I Sold Chryslers During the Auto Industry Crisis of 2008-2010

"As Du Volant" (skuhnphoto)
11/17/2014 at 17:27 • Filed to: car sales, cash for clunkers, chrysler

139

Here's a story for you- what it was like working in sales for a Chrysler dealer during the automotive industry crisis. But first, a little background.

I joined the car business in autumn of 2007. I'd recently gotten a business degree that I'd hoped would really help my job prospects, but I wasn't having any luck finding a decent job. Everything required multiple years of experience that I didn't have. Frustrated and sick of my dead-end job, I decided to look into selling cars. I thought- I know and love cars and it'll help me get business experience, so why not? After a few years I could always move on to something better. A few weeks later I found myself the proud occupant of an 8'x8' cubicle in a Chrysler-Jeep dealership outside of Pittsburgh.

I'd spent most of my life around older cars, which was probably a good thing considering Chrysler's product line at the time. The 2008 model year had just been released, featuring mind-blowingly bad offerings such as the fifth generation Town & Country, third generation Sebring convertible, and second generation Jeep Liberty. Other industry winners such as the pre-facelift Jeep Patriot and Compass, third generation Sebring, and the Chrysler Aspen (remember those?) were still nice and fresh, having been launched the year prior. Lucky for me I considered a "newer" car to be anything under ten years old and didn't realize how horribly awful the cars I was selling were. I started my sales job full of piss and vinegar and it showed- my second full month in the business I snatched the salesperson of the month title away from a group of pissed-off veteran salesmen, and by month three I was promoted into an Internet Sales Manager position that'd been vacated by one of the aforementioned pissed-off veterans.

Pictured: veteran salesman

Fast forward to the autumn of 2008. We'd had a good year, sales had been decent (fueled by generous manufacturer incentives of course) and that summer we'd added the Dodge brand to our lineup. Recent news about Chrysler hadn't been good, though. We hadn't seen too much of it on the retail side of things, though a few things weren't quite right- most notably that shipments of parts and vehicles had become sporadic. Around November the shit started hitting the fan. Bad news came on top of more bad news in a snowball effect, and before long the powers that be were talking bankruptcy. In December President Bush announced the auto industry bailouts.

Our flow of customers dropped off dramatically. Customers didn't want to buy cars from a failing company. Even federal backing of auto warranties didn't help. Our sales and our paychecks dropped precipitously, and the salespeople started leaving for other brands. In the course of a few months we'd dropped from eight salespeople to four, and whittled our management staff down to a skeleton crew. I decided to stick it out- with the team being so small I had a pretty large chunk of the pie, and my Internet sales position was still a good place to be even with the lack of customers. And oh boy, the customers.

Chrysler's bankruptcy in April of 2009 made things even worse. It also brought out the worst of the customers. It seemed like every other person that came through the door hit us with statements such as "You guys are bankrupt, you must be desperate to make a sale. I'll give you $20,000 (for a car that stickers at $40,000) but no more."

Often times there were ones who wouldn't buy because of the bailout. Sometimes I'd spend hours or even multiple hours over several days with a customer who had to "go think about it," only to follow up with them and be told "My (insert family member here) says I shouldn't support a company that took taxpayer money." Rubbing salt in the wound were the ones who were deliberately demeaning- they'd come in and spend hours test driving cars and discussing numbers just to berate us for "stealing their tax dollars" and then storm out with a sense of smug satisfaction.

A day I'll never forget was one cold Monday morning that May. Chrysler had announced they'd be closing 700-odd dealerships, and Monday was the day we'd find out who was eliminated. Each dealership had received an express-mailed letter, sealed in a FedEx pouch. We all were confident we'd still be around- we were doing good business in a rapidly-growing suburb... but what if Chrysler deemed us superfluous? Our general manager paged all the dealership staff to the sales desk and ripped open the pouch.

We'd made the cut; Chrysler was keeping us around. Nobody clapped or cheered. We just all breathed a sigh of relief and went back to work.

