Bizarre experience with local Porsche dealer

He also got posts, such as mine, that indicated others felt the same way he did. Let's not pretend everyone is piling on in here. Not everyone feels the same way you do.

 

If I was trying to separate a man from 80 large, I would be sweet as honey.

 

Absolute worst experience I have ever had with any type of salesman at any place of business was with this young man (Richard, 5th from the top ) in Charleston at Baker Porsche. ( John, another other fellow on that page, was a real gentleman)

This guy, through his behavior, single handedly caused my wife and me to go to Hendrick in Charlotte to buy her 997.

http://baker.porschedealer.com/about_us/team.php

 

It seems that he is just your typical car salesman. I was in automotive retail for 10 years and I know all the stories about being jerked around by people wasting your time, but guess what that is sales regardless of the industry. I always treated potential customers with respect and just told them what the deal would be if they bought from me. No reason to add another game to the many customers already play. Also you never know who is really on the other end of the line or what the capabilities are of a walk up on the lot.

 

I thought about being very careful and counting the posts and making sure I had the pros/cons posts fully sorted and making sure I reported a count. Then I said, "Nah, people will get the point". Apparently not.

There's the discussion and then there's the meta-discussion. The meta-discussion is about why and how the discussion is taking place. My observation was that the OP was discussing what the salesman should have done and how the OP's behavior contrasts with that. What's the point of that on this thread? The salesman will never see it, will never learn about it, so his behavior will never change. Now if the OP invited the salesman on here to defend his actions, that might be interesting. Or if the OP reversed his opinions of the salesman and would now buy the car that would serve a useful purpose. But since the OP's premise is that won't happen, then it's not really about the salesman, it's really about the OP. It's OK to for the OP to have his beliefs and even to have a thread "Post your recent salesman *****es here", but those are different discussions than what was presented.

We get a regular flow of "I was slighted/abused by dealer X" threads here. If the poster mentions the dealer, then certain things happen: 1) the dealer may hear about it and get a chance to respond, 2) users that are potential customers are warned about the experience, and 3) users that are current customers can support or refute the charges; these serve a useful purpose for the poster and the community. If the poster doesn't mention the dealer, then sometimes it's useful because we learn of a new scam, but mostly it serves little purpose other than to give the poster a chance to vent; certainly no one can contradict the specifics of his experience.

 

Yes, I get the point. You don't like this thread and you don't think threads like this serve any purpose. That's great. Don't post in it then.

The OP has done nothing wrong and merely started a topic to see if this type of thing was standard with car dealers. If you don't want to talk about it, don't talk about it.

Simple, right?

 

I think this kind of thing is standard with the OP..........

 

You have a point. I can respect that.
I love Porsche and Ferrari's but the smugness of some dealers really pisses me off too.

 

I work in auto sales..

Did you tell him you had already spoken to your local dealer? Maybe he thought you were just getting his low number to go back and get a better deal from the other dealer.

Also, you say you want to be treated with respect and are willing to pay for it, then why didn't you go back to your original dealer? Was there THAT much difference in price? (sincere question) If there was a huge difference thats one thing, if not:

Like has already been said, If you want the deal, call around to several dealers and see who gives you the best price, and don't care about how you are treated(within reason). If you want the experience, find an experienced salesperson at your local dealer and start a relationship. Sure occasionally price check them, but pay them a little more for good service. Remember this is how they feed their family. And if you have a problem later on, with a service issue or whatever, you will have a friend who will help you out.

A local Mercedes dealership in my area gives Mercedes loaners ONLY if you bought your car there, if you bought your car somewhere else, you get stuck in a Ford Taurus. So that may be something to consider as well, depending on where you plan to service your new vehicle.

I don't really think either of you did anything "wrong" especially if voices weren't raised and there wasn't an argument. Sure he could of been nicer or more professional, but it sounds like in the end(based on you not buying from him) the experience is more important to you than the price.

My $.02

 

Thanks, that pretty much clears it up for me at least.

 

Joe I agree with you 100%. The salesperson might have had some issues going on. Slow sales = low pay. Who knows? You have to treat each customer as though they are ready to buy that day. I don't jerk people around and I sure DON'T expect to be jerk around either. That's a Guranteed way for me to leave even if I have to pay more else where.

Earlier this year I had been searching for a new car for work. I intended to get a vw jetta tdi sportwagen. This is the first year for this model and very hard to get. I checked with most of the dealers around the Philly area. Most of the places I talked to were via the phone were good to talk to, but like everywhere else nobody had any in stock or they already had buyers lined up for the incoming cars. There was one dealer that I stopped by to talk to about getting on their list or even just finding out info. The salesperson I dealt with I just couldn't trust no matter how hard I wanted to. Every time I talked to him he was telling me about how he find a used tdi wagen for below wholesale and he wasn't sure if he was going to buy it or not(BS! I'd buy it and flip it, it's too popular of a car to not be able to sell FAST) has this/that/and every other kind of vw toy and mod done to his cars. The stories were just too many and too great. Don't lie or jerk me around!!!

