I have been selling cars for over twenty years and would love to discuss any matter of your sale, purchase, financing, problems etc.
I can give you information on how to make the best deal when purchasing your next vehicle.
I will also be giving information on the best and worst things to look at when buying, selling or trading in your vehicle.
Let me know what content you all would like added or discussed please.
I will be adding content from time to time so feel free to contact and subscribe to my blog about car sales.
>>>>>> Jan 2009
Here is a bit of information that was sent to dealers in the for form of e-mail:
If I hear one more person give another reason why they can't sell cars I am going to punch someone in the face."The banks aren't buying" - Yes they are idiot, just not like they were, so change what you are doing.
"There are less customers looking" - So get out of your office and work the ones you have harder."The deals aren't as good" - Says who? Cars have always been expensive and they have always cost more than the customer told you they wanted to pay so now you are going to start believing the customer?
"We cant lease anymore" - yes you can idiots there just aren't giveaways that any no talent order-taker could give away, so maybe you should quit and we'll get a salesperson who can do the job.Guess what?..
We sold cars when interest rates were 18% We sold cars when they would blow up we sold cars that flipped over we sold cars in recessions we sold cars that were uglier than a monkey's armpit and broke down on delivery we sold cars from empty showrooms we sold Yugo's, and Daewoos, and Pinto's, and K-cars for god's sake, and Suburbans when gas was $4 a gallon.How? Because we SOLD them.
We inquired about our customers needs and wants, their budget, their family, their jobs, their travel habits. We made friends and sold the snot out of the right vehicle that met all of their needs. We didn't sell the deal, we made the deal sell. We didn't believe them when they told them the car was too much because we selected a vehicle that wasn't too much; and, when they chose a more expensive model we told them it was more expensive and they would pay more. We sold them on the idea of putting money down so they wouldn't be buried with debt so that cash down wasn't a burden but a benefit - and they always found more money for the car we made them want because we made them want it we made them need it and they loved us for it.
We didn't lie or cheat, we didn't fudge the numbers, and trick them into paying more we sold the sizzle and we made money doing it and our customers loved us when we were done. And they told their friends how great we were to do business with.
When I was a salesperson I loved the rain. I loved it because the other salespeople would hide in their office convinced that they were not going to sell anything because nobody was going to come out in the rain. So I stood on the lot under my umbrella and waited, 'cause I knew that if somebody did show up they were there to buy something.
Today the news media is pumping bad weather into every body's living room and it is raining bad news. Today I want to be a salesperson again standing in the showroom waiting for the customer who is going to walk in despite everything they have heard because they are looking for someone to say, "its OK to buy," and I would be there in my tie with a warm handshake and a smile ready to make it OK to part with a few thousand dollars and I would make it fun too.
Yes, it is true that dealers will close. Banks will go under. The car business is changing. This is the time when we will undergo an economic housecleaning. We will see the weak salespeople who survived in this business out of sheer dumb luck find their true place in McDonalds dunking fries.
We will see the sales managers who forgot how to sell, and who never knew how to motivate and train professionals, move on to telemarketing gig's or make that career change they have talked about for so long. Good riddance. This business is not for the weak or feint of heart. Here only the strong survive. When all is said and done only the best will be left standing.
We will be sipping our coffee, and cashing our big checks, and rolling steel.
I will be here with my umbrella, my tie, a warm handshake and a smile. I say bring it on.
*** Sent to us today and thought this would be interesting to all of you.
** 1/09 After work.
Just locked up and did not sell a car. Feels really crappy going home to your wife and kids when you worked all damn' day and did not make a dime.
Maybe I didn't mention this but, I work on commission only with no base pay.
Tip: Some states will allow a dealer to charge what they cal a "Doc Fee" or Documentation fee . You don't need to pay this. Ask them to take it off and the dealer will.
I will add more later.
bye for now
** Jan 09
I can not sleep. It is about 11pm and thinking about the day I am going to have tomorrow.
Selling cars is not an easy profession and I am the first to tell you that you will never get used to the fact that if you do not sell a car you won't make one cent.
>>>>> Jan 2009
Ok, here are some of the terms that car salesman use when we talk. These terms have been around for many years and are nothing new but, to you they may be and are kinda' funny.......
An "Up" is someone who walks on the car lot. A customer!
A "Beback" is a customer who leaves without buying, and comes back at a later date.
A "Laydown" is a customer who buys at whatever price the salesperson quotes.
A "Roach" is how car salespeople refer to people with bad credit!
A "Get-Me-Done" or "Get Me Bought" is somebody who has borderline credit at best, and will take almost any
vehicle at any terms just to get financed.
The "Bump" is where the Sales Manager sends the salesperson back out to get a higher price, or to "Bump" the customer for more money!
