Why dealers don't like email quoting?

[FordPLG]

Hi,
Can anybody tell me why car dealers don't want to give quote using email/internet?
At least they want to talk on the phone. however, it is not suitable to talk about buying a car during working hours.
What is the matter?

[Qwest905]

because they don't want you to shop with other dealers...
they don't want to have anything written that you can bring to other dealers

[BAM]

Some will, if you can figure out their Internet Sales guy he will often reply. I have bought a Car from a dealer that I never spoke to or saw until I went to pick it up.

Mostly I think they would prefer you come in. Try to explain why you can not come into the dealership and see if that helps.

[randomdef]

because they can't charm you. I was looking into a new car a few months back, emailed every single pontiac dealer in the province, 2 out of the many i emailed answered my questions, every single other one gave their phone number or a generic sales pitch.

[nalababe]

actually anyone in sales knows that you don't respond to a email request for a quote by email.

[FordPLG]

actually anyone in sales knows that you don't respond to a email request for a quote by email.

If dealers want the customers to come, then what? Does it make anything beneficial for dealers? (which wastes time for both sides).

[FordPLG]

because they don't want you to shop with other dealers...
they don't want to have anything written that you can bring to other dealers

So what? If you want like the price, no matter what format it is. Then what is the harm for the dealer if the quote is written and is seen by other dealers? Does it jeopardize something?

[randomdef]

If dealers want the customers to come, then what? Does it make anything beneficial for dealers? (which wastes time for both sides).

of course. sales people are snakes and need to prey on that appeal of you being there, in the vehicle, the rush, the emotion, etc... all that is removed when you are at home typing away.

[tdu]

actually anyone in sales knows that you don't respond to a email request for a quote by email.

And this is one of the many reasons why there are troubles in the car industry.

There is no real reason to not reply to an email quote request. It's a perfectly valid way to ask for one nowadays. And it's why a lot of dealers are offering 'request a quote' type forms on their web sites now.

They need to lose the ridiculous 'tactics' they employ and just get with it.

[ac328]

Buying a car via email or over the phone is very common in the US so there is no reason it can't be done up here.

I bought a car from the US this way in Dec 07 with two phone calls. Plus a couple other US dealers were perfectly willing to negotiate via email.

Just pure Canadian conservative BS that keeps dealers from doing the same up here. Same reason that 99% of dealers in Canada don't open on Sundays (which is also ********). No real culture of service or competition.

(There is one Nissan dealer here in Calgary that has sales and service open on Sunday, and it is the ONLY one I have ever seen in Canada that does this)

[BAM]

And it's why a lot of dealers are offering 'request a quote' type forms on their web sites now.



Sadly many do not even reply when you use their form to request a quote!

[FordPLG]

Buying a car via email or over the phone is very common in the US so there is no reason it can't be done up here.

I bought a car from the US this way in Dec 07 with two phone calls. Plus a couple other US dealers were perfectly willing to negotiate via email.

Just pure Canadian conservative BS that keeps dealers from doing the same up here. Same reason that 99% of dealers in Canada don't open on Sundays (which is also ********). No real culture of service or competition.

(There is one Nissan dealer here in Calgary that has sales and service open on Sunday, and it is the ONLY one I have ever seen in Canada that does this)

In CarSpace of Edmunds.com, there are quite many deals are made by using emails.

[MP3_SKY]

Quote from email won't be the best one. You have to go see them to get the best price tehy can offer, then go deeper on them to get the price you want. :cheesygri

[FordPLG]

actually anyone in sales knows that you don't respond to a email request for a quote by email.

I think those dealers who are registered on APA or CarCostCanada will make more deals than others, which is a kind of e-business, and the price is written, and every body can see it.

Why the others will not become wise?

[FordPLG]

of course. sales people are snakes and need to prey on that appeal of you being there, in the vehicle, the rush, the emotion, etc... all that is removed when you are at home typing away.

Only this one sounds having some sense. however, what is the percentage of buyers whom can be convinced by the dealers? Are dealers expecting majority like that?

[ponti3800]

I think they do not know how to use email. :?:

[jed]

The Mopar sales guy on this forum says he doesn't get the courtesy of a reply of ANY sort after emailing so doesn't do it anymore.

It works both ways.

I'd suggest those who are so in the know on how selling cars works and why emails do/don't, I'd suggest you to go work in the business for 6 mos and earn their living solely from selling. Then, revisit the thread.

[Tomato_1]

Here's my two cents after shopping around.

Dealers the old school kind want you to get you in an impluse buying streak. So they want you to come to the dealership, have "experience the car" and then pressure the living crap out of you to buy.

You can't do that via e-mail. Even buying used cars from dealers, asking for a Vin# to run a car fax you will have them pressuring you to show up to the dealership to test drive the car first.

I went to a Saturn dealership on a saturday, told them I was buying a car in the next week, make me your best offer and I'll weigh it with everything else, gave the guy my number and e-mail. I got nothing from him. Not even a freaking quote. I understand they are scared you will take the number and force them to settle on it but when your company is about to go under you would think anybody buying your car would be a good thing.

I can't find the link but the CEO of hyundai said, "When people would rather visit the dentist than visit a dealership you know your industry is in trouble." After the last week of car shopping I agree with him. At least with the dentist I know what I'm getting.

[RobDek]

I can't imagine why anyone would need a quote from a dealership??? Find the vehicle you want and a dealer that can provide it. Find out how much you want to pay for it and provide the offer. This dealing back & forth is just plain ridiculous!!!! :confused: :confused:

[FordPLG]

Here's my two cents after shopping around.


I can't find the link but the CEO of hyundai said, "When people would rather visit the dentist than visit a dealership you know your industry is in trouble." After the last week of car shopping I agree with him. At least with the dentist I know what I'm getting.

I remember that I read it somewhere. And the interesting is that one if the dealers I refered is DVN Hyundai.

[jed]

Next scenario - you come to see me to buy a car - I'm nice, do the sales presentation, quote you on the car, low pressure, then let you walk to let you "think about it". You immediately go to the next dealership down the road and the sales guy all he has to do is talk price, hits you with some pressure, and you fold, he gets the sale, you've done all the "work".


So, if you want to buy only on price, this sort of pressure is what you can expect. No one wants to lose the sale. There is nothing else in the process since the buyers don't care about anything but the cost. So the reaction back is pressure. Not saying its right, and its not how I buy, but its likely what you will see.


If you did a CarCost Canada, or APA, to know where you need to be, within reason for price, THEN did the dealership experience thing, probably would be the best "meet me in the middle". You know where your pricing should be, and if the salesperson meets your expectations as far as how he/she handles you through the process, you give the salesperson the sale - buying a car can be a VERY satisfying experience for BOTH parties. Its not the money per say, its an immediate gratification getting the sale, knowing you've done the job right. Not for all, but for some.

And just Imagine working at a high pressure dealership doing that "crap" to people.

We all reap what we sow.

