Hard to Believe...

[Hockeysnake]

That American car dealers and manufacturers are struggling in these times. I went to the local Dodge dealer today needing to pick up some touch-up paint and when I pulled up in my Ram SRT10 not one of the sales guys outside(of which there were about 20) said hello or anything.

On the way out I stopped to look at the new coupe they had sitting on the floor and 3 salesmen looked at me and walked past. I was thinking of getting one at some point.

I go outside and again walk past these jokers and again not one word.....I guess these guys do not need any new business.

"Hey guys, keep standing around circle jerking and don't let those annoying customers bother you".

 

[AviP]

It's the holidays. Give them a break. Besides if they started selling to you, you would probably be complaining about pushy salesmen.

 

[Hockeysnake]

 

[v10kingsnake]

i like that type of salesman. most pleasant car buying experience was when i bought my lexus, great car by the way. You had to grab a salesman if you were interested in buying otherwise they took it that you were just browsing and didnt feel the need to pester their customers. to each his own. but it didnt sound like you were interested in buying now so why you upset.

 

[Warfang]

Standing around in a circle talking among yourselves is a BIG sales nono. At least a smile and a nod would have been sufficient.

 

[GimmeTheSpeed]

I really hate to say it, but what do you expect? pull up in your Viper and watch how fast the chairs are pulled out and the coffee is poured... that's how it is, embrace it and use it to your advantage. lol

 

[Vic]

One recent negative experience was when we went to buy my wife a Caddy, with cash. We told the salesman that we had cash, and were looking to buy a particular car from their lot stock. He said he needed the sales manager to help him with the sale, and went off to talk to some manager, who was busy with another customer. The sales staff was so busy, we waited and waited with no one to help us, so finally we left and bought one from a different dealer. I couldn't figure that one out- There we were, car picked out, cash in hand, and they couldn't find us a salesman to sell us the car. Ironic.

 

[steve911]

Here is another one for the thread. When I was contemplating my Gen 3 purchase in the spring of 04, I went to my local Dodge Dealer where I have been buying cars for almost 20 years.

I asked the sales manager (who I had bought my $30,000 quad cab dakota 7 months earlier) if my wife could sit in the the viper to see if she would fit in comfortably. She is 6'3" and lots of leg. The sales manager said "We don't allow people to sit in the cars". I then asked how we were supposed to find if we fit? His comment, don't worry you can adjust the seats before you leave when you buy the car.

What a DICK!

Needless to say we walked, and havent looked back. We went to another Dealer a couple of hours away. Looked at a Red Gen 3 in the showroom. Not only were we able to touch the car, we were able to sit in it and put the top up to see how it was to get in and out. We bought the car on the spot.
Fast forward to summer of 2004. Took the car to the original Dodge dealer. Pulled into the service Dept. got out, went to the sales manager showed him the car, told him he was a **** to his face and look what you lost out on, did a small but noisy burnout in the service Dept and drove out. Would have liked to see his face.

 

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

Besides if they started selling to you, you would probably be complaining about pushy salesmen.

That's the first thing I thought.

 

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

The sales manager said "We don't allow people to sit in the cars".

told him he was a **** to his face and look what you lost out on

I dunno, that response seems a little childish. For every one buyer there are probably 1,000 un-qualified "customers" that just want to sit in a Viper.

I know, I know "it's just a car", but it aint a minivan.

Try showing up at one of those exotic car dealers. If you don't look the part they wont even let you in the showroom. And I don't blame them.

 

[V10SpeedLuvr]

Me and a friend went to Lamborghini of Atlanta yesterday (yes, we took the Viper) just to drool a little bit. I told them up front we were just there to dream (didnt want to waste their time trying to sell me a $200k car) and they told us to "make ourselves at home". The sales guys were absolutely awesome. They let us sit in all of the cars and take all the pics we wanted. Two different salesmen came back there just to see if we had any questions about Lambo's. We joked around with them about trading the Viper straight up for their Murcileago Roadster ($335k price tag). When we left a salesman asked us "you guys gone?" and i told him we were only leaving since they wouldnt consider the Viper for Murci roadster offer i made. I was really impressed with the entire staff and if I hit the lotto, they'll be my 1st stop.

 

[big-n-italian]

when i went to buy my magnum last year, the dealers i went to did not have the blue color with the options i wanted.

one dealer kept after me about a pacifica they had on their lot! they didnt understand why i didnt want the pacifica! i kept trying to tell them i wanted A MAGNUM, i wasnt there to just buy ANY car. some people just dont listen.

i guess if i go back and they dont have a viper for sale on the premises, then in their mind a stratus or neon will do.

 

[Birvini]

I made the mistake of going to my local Dodge dealer to look for a new ride. Before they would even consider helping me they wanted me to fill out a one page questionaire. They wanted ALL my information including what I planned on trading in, how much cash on hand I had, and how much I planned to finance. UNREAL!

 

[joe117]

"There we were, car picked out, cash in hand"

I heard an interesting thing on a radio talk show.
The caller said he was a Mercedes salesman.
He said that they had to make call in reports,
just like calling for gun purchase,
if you wanted to buy a car with cash.

He said this is required before the sale.
He said high end jewelry stores have to do the same thing.

He said it was an anti money laundering requirement.
A requirement by who? I don't remember.

He said that people had walked out when he tried to get the information that he was required to call in.

Real or BS?

 

[PhoenixGTS]

I heard an interesting thing on a radio talk show.
The caller said he was a Mercedes salesman.
He said that they had to make call in reports,
just like calling for gun purchase,
if you wanted to buy a car with cash.

He said this is required before the sale.
He said high end jewelry stores have to do the same thing.

He said it was an anti money laundering requirement.
A requirement by who? I don't remember.

The government is all over businesses for cash sales due to money luandering concerns. The verification requirements are not directly due to government rules, they are the sellers in-house accounting and legal forcing the dealers who deal with the customer to paper the sale up so if the seller ever gets investigated they will not get into trouble for facilitating money laundering. My boss's 78 year mom sold a condo recently and took a $120k check to the bank to deposit it. They wanted to know where the money was from and her being super-cranky said none of your business. They said they would not take the check as a deposit without source info so she said fine, write me a check of the $300k+ I have in your bank and I'll never bother you again. Five minutes later they presented her with a counter check for her $300k plus, closed her accounts and said thank you very much formerly using us for your banking. It gets even worse if you are an investor in a restaurant or lounge trying to get a liquor license. They just assume in that situation that it is dirty money and you have to prove otherwise.

P.S. HockeySnake has a pretty bad attitude problem (hockey player after all), so I can see the salespeople leaving him alone. And I agree, I WISH I could go to a car dealer without having to talk to a salesman. Over the Internet via e-mail and telephone is the only way to buy a car.