Several other dealerships in the area weren't so lucky. We purchased a dozen or so vehicles from one of them as they liquidated their inventory. I rode along with our drivers to go pick the cars up, bringing back a silver Dodge Grand Caravan. The dealership building was a relic of the past, your typical mid-century dealership design with huge plate glass windows angling outward as they stretched from floor to ceiling.

Something like this.

I met the owner as I picked up the keys to the van- a grizzled old man, veteran of two wars, the dealership had been in his family since 1915. His voice wavered as he said he was going to soldier on selling used cars. His dealership is now a Sheetz gas station.

We slogged onward, selling a few dozen cars per month. The customers ribbing us for taking government money (nevermind that we were a franchise, NOT owned or employed by Chrysler) dwindled away. The cheapest minivans on the market were our bread and butter along with the ever-popular Jeep Wrangler. The Jeep Grand Cherokee, despite being absolutely horrid, still sold well by virtue of being a Jeep. The $4000 incentive kicked in by Chrysler didn't hurt. People were still crazy about the older Jeeps as well, and we made a good living selling used models. Dodge launched a new Ram during that time period as well, which was a nice boost for us. Oh, the Journey also came out around then... but having been designed by Chrysler at its worst it was just a blip on the radar. We sold two during the first month they were on the market.

And then the summer of 2009 hit.

Chrysler's reorganization came to a head in July 2009. During the shuffle they stopped paying certain bills- namely those of the auto transport companies. Shipments ground to a halt a few days after Cash for Clunkers launched (Cash for Clunkers is a whole story in itself, I'll save that for another time). We sold out of all our eligible cars in under two weeks, and with Chrysler not paying their transporters no more came. Four weeks into it we finally got a load of Dodge Calibers- not from Chrysler, but from a dealership in Virginia that got the ax in May. There had been a glitch with the title work and the cars had been mired in a bureaucratic mess for three months. We sold every one of them before the truck delivered them. By the end of Cash for Clunkers we had fifteen vehicles left on our lot (as I write this we currently have 325 in inventory).

Two weeks later a convoy of four auto transporters lined up on the side of the road in front of our dealership. We were back in business. The manager made an announcement about it on the intercom and everyone cheered.

By this time the Fiat merger was well under way and we'd heard lots of great news from Sergio Marchionne. He was an inspiration to all us salesmen who felt like we'd just waded through a sea of shit, and we all waited eagerly for every announcement from our sweater-wearing god. New products were still almost a year away but for the time being Fiat had injected a little bit of life into the product line. $19,000 Chrysler Sebrings with standard leather interiors! $20,000 minivans with DVD players! Dodge Nitros with 20" chrome wheels! All they'd really done was put lipstick on a pig, but it worked. Sales were climbing again and we were feeling hopeful. Knowing the worst was over gave us new energy, and 2010 was shaping up to be my best year to date.

I'll skip the boring details for a quick summary- in 2010 we got the new Grand Cherokee, Durango, Charger, and 300, plus a major facelift for the Journey, Compass, Patriot, Avenger, Town & Country, and Grand Caravan. !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! Even though the 200 was just a polished-up version of the turd we knew as the Sebring, seeing the ad made us all feel a sense of confidence in our brand that we'd never felt before. We finally could say we were going to be okay.

Since that time, the dealership I was working for has quadrupled its volume. The ragtag team of four salespeople we had in 2009 has grown to a total of 27 people including managers. I continued in my Internet Sales Manager job, growing my team from just me to a group of six accounting for 60% of the company's business. I now head up the online operations division for our entire dealer group and no longer sell cars. Flounder became a sensitivity trainer, Otter became a gynecologist, and Neidermeyer was killed in Vietnam by his own troops.

DISCUSSION (100)

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > As Du Volant
11/17/2014 at 17:29

Kinja'd!!!

Gib Poncho. Gib.

jkm7680 > As Du Volant
11/17/2014 at 17:34

Cash for Clunkers hurt me.