[FordPLG]

Next scenario - you come to see me to buy a car - I'm nice, do the sales presentation, quote you on the car, low pressure, then let you walk to let you "think about it". You immediately go to the next dealership down the road and the sales guy all he has to do is talk price, hits you with some pressure, and you fold, he gets the sale, you've done all the "work".


So, if you want to buy only on price, this sort of pressure is what you can expect. No one wants to lose the sale. There is nothing else in the process since the buyers don't care about anything but the cost. So the reaction back is pressure. Not saying its right, and its not how I buy, but its likely what you will see.


If you did a CarCost Canada, or APA, to know where you need to be, within reason for price, THEN did the dealership experience thing, probably would be the best "meet me in the middle". You know where your pricing should be, and if the salesperson meets your expectations as far as how he/she handles you through the process, you give the salesperson the sale - buying a car can be a VERY satisfying experience for BOTH parties. Its not the money per say, its an immediate gratification getting the sale, knowing you've done the job right. Not for all, but for some.

And just Imagine working at a high pressure dealership doing that "crap" to people.

We all reap what we sow.

It is very reasonable to shop around and compare the price when spending 20K-35k to buy a vehicle. And I am sure most buyer will give the first chance to the dealer who has done the "work". Of cause the price is very important aspect to the so expensive item. Is there something wrong with it?

[Tomato_1]

It is very reasonable to shop around and compare the price when spending 20K-35k to buy a vehicle. And I am sure most buyer will give the first chance to the dealer who has done the "work". Of cause the price is very important aspect to the so expensive item. Is there something wrong with it?

Agreed, I'm going to spend over 20k+ of my hard earned money which I sweated over it. I'm not going to spend an hour listening to some rep tell me how great their dealership is, tell me they have 40+ colours and then in 15minutes try to pressure sell me on rustproofing, and all that BS. I just get mad and combative. I want to give $ to people I like. I do. My closets are filled with crap from Harry Rosen because the reps were so damn nice. I have to give my money to somebody I much rather be the person I like that the A-hole who is trying to pressure me to buy the car.

I was always honest with my reps. I told them upfront I wanted to price it out, understand the different models, pros and cons, and understand all the incentives and all the extra charges. Everything, like some companies charge extra for metallic paint and some didn't. But almost everytime except in one case (My dad bought a lexus so we went to see his rep, I think luxury dealers work differently), first thing the rep said was do you want to take a test drive. I was like wow. What's the point of test driving a car if I can't afford it????

Anyways I'm kind of glad I got my car, probably got ripped off but hopefully won't have to go shopping again for another 10 years, if I treat this one right.

T-minus 5 months till my next dentist appointment though :D

Edit: never heard of car cost until like 2 weeks ago.

[T-Man]

Great Post!. This topic had been brought up before:

http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/showthread.php?t=698295&highlight=email+buying

But here is a copy and paste with updated information:


I"ll give you my perspective as a sales consultant with E-mail quotes etc. I literally almost everyday come in to work and I'd probably get at least 2-4
E-mails usually along the lines of "I'm looking for a 2009 Dodge Grand Caravan 25th Anniversary package" then my favourite line after that "I"m ready to buy, I'm a Serious buyer, what is your best price you can do?"

I have no problem providing quotes, but here is the thing, I'll take the MSRP of the vehicle, subtract the current rebates, then add on all the fees and taxes, I'll then send it showing a line by line break down with the total on the road price. Typically on top of the rebate, there is usually wiggle room to move further on the price. How much room you ask? Well, to find out, I would have to get a manager involved. I used to go to my manager to find out, but very quickly I realized that no matter what number I get from the manager, (the customer assumingly, would take that number and shop it against another dealer and so on). I will then usually never ever hear back from the customer again not even to say "Ok thanks" and worst, I will never ever see them. The only thing I've accomplished then is wasting everybody's time. I will provide ballpark quotes. But assuming I do print out your E-maisl and run off to my boss, and my boss does give me the absolute rock bottom price leaving me with $0 profit, there will always be another dealer somewhere out there desperate enough to beat me by $10 just to get the deal. Several months ago when I first started out, I knew we were having a special on the 24F Grand Caravan Canada Value for $2xxxx OTD, we were only suppose to sell 3 at that price, but we actually sold 10, 2 were by me. I posted up on RFD the exact dollar amount and only 1 person contacted me. I knew at that price, we were looking at a profit margin of about $150. Everyone else, assumingly wouldn't have a reason to contact/visit me, cause seeing what my rock bottom price was, they were able to take my number to another dealer have me beat by whatever just to get the deal. So how do I convince my boss to give me the tool you want just so you can simply take it to another dealer and have them beat me by a few bucks to steal the deal and spend your money their instead?

So in my experience, those that I provide quotes for, talk about pricing through E-mails only with no phone numbers. 99.9% of the time I will never hear from them again. Lately I have been spending litterally hours each day in front of the computer answering enquiries like what features come with this package, how much would the payments work out to be with and without the DVD or AWD, 72 months or 84 months, can you get the 08 in this colour etc. So while I'm spending my hours doing all this, the other sales people are grabbing up the other customers in the showroom, on the lot. The 0.1% that do show up after all the E-mails going back and forth, they end up with a totally different trim/option/package anyways. In the end like I said, 99.9% I will never hear back from those E-mail enquiries again when I get into pricing.

However, those E-mails where I just focus on keeping it brief, and setting up an appointment when its convenient for the customer, those are the ones where I usually closed.

Achanna is right, you can't buy a car through E-mail, you still have to test drive the vehicle, see all the different features and see if the options you want are the right ones for you. If I could, I'd sit at home in my PJ's selling cars over the internet all day long. If you still want to E-mail shop, then just ask in your E-mail if they can sell it for this much on the road/this monthly payment and see what they say.

[T-Man]

I can understand from your point of view too, (I'm a shopper myself), of course theres nothing wrong with shopping around to try to save as much money as possible (most of us do it, including me). You're right, its the other majority or say 90% of the "window shoppers" that ruin it for the 10% of the serious buyers out there.

You have no idea how many times, I've printed out an E-mail from a customer, and run into my manager's office, being all excited and I'd start by "I got this guy...he wants to buy...." So, after "bugging", "prodding", to get "the best price" I'd get back to my customer with the information, and then..... I'd never ever hear back from them again.

I've learn that customers are getting more and more creative of what they say or how they word their E-mails to sound convincing, or even on the phone, alot of customers say all pretty much everything a commission sales person wants to hear. So, when my managers checks in with me on the "status" of the "Mr. Ready to buy". What do I tell them?, when the truth is, they haven't returned my phone call, or replied to my follow up E-mail, I'd lose credibility and of course, waste of everybody's time.

Here's another scenario where "the window shoppers" ruins it for the serious buyers like yourself.

