Working at a car dealer?

"Rainbow" (rainbeaux)
10/29/2014 at 13:06 • Filed to: None

You might remember that my current manager is a moron who gets pissed at me for having doctor's appointments and recently decided that everyone will work for just a couple hours on Thanksgiving, because "it's only fair." (Sure, maybe she's the host for her family, but some of us have grandparents out of state who can't easily come over here...)
But anyway, one possibility for a new job would be working at a dealership, and I'm just curious if anyone has any positive or negative experiences with that. My understanding of the porter position is that I'd move cars to and from maintenance, around the lot, off the truck, in and out of the showroom... basically a lot of very brief driving, but also cleaning both the lot and the cars, answering phones, occasionally escorting customers around the lot... It honestly seems like quite a lot of very different work, like it could/should be split into two different part-time jobs instead of all going to one person. That said, although I'm not too thrilled about working directly with customers again, the rest sounds fairly straightforward, and I'd imagine some of the car-related benefits would be great. So yeah, does anyone here have experience with this sort of job, and would you recommend it?

DISCUSSION (4)

Sam > Rainbow
10/29/2014 at 13:10

Your boss sounds like a douchebags, so I wish you the best of luck finding another job. I'm planning on applying at a dealership near me, but the experience there will probably be different than what you should expect. (It's a Lotus/Rossion/Magnum dealer)

Nibby > Rainbow
10/29/2014 at 13:12

Your boss sounds passive aggressive as fuck. Get out of there.

Firewrx234 > Rainbow
10/29/2014 at 13:19

At my dealership, our porters clean the cars, maintain the lot appearance, and fetch cars from othe dealerships in the group as well as taking cars on and off the showroom floor.

If that sounds good to you, I say go for it!

As Du Volant > Rainbow
10/29/2014 at 14:08

Being a porter at a dealership is a dirty and unforgiving job. Some points:

- move cars to and from maintenance, around the lot, off the truck, in and out of the showroom... basically a lot of very brief driving

You're also going to be asked to go on runs at a moment's notice. "Hey Rainbow, I need you to go across town to XX dealer right now and pick up this car! What, you're scheduled for lunch in 15 minutes? I need this car, you can take your lunch after you get back."

- cleaning both the lot and the cars

Are you ready to do this in all weather? You'll be cleaning cars most of the day in all extremes of weather- super high heat as well as during the dead of winter. Your shoes will be soaked all day, every day, and in the winter you'll freeze your ass off and in summer you'll sweat like a pig. If you get snow in your area, you'll be tasked with clearing the snow off the cars- ALL of them, every day that it snows.

You'll also be responsible for cleaning up cars for delivery, which means getting them ready to go home with their new owners. They need to look perfect, and yes, customers will bitch about the slightest things. This also means you'll almost never leave at closing time, as almost every day of the week the staff at a car dealership has to stay late to help customers whose deals drag on after closing time.

The reason the job is so varied is because you'll be doing all the shit work. All the menial and dirty jobs, all the shit nobody else wants to do, will be your responsibility.

And these "car-related benefits" you speak of? There are none. You'll get a tiny bit of wheel time in some new cars here and there, that's it.

It's a terrible job and I would NOT recommend it. We never have anyone stick it out more than a few months. The only long-termers we have stick with us because we don't drug test. There's a reason why every dealership in town is always hiring for this job- it's because the job sucks.