a Brand New 2002 Kia Rio for $5988 with not trade-in (cash - the "ad car" at the "ad price").

WELL worth knowing.

 

[StageLeft]

Most will not make all that much. You could do better in plenty of other fields. Like in most sales fields the few who are good can make a killing, but unless you have reason to think you'd be a good salesman you'll probably do better in another field.