I'd get an E-mail/phone call from "Mr. Customer", he says,

"I can buy the 2009 Dodge Caliber SXT from Dealership A for $21,000K on the road",
Shopper: "Can you beat it?"
Me: "If I can beat it, will you come in and finish the deal with me?"
Shopper: "Yes, how much can you beat it by?"
Me: "How much do I have to beat it by to get you to come in?"
Shopper: "Well, I don't know, go see what you can do, I'll wait"
Me: "Sure, I can go to my manager and he'll just ask me to ask you the same thing, how much do you want off?"
Shopper: "Oh ok, another $500 off, and I'll come in"
Me: (Thinking great, getting my hopes up). "Ok, so you'll for sure come in if I can convince my manager for another $500 off?"
Shopper: "Yes, I'll can come in tonight/tomorrow, go see if you can do it and get back to me"
Me: "OK, I'll call/E-mail you back shortly"

Then I run off to the manager once again with "Boss, I got this guy, he's wants to buy....", "He just wants another $500 off, then he'll come in".

The manager of course have heard all this before, but say he gives in to me because I can be very persitant when working my boss, finally gives the authorization to do $20,500 on the road (with only my words, that I got a serious buyer). I then call/E-mail my customer back, with the good news and....!.

Yep!, you guess it, 99% of the time I'd never hear back from them again. So again, I just wasted everybody's time and of course the saleperson loses credibility.

But I can also look at it from your point of view too, you have family, kids, working full-time, other obligations etc which may leave you very little time to visit showrooms thats why we sales people often work past our shift, or come in on our days off to accomodate you, and yes we have families, obligations too

Some facts:

1) Every dealership (within the same province/region) have the exact same factory invoice/Same MSRP. No, the factories does not sell the same vehicle to Dealership A cheaper then Dealership B. If you hear lines like "We have lower overhead costs so therefore we can sell it cheaper" Thats just it, a sales line. If you E-mail 10 Dealerships within the GTA the same requirements, your quote should be very close across the board assuming you do it all within the same day.

2) All factory incentives/rebates are the same. Yes, they can change at any time. So the rebates would be reimbursed the same from Dealership A to B to C. There are sometimes exception to this rule, especially with Chrysler Dealerships, like last month, Chrysler was asking its Dealers to buy more inventory then the dealers needed/had room for. But, the owner went ahead and bought more inventory then we needed but in return the factory gave us about $40,000 worth of coupons where we could apply an extra 1K per deal. As a result, in January our numbers of units sold almost doubled our December numbers. So this month, the owner is doing the same thing so we got the coupons again.

Here are my tips:

1) You know exactly what you want.
When E-mailing, please at least include a Name and phone number, that at least gives the impression that "you're serious", and that you're a human being. Most of the E-mails I get from people, they do not include a phone number and when I ask for it, its sometimes ignored, or I don't hear back from them. In which case, I know to move on to the next E-mail. The phone number is not so I can "pressure" or try to sell the vehicle over the phone, its so I know exactly what vehicle you want or I can ask you the right questions over the phone rather then write back and fourth different questions, and sometimes taking severals days back and fourth what a 5 mins phone call could accomplished.

I'll give you perfectly good example of a recent E-mail I got:

"I"m looking for an 08/09 Truck, whats the best price you can do?"

How can I can even attempt to provide a quote for this person? Is he looking for short box, long box, 1500, 2500, maybe even a 3500, Gas, Diesel, Hemi Engine, 4.7L Engine, Auto, Manual, Dakota perhaps? 4x4 only or 4x2 is fine? All these factors play a role in the price.

So I wrote back to him, thanking him for contacting me, and told him I would love to give him the information he wants over the phone, asked him to call me or provide me a number I can reach him at. The guy never wrote back or called me. "Next!"

Now imagine I decided to spend the next 3-4 hours or so researching the various trims/options/package of each model year, and then going to my boss to get the "best price", I wouldn't hear back from him anyways. Now I just wasted half my day. Now imagined in my shoes, you get a few E-mails per day. I have to balance my time with E-mail leads VS amount of people who are physically in the showroom who are in a position to do something.

2) If you insist on "buying a car over the phone" without having to vist the showroom "to save time".

Shopper: "Ok, I'll buy the Caliber right now for $20,000 on the road"
Me: "OK, if I can get you that number, you'll come in and sign all the paper?"
Shopper: "yes, but I don't want to come in and find out its a different number"
Me: "I understand, so you're making an offer over the phone, and if I can convince my manager of that then we have a deal?"
Shopper: "Absolutely, so go talk to your boss and get back to me"

At this point, this is where I distinguish the real serious buyers from the window shoppers.

Me: "OK, no problem, Please give me your correct spelling of your last name and first name, I'm going to also need your credit card information, Visa or Mastercard, with the expiry date. I will then go to my manager and if I can get that exact number you want, I'm going to put a deposit on it" and then I wait for their reaction

Shopper A (lets pretend thats you Wally, and you're serious): "Ok no problem, here is the information.....",
Me: "Ok great, thanks, now wish me luck!"

Me: "I did it, I convinced my manager to accept your offer"
Wally: "Thank you very much, I'll see you at 5pm today"

Believe it or not, I've sold a couple vehicles this way with shoppers like you, the serious buyers would go ahead and allow me to take the deposit over the phone if I can get that number they want even if its a lowball offer.

Shopper B (The window shopper): Credit card? No no, just see if you can do $20K on the road and let me know.

Now remember the credibility issue from earlier if I run off to the manager, with nothing more then the words of "I got this guy and he wants to buy..."?

From the dealership's point of view its no different for you to make an offer in person then having a deposit taken if accepted, or making an offer over the phone and if accepted, a deposit taken as well.

Another tip you can do, is many people are aware of CCC or APA membership or other similiar services? That gives you the factory dealer cost plus the current incentives at the time. In my limited experience with CCC customers, they've shown me their report, and comparing it to the dealer cost information my managers have, the numbers are accurate right down to the dollar. With that information, make an offer by E-mail/call in to any dealership and if its a reasonable offer, it should be accepted, then go in and finish the deal with that dealership.

I've also on occasion, in person, my managers have allowed me to show the customer the dealership invoice so they know what our cost is and then they can make a reasonable offer that way too.

Hope that helps!

[scouzer]

T-Man, while I understand internet inquiries can be low rewards, I will personally only deal with dealerships that will give me no ******** over email.

I am serious about buying a Civic, and two dealers gave me no ******** excellent first offers over email. They broke down everything for me with final OTD prices. I didn't have to badger them about not wanting to come in, etc.

I wouldn't even CONSIDER going to a dealer that didn't reply or tried to dick me around, even though these dealers are considerably more out of my way.

No chance I'd bring in that great email quote to one of the more convenient dealers that didn't reply either; they obviously don't want my business.

[darek_dade]

Great post. I am looking to buy a car this month and I will try to remind myself as often as possible that salesman is also a human being :)

[BAM]

Great post T-Man... It explains a lot and I can definitively see your point of view as well.

I did buy a car over email once - never even spoke to the guy on the phone but did have the paperwork done by fax and then picked it up... So it is possible especially if you know exactly what you are after which I usually do.

Are we more likely to get a response to a used vehicle over email? In your experience

[ES_Revenge]

Someone once mentioned that Canadian dealerships sell cars/do business like it was the 1980s (compared to the way they do things in the US). That would probably explain a lot about the lack of email quoting.

