Dealer Selling Tricks

cj10jeeper

Lifer
 Lichfield, England
Well since so many come on the forum and ask about buying it interests me about the tricks dealers use to sell their cars. Not Zed specific, but I'd be interested in hearing of other tricks of the trade.

Few for starters:

We're all aware of the obvious like pretending another person is viewing, has viewed, will be viewing to create an emotional urgency. Referring to the hard sales manager, hard to get model, selling like hot ckaes, etc. but a few more obtuse ones:

I like the test drive trick. The route selected by the dealer is purpose chosen for generally smooth roads. They are taught to talk a lot, in particular on any section where the driver may be able to feel the car. The dual tasking prevents you being able to assess the car properly. I even know one who always goes anticlockwise as the majority of people find right turns at lights and islands more stressful and could stall or other panics in a strange car.

My favourite is the demonstration of what the dealer paid for the car. This is neat as they show on the terminal they purchased the car say 2 months back at £20k and are now selling at say £19k, as a loss, so no discount You feel impressed he's taking a hit. The price you see is of course the inflated trade in on the car instead of a discount against the new car. Instead of reducng the new car from say £25 to £23 they raise the trade in from £18k to £20k. So they really are just managing numbers around.

Anyone got any neat ones?
 
Hmmmm, good topic..

How about when the salesman says he has to talk to his boss about the offer you have just put in on the car. Makes you feel like you have hit rock bottom, got a good deal and the end of negotiation is nigh, when in all likelihood the salesman had authority to take or reject the offer. Works on me!
 
No, no neat ones, but this is how I got, what I think, was a fair deal on my Z4.

1. Waited until August so factory to dealer rebates were in force (they don't tell you about these, but Edmunds.com will)
2. Got the specs online and didn't meet with the salesman face to face until I was ready to buy.
3. Declined all offers to "take the car for a day". I had driven Z4s all day long in the Ultimate Drive in the spring, so I knew what I was getting.
4. Did NOT negotiate trade-in until I had the price for the car I wanted.
5. Most importantly, I was more than ready to walk away. I wouldn't have lost anything but another year driving my 325Ci so I held all the cards.



I know that dealers will try to work payments rather than price if you let them. BAD IDEA!
 
peartreeproductions said:
Hmmmm, good topic..

How about when the salesman says he has to talk to his boss about the offer you have just put in on the car. Makes you feel like you have hit rock bottom, got a good deal and the end of negotiation is nigh, when in all likelihood the salesman had authority to take or reject the offer. Works on me!


In this case always insist on completing the negotiations with the boss as it would seem he is the only sales person with the power to make decisions. :thumbsup:
 
Banedome said:
In this case always insist on completing the negotiations with the boss as it would seem he is the only sales person with the power to make decisions. :thumbsup:

I like that one :D
 
Once went for a test drive in Honda Aerodeck (I think) I was really after a Prelude with Pop Up Headlights, Salesman did all the driving kept telling me how great it was and then looked surprised when I walked away.
 
Great thread...

I will not fall for the usual salesmen crap and I will never be pressurised into a sale. The best dealerships, and there are many around the South Lakes (where I live) of all makes, allow you take a car on an unescorted test drives and there is no pressure. The Merlot red Z4 that I am interested in has revealed the standard array of sales tricks thus far from Stratstone Hull, I will not fall for it and they must think I am stupid.

I have recently ordered a new Mini for the Mrs from Bateman BMW, a fantastic dealership that make you feel welcome and they do not deploy the usual salesmen tricks - I have had one Mini and three BMWs (E60 530i SE, E91 320d M Sport and E92 335d M Sport) from them and they are the best dealership I have come across. Similarly, I am about to order a new Motability car for my disabled son (Volvo V70 2.4d Auto) and the South Lakes Volvo dealer is of the same quality.
 
sp3ctre said:
Banedome said:
In this case always insist on completing the negotiations with the boss as it would seem he is the only sales person with the power to make decisions. :thumbsup:

I like that one :D
Yeah , Thats what i do. whats the bloody point in talking to the oil rag when you need to speak to the engine driver
 
i worked as car salesman when i was 18, for about 2 months. was my first sales job, i sold 9 or 10 cars. it was not a job i liked, let's put it that way. :D

One of the things they teach yuo (and they do teach you a lot) is that when you have to give a price, go as high as possible and SHUT UP. the silence makes the regular customer break down, and usually start mumbling after a while.

How much? (average price is 20000). You go 24000. They say "wow, that's a bit expensive". You say nothing... usually the silence is uncomfortable and most people start saying "well. " the moment they do, you kinda win. be ware of this tactic, it actually works very well and not just in selling cars but pretty much in any sitation when you need to get something.

another trick - is they dont want you to actually name the price or talk price - and say 'hey, who cares, i mean drive it first, if you like it we can work it out'. This is a good trick of course because then yuo get involved and feel like there is no price pressure. then you find out it's like 5000 more than you wanna spend. And then other tactics come in.