RickyD > As Du Volant
11/17/2014 at 17:50

I openly wept when the Cadillac dealership I was at was axed in 09'. I remember going home knowing there was no way I could make anywhere close to what I was making anywhere else to pay for the 2 houses and 3 cars I had recently purchased, I was 20 years old at the time. I found out that my dog was hit by a car when I got home that night. Your story hit me deep, but I am back in the business now. Great story, that captured the stress it put on all of us back then.

V12 Jake- Hittin' Switches > As Du Volant
11/17/2014 at 17:55

Flounder became a sensitivity trainer, Otter became a gynecologist, and Neidermeyer was killed in Vietnam by his own troops.

I laughed he'd in the middle of class at this. Nice story.

Tom McParland > As Du Volant
11/17/2014 at 18:08

Facintating story and great post! Small tip, put one of your images above the first paragraph. Then we can try to get this on the FP. :)

ranwhenparked > As Du Volant
11/17/2014 at 18:26

From what I can tell, it sucked real bad on the other side too. I interviewed at Chrysler in 2013, and at the time, they had pretty much just started hiring again to replace all the positions they cut during the bankruptcy. Supposedly they were down to like 4-5 sales/customer service/dealer support people handling the entire Northeast at one point. The office was row after row of cleaned out cubicles, and all the posters and new model ads and pictures hanging in the offices and conference rooms seemed to date to around 2007 or so.

As Du Volant > Tom McParland
11/17/2014 at 18:38

Thanks for the tip Tom! Just added one.

As Du Volant > V12 Jake- Hittin' Switches
11/17/2014 at 18:39

Ask for Babs.

V8Demon - Prefers Autos for drag racing. Fite me! > As Du Volant
11/17/2014 at 19:04

Dodge Nitros with 20" chrome wheels!

My 2008 soldiered through it's first 65,000 miles flawlessly. It's the last 3,000 that have been troubled with a myriad of issues. The satellite radio is in constant reset mode, the remote start has quit, the radiator has a slow leak and I believe the TIPM is the cause of the alarm going bonkers when I hit the unlock button on the key fob (although it did this a couple of times new). It's going to a buddy of mine to fix everything on Wednesday. After that I think it may be trade in time. I have more confidence taking my highly modified 27 year old car on a road trip right now. It's a shame 'cause like I said the first 65K it was dead cold RELIABLE.....

Tinfoil Hat in a thunderstorm, now with added diecast > As Du Volant
11/17/2014 at 19:15

That was a good read, now I'm waiting for your "cash for clunkers" instalment. Sad news about Neidermeyer.

As Du Volant > ranwhenparked
11/17/2014 at 20:00

I remember this. And it just now dawned on me that our Chrysler rep's hair turned white during these three years.

btc909 > As Du Volant
11/17/2014 at 20:22

My 2006 Dodge Magnum SXT is nothing but an endless money pit.

Rocsoe > As Du Volant
11/17/2014 at 20:50

Excellent story. I remember during the dealer closings one dealer here was advertising eight brand new Sebring convertibles for about $12,500 each your choice. Took a few weeks to sell them all.

greenagain > As Du Volant
11/17/2014 at 21:59

Good story. You're lucky you weren't at Chrysler's REAL low point- the 70's and 80's.

Your customer comment reminded me of selling cars just after 9/11. "You should be thankful for my $ 10,000 discounted offer."

Deal Killer - Powered by Focus > RickyD
11/17/2014 at 22:22

You ever think about writing country music, 'cause that right there has Nashville all over it. All it's missing is a pick-up truck and a woman whose done you wrong. A potential gold mine.

Deal Killer - Powered by Focus > As Du Volant
11/17/2014 at 22:24

Nice story, and well written. If you haven't done so yet, listen to the latest "This American Life" episode, as it's all about selling cars at a Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep Dealership. It's a really good story as well. http://www.thisamericanlife.org/

Tomsriv > As Du Volant
11/18/2014 at 01:20

I still think the 300, Charger and Magnum with the V8 were the best sub 50k cars you could buy during the whole decade! I went to a dealer in late 07 to look at a Magnum and they didn't have any because they were going to be discontinued and they didn't want to stock a car that would be discontinued. That experience and your experience with scared and jerk customers makes me think car buyers are a skittish bunch.

