Dealer tactics - Page 3

SM1DY · 07-01-2013, 08:55 PM

I was just making a joke in regards to the JB, Harvey Norman, Good Guys comment, but I'm sure you knew that.

Bling moll was the person selling me the TV, and they did try to get me to buy the 5 year extended warranty

creative · 07-01-2013, 10:07 PM

Ahh the extra sales after buying a car...

I loved that bit!

Personally, when looking for a car the salesman that is polite and listens to what i want will get my business. When i bought my xr8 the sales guy was excellent. I told him my situation and he was very obliging, handed me the keys and said take it out for a good run! An hour later brought it back and started haggling. We came to a price and i said i would think about it. I went back 2 days later said i was still undecided and he said to take it out again to help decide and we can talk when when you get back... He sold me the car when i got back.

Recently the we were inthe market for a new car for the missus. We went around a few dealers and by far the worst was BMW. The sales guy had no interest in us. I had to go find him to talk about minis. We explained that she was on her P's so the first thing he showed her was a turbo charged cooper... Clearly listening!

The best guys were from Hyundai and kia! Very helpfull, listen to what she wanted didnt try to sell her something she didnt request. In the end we went Kia due to value for money. After the paperwork was signed we were taken to a lady to 'confirm' all the details and the extra sales pitch began. We politely declinded the extras but she tried again in another way but this time direct to the missus.... She explained about the paint protection, i asked about the paint warranty....she tried to sell us a negativly charged box to prevent rust due to our climate..... I asked if the car was prone to rust in 3 years and would be covered by the body warranty... She gave up in the end!

GREGL · 07-01-2013, 10:16 PM

You are lucky Flappist, you have been able to build rapport with a fella who obviosly has been selling the same brand for years. You have built a relationship with him that is in the majority of cases is not available to the once in 5 year buyer. Runnin a business does have some upsides.
Got a laugh out of the JB hifi quip drive away and no rust proofing. LOL

dysolve · 07-01-2013, 10:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flappist

Unfortunately that is an american video and the car buying culture is a bit different over there.

Note that he mentioned CASH not mucking about with finance.
There was no trade involved.
The car was NEW, not used, not demo, not last year plate, not ex dealer principal's wife's dog groomer's ....NEW.

That video has nothing to do with 99.99% of cars bought in Australia.

My father in-law bought his nissan Patrol with this method and he saved 6500k off advertised price plus got a heap of extra's.

it does work in Australia but mostly suits new cars.

Agent86 · 07-01-2013, 10:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dysolve

My father in-law bought his nissan Patrol with this method and he saved 6500k off advertised price plus got a heap of extra's.

it does work in Australia but mostly suits new cars.

DAMN!! $6,500K ? thats mucho dinero!

Dusty1 · 07-01-2013, 11:10 PM

In the video, he talks about phoning them, when I called them up the sales people tried to put the acid on me to sign today. Did the spiel, still reckon emailing the new car sales manager is the best way to go to get a range of prices.

Vincenzo · 08-01-2013, 01:48 AM

There are some interesting suggestions in this thread. I would like someone to come up with a suggestion for those of us who only have 1 dealer in the town. Next nearest dealer is 320 km south (Katherine) after that it is a further 1200km south (Alice Springs). It could be 1600km south east (Mt Isa) or where ever the nearest one is in the top end of WA.

I am happy to be proved wrong but I think one company owns all Territory Ford dealerships.

Dusty1 · 08-01-2013, 10:02 AM

I guess it really comes down to how much you want to do. Maybe the deal you might get in another state could offset the cost of flights or transport costs.

I'm not in our situation, and can sympathise with you. Must be difficult.

flappist · 08-01-2013, 10:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vincenzo

There are some interesting suggestions in this thread. I would like someone to come up with a suggestion for those of us who only have 1 dealer in the town. Next nearest dealer is 320 km south (Katherine) after that it is a further 1200km south (Alice Springs). It could be 1600km south east (Mt Isa) or where ever the nearest one is in the top end of WA.

