No wonder car sales people STILL have a bad rep.

Soldato
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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.
 
Man of Honour
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To be fair I don't think you went about it very well and the sales person probably called your intent correctly on this one. My advice next time, is spend less time laying it out on the telephone and do your research on the web first, find the cars that hold your interest and then make a play for them with the appropriate garage. You will still find many sales people who simply can't deal in that manner, I've met many over the years who need to 'follow d process' but some will.

Let me give you a real example. I bought my current car, an F10 530d unseen and without meeting the garage I bought it from before I collected it. I went to the BMW website, I researched the available vehicles for the money I wanted to spend, found 2 or 3 that met my criteria and put the garages to work. All of this, bar my local dealer, was done on the telephone and I placed an order 3 days in, sorted the finance myself and put my broker in touch with the sales girl at BMW Yeovil who did the rest. It worked like clockwork, we did it totally at arms length and a few days later I was driving off in my new car.

Simply phoning up with a budget of X and asking them to find you are car is not going to illicit much success I suggest, getting a view of what they have and then helping them down the road might, though sadly many will still be utterly useless.
 
Soldato
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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. :)
 
Man of Honour
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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. :)

It's a 2 way street at the end of the day, I may have just provided a reality check but sales people have a job to do and numbers to achieve or else they are smart suited business expenses. I hate to see a sales persons time wasted and sadly the motor trade does have more than its fair share of tyre kickers (no inference to yourself) so I do understand why many sales people become disillusioned with the whole process sometimes, people are often clowns but you must approach each and every one as if they are going to become your best customer and subtly establish their real intent.

However, when you work in a business that provides walk in business, provides customers that in the vast majority of cases know your products and brand values and understand how the process works it does remove a huge amount of the challenge of selling, so it does make me sad to see so many sales people mess that MASSIVE benefit up with poor skills, even in the fundamentals such as focusing on your customer when you speak to them, listening, qualifying with skill and guiding them towards a sale. I state again that this isn't always the case, the trade is getting better no question in many of the bigger brands and there is some real talent out there, but it's not the norm sadly.

I've seen on this forum before car sales people tell me 'we don't have time to do all that fluff' and again that just supports the fact they are not very skilled as it's not fluff, it's being a good sales person, it should take no more time it should become how you do what you do.
 
Soldato
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OP would make a crap salesman.

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.
 
Soldato
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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 ;)
 
Man of Honour
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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.

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

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.

"I was incensed and had the wife not been there i would have kicked off big time." - Give over.
 
Soldato
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[TW]Fox;22852420 said:
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.

nucastle said:
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.
 
Man of Honour
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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.

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?

It's really not hard to do a bit of research yourself before beginning the buying process - and would help you get a better idea of what you want. By the time you approach an actual dealership with a view to purchase you really should have progressed beyond 'I fancy a car with air conditioning'.
 
Soldato
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[TW]Fox;22852563 said:
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.
 
Soldato
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[TW]Fox;22852563 said:
It's really not hard to do a bit of research yourself before beginning the buying process - and would help you get a better idea of what you want. By the time you approach an actual dealership with a view to purchase you really should have progressed beyond 'I fancy a car with air conditioning'.

Yes, i now agree with that and will be doing so in the future.
Still doesn't excuse his actions though.
 
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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.


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.


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!!!



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.

Your personal reasons are not something to take into a situation where you are going to use them as an excuse to get ANGRY.

Who says what a salesman's job is. You? I'm sorry but there is no definition about how they should and should not act. A business can run itself (within the law) in whatever way it wants to. That's the beauty of capitalism - you have a choice. Going into a sales situation with all guns blazing with your assumptions about how the sale should go is a recipe for disaster.

I've been in numerous dealerships in my time, and they aren't exactly the most comfortable places to be if you are clearly a waste of a salesman's time - They probably sized you up and realised you were going to be a pain in the bum so tried to up sell you to another model where they might make a decent wage from. Remember these guys sell on commission.

Dealing with these guys is a piece of cake if you go in with your eyes and ears open, and don't bring your own angry/difficult baggage with you. The quality of the salesmen is also generally quite easy to gauge depending on who you are, what kind of car you want, and what the marque is.

He was only doing HIS job, which was to sell you a car.
 
Soldato
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Ok, it seems a lot of info has been lost in the ether here.
Going back to the OP, i quoted the salesmans email to me stating that he was positive he could get me a new car.
To me that implied that he'd found at least one car that met the requirements i asked for. I actaully replied to him saying;
Hi Jamie,

A bold statement, lol, but let's hope so.

I am only available on Sunday, late afternoon. What time do you close up?
This is what i asked for over the phone (actually he asked me what i was looking for in a car):
- A/C (ok, can be ignored if most cars have it, but surely that makes it easier for him)
- Cruise control
- 2009 or newer
- Similar luxury spec to what i have now (vectra 1.9cdti 150bph, satnav, 57 plate)
- Said i wasn't bothered about satnav or leather seats and would entertain similar or smaller cars and any make/model.
- He asked what colours, so i said, black, white, grey.
- My budget was £200 pcm max. (irrelevant if it seems to little to you guys, he accepted it an carried on with the enquiry)

So he had all that info, then 2 days later sent me that email.

When i visited the branch, not only were none of my details on file, and i had to go through the whole process again with another salesman, but he came back with spiel that i'd heard before about only one vehicle and if they brought the price down would i take it, and that's when i started to realise i'd been suckered.
I asked if it were possible that the 1st guy would have a shortlist for me to look at, and he didn't know. So i said i wouldn't decide from a list of only one car, if the 1st guy possibly had more available to show me.
It was only when i left that i got angry. I didn't kick off in the place, but i did say to the 2nd guy that i feel like my time has been wasted. He apologised.
The following day i sent a letter of complaint in...........they responded yesterday saying the general manager would contact me asap. A day and a half later, no one has contacted me. But i've heard bad things about this manager too, from senior HR personnel in the company.

I'll just say this, whilst there are plenty on here that know loads about cars etc and are quick to label me an idiot for the way i went about it, i've bought 2 cars by the same approach, simply ringing and asking what they have under a certain criteria and not had an issue. I clearly think that i had a prat of a salesman (young shiney suited boy) on this occasion. With a decent salesman it may well have been different.

For those who said "he was never going to get a sale out of you".....well yes he would, had he shown me cars that fell within my criteria and i found one i liked. I'm just not hung up on desparately buying a car, so if it aint right, i won't buy. Are people saying they wouldn't do the same? That they'd buy even if it wasn't really what they wanted?
 
Soldato
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Your personal reasons are not something to take into a situation where you are going to use them as an excuse to get ANGRY.
I partly agree, but i had rearranged my whole day around getting to the dearlership because i thought i would be buying a new car.
It should though serve to highlight that when you think someone has done you a dis-service, its not always just 'you' it affects.

Who says what a salesman's job is. You?
Yep. Because if i don't like the way he does his job, i'll not buy from him.
And wasting my time aint the way to get business!
 
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Soldato
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The one car that was well out of your budget. How much was it?

The car was £268 pcm.
Then came the spiel of "if we could get this at your budget would you buy it?"
Well....i'd consider it, but i really wanted to see if anything else was available, and the 1st guy wasn't available so we couldn't ask if he had anything else on them table so to speak.
 
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