I was in the market for a new car a few months ago and went to a few car dealerships. Some salesmen would start harassing you as soon as you drive into the parking lot. Others follow you around constantly and won’t let you breathe. I had one guy who didn’t want to give me my keys back until I agreed to buy.
When I was living in France I bought a car and didn’t deal with any of this kind of behavior. It was more of a “it’s good if you buy a car today but if not that’s okay too” attitude.
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It sounds like they’re paid by commission.
Are French dealers working on commission?
I honestly don’t know but its a pretty common complaint of any business where sales people work on commission or receive performance bonuses. Jewlery store,s, for example.
Indiana also requires new car sales to go through dealerships. This almost got Tesla banned in Indiana since they sell directly to the consumer, though they do it online. They had a physical presence in Indiana within a high end mall, but it was simply a showroom and even if you ordered one there, it was just done on a tablet that connected to their website.
It probably doesn’t help that dealers don’t make much, if any, money from selling new cars. They mostly make it based on financing, service, and selling used vehicles.
Sales people have always approached me but as soon as I tell them I’m just looking and will call them over if I need help they leave me alone.
Depends on the dealer.
When I bought my most recent car I felt like my sales rep was doing more work for me than I asked her to in order to get me a good deal.
Granted it was for an automotive brand that doesn’t usually go below sticker, but it was refreshing after buying a Jeep 5 years ago.
I bought my last car from Carvana. I know many have had issues with Carvana, but my experience was great. They delivered my car to me, I signed some forms for the purchase and then I had 10 days to return it (I took it to an Acura dealer and had it thoroughly checked out and it was fine). Other than signing the documents with the delivery guy, everything else was online and relatively simple.
That’s why CarMax and Costco Auto and such exist. And what Saturn tried to do, and Tesla maybe.
I think paying them in salary helps, but it doesn’t eliminate high pressure environments completely. They still do mind games of trying to ultimately sell for as close to MSRP as possible. The key guy can have a chat with law enforcement, because I don’t think that’s the tactics major sellers want to be associated with.
Where is this? That’s not my experience.
It sounds like you went somewhere particularly aggressive. Your experience is not necessarily THE experience.
Because every second you’re on the lot, you’re a second closer to them getting money.
They have all day. You don’t.
It’s like an interrogation. The longer they have you there, the more likely it is that you’ll confess.
Everything takes time because the longer you’ve been there, the more likely you’ll settle for their terms.
This one of the reasons why I bought a Tesla.
I’ve never had that happen.
Just bought a new car last month. Walked in, salesmen asked if I needed help, I explained what I was looking for, he explained the options and the pricing, and I bought what I liked best.
Sure he tried to sneak in some dumbass fees like nitrogen for the tires (“it’s a bigger molecule than air so it keeps the tires inflated longer, $400”) or a vin etching fee. Demand they remove the dumb shit and all done.
Look for a no haggle dealer if you don’t want harassment. Or just read reviews about reputation.
The “I’ve got your keys so you can’t leave” is a known tactic and I’ve had this pulled on me too. Lots of hard selling in the car industry here. You can go to a place like CarMax if you want to avoid this.
As far as why is it this way? It is just a culture that has developed since most of them work on commission. You can also find these types of hard sales tactics used in furniture stores and some appliance stores.
In the US, most goods have a fixed price that cannot be negotiated. For the few things that can be negotiated, hard sales tactics are common.
You have to know the game. Car dealerships are predatory and they have been since their inception in America. Never trust a dealer and never be afraid to walk away. I’m looking into a truck right now and I don’t let them harass me.
Last time someone in my family bought a new vehicle they had the exact opposite experience and couldn’t even get a salesman to try and find the vehicle they wanted, it just depends on who is working at the dealership.
My last 3 cars I bought from dealers that don’t pay commission to sales people (2 were from the same dealer/salesman). Perfect experience all around.
I *hate* the annoying sales people who hound you the whole time. But if you think buying a car is bad, try to go look at furniture in peace
Why did a car salesman have your keys?
I think partly because _owning_ a car is a frustrating experience. America idolizes cars and even expands its cities specifically for cars instead of for people. That means instead of going to the store to buy a luxury item, you are going to the store to buy something that costs multiple thousands of dollars that you can’t escape from buying.
You look like a mark and you didn’t put your foot down.
He would be surprised how quick use car salesman will leave you alone if you tell them if you don’t leave me alone while I look I will just leave.
If they don’t leave you alone then just leave because they’re not going to give you a good deal anyway
OK, I was a car salesman fo way too long. The culture of bad car sales transactions is rooted in a few things that create a downward spiral for *everyone*.
Starting with the sales side:
Parking lot sharks: Commission* sales. If you don’t buy, they don’t eat. if it’s a slow day you might be my only shot at getting paid today.
Following you around: Time constraints on those sales. If you spend all day with me and don’t buy, not only have I missed a commission from your sale , I’ve missed other possible sales. So I need to do everything I can to get you to buy from me or leave quickly. You looked a little too long at that Civic….”I’ll go get the keys”. You sat in the Focus? “Is this the color you want?
Taking your keys: Bad management and worse training. No excuse for this behavior. Saw a used car manager fired on the spot for that one!
Buyer’s Side:
Haggling/ Negotiations: There is no other retail segment that negotiates like car sales. I don’t know a single person who would walk into a clothing store and say “I know you paid $100 for this dress and are asking $150, but I’ll pay $85 and you pay the taxes.” But that’s how we buy cars in the US. No Haggle sales have worked, in a limited capacity, for used cars but it failed with new car sales. Why? because we like to get the other guy. Saturn failed because “No haggle pricing” wasn’t 1) profitable and 2) believed by the public.
Duality of buyers: Leave me alone! Why isn’t anyone helping me? Your Civics are over there” guy , I can almost guarantee had eyes on you, and was ready to assist at the drop of a hat!
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*commissions for a car sale are incredibly low. The avg sale is 25% of gross profit. If you sell a car at invoice or less the gross profit is $0.00. what’s 25% of 0? A “mini” deal the minimum commission a dealer will pay ( In MD avgs $125) … and you may have to split that with another salesman. $60 for selling a car…
I got lucky both times I bought a car. I got The first one at wayy below MSRP and I literally told the guy I just want to tell people I negotiated so can you just give me something to sweeten the deal. The second time (that too in 2022) I bought the car at MSRP and only had to negotiate up the value of my trade in
Tip: go for more niche cars
Dealerships are almost all universally shit. The ones that put “market adjustments” on their vehicles are even shittier and deserve all the bad press they get.
Thankfully, we’re getting places like Carvana where you just buy it online and it comes on the back of a truck. Hopefully, manufacturers start doing that with new cars too because it would be so much nicer to just go to a corporate owned store, test drive a vehicle, then go home and buy it like I do anything else online.
I’ve had the exact opposite experience. We chose a local dealership that only sells at MSRP. Which means we wouldn’t have to pay ~$5k markup, but it also means they sell every vehicle as soon as it shows up on the lot. They have no inventory, they don’t place orders, and it’s at least a 6 month wait to get your car. We don’t mind, though, because it’s not an urgent need.
But the salespeople have the cushiest job right now. They claim clients as they come in, sell everything that arrives on the lot, and don’t have to really “sell” you on anything. They’re just collecting a paycheck. We can’t get our guy to call us back about the shipment logs. We have to keep showing up every weekend to check if they’ll be getting in the car we want. We have no leverage either – if we choose not to buy, the vehicle will still sell in under 48 hours. It’s the opposite of a high pressure sales situation, total apathy.