I am happy to be proved wrong but I think one company owns all Territory Ford dealerships.

The Darwin dealer is not a good one?
Have you bought there?
I went there once in Oct 2003 in my GT-P to get a warranty issue looked at and found them to be quite easy to deal with.

Firstly your local dealer is competing with every other Ford dealer in Australia. Do you think only a crazy person would buy a car thousands on kilometres away, for example in Perth, and drive it back........

Secondly he is competing with every other marque sold in Darwin and if he relied only on the one eyed zealots who would buy nothing but a new Ford I suspect he would not sell a lot.

Most of my recent cars have come from Kingaroy, about 250km away, and further than quite a number of other dealers.

I buy there not because they are always the cheapest and not because they have a huge range in stock for me to pick from.

I buy there because they look after me both in sales and service and go that extra bit in making car ownership for me easier.

FGXR · 08-01-2013, 10:52 AM

I went to look at a FG XR6T at a Ford dealer in brisbane, they wanted 9k more then what i ended up buying it for elsewhere and wasnt prepared to move on price. When i told the sales guy about prices elsewhere he told me to go buy elsewhere so i did.

flappist · 08-01-2013, 11:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FGXR

I went to look at a FG XR6T at a Ford dealer in brisbane, they wanted 9k more then what i ended up buying it for elsewhere and wasnt prepared to move on price. When i told the sales guy about prices elsewhere he told me to go buy elsewhere so i did.

Was the one you bought identical?
As in same year and same options and not a demo etc.?
And was there a trade involved?

Rodge · 08-01-2013, 11:34 AM

There are two main Ford dealers in Auckland and they basically think they have the Auckland business to themselves. Frankly I find dealing with out of town dealers easier, they more efficient, have lower overheads and do better deals because of that and don't have a mindset that they deserve the business because they're the local dealer. Trade-in prices at Automotive Holdings Group owned dealerships are very low in my experience.

Now talking about the very suggestivly dressed and very attractive Ming Mole's I've dealt with over the years...opps my wife has just appeared at the office door, I'd better not go there

GTP534 · 08-01-2013, 11:55 AM

You can get wide variance in price between dealers for the same car and same trade-in:

In 2003 I was after the GTP with leather, no other options. My trade was a 2001 AUII XR8which I'd bought from Thomson Ford; the guy who sold me that car was top class but sadly had left by the time I was after the FPV.

Anyway, City Ford offered $27000 for the XR8 and $81000 for the GTP; Thomson Ford were the worst to deal with and offered $26000 for the XR8 and $80000 for the GTP. I had popped into Sinclair Ford as my parents lived at Glenmore Park but the FPV guy was not in.

I had given up actually when out of the blue the Sinclair Ford sales guy called me; I let him do the chasing but the deal eventually worked out as $34000 for the XR8 and $78500 for the GTP. I had to make a conscious effort not to rush to sign on the dotted line!

He left soon after I took delivery.

We've now bought 3 cars from Sinclair Ford; they're close to home and in my experience at least we get looked after.

The current guy, Hamilton, is not so easy to move on pricing but I still bought the R-Spec from him and he always had time for a chat when I took the GTP in for servicing. He also helped out with organising for the timing chain tensioners to be done as a warranty item even though the car was long out of warranty. I probably could have saved $1500 by buying elsewhere but to me it's not worth the longer drive plus having to start a relationship again when Sinclair Ford are a known quantity.

The sales guy at Parramatta Chrysler Jeep Dodge was also very good to deal with when I was looking at the SRT8.

Anchor · 08-01-2013, 12:12 PM

A+ Would read again. As most have said, there's always 2 sides to a story. If i don't sell how my boss asks me to, i don't have a job. In saying that, i'm not your pushy type. I'll tell you exactly what your trade is worth TODAY and the best drive away price on the new car. Fudging figures is bloody annoying and confusing for both parties.