I ended up buying my car from the same dealer and salesman that my parents bought a couple cars from back in the early 80's. He didn't jerk me around, lie to me and was able to get me what I was looking for(I wanted red, but was only able to get white) without any markups or other BS charges or fees. He worked with me even when I saw another tdi for sale at another dealer nearby. He gave me all of the info for it that he was able to get. Everytime I looked elsewhere I always came back to him, BECAUSE I TRUSTED HIM. I can see why they are the highest rated and highest volume( I believe) in s. central pa.

PS Where in the Philly area are you?

 

Well, IMO the salesman should have just kept his mouth shut. Why you would tell a customer that you were "calling their bluff" is beyond me. I don't think you're out of line in your feelings. Sometimes these salespeople need to keep their thoughts to themselves. I'm the same type of buyer as you. I not only want a good price, but a good experience when buying the car. If you hose me on either, I'll move on.

 

get over it. why do people with money feel they deserve to be treated like royalty? you prove him right in not buying

 

I believe he is over it.

I also know you're making a value judgment about the original OP with ZERO knowledge of him or his financial situation.

Did he slap on his crown and demand to be treated like royalty? All I read was a guy looking to buy a car who felt the dealer was behaving in an odd manner. I'd have to agree with that assessment particularly considering the market for high end cars right now.

Sooo... ahh... never mind. Some folks will never get it.

DM

 

The strategy in question is called; Mind****

May not always close a deal, but apparently it is aptly titled.

 

Just remember car dealers are in business to sell money. Some dealers know about the product they are using to get the money, and some don't. The relationship between you and the car dealer depends on how much money you give him. Kind of like a strip club. Don't bet on having a genuine relationship with a dealer, because unless they're family or you personally know them, they probably don't care too much about you. It's a job to them.

Jim

 

Any vehicle I've purchased was after I'd done research on the model, and thought over the particulars of the individual deal. I don't buy cars on the spot any more than I buy houses on the spot.

A purchase of 10's of thousands of dollars can certainly justify a day of consideration.

Dealers who didn't believe I was going to buy the car/motorcycle/boat because I refused to buy it the same day I walked in the door resulted in me buying from a different dealer. While you're buying the car, not the experience, it is also pretty difficult to spend time signing papers with someone who's actively irritating you. Plus, it's hard to stomach knowing that an insulting person is benefitting from your commission.

 

This one is ALL YOU. He is not at "fault" one bit.

1. You called him for a good price.
2. He quoted you a good price that would catagorize you instantly as a buyer or a tire kicker.
3. You told him you couldn't do it right now (He now assumes you are a tire kicker).
4. You call him back to "make sure the quote was legit".
5. He says it is if you come down right now (Again, checking if you are a tire kicker)
6. He then tells you that "tire kickers" call him all the time and you need to pass or play (now giving the final check to see if you are kicking tires).
7. You pass (validating yourself as a tire kicker).

I am not sure why you are questioning whose fault it was. You called to get your quote. At this point, the determining factor is price- since there is no test drive, show of the car, etc.. He gave you an unreal price. You then found a reason to NOT buy the car and basically wasted his time. Guy gave you everything you were looking for except the reach-around. Hard to give those over the phone.

You were the very "tire kicker" he thought you were. Gave you a good reason to buy the car from him and you somehow came up with a reason to NOT buy it. That's a classic tire kicker.

Your "fault".

 

I agree with you in general, particularly if you're up front about your intentions. When I'm still in "consideration" mode, I walk in the door of a dealership and a salesman meets me, I tell them up front, "I'm going to buy a car, but not today. Today I'm checking out what these are like. Can we go take a look at one and test drive it?" If a salesman does what you described (brush off or a high-pressure rush), I absolutely agree with you, that salesman will never get my business. Of course the salesmen like the impulse buyers since they get immediate rewards and a higher ASP, but they should be familiar with the more thoughtful buyers with any time in the business and react accordingly.

But when you're done with your research, it should no longer be a case of "10's of thousands of dollars can certainly justify a day of consideration". It then becomes a question of: were you serious or not? I think that's particularly true of internet/phone sales discussions. It seems that most people who are hitting the phones have done their research and are now price shopping and the salesmen know that and they know they get one, maybe two, shots at a price; so they're more likely to come up with a "this is a real deal price, are you serious or not?"

 

Something I hadn't paid much attention to before. It's possible this particular part of the exchange basically caused him to think two things: 1) you already knew that the price was so low that you wondered if it was a real price (but still weren't buying), and 2) you already were offering a quid pro quo (so weren't going to buy even though you said you were "thinking about it", i.e. a person really "still thinking" would more likely wait until he actually decided since he wouldn't want to refer a dealer that ended up providing a bad delivery experience even if they provided a good initial price).