What % of Car Salesmen are Actually Car People?

Kinja'd!!! "GeorgeyBoy" (georgeyboy)
04/19/2014 at 14:26 • Filed to: None

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Short rant:

Saw a 2011 WRX STI at my local Chevy dealer. Figured I would look at it (they don't show up around here often). It had 13,000 miles and they were asking $39k. It looked to be heavily molested. I'm sure someone with more money than brains mindlessly dumped thousand of dollars into it well "just because".

Salesman came out,"This thing goes". I replied "that's great it just caught my eye, do you know what's been done to it? I see you have a sticker that says 450 hp on the windshield". He says "no but let me tell you, this thing is fast".

I inquired why they were selling it with Blizzaks when it's 70 degrees out, he looked at me like some foreign creature caught in headlights. Told me a 65 year old owned it and traded it for a new Corvette, he "babied" it all its life.

Paint was in terrible shape, swirl marks and holograms everywhere, his response was it was just dirty. Tint on the taillights looked terrible.

In about the 6 min interaction he only managed to tell me that he beat on it. I guess I can't complain too bad, at least someone came out.


DISCUSSION (14)


Kinja'd!!! AthomSfere > GeorgeyBoy
04/19/2014 at 14:30

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They all are, and that's the problem! Most of them know enough about cars to tell you where the info-tainment on button is because 99% of the customers care more about that than the car.


Kinja'd!!! jkm7680 > GeorgeyBoy
04/19/2014 at 14:31

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I'd say even split 50-50

I'm surprised the Chevy dealer didn't sell it out to a different lot


Kinja'd!!! Tom McParland > GeorgeyBoy
04/19/2014 at 14:35

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Most aren't but some are. One of the Audi guys that I do deals with hill-climbs his 500 Abarth.


Kinja'd!!! GeorgeyBoy > jkm7680
04/19/2014 at 14:48

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Me too, they obviously knew nothing about it.


Kinja'd!!! GeorgeyBoy > AthomSfere
04/19/2014 at 14:48

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Such a shame.


Kinja'd!!! jkm7680 > GeorgeyBoy
04/19/2014 at 14:50

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If I were at a major brand dealer, I would make sure that the Car hadn't been beat on, or abused in any way. Selling an abused car is not a very good idea, because chances are with the Sti, that it's going to be an enthusiast that knows when a car is running rough.

I'd sell it with a Rebuilt title if it wasn't running the way that it should have been.


Kinja'd!!! GeorgeyBoy > jkm7680
04/19/2014 at 15:01

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I couldn't tell you how bad it was beat on, but it was heavily heavily modded which is a big turn off.

I don't think any dealer in their right mind would turn a clean title into a rebuilt one. Just sell the car for what it is worth and I will be happy.


Kinja'd!!! jkm7680 > GeorgeyBoy
04/19/2014 at 15:03

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Agreed, in all my time looking though major dealership lots. I haven't seen any modified cars. If they get them in, it seems that they would usually send them to Auctions to be sold to smaller, independent lots. If I were in charge of that Chevrolet dealership, I would either put the correct price on it, (I'd say $25-ish,000) or I would send it off to the auction block to be dealt with there.


Kinja'd!!! OPPOsaurus WRX > GeorgeyBoy
04/19/2014 at 15:12

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I guess its different if its modified, but the new ones are around that price and thats for the launch edition. The guy who sold me my WRX was a car guy. He had a BRZ, an Audi, and an old MR2.


Kinja'd!!! jariten1781 > GeorgeyBoy
04/19/2014 at 15:28

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I have not once had a car-guy salesman.

Fun story. Back in 96 or so I saw a used car dealer had a MR2 turbo in the classifieds and I was in the market. Drove over, and as normal, it had 'just been sold'. I told the guy I wasn't really interested in anything else as I was just looking at the MR2 because I was interested in a cheapish mid-engined car. He goes 'Oh, we have just the thing around back, stay here and I'll pull it around'.

So I'm wondering what it's going to be...X1/9? late 70s Espirit (they were dirt cheap at the time)?...Nope, it was a freaking del Sol. I'm like 'Um...that's not mid engined...' He ensures me that it is so I pop the hood and point and say...'No it's front engined see'.

He goes "All cars have their engines in the front. What mid-engined means is that it's the companies middle sporty car. The MR2 is mid engined because it's faster than the Celica but slower than the Supra. The del Sol is mid engined because it's faster than the Civic, but slower than the Prelude.' So yeah, I learned a thing or two about salesmen that day.


Kinja'd!!! GeorgeyBoy > jariten1781
04/19/2014 at 15:40

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That's hilariously bad.


Kinja'd!!! MikeBedlam > GeorgeyBoy
04/19/2014 at 16:03

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I'm a "car guy", and now-former car salesman. I have worked at a half dozen dealerships. I have had experience in dealing with more then two dozen other dealerships for purchasing, shopping, and consulting.

You're lucky if you find one legitimate "car guy" in each dealership. More often than not, it's the used car manager.


Kinja'd!!! wiffleballtony > GeorgeyBoy
04/19/2014 at 16:56

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Most of the ones that I dealt with are not car people, just salesmen, they'd sell cars or cell phones doesn't matter. Though the one that sold me my Mustang was an enthusiast. He took me to his favorite forced induction options. I asked him about how that would affect my warranty and he laughed.


Kinja'd!!! Makoyouidiot > jariten1781
04/20/2014 at 08:37

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My brain just overheated.