Just be patient, if you don't like the salesman that you're talking to just walk away and find someone else. There's still a lot of oldschool goons in the business that are stuck in the 80's. Ya can't do that anymore. Doesn't work. Buyers are a lot smarter and have a lot more ammo when entering a dealership.

Jeremy

XBROO · 08-01-2013, 12:26 PM

GTP534 I'm an old school guy through and through, and have never had a desire to own a new GT. But last Friday night changed my mind, there's a local friday night hang out called munchies. When we were walking around I came across a red and black R-Spec, and wow they to look nice in the fleash so to speak. But only that colour combo, I've seen others in other colours and haven't done nothing for me. But the black and red are Y U M M Y.

GTP534 · 08-01-2013, 12:43 PM

I'm real happy with mine XBROO; I'm especially happy with the black colour after having it "Opti-Coated" by a detailer.

wrongwaynorris · 08-01-2013, 01:42 PM

Probably time to inject some humour into this debate . The very funny Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse from the Harry & Paul Show . Check out that cheap windscreen insurance .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnbTem-8q8U

kaniSS · 08-01-2013, 02:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matt5933

When I bought my bf xr6 a year ago from a ford dealer ship I experienced all the old school tactics. I feel that due to my age and gender (21 year old male) that I was an idiot and easily misled. I was very clear as to what I was looking for (clean, good service history privite owner etc) He first began by showing me xr6's with 250,000+ kms on them where the body was three different colours with bad service history and was given the old 'mate with these things service history doesnt matter, nah mate she had a small bump nothing to worry about.. and my favorite was one xr6 with the milkshake in the coolent (gear box failure) and when mentioned this 'nah mate no such thing, never heard of the gear box failing naaah people are telling you lies..

Finally found a nice clean bf, privite owner and good service history. Once it was time to talk money I got the old hard sell. first one was 'mate im losing money on it at that price cant do better' 'there isnt any money in this car for me im doing you a brilliant deal'. My favorite was when the manager poked his head through the door and went 'Has he bought that Xr6 yet? no ? well there is a man on the phone right now who is ready to put a deposit on it.... it just made me shake my head.

I'm not an idiot or irresponsible young person who will throw my money into a car because woooow shiny wheels. If the car wasn't exactly what I was looking for I would have told him to shove it. Of course I got the whole 'cracking deal champion and I wouldn't normally do a deal like that. when the difference between what he would have paid for it and what i payed for it means there was plenty of money in it for him.

On a side not a mate of mine was recently talked into buying a 1996 Hyundai excel in average condition and base spec for $7999. my jaw dropped when i heard this (he knows nothing about cars) apparently the car salesmen did him a good deal because he was a nice young man.....

Was the boss Geoff Mullen's???

Matt5933 · 08-01-2013, 03:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kaniSS

Was the boss Geoff Mullen's???

Not sure of the managers name but it was at a Ford dealership in Darra Qld.

When I made the observation of the milkshake coolent problem and said to the salesmen that it was a pretty clear indication of complete gearbox failure he immidiatly stated 'never heard of that happening before, nah its just old coolent and never been a problem with these gear boxes failing.

Any way he went and got the manager for me who said the same thing 'there's no such thing as coolent getting into the transmission, i think people are leading you on and I've sold these cars now for 7 years and never even heard of a gear box failing.

Then he winked at me and said 'if the gearbox were to fail on this car bring it back and well look after you...

**Giant Cranium** · 08-01-2013, 03:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTP534

You can get wide variance in price between dealers for the same car and same trade-in:

In 2003 I was after the GTP with leather, no other options. My trade was a 2001 AUII XR8which I'd bought from Thomson Ford; the guy who sold me that car was top class but sadly had left by the time I was after the FPV.