At the same time T-Man brings up some very good points; though I think in his case it might be good to explain to email/phone "shoppers" exactly what he went through, above. That way customers that are serious will have a better understanding of why they should come in. Asking for a CC number over the phone may well weed out the tyre kickers, but it may also easily lose serious customers because they may feel that this is sales pressure or feel uncomfortable giving a credit card number over the phone, especially in regards to a vehicle deposit (deposits, for example, are something which I personally very much dislike).

That said I think it is a very good idea to go into dealerships to see some of the stuff that other people have passed off. Their attitude and customer service can make a world of difference. When I was looking for a car last year I went to various dealerships, perhaps 3-4 of them the make that I ended up leasing. Every dealer but one was pretty crap--totally snobby showrooms and generally crap service. But the one dealer I eneded up leasing at, was a night and day difference. Not only from other same-make dealers but also a lot of other manufacturer dealerships too.

In the end I got a pretty decent deal I think, and the buying experience was excellent. Now is it possible I could have saved something like $500 elsewhere? Perhaps (probably not but it's possible). But given just how bad I felt the other dealers were, I wasn't really too concerned about that. At the end of the day I was a happy customer, and still am.

[Ctrl-Z]

I used email to buy a new ATV a couple of months ago. I first went to my local dealer who came across as a complete ass who made it seem like he was doing me a favour selling one to me at full Canadian MSRP. Since I felt I had to go out of town anyway to buy, I emailed 10 dealers with my contact info, received by email a quote from 6 of them and a phone call from another and bought from the one with the lowest quoted price. No additional bargaining, no additional hassle. Quotes differed by over $1000 (this one an approx. $10K quad).

I intend to do the same for a new vehicle although this time my local (Toyota) dealer has the inside track as he's provided excellent pre-purchase service. But if a dealer chooses not to respond to an email quote request, then that dealer is not going to get my business and ultimately is likely to go out of business in this "new" information age.

[Tomato_1]

I agree with everything T-Man says.

Regarding e-mail quotes. The haggling between back and forth shouldn't be done via e-mail. MSRP discounts quotes etc. should be done via e-mail. If you are interested. I think the haggling needs to be done in the dealership. The hard part, correct me if I'm wrong T-Man, many people don't know what the Car Cost price is. So when I was shopping around I knew margins were thin on entry level cars but didn't know how thin.

[tdu]

Great Post!. This topic had been brought up before:

http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/showthread.php?t=698295&highlight=email+buying

But here is a copy and paste with updated information:


I"ll give you my perspective as a sales consultant with E-mail quotes etc. I literally almost everyday come in to work and I'd probably get at least 2-4
E-mails usually along the lines of "I'm looking for a 2009 Dodge Grand Caravan 25th Anniversary package" then my favourite line after that "I"m ready to buy, I'm a Serious buyer, what is your best price you can do?"

I have no problem providing quotes, but here is the thing, I'll take the MSRP of the vehicle, subtract the current rebates, then add on all the fees and taxes, I'll then send it showing a line by line break down with the total on the road price. Typically on top of the rebate, there is usually wiggle room to move further on the price. How much room you ask? Well, to find out, I would have to get a manager involved. I used to go to my manager to find out, but very quickly I realized that no matter what number I get from the manager, (the customer assumingly, would take that number and shop it against another dealer and so on). I will then usually never ever hear back from the customer again not even to say "Ok thanks" and worst, I will never ever see them. The only thing I've accomplished then is wasting everybody's time. I will provide ballpark quotes. But assuming I do print out your E-maisl and run off to my boss, and my boss does give me the absolute rock bottom price leaving me with $0 profit, there will always be another dealer somewhere out there desperate enough to beat me by $10 just to get the deal. Several months ago when I first started out, I knew we were having a special on the 24F Grand Caravan Canada Value for $2xxxx OTD, we were only suppose to sell 3 at that price, but we actually sold 10, 2 were by me. I posted up on RFD the exact dollar amount and only 1 person contacted me. I knew at that price, we were looking at a profit margin of about $150. Everyone else, assumingly wouldn't have a reason to contact/visit me, cause seeing what my rock bottom price was, they were able to take my number to another dealer have me beat by whatever just to get the deal. So how do I convince my boss to give me the tool you want just so you can simply take it to another dealer and have them beat me by a few bucks to steal the deal and spend your money their instead?

So in my experience, those that I provide quotes for, talk about pricing through E-mails only with no phone numbers. 99.9% of the time I will never hear from them again. Lately I have been spending litterally hours each day in front of the computer answering enquiries like what features come with this package, how much would the payments work out to be with and without the DVD or AWD, 72 months or 84 months, can you get the 08 in this colour etc. So while I'm spending my hours doing all this, the other sales people are grabbing up the other customers in the showroom, on the lot. The 0.1% that do show up after all the E-mails going back and forth, they end up with a totally different trim/option/package anyways. In the end like I said, 99.9% I will never hear back from those E-mail enquiries again when I get into pricing.

However, those E-mails where I just focus on keeping it brief, and setting up an appointment when its convenient for the customer, those are the ones where I usually closed.

Achanna is right, you can't buy a car through E-mail, you still have to test drive the vehicle, see all the different features and see if the options you want are the right ones for you. If I could, I'd sit at home in my PJ's selling cars over the internet all day long. If you still want to E-mail shop, then just ask in your E-mail if they can sell it for this much on the road/this monthly payment and see what they say.

Another side of this is a lot of dealers now have their computer systems setup and automated for all of this kind of stuff. EG when I got my last Hyundai any of the information you mention could be supplied in a print out for me within minutes. And a clear, easy to understand print out. And they could have emailed me that exact same information if that was what I needed. They are automating their computer systems for it, which is what most dealers should be doing. When this process is set up correctly, it could actually REDUCE workload.

If you are going to offer email access to sales, or quote forms on your web site, then be prepared to USE them. More and more people do their initial research through the internet nowadays. Especially younger people. And those numbers are only going to increase.

Regrading people 'beating your deal' they will do the exact same thing in person! That is what most buyers do. Get a quote, then shop around for the best deal. This is just a different way of doing it. It's no different than how most other businesses have been affected by the internet. It's not going away! The companies need to learn to work with it, and adjust their model.

[SMO_09]

Thats interesting now I can see where the dealer is coming from now. But I haven't had any issues with dealers sending me quotes by email. I have had a few dealers that went back and forth with emails like your examples. But the difference is I'm actually a serious buyer. I just don't know who I'm going to buy from yet so I have to shop around first. I guess the problem is you never actually know whos really serious.

I can understand from your point of view too, (I'm a shopper myself), of course theres nothing wrong with shopping around to try to save as much money as possible (most of us do it, including me). You're right, its the other majority or say 90% of the "window shoppers" that ruin it for the 10% of the serious buyers out there.

You have no idea how many times, I've printed out an E-mail from a customer, and run into my manager's office, being all excited and I'd start by "I got this guy...he wants to buy...." So, after "bugging", "prodding", to get "the best price" I'd get back to my customer with the information, and then..... I'd never ever hear back from them again.

