Okay this is a vent please bare with me

Well, I would be suprised if he had bought a broken car. Mr customer probably though "If the clutch is out whats next to break"?

Think on the bright side you will be able to tell the new customers that it has a brand new clutch in it.

 

Bare with you? Ewwwww. I'm glad you're in Texas! Besides, I'm already down to my shorts, man!

It was fine when he started, and toast when he got back.

I want you to go out and have a plaque made:
King of the Toasted Clutches

If you were able to get this guy's ID info - put him on the blacklist. If you haven't got a blacklist... start one.

Enjoy that beer when you get home.

- Hope these three steps help.

 

How does one wear out a clutch in a 45 minute drive? You would have to be a horrible shifter, and spend most of your time trying to go up an incline. With modern cars it is damn near impossible to do, as they engage very easily...

Could something else have happened? Was he doing burnouts? Do you live in san franisco?

 

Next time don't let them roll by themself. Go with them. I have never test drove one longer than 10 or 15 minutes.

 

All wheel drive + drag racing start = Toasted clutch

I bet if you drove around long enough you would find the scene of the crime, lots of little black marks in a back parking lot some where.


ps. It wasn't me.

 

Maybe you should have gone along on the 'test' drive??

At least long enough to determine he was an ******* who didn't know how to shift, or that he was an abuser?

Oh, and he's still an ******* for toasting the clutch on your car, either way.

dm

 

Probably testing the AWD - 4 wheel burnouts....

 

Sorry to hear your story.

I think you should ride w/ your possible client, as you never know what a customer would do while test drive, especially for 45 minutes! Too generous!!

I wish Ferrari dealers are like you

 

If it will make you feel better, it IS possible that the self adjusting clutch mechanism is responsible for toasting that clutch. Usually requires a drop-clutch launch or someone REALLY bad at driving a stick to instigate the problem, but it can happen with normal usage. There's a reason most aftermarket/performance clutch offerings for the 330 don't include the SAC mechanism.

Personally, I'd just prefer to think that the "customer" was a real tool.

 

Hayes,

Since you let him take the car by himself and told him to have fun, you have no one to blame but yourself. I was in the car business and not once in that time period did I give someone I did not know well the keys and let them go by themselves. Even if you are a small dealer and have only a few salespeople, you need to protect your own interests by going on every test drive unless you know the person personally and then it is still questionable. The customer should not mind if you ride along and if they do, you should be even more suspect that they have intentions with the car that you are doubtful of. Do not make excuses about not going with him on the ride and then complain about the damage he did. This is only to be expected.

If one of my salespeople let someone out on a drive and something happened to the car, I would hold the salesperson who made this irrational call personally responsible. Maybe you are the dealer and own the dealership but you should be the one setting the example. Your people will only do what they see you do and since you let people out unaccompanied, they will also. This will only result in more damage being done to more cars in the future. It will snowball and you will be spending large amounts on keeping your cars in good salable condition.

Accept the consequences as a lesson learned and set down some strict policies that must be adhered. And I certainly hope you got this mans ID, phone number, verifiable name and address and insurance card. If you did not, shame on you. That is a must in the car business. Even if you are going with him get all the info and leave it at the dealership when you leave to go with him on the drive. If you are carjacked, the dealership will have all his info to give the police. Heaven forbid this would happen to you but it did to me and after he dumped me out and stole the car, I was able to get the dealership to give his info to the police and they had an APB out on the carjacker within 5 minutes of the time I was dumped out. Please accept this a constructive criticism and learn something from it.

BTW, they caught the carjacker the next day................can you say "jailtime"?

And your saying that your cars sell themselves and that you generally never ride along with your customers. This is BS. If you are a responsible salesperson, you want to go with them, at least on the first ride, to get to know them and their wants and needs. Sometimes price is the only thing that will sell a car but I can guarantee you that I was successful in the car business and was not quoted as ever being the cheapest. Don't take shortcuts. Do your job and do it well. Take the time it requires to get the job done and you will see your closing ratio go up. Shortcut it and sell one in ten. Do the right job and sell 50% of the real buyers. No, you can't be pushy and slimy. You must get to know your people and get comfortable with them. Don't move too fast and listen to them. God gave you two ears so you can listen twice as much as you talk.