Anyway, City Ford offered $27000 for the XR8 and $81000 for the GTP; Thomson Ford were the worst to deal with and offered $26000 for the XR8 and $80000 for the GTP. I had popped into Sinclair Ford as my parents lived at Glenmore Park but the FPV guy was not in.

I had given up actually when out of the blue the Sinclair Ford sales guy called me; I let him do the chasing but the deal eventually worked out as $34000 for the XR8 and $78500 for the GTP. I had to make a conscious effort not to rush to sign on the dotted line!

He left soon after I took delivery.

We've now bought 3 cars from Sinclair Ford; they're close to home and in my experience at least we get looked after.

The current guy, Hamilton, is not so easy to move on pricing but I still bought the R-Spec from him and he always had time for a chat when I took the GTP in for servicing. He also helped out with organising for the timing chain tensioners to be done as a warranty item even though the car was long out of warranty. I probably could have saved $1500 by buying elsewhere but to me it's not worth the longer drive plus having to start a relationship again when Sinclair Ford are a known quantity.

The sales guy at Parramatta Chrysler Jeep Dodge was also very good to deal with when I was looking at the SRT8.

See I had the opposite with Sinclair. The dealers principles exact words were that his sales staff " can't be expected to know about all the cars they sell" even when we are talking about a Mondeo titanium. Will never step foot there again.

medz84 · 08-01-2013, 03:36 PM

just before i brought the ba i went into a caryard and looked at a vz ss had 18 on the window i said to the salesman would you take 17? salesman said no way cant go any lower then window price, next day brought the ba and been happy ever since!!

chopstar87 · 08-01-2013, 04:44 PM

A similar thing happen to a mate of mine, he was looking at 3 cars 2 years ago.. 370z, HSV Clubsport and G6E Turbo. he has no brand preference so it didn't matter to him what brand he was buying as long as the car met his needs (Fast)

They let him take the 370z for a drive, with minimal fuss, he went to test drive the G6E turbo and they said, you cant drive it us less you sign up for it first. he loved the look of the car, but he didnt drive it to fall in love with the car... same thing happened down the road at HSV.. so yep, he ended up buying a 370z.

kaniSS · 08-01-2013, 05:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matt5933

Not sure of the managers name but it was at a Ford dealership in Darra Qld.

When I made the observation of the milkshake coolent problem and said to the salesmen that it was a pretty clear indication of complete gearbox failure he immidiatly stated 'never heard of that happening before, nah its just old coolent and never been a problem with these gear boxes failing.

Any way he went and got the manager for me who said the same thing 'there's no such thing as coolent getting into the transmission, i think people are leading you on and I've sold these cars now for 7 years and never even heard of a gear box failing.

Then he winked at me and said 'if the gearbox were to fail on this car bring it back and well look after you...

Watch an Aussie movie called "The big steal" you will be in stitches.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099138/

grandpa_spec_F6 · 08-01-2013, 05:52 PM

I am surprised by the number of disgruntled people and new car sales, let alone the tatics they use.

Here's me, 21, rocks up at Bryan Byrt Ford, asked to take a GS Manual for a test drive and they quite literally threw me the keys and asked I be back within an hour or so.

Dealer then went for a drive in an F6 with me and that was that. Senior Hau for anyone who wants someone great to deal with, very polite, very down to earth, asked if I'd like to trade my car or sell it private, gave me the option to come back later and trade it to knock some off while I was getting paperwork ready.

For me I wouldn't go anywhere else when buying a new car.

SSVPom · 08-01-2013, 06:41 PM

I had mixed experiences at several Holden dealers in Eastern Melbourne, when shopping for my Sportwagon a few years back :

Dealership#1New car salesman, fantastic, let me drive the car for around 45 mins, plenty of follow up work, I was still deciding between brand new SS vs. demo SSV for the same money ($42k) Understood my dilemna between new SS or nearly new SSV, referred me to their used car salesman....

Used car salesman at Dealership #1; W%nker, wouldn't let me drive the 2nd hand SSV they had down the road "unless I was going to buy it" (his words exactly) I walked.

