Quote:
Originally Posted by Beyer Subaru
Yes and no.
Yes - Google is your friend when searching out any info.
No - My wealth of knowledge about my cars rivals google.
Knowing Invoice, Holdback, Volume means absolutely nothing. You don't know what that dealer needs to make every month to stay afloat. The happiest customers I've ever had have payed MSRP or close. The most unhappy customers that I have ever had nickled and dimed me to the point that we would almost take a loss on the deal to roll the car and they were still trying to get more discount.
The internet was supposed to eliminate car salesman. But we're still here and I doubt that we will go anywhere as long as the Mfrs think that selling a car requires customer service.
It would be like saying "I hate waiters. I wish I could go to a restaurant and just order my food from a kiosk." Not gonna happen.
I deal with all manners of people from 18-80. Their might be some people that know more than me but the majority of people cannot tell the difference between a model, trim, option or accessory.
The FT guys might know everything about the FT. But the other 99% of my customers buying Legacy, Outback, Impreza, WRX/STi and Tribeca still appreciate me, all of the information that I provide and the job that I do for them.
Y'all have to stop and realize - You do this once every 6-10 years. We do at least 6-10 cars every month-in, month-out.
Again, this goes back to - If you don't like your guy, get a different guy. If there's not one available go to a different store.
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I get it and I'm not trying to imply at all that there aren't a lot people that appreciate you. I think the problem stems from the fact that you guys do indeed do this 6-10 times a month. It creates an information imbalance around the process in favor of the salesman and customers are inherently distrustful.
FWIW, sales put food on my table. I don't directly sell anything and sit in a nice cushy office at the top of a giant building, but the people under me do. They're constantly pushed by their superiors to sell every warranty and accessory on big ticket items you can shake a stick at in the name of 'taking care of the customer and providing a total package'. If they didn't, I would not have a pay check as these happen to be where all the margin is at. My honest opinion is that it's nearly impossible to make your boss happy without taking advantage of some customers, even if those customers thank you for it.
After my mother purchased her car, she went back and purchased a 100k mile / 8 year 'maintenance package', that included everything except tires for $4000. She felt great because she talked them down from $4600 and raved about their wonderful service. The woman put 34k miles on her last car in 9 years--the whole thing was absurd.