I finally got an '06 Magnum RT used in 2011 and I still look forward to driving it every day.

William Byrd > As Du Volant
11/18/2014 at 08:58

Great story!

I waltzed into a Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep dealer circa 2009, literally on the day the execs were in DC testifying before Congress. I figured that based on that they would love to make a sale and I really liked the new Challenger R/T. I had my 2007 G35S sedan as a trade and they evaluated it. Poorly. Like thousands less than the Ford dealer down the street, lower than anything on KBB.

I asked if that was the final offer and they acted as if they didn't have time for me, even though it was clearly not crowded on that particular weekday evening. Perhaps they were watching the coverage on CSPAN-2 or something, but I walked out shaking my head and bought a newly refreshed 2010 Mustang GT.

That always stuck with me, I likely had quite a shocked face leaving that evening. I haven't gone back to that specific dealership, instead we bought a 2012 Wrangler Unlimited from a location over in Virginia.

Goofnik > As Du Volant
11/18/2014 at 09:44

It seemed like every other person that came through the door hit us with statements such as "You guys are bankrupt, you must be desperate to make a sale. I'll give you $20,000 (for a car that stickers at $40,000) but no more."

How many of these people were upside-down $8,000 on their Dodge Neon?

boobytrapsandtreasure > As Du Volant
11/18/2014 at 09:45

I hear Bluto became a senator.

albo > As Du Volant
11/18/2014 at 09:48

I have one of those 2008 Grand Caravans, bought new off the lot because of price and standard features. But whoever designed the brakes was on angel dust. I can't get 20K from even good disc pads.

JB1 > As Du Volant
11/18/2014 at 09:49

Nicely written article here. It really holds the readers attention and captures what it was like being a salesperson during this time period. Well done

JB1 > As Du Volant
11/18/2014 at 09:51

I wonder what an article written by a former ford salesperson would read like. Would they be talking about how their customers were proud to buy ford and products flew off the shelf? I doubt it, but would still be interesting to hear the perspective.

timgray > As Du Volant
11/18/2014 at 09:53

Want to know what else killed Chrysler? It started in 2005. Chrysler started making complete crap that year. Electrical problems out the wazoo for most vehicles, reliability problems, and the company taking the GM stance of " Sucks to be you" attitude to the customer.

when the economy crashed nobody was interested in buying cars that were starting to have a worse reputation than GM cars have already started to have.

I'm a huge Jeep fan, but what Chrysler did to Jeep after 2004 until 2012 was horrible. I still know Jeep guys that will not touch a Jeep made after 2004 because of how badly Chrysler ruined the brand.

As Du Volant > timgray
11/18/2014 at 09:56

That's Daimler/Cerberus for you. Daimler started cutting corners so they could funnel every dime of profit they could out of Chrysler, and Cerberus finished the job. The drop in quality started around 2000 and hit its peak right before Fiat took over.

timgray > As Du Volant
11/18/2014 at 09:58

Which explains that the first model change of all cars and trucks after 2000 were what turned into junk.

MisterDew, a Quinn Martin Production > As Du Volant
11/18/2014 at 10:01

Excellent story, Steve. There are a few parallels between your story and mine; I sold cars for a now-defunct GM brand from 2006 to 2007 and, just as you did, stole the Sales Consultant of the Month title from the veterans in my first full month of sales. I also didn't realize how crappy our cars were when I joined, although I will say that the one I ended up DX'ing for myself in my last month there is still in my possession and still trundling along.

I didn't really endear myself to the upper management. I sold my girlfriend a car, and the sales manager gave her way too much for her trade, earning a thorough chewing from the owner. As a result, she had it out for me for as long as she was my boss, which was until about a month or two before I left. I ended up moving back to Vermont in early 2007 before things got really bad, partly due to seeing the writing on the wall but mostly due to the fact that my girlfriend had already moved back north herself at that point.

snakem > As Du Volant
11/18/2014 at 10:02

Kinja'd!!!