I've learn that customers are getting more and more creative of what they say or how they word their E-mails to sound convincing, or even on the phone, alot of customers say all pretty much everything a commission sales person wants to hear. So, when my managers checks in with me on the "status" of the "Mr. Ready to buy". What do I tell them?, when the truth is, they haven't returned my phone call, or replied to my follow up E-mail, I'd lose credibility and of course, waste of everybody's time.

Here's another scenario where "the window shoppers" ruins it for the serious buyers like yourself.

I'd get an E-mail/phone call from "Mr. Customer", he says,

"I can buy the 2009 Dodge Caliber SXT from Dealership A for $21,000K on the road",
Shopper: "Can you beat it?"
Me: "If I can beat it, will you come in and finish the deal with me?"
Shopper: "Yes, how much can you beat it by?"
Me: "How much do I have to beat it by to get you to come in?"
Shopper: "Well, I don't know, go see what you can do, I'll wait"
Me: "Sure, I can go to my manager and he'll just ask me to ask you the same thing, how much do you want off?"
Shopper: "Oh ok, another $500 off, and I'll come in"
Me: (Thinking great, getting my hopes up). "Ok, so you'll for sure come in if I can convince my manager for another $500 off?"
Shopper: "Yes, I'll can come in tonight/tomorrow, go see if you can do it and get back to me"
Me: "OK, I'll call/E-mail you back shortly"

Then I run off to the manager once again with "Boss, I got this guy, he's wants to buy....", "He just wants another $500 off, then he'll come in".

The manager of course have heard all this before, but say he gives in to me because I can be very persitant when working my boss, finally gives the authorization to do $20,500 on the road (with only my words, that I got a serious buyer). I then call/E-mail my customer back, with the good news and....!.

Yep!, you guess it, 99% of the time I'd never hear back from them again. So again, I just wasted everybody's time and of course the saleperson loses credibility.

But I can also look at it from your point of view too, you have family, kids, working full-time, other obligations etc which may leave you very little time to visit showrooms thats why we sales people often work past our shift, or come in on our days off to accomodate you, and yes we have families, obligations too

Some facts:

1) Every dealership (within the same province/region) have the exact same factory invoice/Same MSRP. No, the factories does not sell the same vehicle to Dealership A cheaper then Dealership B. If you hear lines like "We have lower overhead costs so therefore we can sell it cheaper" Thats just it, a sales line. If you E-mail 10 Dealerships within the GTA the same requirements, your quote should be very close across the board assuming you do it all within the same day.

2) All factory incentives/rebates are the same. Yes, they can change at any time. So the rebates would be reimbursed the same from Dealership A to B to C. There are sometimes exception to this rule, especially with Chrysler Dealerships, like last month, Chrysler was asking its Dealers to buy more inventory then the dealers needed/had room for. But, the owner went ahead and bought more inventory then we needed but in return the factory gave us about $40,000 worth of coupons where we could apply an extra 1K per deal. As a result, in January our numbers of units sold almost doubled our December numbers. So this month, the owner is doing the same thing so we got the coupons again.

Here are my tips:

1) You know exactly what you want.
When E-mailing, please at least include a Name and phone number, that at least gives the impression that "you're serious", and that you're a human being. Most of the E-mails I get from people, they do not include a phone number and when I ask for it, its sometimes ignored, or I don't hear back from them. In which case, I know to move on to the next E-mail. The phone number is not so I can "pressure" or try to sell the vehicle over the phone, its so I know exactly what vehicle you want or I can ask you the right questions over the phone rather then write back and fourth different questions, and sometimes taking severals days back and fourth what a 5 mins phone call could accomplished.

I'll give you perfectly good example of a recent E-mail I got:

"I"m looking for an 08/09 Truck, whats the best price you can do?"

How can I can even attempt to provide a quote for this person? Is he looking for short box, long box, 1500, 2500, maybe even a 3500, Gas, Diesel, Hemi Engine, 4.7L Engine, Auto, Manual, Dakota perhaps? 4x4 only or 4x2 is fine? All these factors play a role in the price.

So I wrote back to him, thanking him for contacting me, and told him I would love to give him the information he wants over the phone, asked him to call me or provide me a number I can reach him at. The guy never wrote back or called me. "Next!"

Now imagine I decided to spend the next 3-4 hours or so researching the various trims/options/package of each model year, and then going to my boss to get the "best price", I wouldn't hear back from him anyways. Now I just wasted half my day. Now imagined in my shoes, you get a few E-mails per day. I have to balance my time with E-mail leads VS amount of people who are physically in the showroom who are in a position to do something.

2) If you insist on "buying a car over the phone" without having to vist the showroom "to save time".

Shopper: "Ok, I'll buy the Caliber right now for $20,000 on the road"
Me: "OK, if I can get you that number, you'll come in and sign all the paper?"
Shopper: "yes, but I don't want to come in and find out its a different number"
Me: "I understand, so you're making an offer over the phone, and if I can convince my manager of that then we have a deal?"
Shopper: "Absolutely, so go talk to your boss and get back to me"

At this point, this is where I distinguish the real serious buyers from the window shoppers.

Me: "OK, no problem, Please give me your correct spelling of your last name and first name, I'm going to also need your credit card information, Visa or Mastercard, with the expiry date. I will then go to my manager and if I can get that exact number you want, I'm going to put a deposit on it" and then I wait for their reaction

Shopper A (lets pretend thats you Wally, and you're serious): "Ok no problem, here is the information.....",
Me: "Ok great, thanks, now wish me luck!"

Me: "I did it, I convinced my manager to accept your offer"
Wally: "Thank you very much, I'll see you at 5pm today"

Believe it or not, I've sold a couple vehicles this way with shoppers like you, the serious buyers would go ahead and allow me to take the deposit over the phone if I can get that number they want even if its a lowball offer.

Shopper B (The window shopper): Credit card? No no, just see if you can do $20K on the road and let me know.

Now remember the credibility issue from earlier if I run off to the manager, with nothing more then the words of "I got this guy and he wants to buy..."?

From the dealership's point of view its no different for you to make an offer in person then having a deposit taken if accepted, or making an offer over the phone and if accepted, a deposit taken as well.

Another tip you can do, is many people are aware of CCC or APA membership or other similiar services? That gives you the factory dealer cost plus the current incentives at the time. In my limited experience with CCC customers, they've shown me their report, and comparing it to the dealer cost information my managers have, the numbers are accurate right down to the dollar. With that information, make an offer by E-mail/call in to any dealership and if its a reasonable offer, it should be accepted, then go in and finish the deal with that dealership.

I've also on occasion, in person, my managers have allowed me to show the customer the dealership invoice so they know what our cost is and then they can make a reasonable offer that way too.

Hope that helps!

[tdu]

I don't think there really is a magic answer. The simple fact is more and more people shop online these days. So this is a reality the dealers will have to start working with and find solutions.

