Dealers: How do you see them?

I have loved motorcycles since I was 14 years old. About 20 years ago, I had an opportunity to open a BMW dealership. When I talked to a guy who owned a dealership, he said, "Why would you want to ruin a good hobby." Being a dealer is a PIA.

 

Parenting is a lost art nowadays...

 

You were lucky. My mom had three stages - dirty look, verbal reprimand, and someone is getting a whuppin'!!
T

 

This happened to me for real. I filled in and posted a 911 brochure request from a newspaper ad. On a Saturday morning a salesman phoned me from the local Porsche dealer. I explained I was 13 and not really in a position to buy a Porsche at the present, and he said that was no problem at all, said that he would be happy to sell me one in about twenty years and he sent me some hardback brochures and a business card.

I think its smart to treat kids who show an interest well, though different times from a safety point of view. If they are noisy so be it.

 

In my view dealers should treat everybody the same. You never know who or when somebody will buy a car.

For me memories are long.

I for one will never ever buy a Mercedes or Audi ever again after the way I have been treated by dealers in the past. And I don’t think I’m shooting myself in the foot as there is more than enough really good competition out there, Volvo, bmw, jaguar etc etc.

As to the poorly behaving kids; they need a “clip around the back of the head”. Poor parenting seems to be a fairly common issue these days. I have no hesitation in telling kids off if the parents don’t and it’s something “obvious”.

 

I kinda love the guys at my dealer. Also I don't dress up, typically wear shorts + t-shirt.

 

I got stuck on ferrari due to a shop next door to my dad's office when I was a kid. The owner..who I still to this day keep in touch with, allowed me to crawl around inside brand new testarossa's and 328's and the odd Countach.

That set me on the path doing what I do today.

 

Man thats good stuff !
That’s the way it should be.

 

I feel like I recognize the voice in the Porsche commercial....anyone??
I think it just sounds a bit like Martin Sheen but don’t think it’s him.

 

Seen the Porsche ad many times before (a fave), but never the Jaguar one. Very cool...T

 

Or just the opposite. I remember when Chicago Bears RW McQuarters had just signed a big contract in the early 2000's. He and a "friend" walked into Ferrari dealer Lake Forest Sportscars and demanded to test drive a 360 Modena. He was quite loud and arrogant. The owner asked him to leave.

Loved it.

 

Well parenting has changed. So much but the ship has sailed.

Kids at dealers -I can say that the owner at Ferrari CF always greets my boys and offers the a soda or water. Whether it’s at the show room or an event. For us it is a family affair and they are an important part of the passion and the future. And every salesperson at FCF that I have seen greats the adults and the children by name of their customers. My boys behave because they are part of the dialogue and experience. Important life lessons.

 

There are good and bad dealerships, and I feel fortunate to have a good one nearby with a couple of very excellent techs.

As far as the kids, I encourage the curious ones who are polite, but any grab ass around my car and I explain to them that the car is worth more than they are.

 

Ohhh, I agree, if the punters are going to be rude, then they should be shown the door. What I meant is whether the dealer thinks you can afford it or not, he should treat you with respect, because although you might not buy one today, you might tomorrow!

Oh boy has it ever. Sat in a nice pub garden yesterday evening and the kids were ferule, which is fine to a point, but I did tell three of them off for ripping up flowers out of the beds and pulling tree branches off! Who knows where there parents are!!! We left early as we had enough of them.

 

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Sorta look like this.

 

Yes,

I was fortunate to have a dad who worked in Manhattan and was in sales. My requests got me a 250 GT California Spyder brochure for Chinetti, as well as a BMW 507 (and 503!) brochure from Max Hoffman along with a personal letter hoping I would some day be a customer. The closet I got was a BMW 700, and a scale model of the 250.

 

a dealership is not an art gallery and these are not rare irreplaceable possessions. If the kids were damaging the vehicles, fine, not acceptable. sitting in it and running around? who cares? I agree that parenting is a dying art, but to some extent, we have to let kids be kids.

 

Remember the Dennis The Menace carton where the dad is shoving him out the door of the car dealership?

As he gets booted out he says over his shoulder “Fine! I’ll wait outside. But don’t blame me if you buy one with a horn that doesn’t work!”

 

While not a ferrari dealership, I have seen a salesman at a toyato dealership, slam a notebook of aftermarket accessories onto the trunk of a car and slide it aeound as he fumbled through the pages. Mind you, the paint was covered in silica dust from the road construction going on out front.....road planing. You could hear the scratches being made in the new cars paint..... i just walked out shaking my head. I bet he had no idea why I left in the middle of our conversation.

When having my own new cars wheels recieve wheel locks, the flunky tech kneeled on my cenetrr cap and slid a nice gouge in it across the shop floor as he installed locks.

I do my own work, as far as I can these days.

 

Some dealers are good and some are bad. Doesn’t matter if they deal in a BMW or a Ferrari.

With that said, generally it’s the service branch where you can find the true colors of the dealer. That’s where the immoral ones will attempt to do something funny.