Dealership#2 (Ferntree Gully Holden)Used car salesman, great and very flexible. Also understood my dilemna between new and used, but I eventually settled on a 6 month old SSV with 5 year warranty, plus bundled all extras together I required like towbar/tint/load cover plus a repaint of rear bumper to rid some scratches, and offered a decent trade in on my AU2 Ghia, giving me the required changeover price I had in my head before I even stepped foot in the dealership. Great service department with free courtesy cars on each and every visit too.

Gobes32 · 08-01-2013, 06:59 PM

A family friend has worked as a salesman for Ford, Toyota and now Hyundai. Worked at Ford dealership until AU days, swears that Falcon buyers were the worst, no loyalty, would haggle you down to the last 2 dollars and expect the world in return.

Toyota was a walk in the park, mostly sold Echo's and Corollas to teenage girls who would then trade them in three years later on a Rav 4/ Celica and then 5 years later a Camry/Kluger/Hilux. Toyota in his experience have the greatest brand loyalty out of all the manufacturers. He also mentioned they deserve it though.

As for Hyundai, he is now selling more cars than ever, and in his exact words, they sell themselves.........

stace650 · 08-01-2013, 07:16 PM

Funny that F6E mentioned Lane Ford in WA. I was going to comment on them too before I read that post.

I bought my pre-loved GT from Lane Ford and found them to be reasonable, honest, police and decent. They followed up the sale well and I discovered that what they had told me about the car at the time of sale turned out to be true. (I called the cars previous owner from his name in the hand book). Overall, a pleasant experience.

And no, I have nothing to do with Lane Ford apart form the purchase. I just think credit where it's due.

Vincenzo · 08-01-2013, 07:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flappist

The Darwin dealer is not a good one?
Have you bought there? I went there once in Oct 2003 in my GT-P to get a warranty issue looked at and found them to be quite easy to deal with.

The Darwin dealer is good Flappist. I can deal with them no problems my Ex on the other hand ......

Quote:

Originally Posted by flappist

Firstly your local dealer is competing with every other Ford dealer in Australia. Do you think only a crazy person would buy a car thousands on kilometres away, for example in Perth, and drive it back........

I guess no, I've done it twice in two years and I think I'm sane.

Quote:

Originally Posted by flappist

Secondly he is competing with every other marque sold in Darwin and if he relied only on the one eyed zealots who would buy nothing but a new Ford I suspect he would not sell a lot.

Point taken

Quote:

Originally Posted by flappist

Most of my recent cars have come from Kingaroy, about 250km away, and further than quite a number of other dealers.

I buy there not because they are always the cheapest and not because they have a huge range in stock for me to pick from.

I buy there because they look after me both in sales and service and go that extra bit in making car ownership for me easier.

Exactly my point. The Kingaroy dealership has to compete somehow. If they cannot compete on price because of turnover then their next choice is ability to satisfy by going the extra mile. Most buyers in Darwin would be too lazy to check what they could get interstate and Hidden Valley Ford are not under undue pressure to come up with a deal winning price.

Cheers Vincenzo

SPArKy_Dave · 08-01-2013, 09:47 PM

This thread reminds me of one of my all time favorite Aussie movies -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzFmeNEiEPc

wrongwaynorris · 09-01-2013, 04:42 AM

" Toyota was a walk in the park, mostly sold Echo's and Corollas to teenage girls who would then trade them in three years later on a Rav 4/ Celica and then 5 years later a Camry/Kluger/Hilux. Toyota in his experience have the greatest brand loyalty out of all the manufacturers. He also mentioned they deserve it though. "

This is what goes to prove 90% of the population stupid beyond belief . Here is a company who murdered people for years with very senior execs boasting in emails to HQ how many millions of dollars they had saved by NOT recalling cars they knew to be killing their customers and imbeciles still beat a path to their door .