DHA Posted February 2, 2003 Report Share Posted February 2, 2003 Was at a VW dealer yesterday looking at PD Golfs, i asked how many R32s they had had. After something about being the biggest VW outside of london he told me they had delivered 2 in the first quarter of the year. Then the fun began..... "they look very good from the back" says Mr. Salesman "but you wont see the back for long as it will leave you standing in any car" I sat with a smile on my face but my girlfriend said "thats not always the case" The dealer had a look of shock on his face to which he asked "so what car do you drive?" I looked out the window and said "the M3" "Oh" he said Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ari Posted February 2, 2003 Report Share Posted February 2, 2003 WHHAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! That really made me chuckle! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snez22 Posted February 3, 2003 Report Share Posted February 3, 2003 that is really funny. i hate smarmy salesmen soooo much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mori Posted February 23, 2003 Report Share Posted February 23, 2003 LOL! I had the exact same thing when I was looking around at some Polo TDI's for the wife!!! The guy seemed to think that 100PS is the fastest you can go. When I said: "An S3" he said "Umm, isn't that a sporty looking version of the 1.6 A3?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drillslinger Posted February 24, 2003 Report Share Posted February 24, 2003 Dude, please tell me you're joking Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shao_khan Posted February 24, 2003 Report Share Posted February 24, 2003 Was in BMW Milton Keynes last week and told the guy I was looking to trade in the TT for something sporty and more practical, he suggested a 318 4 door - not even a coupe - he figured the 318 would be more than a match for the 1.8TT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A3Floyd Posted February 24, 2003 Report Share Posted February 24, 2003 When i was test driving an MGF i noticed that it didn't have PAS - The salesman retorted: "Yes, It gives the car a lovely purist sportscar feel" "Gives me bloody sore arms" was my reply On another occasion I went to a Peugeot dealer cos i had my eyes on a hot-hatch. I spent a while looking over a 106 GTI then went over to the saleman and enquired about a test drive. The cheeky sod said: "have you found out about insurance? Are you sure you can afford to insure one?" he than set about questioning my financial worthyness! The car was only £7k for gods sake! Bearing in mind i was 26 at the time and driving an MGF i thought he had a bloody cheek! It so funny how sales-people take one look at you in your Pearl Jam t-shirt, trainers and combats and immediately assume that you're poor!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shao_khan Posted February 24, 2003 Report Share Posted February 24, 2003 I had that 'can you afford it' cr@p from Porsche Northampton dealer, I was going to have a Boxter but they were such arses in the end I walked across the road and had an SLK instead and to be honest couldnt fault the merc or their sales staff. Porsche place a waste of space and my time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snez22 Posted February 24, 2003 Report Share Posted February 24, 2003 my brother asked to start up an accord R at the coventry honda dealer, the salesman was reluctant. my brother then asked him to value his car. the salesman said that if he wasn't going to buy it today (sunday), then its not worth him valuing his car. my brother left. He then went to the Mercedes dealer in Cov. he enquired about a clk. the salesman said that it's at their birmingham branch but if he wanted he could drive him up there to take a look at it. Same sunday afternoon. WTF?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shao_khan Posted February 25, 2003 Report Share Posted February 25, 2003 I went from SLK to TTr and I must admit I had little call to deal with the merc dealer other than services and they picked the car up and dropped me off a loaner, the Audi experience is completely different one of which I am still not impressed with and Audi HQ have a lot to learn. I still say Porsche Sales staff worse I have had to deal with, Honda next. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorney Posted February 25, 2003 Report Share Posted February 25, 2003 AG salesguy to this day still denies all knowledge of any wheel issue with the RS4. "Soft wheels Sir? Not heard of that one" Tit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mac Posted February 25, 2003 Report Share Posted February 25, 2003 Thorney I had in writing from my dealer 'there is no known issue with the wheels on this model of car' when I purchased it. Later on I found this very useful Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snez22 Posted February 25, 2003 Report Share Posted February 25, 2003 the audi guys have been ok with me. i only drive a t sport mind you. if i'd spent 40k odd on a car from them i'd want the red carpet treatment. i reckon they don't because they don't sell as many 40k or 50k cars as merc or bmw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ari Posted February 25, 2003 Report Share Posted February 25, 2003 Not excusing some of these guys, but I'm in sales (not cars) and you really would be amazed at the dreamers...!! Porsche must get inundated with Nova drivers wanting to test drive a 911 Turbo at the weekend. Whilst in the ideal world you should treat everyone the same, in reality it is very very hard not to judge people, and to a degree, quantifying people is part of the job. That said, there is no excuse for the BMW guy suggesting a 4 door 318i as a viable alternative to a TT! Somewhat lacking in product knowledge there, especially as Audi is a close competitor. When I started getting seriously interested in the Cabriolet and went to the local dealer (a new one that had opened not long before so I wasn't known there) I deliberately wore smart expensive casual clothes (no need to wear a suit!), nice shoes, best watch etc and parked my A3TQ out the front where it could be seen because I wanted the sales guy to recognise me as a serious punter from the off. I was offered a Cabrio to test, on my own, all day, without asking and within 5 minutes of walking through the door and expressing my interest. But I made sure he knew I was a serious candidate. I appreciate people shouldn't make judgements, but they're only human and will, rightly or wrongly, get used to certain profiles. I suspect that your average Audi punter is a middle aged suit wearing guy, and the average scuffy looking twenty something that comes through the door is probably a Nova driving time waster trying to blag a go in a S3. A lot of you guys on here are in your mid twenties with £30K to spend on a car. Trust me, thats rare. It might not be a good excuse, but I could understand their suspicion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorney