No wonder car sales people STILL have a bad rep.

[Banzai_Joe]

So,
i was looking to change my car and contacted the dealership where i got my current car from.
I told the guy EXACTLY what my requirements were and that if they coulnd't be met, within the budget specified then i wouldn't bother changing car.
He told me it would be best to come into the branch. To which i replied "Why? I've given you all the details you need to come up with a shortlist of what you can offer. Once you've got them email me the details, if any of them peak my interest then i'll pop in for a test drive. This will avoid BOTH OF US wasting time". He agreed (probably reluctantly)
Truly guys, what could have been a simpler statement?
I reiterated to him that on this occasion i was being fussy and that my criteria must be adhered to otherwise forget it.

Two days later i get an email from his saying:

I have had a look and am positive that we can get you into a new car.
When can you come down and see me?
I am in both Saturday and Sunday.

Now, given that he had all the criteria INCLUDING max budget, would you not think that he must have some deals for me?
Well, rightly or wrongly, i did. I was so enthusastic about going into the branch that i rearranged my whole sunday around the visit.

Got there, the sales guy was busy (fair enough, i'd not made a specific appointment) so a different fella took down all my particulars again (why they weren't on file, ill never know) then presented me with......ONE car.....ONE! And way over my budget.

I was incensed and had the wife not been there i would have kicked off big time.
What a total waste of my time.
Of course he tried the old "IF we can get the price down to within your budget, is this the car for you?" Pretty much word for word what was said to me 6 months ago when i looked for a change of car" If i took the bait, then the next line would have been "Can we shake on a deal today?"

We left angry and bewildered at such obvious bs sales crap that i honestly didn't thibnk existed anymore, not since Minder left our tv screens.
I sent an official complaint in detailing the whole farce, and 2 days later still not had even a courtesy reply saying they are looking into it.

Jesus, it's no wonder they still get a bad rap.

tl:dr..............car sales man tried to BS me, wasted my time and deserves a good kicking!!!

 

[Banzai_Joe]

I don't know what i really want. I gave 'must have' requirements like:
a/c
Cruise control,
etc etc
Was willing to entertain differenet makes/models
BUT had to be within my specified budget.

If they treat everyone that comes through their doors like idiots, then they'll get a lot more complaint than just mine.

 

[Banzai_Joe]

What I don't understand is why you were so definite that you wanted an email with a shortlist of cars that fit your criteria before you bothered to go to the showroom, then you get an email without said list and just a generic 'come in and see me' - which you already rejected on the initial phone call - and you then went in...

Your just mad because you got suckered in again, stick to what you want next time

I certainly am mad that i got suckered. I don't see why that's my fault though. I 'should' be able to trust the damned sales person to do his job. I received the email on my phone whilst out and about, so didn't really get round to replying to ask for details to be sent. BUT i did assume he would then have some deals to offer.

Regarding the dealer. I'm still in a finance agreement for my existing car with this dealer, so it 'seemed' to me that they'd offer me a better deal than any other dealership to change car and renew the finance.

 

[Banzai_Joe]

What a strange way to buy a car.

Why would you say that?
You think it strange to contact a dealership and say "i want a car with this, that and that for this much money, what do you have?"

 

[Banzai_Joe]

The dealer wasn't deciding. He was supposed to be shortlisting what vehicles they had that fitted my requirements, simple as that.
I let him know that if he presented vehicles that didn't meet my criteria then i wouldn't consider them.
Maybe it's just this dealer, as doing the same routine with a different dealer didn't cause this kind of issue.

 

[Banzai_Joe]

Many cars have A/C and Cruise control, he should have emailed you the whole stock list and you could look for the ones that say AC / CC.

Not having no clue yourself of what car to get is asking for trouble. With a big purchase such as a new car, I don't have a salesman tell me which ones best. I do my own research and read reviews etc.

I would have done my research once he had shortlisted for me.
Otherwise there's just too many cars out there to try and narrow down.

Maybe that one car was suitable and with negotiation it would have fallen in to your budget?