I am only using Hyundai as an example because my last experience buying new was through them recently. But looking back at how that transaction went, 90% of it could have easily been done through email the way they have their system set up. The test drive, and signing the papers were the only part I needed to do in person.

If dealers are going to allow email communication regarding quotes, or have quote forms on their web site, maybe they need to hire a person dedicated to internet sales?

[HP_John]

The truth is, most dealers bottom price is pretty close to each other. Let's say dealer A's best price is $20000, dealer B & C's best price will also likely be $20000. No matter what best price they offer you, someone can match it. People usually take the best price they've gotten, & go to their nearest local dealer & ask them to beat it or match it. The 1st dealer to give you a best price usually loses, because most dealers only give MSRP at 1st & tell you to come back after you're done price shopping, that they'll beat it or match it for you.

So after a customer gets a 1st best price, naturally they have to think it over. They go somewhere else & that place gives the same price, except now they're being pressured. Most people hate the pressure because they usually cave. If you're too nice & give the best price immediately & don't pressure them, they will go to another dealer & give in to the pressure, as long as that other dealer has the same price. Some people are considerate of whom has spent all the time going through the car with them & test driving it, readily giving them the best price & not pressuring. Most people then take that best price & go somewhere else, where they don't beat it, but just match it & put pressure on them. The people just care that it's the same price, & buy it.

[Spidey]

Ive been vehicle shopping since last Sept. Been using the Autotrade and dealer websites, filling out their online request forms. Locally Ive been going in and test driving.

But from online stuff, one dealership is entirely different from the other. Some will send you a lot of stuff back, some will just call you, and some will reply back with "We having nothing in stock at the moment that you are looking for, please contact us in a few weeks to see if something has come in"

if I get one of those, that dealership is instantly in my do not deal with list. You want to sell me a vehicle, and I have to contact you again. ******** if Im keeping track of that on a spreadsheet which dealers I have to call back.

U want my business, you work for it. You call or email me with new stock, im not checking in with you again,

But some wont budge when selling either. I can show them print outs of the exact same vehicle, same kms basically, features, year, etc, etc and its 3-4K less, and they still wont lower to that, giving some excuse. Yet they will hold onto that vehicle for months (there are still some on autotrader that were there last fall because they wont lower their price)

If dealers are suppodly hurting, you would think they would price match something thats the same in the same city at a different dealership. Hell even if its in the same part of the province they should. If you have proof and know they are in the same shape.

I dont see anything in the papers with very great deal IMO. If Chev is supposdly going bankrupt in June, their prices at the dealers arent showing it. 3K off, big deal. want to sell your stock and save yourselves, give it to me for 12K off

Right now we have a Chevy Traverese we are tets driving. My wife is driving it around the city while I am at work. Base model, and its still 40K. WTF. NO AWD, base level. That vehicle should be around 30K or even 29K, not 40K plus.

[gilboman]

And this is one of the many reasons why there are troubles in the car industry.

There is no real reason to not reply to an email quote request. It's a perfectly valid way to ask for one nowadays. And it's why a lot of dealers are offering 'request a quote' type forms on their web sites now.

They need to lose the ridiculous 'tactics' they employ and just get with it.

if you need to buy a car, you buy a car. i wouldnt provide an email quote if i was a dealer, cause they dont want the car they sell to be just a commodity and make the consumer think that dealer A is identical to dealer B because they are not identical.

[Spidey]

if you need to buy a car, you buy a car. i wouldnt provide an email quote if i was a dealer, cause they dont want the car they sell to be just a commodity and make the consumer think that dealer A is identical to dealer B because they are not identical.

But in todays day and age, the old way of car shopping is dead. Everyone and their dog uses the internet to do research. 15 years ago it wasnt possible to see dealers inventory. You had to call, get different newspapers, etc, etc, etc.

Now you can see any dealers inventory across the country in an instant. Maybe thye shoudl realize that and deal with the fact this is how people shop now.

Thats right I need a car and I have to buy it. But Im doing my research first to get the best deal. Why wouldnt I.

To me a dealer is a dealer. You have a vehicle same specs, same year, same everything they better be close in price, or almsot exact. Mazda dealer A in Calgary is the same to me as Mazda dealer B in Edmonton.

Sure there are the older people out there that dont know how to use the internet, so they are the old school way. Go into a few dealers, and buy right away. Thats the kind of people dealers like, but that way it going the way of the dinosaur.

[tdu]

if you need to buy a car, you buy a car. i wouldnt provide an email quote if i was a dealer, cause they dont want the car they sell to be just a commodity and make the consumer think that dealer A is identical to dealer B because they are not identical.

I'm sorry but that is not true. In the end they only want money. They want to pressure you into a sale as mentioned in a ton of other posts in this thread. I believe even the dealers in the thread have said this.

And again, this is one of the problems the industry needs to resolve. With the internet, you are dealing with a way more educated buyer nowadays. They know exactly what I want before I even go into the dealership. So you might as well be figuring out a way to cater to those people who choose to shop that way. If not, you can clearly see from the other posts in the thread that you could loose their business. All for the sake of not replying to emails.

Some companies are clearly 'getting this' and some aren't. The ones that aren't are going to be in trouble when the next generation of buyers come around.

[gilboman]

But in todays day and age, the old way of car shopping is dead. Everyone and their dog uses the internet to do research. 15 years ago it wasnt possible to see dealers inventory. You had to call, get different newspapers, etc, etc, etc.

Now you can see any dealers inventory across the country in an instant. Maybe thye shoudl realize that and deal with the fact this is how people shop now.

Thats right I need a car and I have to buy it. But Im doing my research first to get the best deal. Why wouldnt I.

To me a dealer is a dealer. You have a vehicle same specs, same year, same everything they better be close in price, or almsot exact. Mazda dealer A in Calgary is the same to me as Mazda dealer B in Edmonton.

Sure there are the older people out there that dont know how to use the internet, so they are the old school way. Go into a few dealers, and buy right away. Thats the kind of people dealers like, but that way it going the way of the dinosaur.

i'm not talking about research. actually, if you look at studies, research is done on internet, but actual sales are still done the old fashioned way the majority of the time.

and a dealer is not a dealer. thats why some are bad, some are good and some get their right to sell yanked away from them.

so, no, cars sold in canada are still done the old fashion way, most will do research on the internet, but actual sales is still done face to face in huge majority of transactions. because its so much easier, you get an apa quote, take it to a dealer close to you and you talk with them telling them you want XX off the price.

[Spidey]

i'm not talking about research. actually, if you look at studies, research is done on internet, but actual sales are still done the old fashioned way the majority of the time.

and a dealer is not a dealer. thats why some are bad, some are good and some get their right to sell yanked away from them.

so, no, cars sold in canada are still done the old fashion way, most will do research on the internet, but actual sales is still done face to face in huge majority of transactions. because its so much easier, you get an apa quote, take it to a dealer close to you and you talk with them telling them you want XX off the price.

Maybe you misunderstood, The buying aspect I will still go to the dealer, but they have to expect people to have doen their research, have papers in their hand to show proof of better deals, etc.

