Scions Complete Lack of interest in AE86

[Dimman]

Originally Posted by SCIONMONTREAL

I am in a dealership ! My name is Borat

I have to commend you on moving away from your initial silly customization ideas to organizing a track day.

Hope this car brings you some extra success.

[YinYang1980]

dealer saleman have big difficulty to know their product, how can you expect them to know about old car that they never ear about...seriously.

where youve been last 20 years?

[Blue FRS]

My dealer has called me 3 times to update me on things. Ordered mine a month ago. Hes been great, ok so he has not really told me i havent found out on my own but he is trying. I talked to him yesterday he told me first shipment to mississauga should be end of May. I hope hes right.

[Jehuty77]

Originally Posted by YinYang1980

dealer saleman have big difficulty to know their product, how can you expect them to know about old car that they never ear about...seriously.

where youve been last 20 years?

Appologies, I dont make a habit of buying new cars, this would be my first(But I've owned 5 cars).

Maybe its just the stealership I'm dealing with.

I pre-ordered my car way back in November, and I havent been able to get anything out of them, every time i try to contact them, they have no clue whats going on.

To be honest I was so pumped about the car, so pumped I cant describe, but dealing with them, its been such a negative experience that I'm pretty much ready to say "F*CK IT" and stick with my current car.

You ever go to Canadian Tire and leave saying "Why the F*CK did i come back here i knew it was bad"? Thats the sort of feeling they give me.

[Capt Canuck]

You're in Toronto, go to another dealer.

[YinYang1980]

oh, ok...sorry for being little bit rude then.

since my first car in 2003, i always had brand new car. 7 exactly, i have deal with numerous saleman, mostly of them have absolutely no fcking clue about the car they sell. usualy we, car enthousiate, mostly of the time, know way much more than regular saleman. sometime maybe you will meet a real pasionate personne, but its rare.

saleman are there to sell. some other like gabriel seem to be a car enthousiaste, so its really fun to have them in dealership and keep us inform with interssting stuff, but dont expect regular saleman to be pasionate about your car like you are.

thats all i know.

[Jordo!]

Originally Posted by bneale

I disagree. I for one would much prefer to buy a car from someone who actually knows what an AE86 is or what the predecessor of this car actually is.

To put it simply, If I had to pick between 2 people, I would always pick the guy who knows about the AE86. Who wouldn't? Therefore it does matter to some buyers and quite frankly, more info wouldn't hurt sales only help them.

The other thing I wanted to say was this car isn't as much of a 25+ year old Corolla. I would say its more like the 2000GT from the 60's.

I dare anyone to stand there looking at a 3/4 view of both the new 86 and the 2000GT and tell me "They don't look anything a like". Because that person is crazy if they think that way. I see a lot of the 2000GT in this car. Way more so then the AE86 in terms of looks. The shapes of the fenders are dead give aways that the designer was using the 2000GT as a base.

The spiritual idea of the AE86 being a lightweight RWD car with low power is about the only thing they really have in common in their blood. The looks are not the same though so there's no way the average buyer will think Corolla. But they won't think 2000GT either. Hell, the average buyer wasn't even born when the 2000GT came out.

bneale

Originally Posted by Jehuty77

Yes there is, this is a huge purchase, $25,000 + isn't exactly chump change, atleast not to me.

If a car was built with a lineage in mind, a purpose, the sales people should know.

Do they need to express it? Maybe not to some random chick who thinks the car looks "cute", BUT if the car was built to re-invigorate the brand, the sales people should be knowledgable of this and at the very least be able to regurgitate some basic informaiton for enthusists.

People who champion the "They dont need to know attitude" or "Its ok" are the people who allow this non-sense to keep happening.

You guys are in a special minority of very picky car snobs then. Would you rather buy a car from an ignoramus who isn't ripping you off or a salesman who is a car buff and feels you should pay extra for his knowledge and expertise -- none of which has any impact on the car's quality, which was designed and built in Gunma, Japan?

Or, if there is no difference in price, then all you are saying is that you'd rather put money in the pocket of a salesman whom you like (i.e., a fellow car wonk) -- fair enough, but seriously, who cares so long as you get the car you want and the price is right?

I don't give a shit if the salesman knows anything about cars -- it's more important that I know about the car before I get there; that I know what a reasonable price is, and I know if I'm getting what I want at a price that is appropriate.

Do you care if the server at a restaurant went to culinary school too?

In any case, as I had said: The average new car buyer will not know or care about the car's alleged lineage and a car buff will already be aware and excited about it all on their own.

[colHolm]

Originally Posted by Jordo!

I don't give a shit if the salesman knows anything about cars -- it's more important that I know about the car before I get there; that I know what a reasonable price is, and I know if I'm getting what I want at a price that is appropriate.