The wants is high on this GP. I'll have mine with a 421, 4 speed, and 8 lugs please.

jimmy-buffett > Deal Killer - Powered by Focus
11/18/2014 at 10:05

Here's the specific episode: http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives…

staykiller > As Du Volant
11/18/2014 at 10:12

GREAT article dude. I started in the business in 2011 at a Toyota store. Definitely a weird time to get in the game, but luckily things were already starting to get better. You certainly need to write that piece on Cash For Clunkers. Very important time in car sales history.

area man > As Du Volant
11/18/2014 at 10:13

Great read - congrats on sticking with it and your resulting successes! I work for a large corporation that just went through some pretty big layoffs, so I know how it feels to walk through the fire like that.

Specific experiences aside, how did you like selling cars overall? Did you have any sales experience before? I've always wanted a job involving cars, even if switching industries means I'd have to start from the bottom.

HoratioGiovanni > As Du Volant
11/18/2014 at 10:15

Ugh. Cash for Clunkers stories always make me cringe. I remember seeing youtube videos of gorgeous, lightly used cars getting destroyed because of that stupid initiative.

tehkav > As Du Volant
11/18/2014 at 10:18

My parents bought my grandmother a new car when her old XJ finally ate its transmission. Brand new Chrysler Sebring from a dealership in Daly City for something ludicrous like $14k out the door and a lifetime powertrain warranty. Say what you want about the Sebring but shit, anyone who wouldn't take that is crazy.

jimz > As Du Volant
11/18/2014 at 10:19

what sales tactics did you need in order to convince someone to buy a Sebring?

TractorPillow > Deal Killer - Powered by Focus
11/18/2014 at 10:23

oh man I loved that episode!

As Du Volant > area man
11/18/2014 at 10:28

Thanks!

I didn't have any "sales" experience before, just retail work. As for the car sales job? For the most part I enjoyed the job itself but didn't like many of the things that came with it.

Upsides were obviously all the car-related stuff, a pretty high degree of freedom in my daily routine, and the ability to (mostly) influence my own income- the amount of money I could make was directly correlated with how hard I was willing to work. The money was great as well, though that's also related to how good you are at it. For every salesperson making $100k+ per year there are two making $30k.

There were plenty of downsides though. It's EXTREMELY stressful, for one- being paid on commission you're never able to predict how much money you'll be earning at any given time. You'll deal with plenty of jerks, both the customers and the management. The hours are terrible. 50+ hours a week including several 12+ hour days per week. The amount of time you spend is dictated by the customers- so if it's 5 minutes before closing time and someone walks in the door wanting to look at cars, you have to stick with them until they leave. It wasn't uncommon for me to be stuck at work until after 10 at night.

You'll lose your weekends as well. In my state it's illegal to sell cars on Sundays so I at least got that day off, but I'd only get one Saturday per month off if I was lucky, and that's generous for the car business. If Sunday sales are legal in your state kiss time off on the weekend goodbye. My other day off was a weekday, typically Friday. If you have a customer wanting to come in on your day off (and they will, constantly) your two choices are to either give part of the sale to another salesperson or give up your off time.

To succeed in the job you have to be stubborn, willing to fail ten times for every time you succeed, and not let your bad emotions show to your customers. Your customers will disrespect you and your management often will too, so you need to be thick skinned. Being knowledgeable about cars REALLY helps but most importantly you have to be willing to learn. You also need to be comfortable talking to lots of people, able to keep them happy and entertained while they're with you, but also willing to "go in for the kill" when it's time to make a deal- being friendly will get you very, very far but when it comes down to brass tacks you have to be very firm yet still polite.

It's a very difficult job but also can have its rewards. I'm glad I had the experience in my life of doing it but I wouldn't go back unless I had no other choice to keep a roof over my head. Starting from the bottom is no big deal though, as car sales is a business where people are usually rewarded on merit- do well and you'll move up the ranks, sometimes amazingly fast.