Posted February 25, 2003 Report Share Posted February 25, 2003 Hmmm, upon reflection Ari you have a point. Nah, screw it, they're all cnuts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snez22 Posted February 26, 2003 Report Share Posted February 26, 2003 i'm not sure a agree fully with ari. that nova guy might be in there to blag a test drive and waste time but in the future he will have enough money to buy one of those cars. he'll go to the dealer that treated him the best. i always remember the dealers that respected me when i was a kid and just hung arond showrooms to look at cars. bmw were twats, merc were ace. thats the thing that sticks in my mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ari Posted February 26, 2003 Report Share Posted February 26, 2003 Yep, great in theory. Now go stand in a garage with your salary depending on selling cars and be nice to all those timewasting little toerags. Oh, and no they won't be able to afford S3's when they're older, they can only afford their Nova's cos they're still living with their mums. Once they've accidently knocked up "Sharon" and moved into that council flat at our expense they're as likely to buy an S3 as fly to the moon! I'm sure most of salesmen have no problem with genuine respectful car enthusiats coming in to drool over the latest RS6, but trust me, once you've had a few "Kevins" thinking they're smarter than you and trying to spin you a line I promise you your patience won't be what you think it is... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Posted February 27, 2003 Report Share Posted February 27, 2003 air, i face the same thing everyday with users trying to blag me into installing [censored] and handing them paswords and [censored] BUT i always keep my smile and tell em no or explain it all day after day if you're in the customer business you gotta know how to smile and think: YOU STUPID [censored] **** MOFO.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snez22 Posted February 27, 2003 Report Share Posted February 27, 2003 this has done nothing to restore my faith in salesmen. this is a customer driven market and anyone who walks in to the showroom should be treated as a potential customer. who are we to judge who they are and what they do. they could win the lottery next week for all we know. if we treated everyone who 'didn't look right' with contempt then this would be a pretty crappy world....oh we do...and it is. oh well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrhodes Posted February 27, 2003 Report Share Posted February 27, 2003 Having said all that i will put my hand up and say "when i was a student in Northampton, we used to go round the dealers seeing what we could blag" Yes sir you can have the car for the afternoon. I will even fill it up. The VW dealer near silverstone gave me and my mate a VR6 without asking our names.... Those were the days. Now i find it really hard to even get a test drive in a cabro. Go figure that. I'm like doh i bought a new S3 from you and have a TT also. Daft prats chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shao_khan Posted February 27, 2003 Report Share Posted February 27, 2003 THat would be wayside I guess at Towcester - they are still pretty good when ever i haev asked them for anything, if they have it usually they'll let you borrow it. They lent me a PAssat VR6 once while my Lupo was in for a service!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ari Posted February 27, 2003 Report Share Posted February 27, 2003 [ QUOTE ] Now i find it really hard to even get a test drive in a cabro. Go figure that. I'm like doh i bought a new S3 from you and have a TT also. Daft prats chris [/ QUOTE ] I'm not defending them entirely, there is no excuse for this, if you bought a car from them they should know you. All I'm saying is, if you go in there looking like the kind of arsehole that goes in and winds them up on a regular basis then whilst it isn't any excuse you can non the less see why they might be suspicious. My point is, work with them just a little bit, make them realise you are a serious customer, treat them with a bit of respect and you will reap the rewards not only in the way they treat you, but maybe in the deal you get too... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snez22 Posted February 27, 2003 Report Share Posted February 27, 2003 sholdn't the salesperson be the one doing the working. working to adapt themselves to different situations. you can't tell an awkward customer to stop being awkward, but the salesperson could change their approach. so, the guy in the nova (dunno why we've picked novas) is an idiot, there is nothing wrong with being nice to them. after all they will go away and tell their friends and relatives how great and helpful you were. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shao_khan Posted February 27, 2003 Report Share Posted February 27, 2003 To be honest if I get treated like crap by a member of sales then that company can forget my business, My Audi came from Wayside because they have always been very helpful to me VW and Audi, they guys in the service and sales remember my name and thats cool. My SLk came from a dealer which wasnt local because the local one suggested I couldnt afford it, granted teh Brietling on the wrist could be fake and sugegst cheap skate, but the S8 I drove up in should haev given me some credit. Anyway if a dealer doesnt give me the time of day, I dont go back, but in my area I prefer most of the dealers in Northampton to those in Milton Keynes, then tend to be friendlier. (there is a point there somewhere i'm sure) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ari Posted February 27, 2003 Report Share Posted February 27, 2003 [ QUOTE ] sholdn't the salesperson be the one doing the working. working to adapt themselves to different situations. you can't tell an awkward customer to stop being awkward, but the salesperson could change their approach. [/ QUOTE ] Yeah, absolutely right, they're being paid, in effect, by you! Getting a bit off track here, I was mearly stating in my last post that you can actually do yourself a big favour by not playing the "Hey I'm the customer, lick my shoes" card. Sure you can do that, but I'd suggest you won't get as well treated as I would...! But where we came in right at the beginning was with regards to salesmen not treating young guys properly cos they thought they were time wasters. My point was that whilst that certainly shouldn't be the case, having worked in that enviroment I can understand (not excuse, but understand) their point of view after being continually dicked around by people of a similar ilk. I would merely suggest that by ensuring the guy knows from the off that you are for real, and by being polite and sensible, you stand a much greater chance of getting what you want. Works for me, and indeed works with me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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