You may be tempted to use a 'friend' with you - like you know, this one guy that knows cars well, has bought many etc. Well, if he is easy to cut out. The moment 'friend' starts giving you tough questions on price, condition, etc, you sort of look puzzled, and ask sincerely that who is buying the car you or him? usually if you do this question well enough, you put the 'friend' into position where he has to say 'no no, it's him'. The moment he says it, the real buyer stops looking at him as 'friend' but realizes that he really won't care about this car, so he loses credibility and there, 'friend' is out of the picture and usually shuts up. So.. this is how cars are sold to women often. :D

They want to get deposit. They want to get phone number for cold calls. Almost every answer you give to quesiton they ask, has a reverse question in a book you study. My example of the 'friend' is one of those. Another one is when you say 'it's too much' they say 'that's ok if you can't AFFORD it, i may have something a bit cheaper though'. This is a cheap ego play. Beware. :)

So I guess the good bit is when you just don't be an idiot but find a salesman that is pleasant enough to work with and is over the mad rush to get sales and just knows his job. Usually you can tell who is good. They will know the guys in service shop. They can answer technical quesitons. They won't pressure you. Etc, etc.

hope this helps someone, good luck!
 
Hey kartman - that's a fascinating insight and just the sort of input I hoped the tread would generate. I echo the sentiment about the silence. It's a standard boardroom negotiation trick that generally, he who speaks first loses.
 
Thats interesting. Some of my colleagues use similar tactics to get info out of people too!

My dealer tried hard to give short fall insurance instead of discount/service package. "I'll give you this fantastic insurance, well worth £500. If you ever write off the car it will make sure you can afford another z4 again etc etc" Told them I'm rich enough (even when I'm not :rofl: ) to easily afford the difference but because I'm a business man (again I'm not :rofl: ) I wont do a deal where I'm not getting the best deal.

Only ended up with £500 off and service pack included so that didn't work :headbang:
 
when i bought my M- i was not desparate. I was looking to px my 2.5iroadster. Th salespaerson as usul took on me a road where I couldnt fully oipen the throttle. then got me onto motorway and say open it up. I directly told him thats not how i test drive the car, said either we can go back to the showroom so i can drive my car back or i decide where I want to drive. In the end after about 30mins of good A road driving, it was a great time. Then we started haggling on the prices. It lasted about 2 hrs. I refused to budge an eventuallly t worked out- got what i wanted, not that the dealer lost money but he made some on the finance and manoeuvred it in such a way that we both ended up with a decent deal. (thats whart i think- who knows how much he made on the deal).
 
The only reason slaes staff use the tactics as described (and not just car salesmen..... sorry 'persons - must be PC) is that we fall for them everytime!
 
I was once sold BMW Finance '@ 3.5% flat rate', which is, in fact @ 8.5% apr, which I wouldn't have othered with. Was also told there was no early redemption charge, which there is.

Was sold an Audi with Bose hifi as a feature. It's not, it's rubbish lol.

Bet salespeople use body language too. Very useful tool.
 
When I was looking to change my last car for either a 3 series E90 or the Z4 my local dealer kept saying, "If I can get you in the car for £xxx per month have we got a deal"

As I kept having to point out that while £xxx was my budget I wanted to talk real figures i.e. how much they were going to give me for my trade in, and what the best price of the new car would have been.

Using his method he may have given me £50 for mine and knocked a fiver off the new one and met the budget, some people probably would have jumped at it, but not me, I like to screw the buggers for as much as I can.

He no longer works there now, and I know of one other member who had dealing with him who also didnt rate him.
 
Some people live just by the monthly repayments. Where was that? Just in case, as I'm not that far from you :?

I found Cooper T Wells good, except the finance issue.
 
To be far it was this particular saleman I think as I never had this trouble with them before.
 
Definition (or one of them) or the word trick;

An act or procedure intended to achieve an end by deceptive or fraudulent means......... Caveat Emptor!
 
I've only even bought one car from a car dealer so can't add much to this, but I did give this particular garage and sales staff a very hard time...

My father-in-law is a car trader: he works for himself buying cars from auction to supply to local garages in his area (effectively he's their buyer). My Clio 172 was the most unreliable POS and I wanted rid before something else went wrong. I couldn't sell it on via my father-in-law due to the reliability issues. So I went "armed" to the Honda dealer. To be fair, I was a sh*t customer: I kept them waiting, never anwered the phone to them (always called them back in my own time - this unsettles them), and it didn't help that I walked in with a copy of Glass's Guide (the dealer's price guide bible - available to the trade only lol). Best part was turning up to collect the car with my father-in-law and him being recognised by half the garage staff as soon as he walked in the door - they knew I'd had a good bit of help...


TBH I hate garages after my Renault experience and have bought/sold all my cars privately since (excluding the Civic) via Pistonheads.
 
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