For a good idea of what the car sales experience is like you should really listen to this: http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives…

SwedishMachine > As Du Volant
11/18/2014 at 10:29

Great post! I look forward to your story about the wonderful Cash 4 Clunkers program. I have been employed at auto dealers continuously from 2007-present, so I was also present for the bad times of 2008-2010 and feel your pain.

As Du Volant > jimz
11/18/2014 at 10:36

We usually had two kinds of buyers for Sebrings- people who hadn't or wouldn't shop for any other brands, and people in sticky situations credit-wise (bad credit or badly upside down in their trade-in).

The first group, it was pretty simple- if they hadn't seen any other new car for ten years the Sebring didn't look that bad. It was easy to build value in the car toward the end of its run, as they dropped the price and upped the equipment. We'd show them an inexpensive new car with heated leather seats, remote start, Bluetooth, and a CD changer, and not knowing how inferior it was to everything else, they'd be impressed.

The second group bought them because they had to. It was possible to buy a loaded up new Sebring for $15-$16,000 during the last couple years they were in production, and included in that price was about $4000 rebate. Banks calculate their loan-to-value calculation off of the car's invoice, which meant we could absorb $4000 of negative equity in a trade and still be at 100% loan to value rating with the bank. And if someone was in a bad credit situation where the bank wouldn't loan them any more than 80% of the car's value, we could often put them in a new Sebring with little to no money down. Given the choice between that and a used Cavalier it was a no brainer.

yankeeskik1 > As Du Volant
11/18/2014 at 10:37

i started in the business at the end of this, fall of 2010 also at a CJD dealer...even then it was still frightening seeing how bad some of those models were...

area man > As Du Volant
11/18/2014 at 10:39

Thanks for the thoughtful response!

As Du Volant > Deal Killer - Powered by Focus
11/18/2014 at 10:40

Scania99 > As Du Volant
11/18/2014 at 10:51

Wow! Makes me grateful that I sell Hondas.

Twism > As Du Volant
11/18/2014 at 10:57

I was there too, except my dealer got axed in winter of 2009. Everything you said rang true, and customers seemed to be even worse in the USA.

I had a counter-argument to the ''your company is taking taxpayers money'' argument:
'' Yes, but it's mostly american taxpayers money, so it's actually good for you, since Chrysler can now give huge incentives!'' ... And it worked.

The only difference on our side was the Journey: we sold loads and loads of these (like 60 the first month, in a 200-cars a month town), but the Caravan, Patriot and Compass and Ram 1500 were definitely our bread and butter.

The-Guy-They-Warned-You-About > As Du Volant
11/18/2014 at 10:59

How did you do it?

If you knew the product was terrible, how did you put on the happy face and sell them to people?

HemiJKU > As Du Volant
11/18/2014 at 11:01

This is a very interesting post indeed, great write up. In early 2009 (may have been late 08') I went into the Chrysler/Dodge dealership a block over from I used to work to order a (new at the time) Challenger R/T with a 6 speed. So one day I get a call from the saleslady I was working with and she said they were unloading my car. As I said before I worked a block over so I took a break and walked over there. As they were unloading my brand new car with 7 miles on the odometer, the clutch went out. They offered to replace it for me before pickup but if it went out that soon I didn't want anything to do with that car (clutch isn't covered under warranty).

A year later I went into another Chrysler/Dodge dealership to buy a Challenger SRT. By this time the dealership I had ordered the R/T from was already closed down. Keep in mind at the time I was only about 20 years old. So I go in and after waiting for 30 minutes for a salesman (on a very slow day) I was finally approached by a man in his early 50s. After going into his office and telling him what I was looking for he went to grab the keys for a red Challenger that was very close to what I was looking for. On our way outside the salesman has the nerve to ask me if I could even afford the car. Needless to say I didn't buy the car and instead bought a 2010 Camaro (just released at the time). I had a very early Camaro and I went back to the dealership to complain about the salesman. As soon as I pulled up nearly half the sales team and every single customer there was outside looking at my car. The manager walks up to me, asks if it's my car and I nod yes, then I proceed to tell him how I was there a few weeks back to buy a Challenger from them and tell him how badly I was treated by the salesman.