Couldn't have said it better.

[Jehuty77]

Originally Posted by Jordo!

BLAH BLAH BLAH...

While i'll agree with you on one thing, the car is most important, The attitude of we are in the minority and as such dont count is non sense.

Have you actually been to scion? These people arn't busy, they probably have 1 customer a day if their lucky, trust me, they have time for research but really this conversation is now beyond me whining about lineage of cars.

At what point in history did the customer suddenly decide, I'm ok with shitty service, Big Wig Companies have beaten into peoples heads "We can give shitty service but you still want our product so tough shit", years ago this wasnt the case(Although i know its always been that way for automotive).

Anyways me complaining here won't make things better, I'm well aware of this,
I'm in the minority, I'm well aware of this,

Accepting that we should just fork over our money and they make as little effort as possible, just seems even worse.

CALL ME CRAZY

I get what your saying, you dont care about the customer service long as the products good, but i still would love it to be both a good product and customer service, for nearly 31k, thats not unreasonable, If you think otherwise well...

Thats fine though, We'll just agree to disagree, no harm no foul.

[Jordo!]

^^ You're crazy. And, judging from the reliance on overused memes to express yourself, under 30, and kind of dim.

What does having an encyclopedic knowledge of other cars, built and sold over 20 years ago, have to do with providing good customer service on a new car purchase today?

Next time you buy shoes, be sure to ask the salesperson if he is aware of the history of cobblering. If he has no background on this, throw the shoes down and storm out.

[Jehuty77]

Originally Posted by Jordo!

^^ You're crazy. And, judging from the reliance on overused memes to express yourself, under 30, and kind of dim.

What does having an encyclopedic knowledge of other cars, built and sold over 20 years ago, have to do with providing good customer service on a new car purchase today?

Next time you buy shoes, be sure to ask the salesperson if he is aware of the history of cobblering. If he has no background on this, throw the shoes down and storm out.

Buddy don't feel too high and mighty, your bickering with me on a forum about opinions, probably the biggest waste of time there is.

You'll never convince me and I'll never convince you, accept it.

Shoes dont cost 31,000 dollars.

Go on believing what you want, I dont care.

[l8apexr]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-BGIcRBPHM"]Hellaflush cartoon - YouTube[/ame]

[Jordo!]

Originally Posted by Jehuty77

Buddy don't feel too high and mighty, your bickering with me on a forum about opinions, probably the biggest waste of time there is.

You'll never convince me and I'll never convince you, accept it.

Shoes dont cost 31,000 dollars.

Go on believing what you want, I dont care.

Who's bickering?

I asked you how having an encyclopedic knowledge on the history of cars and related pop culture trivia was relevant to providing good customer service when purchasing a new car now, and your answer was basically, "fuck you, dude"

News Flash: Just because something in pop culture is really, really important to you, it may not matter one bit to anyone else.

Most of the people who buy this car will have never heard of AE86's, read/watched any Initial D, care one bit about the great Corolla GT-S legacy, etc. etc.

Yes, there is a fan base, and they will relish the car and all it stands for, but somewhere around 90% of the folks who purchase the car will not care.

And you'd better hope that my prediction is true, otherwise Toyota/Subaru probably won't sell enough after the first year to keep the dream alive.

Snobbish rants over the dealerships not having enough background knowledge in the history of the cars they sell is just plain silly. All they need to know are some basics about the actual car they are selling (sounds like they have to know that according tho the Scion rep), assist you with figuring out payment options, and be reasonably polite (and even that doesn't really matter. I'll take a jerk salesman if I get the price I want).

They are not required to be experts in the esoteric lore of the cars they sell -- that's just ridiculous.

I look forward to reading a thread about how you find the perfect FRS at the perfect price with exactly the options you wanted, but the salesman fails your trivia test, and so you pass on the car and begin the search anew

[Dimman]

Originally Posted by Jordo!

^^ You're crazy. And, judging from the reliance on overused memes to express yourself, under 30, and kind of dim.

What does having an encyclopedic knowledge of other cars, built and sold over 20 years ago, have to do with providing good customer service on a new car purchase today?

Next time you buy shoes, be sure to ask the salesperson if he is aware of the history of cobblering. If he has no background on this, throw the shoes down and storm out.

Kind of dim??? Used as a negative adjective?

I take offense to that, good sir...



That being said, I think your restaurant server example is a bit weak. A server that has been to culinary school can greatly enhance a dining experience compared to one that just reads the menu to you. Necessary to enjoy the food? Nah. But a better experience? Vastly.

Same goes here, in a sense.

In my case it's not about having a wonderful dealer experience, it's about not coming out wanting to strangle people. I would be angry knowing that I contributed to some know-nothing's commission, but I'm picky that way...