Having that ammo shows you wont be talked into a deal. Ive had them try that to me and Ive walked. "But where are you going" is a line ive heard many times.

But whenever I do send in email quotes, I always include my full name, email and phone and cell numbers. And when they email I always reply back, except to the ones that say to contact them in a few weeks.

I recently had a guy in SK have a Saturn Outlook for $29,900. But I could get the exaxt same one in Edmonton for 5K less. When I said that, he said we would get back to me, but never did. I find some dealers want to wait until that certain person walks in to pay that price. which is fine to make more money if they can, but a lot of times that vehcile will sit for months, all the while they complain sales are down

[stealth]

T-Man rocks!
if Chrysler offerred a car other than the Viper :) that turned me on, I'd totally go to him first and probably last. Not a shot at Chrysler (my current and previous vehicles have been dodge...just not feeling the current product line).

Great info.

[tdu]

i'm not talking about research. actually, if you look at studies, research is done on internet, but actual sales are still done the old fashioned way the majority of the time.

and a dealer is not a dealer. thats why some are bad, some are good and some get their right to sell yanked away from them.

so, no, cars sold in canada are still done the old fashion way, most will do research on the internet, but actual sales is still done face to face in huge majority of transactions. because its so much easier, you get an apa quote, take it to a dealer close to you and you talk with them telling them you want XX off the price.

What we are saying is people are going to the dealer simply to buy the car. They have done their research, and already know what they want walking in the door. Especially people my age. I want no hassle from salesman and sales managers. I want to buy the car. I don't want to hear about rust proofing or any other crap. I don't want every single thing to be 'checked with the sales manager'. A lot of these places are still playing these 'games' and it's just not going to work with the next generation of buyers.

If you are choosing not to even reply through email to people who do their research this way, you are loosing a potential customer. They will go somewhere else. They need to find a way to deal with these type of customers, because they are only going to get more of them. And some companies see this clearly, and are adjusting.

[AGR-1]

Alan Mulally of Ford (http://twitter.com/Ford) was on Twitter this afternoon in an Q/A session with anyone on Twitter.

[lordzod]

I recently got a new car. We sent out emails to many dealers. Only 2 had decent replies. Not just price but also what sets their particular dealership apart from the rest and why I should go with them.

All others sent back what looked to be a form reply quoting MSRP. When we chose where we were going to get the car all follow up emails from those other dealers we did reply. Basically we said we gave our business to another dealership, we told them who it was, that was willing to do most of their business how we, the customer wanted, over emails. If they didn't want to waste 10 minutes of their time preparing a competitive quote I was not willing to waste 1-2 hours of going to their dealership to negotiate in person.

I didn't shop the other two against each other. I might have been able to get a slightly better price if we negotiated hard and in person. In the end I believe I paid a fair price and don't feel ripped off nor do I feel like I stole the car either.

[rAfChOw]

When I purchased my car recently, I gave my business to a salesperson that responded honestly to my email. Not only was he honest with the invoice price (I had the Car Cost report to check), but he was able to give me the best deal from all the dealers I visited without screwing around.

It all depends on how much they want your business.

[stealth]

Its unfortunate that the auto industry created such a negative perception with purchasing a car, through shady sales tactics and are still slow to adapt to new, less invasive types of selling, such as e-commerce. dEALERS: TAKE A HINT! THE AVERAGE SHOPPER FINDS THE CAR BUYING EXPERIENCE CREEPY AND DECEITFUL FOR NO GOOD REASON. I suspect it will be like this as long as we all pay different prices. Cars are a commodity. the industry has to acknowldge that. Theres no reason why there should be a shell game with this purchase.

other than T-Man, any web inquiries I've made have never been responded to with anything other than " come in and we'll talk". Meh big deal....give me a reason why I should come in and talk with you versus anyone else? As such, it takes me out of the buying mood, since my car is still running. Too bad, i've got an unused line of credit I've been saving for a new car purchase.

[newbieparadise]

But in todays day and age, the old way of car shopping is dead. Everyone and their dog uses the internet to do research. 15 years ago it wasnt possible to see dealers inventory. You had to call, get different newspapers, etc, etc, etc.

Now you can see any dealers inventory across the country in an instant. Maybe thye shoudl realize that and deal with the fact this is how people shop now.

Thats right I need a car and I have to buy it. But Im doing my research first to get the best deal. Why wouldnt I.

To me a dealer is a dealer. You have a vehicle same specs, same year, same everything they better be close in price, or almsot exact. Mazda dealer A in Calgary is the same to me as Mazda dealer B in Edmonton.

Sure there are the older people out there that dont know how to use the internet, so they are the old school way. Go into a few dealers, and buy right away. Thats the kind of people dealers like, but that way it going the way of the dinosaur.

how do you check a dealers inventory?

[tdu]

I recently got a new car. We sent out emails to many dealers. Only 2 had decent replies. Not just price but also what sets their particular dealership apart from the rest and why I should go with them.

All others sent back what looked to be a form reply quoting MSRP. When we chose where we were going to get the car all follow up emails from those other dealers we did reply. Basically we said we gave our business to another dealership, we told them who it was, that was willing to do most of their business how we, the customer wanted, over emails. If they didn't want to waste 10 minutes of their time preparing a competitive quote I was not willing to waste 1-2 hours of going to their dealership to negotiate in person.

I didn't shop the other two against each other. I might have been able to get a slightly better price if we negotiated hard and in person. In the end I believe I paid a fair price and don't feel ripped off nor do I feel like I stole the car either.

Excellent post. This is the type of thing dealers should read and take note of. I think it represents the direction consumers will be going (and are already going).

Just a personal comparison story. My Dad and I both recently bought new vehicles. I had previously owned a Hyundai, and decided I wanted a new one and that I was going to use the dealer in town which didn't exist last time I bought. I knew exactly what i wanted car wise. My Dad was deciding between 2 vehicles, a Pontiac and a Chevy but knew what he wanted and what he was going to pay. Basically we were both 'sure sales'.

I did my test drive, they gave me all the print outs with the break downs of the pricing. I asked for more of a deal on trade, they gave it to me. I bought the car, and the whole experience was about 45 minutes including the test drive. I came back the next day when financing was approved to sign the papers. No pressure at any time for add-ons, extended warranties, or anything else. They just left the flyers regarding all that stuff in the glove box of the car when I picked it up.

Now, my Dad walked into the Chevy dealer by this time knowing exactly the vehicle he wanted and was just wanting to buy it. They kept him there for over 2 hours while they continuously ran back and forth to their sales manager so they could act like he was getting some huge break or something on every little detail. He eventually told the guy if he went to his sales manager about one more thing he was walking out. They took someone who was already a for sure sale, and tried to put them through the ringer.

I am not saying all Hyundai dealers are good and all Chevy dealers are bad. But I do know Hyundai is at least making an attempt to go in the right direction and that is what more of these companies should be doing. My Dad's experience at the Chevy dealer is unfortunately all too common. And it's exactly why people don't like the experience.