Fast forward a month or two later and that dealership was closed down as well. Good riddance.

Jeff Tripp > As Du Volant
11/18/2014 at 11:06

Nice homage to "Animal House."

theshinobi01 > As Du Volant
11/18/2014 at 11:14

I truly feel sorry for you, selling any Chrysler car is a pile of crap.

Future next gen S2000 owner > As Du Volant
11/18/2014 at 11:17

I'll give you this. You had to learn how to sell damn well to move those shit cans Chrysler called cars during a horrible downturn in the industry. Hat tip to you. I don't think I could have done it.

Turbostraw > As Du Volant
11/18/2014 at 11:19

"mind blowingly bad offering" "horribly awful" "blip on the radar" "lipstick on a pig" "polished up version of the turd" Jeez I live in Europe so I don't really see a lot of Chryslers Jeeps or Dodge but I really hope the models are better now.

Alec Mac Aodhagáin > As Du Volant
11/18/2014 at 11:23

Thanks for sharing!

GreenN_Gold > The-Guy-They-Warned-You-About
11/18/2014 at 11:25

People have bills and families and stuff.

BigBlock440 > As Du Volant
11/18/2014 at 11:25

Rubbing salt in the wound were the ones who were deliberately demeaning- they'd come in and spend hours test driving cars and discussing numbers just to berate us for "stealing their tax dollars" and then storm out with a sense of smug satisfaction.

I can't believe people would actually do that.

Nevermind. I can, I just don't want to.

Nitecrawlah2 > As Du Volant
11/18/2014 at 11:26

Great job, fantastic piece. I have a few friends who work in the auto sales industry as well, and I've always been curious about jumping into it myself (plenty of sales/manager experience, looking for something new).

Johnnyma45 > As Du Volant
11/18/2014 at 11:28

Good read and perspective, thanks. My family has driven Chryslers (and Jeeps and Dodges and Plymouths) ever since our 1987 Voyager, and 2011 was truly a marked improvement in overall quality.

Dunno if you do this; my go-to buying strategy has always been to email a bunch of dealers, but recently (last couple years) maybe 20% actually continue to do business over email, whereas the other 80% send me an email template to the tune of "we have a lot in stock, please call me to discuss." If I wanted to call to discuss I would have done so initially. The 20% who do continue, only send roughly one reply back before cutting communications complete, as if it wasn't a real lead. What's been your experience in email vs. in-person sales?

the dude > As Du Volant
11/18/2014 at 11:28

God Bless you for choosing to sell Chryslers as a job. You must either be a martyr or the devil, I can't decide which. Besides the Plymouth line I don't really see why people would want to buy them unless there are a bunch of Al Bundys out there.

newguyhereagain > As Du Volant
11/18/2014 at 11:36

Came to say that old Hundson dealership is beautiful. Do want.

1BrokeDad > As Du Volant
11/18/2014 at 11:38

Great story Steve! I was on the other side of that equation as I worked, and still do, at Ally Financial during the crisis. At the office right down the street from you actually. In fact, I bought my last Jeep at your store. Small world.

DSM_OR_DIE::Drives_A_Miata > As Du Volant
11/18/2014 at 11:49

Great story; thanks for sharing! So do we get a Cash for Clunkers article soon? I'd love to hear more!

toroloco > As Du Volant
11/18/2014 at 11:54

Congrats man on sticking through the bad times. I hope you're doing well these days.

Roblopnik > As Du Volant
11/18/2014 at 11:56

Great story, Steve.

FWIW, I actually purchased a truck from you in 2008. I was treated so well by you (and your co-workers) that I came back and purchased my new Durrango R/T from the Steve 2.0 at the same shop last year.

Just don't tell anyone here that you owned a Compass. :D

As Du Volant > Roblopnik
11/18/2014 at 12:02

Wow, small world!