A "Lowball" is an unrealistically low price that the salesperson gives the customer before the customer leaves to shop price at another dealer.
"Upside Down" is when a person owes more money on their trade-in then the vehicle is worth.
"Negative Equity" is related to Upside Down above. It is the amount that you still owe on your car loan after subtracting how much you are actually getting for your vehicle.
"Positive Equity" This is when your trade-in is actually worth more than the amount you owe on it. Needless to say, this doesn't happen very often!
"Croak and Choke" pertains to the Finance Manager selling Credit Life Insurance and Disability Insurance on the car loan!
To "Brick" somebody, or to "Spot Deliver!" Car salespeople are so worried that you'll change your mind once you buy a vehicle, that they want you to take it NOW! Very often, the dealer will have the customer sign bank papers before the loan is officially approved, just to get the customer down the road.
"Buyers are Liars!" Every car salesperson is instilled with this belief! This is most times more true than the consumer would like to believe. When a customer won't to trade in their vehicle (one example) they will not tell you anything that is wrong with their vehicle. Or, when you are dealing with financing they don't want to let you know anything negative about their credit etc. ........... And the Car Salesman get the bad rap.... OK?
"The T.O." If one salesperson can't close you he or she will T.O. you or turn you over to a Manager or a Closer, who in turn might T.O. you to someone else, and someone else again until you buy.
"A Packed or Loaded Payment!" Packing or loading payments is a slang term used to describe a practice used by the auto industry to get customers to agree to purchase additional products, such as credit insurance, service contracts, chemical Protestants, and security devices, without revealing their true impact on their monthly payments.
Packing is played out when a customer finances their vehicle through the dealer. A customer agrees to a purchase the car at a monthly payment that is much higher than what is needed to cover the price of the vehicle. That creates a "pack" or room in the payment to add in the optional products....of course without the customer knowing he's actually paying more for the extra stuff!
"Buyer's Remourse" This is when a car buyer starts having second thoughts about the car purchase. Once the euphoria of getting a new or different vehicle wears off, a person begins wondering if they got ripped-off, did they do the right thing, can they really afford the payments and on and on it goes. There are countless reasons a person second-guesses themselves.
Car sales people call this "Buyers Remorse" or "Coming Out of the Ether!" This is the sales person's worst nightmare, because this is when the buyer starts looking for ways to back out of the car deal.
"A Today Buyer!" This is a customer who is prepared to purchase a vehicle the same day they enter the dealership. The large majority of buyers are not in this category. Most people want to think it over and look around before making a decision.
However, it is the car sales person's job to turn you into a "Today Buyer!" They are trained in techniques that do just that. They have a Selling System in place that is designed to take control of you, culminating in you taking delivery of your new or used vehicle before you leave the dealership. They will go to great lengths to put you in that vehicle "today" including doing a Spot Delivery! BEWARE!
"ACV" This stands for Actual Cash Value. This is what dealers use when referring to the amount of money they are actually putting in a trade. They have to differentiate this number from what they tell the customer. Very often the customer is led to believe that he is getting more for his trade than what the ACV is!
"Quarterback" or.... "Third Baseman"........ Car salespeople hate it when you bring someone with you to to the car dealership to help you negotiate a deal. Most times this will not get you a better deal and will hurt the process. For example a young woman may bring her father, brother, boyfreind etc. to help her. Most times they do more damage than good. With all the "knowelege" they have, they actually help to hurt the deal rather than help. A real car salesman is just trying to sell a car.
****** Quote...... " Why the hell do people brag about how much they buy their house for? Why the hell do they brag about how much they under pay on an automobile?"
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By Lea Thompson
REPORTER'S NOTEBOOK
NBC News
Dec. 5 - Americans spend more than $650 billion a year on new cars — and they probably spend way too much. Chances are you’ve been there, sitting across from a smiling car salesman, sweating out the negotiations, determined to get a bargain, but convinced you won’t. You’re probably right. Dateline NBC went undercover to reveal some tricks of the trade, how, with a little sleight of hand and deception, dealerships are sweetening your deal in their favor — taking you for thousands of dollars. NBC’s Lea Thompson shares her observations on the story, as well as some important tips.
As NBC’s Chief Consumer Correspondent I have done a lot of car stories in my life. But this one is astounding and amazing. After working on this story for over a year, I am still stunned by what we continued to discover right up until airtime. And what is most disturbing is that these aren’t just tricks on consumers by a few dealers. Although not every dealer is disreputable, it appears there is a widespread fraud going on, particularly on the “back end” of car deals.
Most consumers really don’t understand the finance part when they buy a car. That naiveté allows unscrupulous dealers to add in lots of extra charges that you never see if you don’t read the fine print or sift through the paperwork.