I was in the BMW sales world from 1984 until 2000. I was given the honor of "Most Knowledgable Sales Specialist in North America" by BMWNA, after competing with over 3000 other salespeople, (three times) so I feel I do know at least a little of what I say. I do not know it all and do not pretend to. The cars have changed tremendously since I left BMW so I am actually a little behind on the newer car, but I do know the previous years. I owned a 325IX long before the 330IX came out so I am quite familiar with the one you are speaking about. Abuse.......That is what caused the problem and that can only be cured by riding along with them until you get to where you can trust them to go alone.......

And I also differ with you on the fact that people do not trust car salesmen. In most cases they do not trust the majority of the "sleazy salesmen". But you can differentiate yourself from the others by doing what is right, being unquestionably honest, and setting the example. You will gain many referrals and repeats out of this and will not really have to be concerned about catching all the ups on the lot to make a living. Build your reputation and watch the referrals and repeats build so much that you will have to hire another salesperson to fill your old spot on the floor as you will soon not have the time to catch ups as you will be taking care of the others coming back in or ones who are referred to you.......That is the kind of saleperson that people trust and they are the ones who make the most money......

 

Hayes, keep up being one of the 'good ones', I'm so sick of car dealers I could scream.

Ask me about the Dodge dealership that tried to rip off my mother in law last month for $700 for an A/C fix, when an honest mechanic fixed it for $135 a week later. Ask how many times the little sales girl from that same dealership called her to buy a new mini van, because she knew my MIL was looking.

Ask me how many phone calls my wife and I have received in the last few months because we're looking for a new SUV.

I'm worn out and fed up. Dealing w/ cars is a PITA, primarily because of the players that live up to the reputation of that industry.

Your dignity, integrity, and self respect are worth more than the price of that clutch.

 

Hayes, keep letting people test drive the cars. You will sell more cars that way and you can afford to replace the occasional clutch.

I obviously only think this from the customers point of view (which I think counts for something), not the dealers. Here is one (my) customers experience with 2 dealers.

I decided in 1998 I was going to buy a 348 Spyder.

My 1st stop was Ferrari of Dallas (when they were in Richardson) they had 2 in stock. The saleman begrudgingly answered my questions about both 348's , he would not let me test drive the cars (this I can partialy understand due to the type of car) but the kicker was he would not let me sit in it, even when I asked. I thanked him for his time and left. I think his judgement was, A guy in his early 30s wearing shorts and a t-shirt is not a legitimate buyer. By the way, I dont dress up to go car shopping.

My second stop was Gary Seale's place when he was on Mannana Drive. He had one 348. He answered my questions, he let me test drive it alone and I bought the car.

2 weeks later, I had my newly purchased,94 348 Spyder at Ferrari of Dallas getting an oil service. I will always remember the look on the salesman's face when I told him " no I dont need any help I was just waiting to pick up my newly purchased 348 for an oil service, see it's the black one out in the shop, isn't it pretty!".

 

I'd much rather buy from someone who lets me take the car out myself. It's happened a few times and it's a much better experience. I'd rather be doing my own thing than being hassled by a dealer, no offense.

 

I can understand the frustration with people who mis-use the privelege of a solo test drive, but...

When I bought my first Porsche, I was looking for a Boxster S, back when they were red hot and hard to find. When I called one of the two local Porsche dealers and asked about a demo model to test drive, I was told "they don't exist, the car is too hot, you won't find one to test drive anywhere..." yada yada yada. I called the other place and they said "sure, come on down" and threw me the keys and said "have fun". The second place got my business.

The really funny/annoying thing is the cheaper the car, the tighter the dealership holds the keys! I went Miata shopping with a friend and we went to a dealer that had about 12 out front, and looked to have 20 more in the back. It was like pulling teeth to get a test drive; forget a solo test drive. Now I understand the rationale that the cheaper cars are gonna draw a "less select" crowd, but it is hard to swallow getting the run around on a $20k car when the Porsche place will toss me the keys and say "have fun".

 

"p.o.s. maxima" - Did he look like Takuma Sato?

"Since you let him take the car by himself and told him to have fun, you have no one to blame but yourself." - I agree with this.