Seems like you could have avoided a wasted trip by emailing/calling ahead to ask for specifics.

Actually yes. The only one offered was possibly negotiable, but i expected more than one option, and as it was another sales **** i dealt with, i wanted to see what the original fella had to say and whether he truly did have a list of cars to look at.....but he's not contacted me since.

 

[Banzai_Joe]

Your finance is not with the dealer but with a finance company. They don't offer better deals that anyone else would simply because you, effectively, brokered finance through them.


When you said you wanted to "change your car", did you mean part exchange with the dealer?

Yes, part-ex effectively. The new car would take on the remainder of the finance and add it to the new deal.
I know the finance is not with the dealership itself, but sometimes repeat business may help.
Clearly not in this case, lol.

 

[Banzai_Joe]

What difference does that make? I would have kicked off anyway.

Lol, you don't know my wife!

Ok, so how would you know what falls into your budget if you have don't know what value your p/x will get at the dealer? You have to take it in to let them see it.

Oh, they quoted me a figure based on depreciation since they sold it to me 18 months ago. So i knew how much they'd give in part-ex and how much the outstanding finance was.
I currenlty pay xx amount per month and for a new car i was willing to go up to xx amount. So added to the fact that they knew what features i wanted on a car, they had all the relevant info to shortlist (or not) some appropriate cars.

I've done this method in the past and it's worked out for me. Get a decent sales rep and there's no reason why it shouldn't. I'm not obliged to buy one on the shortlist, its just a starting place.

 

[Banzai_Joe]

Aaa... but i wasn't 'clueless' about what i wanted. I gave them criteria to follow, but wasn't too fussy about the make/model of the car as long as it had, x, y and z.
If they thought they could 'try it on'....they thought wrong!

At the end of the day, i haven't sorted a new car yet, and am not terribly fussed if i don't get one, so i've lost nothing but time wasted by the imcompetent oaf at the dealership.

 

[Banzai_Joe]

PENTAGON, Vauxhall.

Resent the email complaint to another manager and this time i've had a response saying they'll contact me asap.
My friend works in HR there, so she's fighting in my corner, but also using my complaint to highlight the poor service, in an effort to put it right in the future.

 

[Banzai_Joe]

Personally I think the Dealer knew he wasn't likely to get a deal out of you so just let you pass on by.
I do it myself when selling a motor, If an awkward Dude phones or comes round I go out my way to get rid & get somebody I can make some money from.
I bet if you had cash things would be completely different.

Hence, the bad rep you guys get.
I wasn't awkward. I gave him my requirements. He could just have said, "really sorry, but your budget is unrealistic. Wait another year when you've paid off more of your current finance agreement"
I actually said as much to him; that i was willing to wait if nothing was available.

Instead he emailed me saying "I have had a look and am positive that we can get you into a new car."

 

[Banzai_Joe]

Yes. If he came back to you with a car fitting your criteria would you have bought it?

I would have considered it yes, why wouldnt i if it fitted the bill. I'd have done a bit of research on the web and requested a test drive and if i really liked it then yes i would buy it.

 

[Banzai_Joe]

Thanks fez, i think you're probably right. I would have much rather him say, "we simply don't have anything that matches your criteria for that budget!

 

[Banzai_Joe]

Well....lol.....thanks for the input guys. I obviously lent a little too much trust/respect to this joker then. And whilst i probably did seem like easy prey, at least i've not lost anything.
Lesson learned i guess. I'll do a bit more looking around over the coming months and see what marques may suit my criteria/needs.

 

[Banzai_Joe]

I just thjink that buyers are inherently suspicious of marketing blurb because its often bs.
The "save £10k off brand new price" Who EVER pays full price for a new car? No one, therefore its a worthless statement.
To me, its akin to statements saying "FREE quotation" as if its a real deal grabber. Who EVER charges for quotes, regardless of trade or job?

Some have already posted that they've had great sales service when buying a car. Shame all sales folk can't be like that.

Richie, i get what you mean mate, but if both parties (and usually more on the sales side) were honest from the start, you can usually negotiate to a mutually acceptable conclusion.