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I read this and just had to laugh. OK,,,, this is a tiny bit of good information but, some people can be too serious.
This guy is trying to give his Friend tips on how to buy a car.....
Here are some tips:
(1) Find out what that car costs the dealer(DOES THIS REALLY MATTER?). Consumer Reports is one place where you can find out the "wholesale" price that a dealer pays for a car. Thrall give you an idea of just how much the dealer is marking it up. You should NEVER pay more than $1,000.00 more than it costs the dealer -- heck.. (HECK?), my father never pays more than $400.00 over dealer invoice. (SO WHAT!! DEALER INVOICE IS A JOKE ANYWAY) OK... THE DEALER DOES NOT NEED TO MAKE A DIME. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?? SINCE WHEN DO I WALK INTO WALL MART AND TELL THEM HOW MUCH THEY NEED TO MAKE ON THE THINGS THEY SELL??
(2) Find out how long the vehicle has been sitting on the lot(HUGE MYTH.. THE LONGER A CAR SITS DOES NOT REALLY MATTER EXCEPT ON VEHICLES THAT ARE FIVE YEARS AND NEWER) Dealers always try to move cars quickly, so the longer a vehicle sits on the lot the better your chance of having the dealer come down on the price.
(3) Try to get financing for the car through your bank or credit union -- if they'll approve you, go in and ask the guys at the dealership how much they want for the car in cash. They'll always give you a better deal if they don't have to finance you.
(4) Go to several different dealerships and get several quotes. You can then play the game of "Well, this dealership is going to sell me the car for..."
(5) Keep talking them down. They'll usually give the old tired line of "Well, I'll have to check with my manager," (NO THAT IS THE TRUTH, THERE REALLY IS A MANAGER AND YOU DO NEED TO CHECK WITH THEM) so if they tell you that say "OK, fine, you have my phone number; check with your manager and get back to me." (WHY? ARE YOU THERE TO BUY A CAR OR PLAY GAMES? SO WHAT.. YOU LEAVE AND GO TO... LET'S SEE... ANOTHER DEALERSHIP TO DO ALL THIS OVER AGAIN?.. COME ON!! GET REAL!! DON'T BE A PUSS.. MAN DOWN AND DEMAND THE DEAL YOU REAL F&*%ING WANT. IF IT WORKS... DONE!)
))))))))) Oh man.. Use these tips to get a WORSE deal ((((((((((((
Just read this off another site and my jaw dropped... Why is it when people go to buy a car that they feel that the dealer is the devil? Sometimes they are but, if you wan't them to really put the screws to you then jusg follow these steps. I will add my notes.
1) If the salesperson go to the sales manager — and they always do (again,,, there IS a Manager and a salesperson can not make the final deal with the customer without their approval!!) – tell the salesperson that if they are not back in 10 minutes you will assume the deal fell through and you will leave. (why the heck would you do this to him/her... They are just doing their job. Again... You leave and do what? Go to another dealership and tell them the same thing.. And so on and so on.. What does that get you?...... NOTHING, I promise you!)
Never stop asking for a better deal. Ask for add-ons, discounts and higher values for your trade-in every step of the way, even if the dealership says the current deal is the best they can do. Use this tactic right to the bitter end in the Finance & Insurance (F&I) office. (Never stop? Whell... you need to stop some time.. C'mon! Are you kidding me? You wan't the dealer to tell you the last price, be quick, give you a huge discount and NEVER STOP GIVING YOU A BETTER DEAL UNTIL THEY PAY YOU TO TAKE THE CAR? Let's be reasonable. If you find the car you wan't and you both negotiate on the deal and it feels right then you have two options... 1) Take the deal or... 2) Sleep on it... IT'S EASY BUT, DON'T BE AN ASS ABOUT IT AND DEMAND ACT LIKE YOU ARE THE ONLY HUMAN ON THE FACE OF THE EARTH BUYING A CAR.)
Negotiate the trade-in and the new vehicle purchase separately. (HUGE MISTAKE!) Your trade-in is not worth more or less based on the value of the vehicle you wish to purchase, however many dealerships will tell you that because the care you wish to purchase is so low-priced, they can not offer you much for your trade-in. Here is how to do it... If you find the car and get down to brass nuts tell the dealer you have a trade-in. You need to allready know what you want for your car and most times you will settle within two to three hunred dollars. If you throw a trade in at the end the dealer will want want to do what we call "KICK THE TRADE" . This means that they will avoid talking about the trade and ignore the fact that you want to trade the vehicle at all until you take the very min. ammt for it. You will actually hurt yourself more than help yourself.
Some of the information you get out there from "Consumers" can actually hurt your buying process rather than help you.. Listen to a guy like myself that has been doing this for over twenty years and you will see.