 

Hayes,

Stop and think about it. I said that if you do not know the person personally you should go with him. You need to go with him/her until you know this person better and know you can trust them with the car. A weed whacker is a little different from a 25K-30K car. No they should not tear it up but you told this person to have fun with it and your definition of fun may be different from the person who is driving it. When you let them go alone, give them a route to take and an amount of time until you expect them back. 45 minutes is too long unless they have made arrangements to show it to the spouse etc.

I think that everyone will agree if you give someone the keys and tell them to have fun you are opening yourself up for all sorts of things. There needs to be limits and they need to be enforced. You will not get much sympathy about the way that it happened. After obtaining this persons ID before any test drives, I would make absolutely certain that he did not get another ride alone in a car from my dealership. If it cost me $2k for repairs to the car he drove the first time I might not allow him to drive anything.................

Like I advised before. Don't take any shortcuts. Be congenial, honest and straight forward but don't leave any steps out. It will pay off in the long run.

 

Unfortunately, that is true. There are more people trying to take advantage of the system than there are not. We live in a very self-serving society. I don't understand that mentality either but I expect people to behave with that in mind and every once in a while I run into a person who surprises me. I don't expect my weed wacker to be returned back to me broken....I expect that my neighbor neglects to give it back to me at all.

 

Maybe I better clear up what I said earlier. I did not say to never allow someone to go on a drive alone. I said once you know the person and can trust how they will drive the car they can.

Case in point. While I was with Moritz BMW one of the other salespeople let someone take out a new M3 while I was out to lunch. They had asked for me and when told I was out they asked if they could drive the M3. This person told the other salesperson that they were a friend of mine and that I was expecting them. The other salesperson did not get their ID, name or anything. He just assumed that since they said they knew me that it would be all right.

When I returned from lunch he told me that he had put my appointment out in the car. I did not have an appointment due and if I had, I would not have chosen that time to go to lunch. I asked for the name, what kind of car they drove up in or even just a description. The other salesperson could not supply any of the above. By now the car had been gone about an hour. It never returned and has never been found as far as I know. There are reasons for going of rides with someone, at least until you get to know them.

Like I told Hayes, God gave us two ears so we can listen twice as much as we talk, so on a test drive do not bore the customer with a bunch of sales pitches. Let them drive and enjoy the car and answer any questions they may ask but leave them alone. After making the initial observations and if you feel good about it, let them take it for a little while themselves.

Treat every person who comes into the dealership as someone who can buy anything they want. They may be able to buy the dealership..................

 

I know the salesperson well that you speak of and he had the reputation of being unfriendly to a lot of people. He is no longer in the car business in Texas. However, the owner of FoD laid down some very solid test drive rules.
1. Speak with the customer to determine exactly the car they are most interested in and show them the car that will fit their wants( you notice I did not say needs, no one really "needs" a Ferrari).
2.If they are going to want to take a test drive, set an appointment for that time so there will be no other distractions. Under no conditions were the cars pulled directly off the floor for a test drive without being run through the shop the day of the drive to ensure a pleasant drive.
3 At the selected time of the test drive make sure the car is fully checked over so that the test drive will go trouble-free.
4. When the customer arrives, obtain their ID and go over totally with them the operating controls of the car.
5. Drive the car out with the customer in the passenger seat while you explain Ferrari shifters, warm-up periods etc.
6. When the car is at normal operating temp., find a spot to pull over and let the customer behind the wheel to enjoy the drive. Be quiet and let them drive.
7. Long time customers who had purchased several cars could call ahead for a drive and if approved by the owner of the dealership might get to go by themselves. Under no circumstances was a customer allowed to go alone without approval of the owner........

FoD/FoH takes good care of their customers but they are also very careful about letting someone they do not know take their cars out. Most are on consignment and they are protecting the property of the person who consigned the car with them. I am sure that if you had your car on their salesfloor for sale, you would want them to protect your interest carefully. You would not want them to just throw the keys to someone and tell them to have a good time. You would want them to verify the validity of purchase intent of the person asking to drive your car and that someone would go with them to ensure that it was driven properly. Your opinion could change if you put yourself in the dealers shoes, especially if it is your property someone is wanting to drive......

Admit it guys. If someone is wanting to buy your car and you do not know them, are you going to let them take your Ferrari out alone/unaccompanied???? Are you sure they can buy? Are you sure they really want to buy or just drive one? If you put $25K-$125K of your own money in it, will you be more careful about who you let drive it? Think about it......