[darek_dade]

how do you check a dealers inventory?

http://apps.gm.ca/app/GMCanada/NewVehicleLocatorCriteria.do?nav=8&search_nameplate=8&search_model_designator=&search_mktcd=&search_pkgcd=&lang=en&cta=blank&search_year=2009

[scouzer]

http://apps.gm.ca/app/GMCanada/NewVehicleLocatorCriteria.do?nav=8&search_nameplate=8&search_model_designator=&search_mktcd=&search_pkgcd=&lang=en&cta=blank&search_year=2009

useless tool when I tried to use it 3 years ago, it was months out of date.

[darek_dade]

It's not much better nowadays but at least gives an idea how much stock each dealer is holding.

[Spidey]

how do you check a dealers inventory?

Most website I have been on shows their "used" inventory. Sorry I wasn't more clear. The amount of leg work you had to do in the late 80's were insane compared to now a days.

Autotrader and similiar sites are great looking for used.

[lordzod]

Excellent post. This is the type of thing dealers should read and take note of. I think it represents the direction consumers will be going (and are already going).

Just a personal comparison story. My Dad and I both recently bought new vehicles. I had previously owned a Hyundai, and decided I wanted a new one and that I was going to use the dealer in town which didn't exist last time I bought. I knew exactly what i wanted car wise. My Dad was deciding between 2 vehicles, a Pontiac and a Chevy but knew what he wanted and what he was going to pay. Basically we were both 'sure sales'.

I did my test drive, they gave me all the print outs with the break downs of the pricing. I asked for more of a deal on trade, they gave it to me. I bought the car, and the whole experience was about 45 minutes including the test drive. I came back the next day when financing was approved to sign the papers. No pressure at any time for add-ons, extended warranties, or anything else. They just left the flyers regarding all that stuff in the glove box of the car when I picked it up.

Now, my Dad walked into the Chevy dealer by this time knowing exactly the vehicle he wanted and was just wanting to buy it. They kept him there for over 2 hours while they continuously ran back and forth to their sales manager so they could act like he was getting some huge break or something on every little detail. He eventually told the guy if he went to his sales manager about one more thing he was walking out. They took someone who was already a for sure sale, and tried to put them through the ringer.

I am not saying all Hyundai dealers are good and all Chevy dealers are bad. But I do know Hyundai is at least making an attempt to go in the right direction and that is what more of these companies should be doing. My Dad's experience at the Chevy dealer is unfortunately all too common. And it's exactly why people don't like the experience.

I had a very similar no pressure sale. In fact after a few typical "probing" questions he said not to bother with their extras package as where, when and how we drive we wouldn't get our monies worth. After he saw my surprise of him not selling their package he went on to say that, that particular dealership would rather build a long term relationship to earn our next purchases and get some referals. That they don't just want to max out one sale only not to see that customer again for future purchases and servicing. Not only did they do business how I wanted(via email) they actually seemed genuinely thankful for my business. They're very different to most dealerships I've been to in the past.

[U4IA]

We didnt do much for email quotes.. tried one dealer on a used car and got a somewhat generic email back.. but with a note to come one down and test drive it..and it it was the right car email back and they'd get a special internet price....

Overall, the new buying experience wasnt much better than when we bought our last car 6 years ago... some good salesmen, but alot of wierd ones. Some werent that knowledgable and some changed tone immediately when we said we'd be buying within a few weeks...

Too much psychological stuff.... personal information, blah blah. We knew basically what we wanted. And when we contemplated after the test drive, the pressure started to increase. Bring in the big guns to stop us from leaving.

I cant complain though, it went from high pressure to no pressure the minute we made an offer and they declined. They reallly wanted a sale (last day of the month) and we went from maybe 1K over invoice, to $500 over invoice, to a few dollers under invoice..

And in all this, the salesman didnt have any part of it... once he showed us the car and we made an offer, it was all between us and the manager. Which is maybe while email quotes are difficult for sales people.

But damn, the pressure after that for the upsell protection packages was enough to make you cry.

[tdu]

I had a very similar no pressure sale. In fact after a few typical "probing" questions he said not to bother with their extras package as where, when and how we drive we wouldn't get our monies worth. After he saw my surprise of him not selling their package he went on to say that, that particular dealership would rather build a long term relationship to earn our next purchases and get some referals. That they don't just want to max out one sale only not to see that customer again for future purchases and servicing. Not only did they do business how I wanted(via email) they actually seemed genuinely thankful for my business. They're very different to most dealerships I've been to in the past.

An interesting note to add to this, the dealer we bought from (I assume it's a Hyundai policy) actually gave my girlfriend a cheque when I bought my car because she had bought one a few months previously from them and they considered it a referral. When some other people we know bought from the same dealer, they gave us another cheque for more money. I guess the amount increases for each referral. We aren't actively referring people, they have just seen our cars and what we paid and decided they wanted one. But it's a nice little bonus.

Their sale philosophy at this dealer seems to echo what you were told. In my case, they even gave me tips on where to buy some add-ons I was interested for cheaper than they sell them which I found kind of funny considering the pressure plays I have become accustomed to.

[FordPLG]

I had a very similar no pressure sale. In fact after a few typical "probing" questions he said not to bother with their extras package as where, when and how we drive we wouldn't get our monies worth. After he saw my surprise of him not selling their package he went on to say that, that particular dealership would rather build a long term relationship to earn our next purchases and get some referals. That they don't just want to max out one sale only not to see that customer again for future purchases and servicing. Not only did they do business how I wanted(via email) they actually seemed genuinely thankful for my business. They're very different to most dealerships I've been to in the past.

Can you kindly give the dealer's information? Thanks.

[mtseymourguy]

Salesmen are selling their charm . That is what you are buying. Salesmen make a lot of money. Do you really think it takes any brains or training to sell a car? If people start buying off the net, all the salesmen become out of work. Most are sociopaths. Who would ever choose sales as a career?

[gilboman]

Salesmen are selling their charm . That is what you are buying. Salesmen make a lot of money. Do you really think it takes any brains or training to sell a car? If people start buying off the net, all the salesmen become out of work. Most are sociopaths. Who would ever choose sales as a career?

lots of people choose sales as careers, sales make huge amounts of money, especially in B2B, corporate sales.

[HP_John]

But some wont budge when selling either. I can show them print outs of the exact same vehicle, same kms basically, features, year, etc, etc and its 3-4K less, and they still wont lower to that, giving some excuse. Yet they will hold onto that vehicle for months (there are still some on autotrader that were there last fall because they wont lower their price)

If dealers are suppodly hurting, you would think they would price match something thats the same in the same city at a different dealership. Hell even if its in the same part of the province they should. If you have proof and know they are in the same shape.

With used cars, they really don't know what the other car's condition is. Dealers price match all the time on new cars, at least in the GTA, but won't on used cars because they really don't know if the other car is in much worse shape than theirs. Even at the same dealer, you can have 2 cars with similar KM, features, yr, etc yet still have a few thousand dollar price difference because of the difference in the condition.

[lordzod]

Can you kindly give the dealer's information? Thanks.

pm'd