 

[Banzai_Joe]

Housey, thanks for your post, it's enlightened me somewhat.

No, i've not bought a car yet, as i'm not overly bothered tbh. The requirements i gave the sales guy were quite restrictive for my budget really, so as others have alluded to he probably thought he wasn't going to get a sale and therefore didn't put any real effort in.
I'm angry because during our phone calls i gave him ample chance to say "sorry, we have nothing for your budget" or words to that effect, to avoid wasting both our times. I said i wouldn't move on budget and if nothing was available then so be it. I honestly reiterated this a few times to him, and so expected some professional courtesy and honesty. Rather than have me come into branch 'beleiving' he had something to offer me.
In hindsight, because this is the way i've bought a car before (by giving out my criteria over a phone call), i'm not sure what i'd do different. Maybe it was just the rep, or the dealer in general that delivered poor service.
I just don't know. The saving grace s that i'm not too bothered about changing the car. If i was desparate, i'd be livid with them for trying to play me.

 

[Banzai_Joe]

I guess you're right. Shouldn't happen that way imho, but just a sign of the times i suppose.
Thanks again. When i become more committed to changing the car, i'll do much more research and go to a dealer with a proper plan of what i want etc.

Thanks to all of those who have offered decent input on this. We live and learn.

 

[Banzai_Joe]

OP would make a crap salesman.

Agreed!

It is easier to manipulate people face to face there is also a thing where most people feel obligated to buy something if they have had to travel to look at something.

He was just doing his job, and is probably rather good at it.

Totally disagree. Anyone who doesn't have the courtesy to even try and follow the customers requests won't ever get a sale from me.
And actually, having spoken to my friend who works there, this particular sales guy has had a couple of warnings already. I'm hoping that my official complaint will see him sort his act out or find a new job. McDonalds is right next door

 

[Banzai_Joe]

He wasn't going to get a sale from you anyway. You don't even know what you want, how is he supposed to sell you something? He was trying to work out if you were a timewaster or not.

I don't know where you're getting that from, i gave him certain specifics and he would either come up with a shortlist (which he sid he would) or not. If he did, i'd be happy to go to branch and look, which i did as i thought he DID have a list (but he didn't). I was and am perfectly willing to buy a car if he presented the right one under the right circumstances.

You're annoyed because a salesman is doing his job? SELLING TO YOU.

NO! as far as i'm concerned doing his job would have been listening to my requirments and acting on it. If HE thought it was a waste of time, then he could simply have NOT replied to me to see if i was serious or not.

If you are that budget/spec concious to the point of being OCD, then maybe a second hand fiesta 1.0 litre would be more suited to you. Obviously fully cleaned and de-loused before use.

Troll much?! Everyone has a spec/idea of what they want. I gave him mine, but said, i'm open to makes/models as long as they fit my requirements. Why is that OCD? If you were persaued to part with more money than you could afford for a car......then you'd be an idiot!!!

"I was incensed and had the wife not been there i would have kicked off big time." - Give over.

Of course i was angry/incensed, would you not be? My time and fuel were wasted, made worse by personal reasons no the day, which shows the knock-on effect it had.

 

[Banzai_Joe]

You gave him a silly generic list of 'features' including 'air conditioning'. I'm suprised you didn't also specify it must have opening doors and a steering wheel. Why were you not capable of simply viewing the dealerships website and looking at the stock he had first to draw up more of a shortlist then asking for a car with a list of arbitary features that have been standard fit on many cars for years?

I mentioned a/c and then said "i guess most cars have that anyway", he agreed. He could simply have dismiss that and looked at cars, similar sized to mine with cruise control to a certain budget.
Is that really a big ask? Why i didn't do as you would do and look on the website is irrelevant. Again, he could have said "why not look at our website to give you a better idea?" But no, he seemed perfectly willing to go through all the motions on the phone. Therefore so was i. The conversation was jovial and relaxed enough for him to able to suggest the website or even ask for something a little more specific, but he didn't. His bad not mine. He works in the trade, i don't. I would have expected him to raise questions if he needed more info.