Thanks again for your repeat business.

PelicanHazard > As Du Volant
11/18/2014 at 12:08

Oh, you're in Pittsburgh too?

*scans article for places*

Hmm, Sheetz gas station nearby, Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge....I think I know the dealership, and if I'm right that means I bought my Dart from you guys.

As Du Volant > PelicanHazard
11/18/2014 at 12:10

To be fair, try and find a car dealership of any brand in Pittsburgh that doesn't have a Sheetz station nearby. ;)

Cavey > V8Demon - Prefers Autos for drag racing. Fite me!
11/18/2014 at 12:11

I have an '09 that is great mechanically but little things are starting to just give up: Wiper pumps/hoses, driver seat bolster (x2) headlight/turn-signal control arm (fucks up a lot of other things). I have driven this car cross country twice while towing a small trailer and I have never regretted my decision to buy it, but the areas where Chrysler decided to save money during the bankruptcy are starting to fall off.

PelicanHazard > As Du Volant
11/18/2014 at 12:12

Haha, true. I guess it depends on how nearby is 'nearby'. In my case It's 'just on the next hill over, near where the Circuit City used to be'.

Maxaxle > As Du Volant
11/18/2014 at 12:12

Kinja'd!!!

"...And remember, you can't sue us, because we're technically broke."

fritzo > As Du Volant
11/18/2014 at 12:14

I BOUGHT a 2008 Town and Country used in 2010 for only $22000. The sucker is loaded to the gills with every option and is an awesome vacation chariot, but I'd never buy another one as you can see every single corner they cut—-some at the risk of my safety:

- The front brakes are WAY too small for a vehicle that heavy, resulting in pads that last 20K miles and warped rotors. There's a "service bulletin" on this where they'll put bigger front brakes on if it becomes a problem.
- The traction control is traction control in name only- the front wheels spin like crazy in any sort of slick weather.
- In typical Chrysler fashion, the engine is too powerful for the suspension to handle. Any sort of heavy foot will result in peel-outs rather than power transferred to the ground.
- The plastics in this van are literally made from the cheapest stuff in the known universe. They must have paid big money to find materials this cheap! Some of the trim on the seats is about the same quality as the plastic you would get from those $1 bags of plastic army men from the dollar store.
- The 7 speed automatic transmission has NO IDEA what gear it needs to be in most of the time. This results in awkward shifts and jerks when you're accelerating or braking.

All I can say is it starts every day, the multi-screen DVD player works, and the cruise control gets you across the country fairly comfortably. However, next time I'm going with something else.

Maxaxle > As Du Volant
11/18/2014 at 12:17

Kinja'd!!!

I don't think I ever totally decided whether this was a good thing or not. Even now, I'm fairly split on the idea, because a fair number of classics and nice-but-mistreated cars probably ended up scrapped along with the awful ones.

KillerBee > As Du Volant
11/18/2014 at 12:19

(Cash for Clunkers is a whole story in itself, I'll save that for another time)

As someone who participated in this program, I'm looking forward to reading about this from the dealer's perspective. I'm sure it wasn't fun for you, and it wasn't much fun for me, either.

The Gray Adder > As Du Volant
11/18/2014 at 12:23

Or rather, hit bottom. You know it's bad when Consumer Reports makes a blanket statement saying they don't recommend a single one of a certain brand of car.

The Gray Adder > KillerBee
11/18/2014 at 12:25

As will I. I eagerly await an honest, non-Tea Party assessment of C4C from someone who was actually there.

BTW, I heard people were driving off with brand new Calibers for around eight grand after C4C and manufacturer incentives. Yeah, I heard they sucked too, but for eight grand, why the hell not? NP all day long.

jason > As Du Volant
11/18/2014 at 12:25

I was (and still am) a Chrysler dealer during that time .... Product was not even in the same universe to what we have today, but we still sold cars and all of our customers had massive equity pretty darn quick because of the actual transaction prices were so far back of sticker price ... Most people could trade their cars in 6 most to a year after purchase and have EQUITY. It was and still is a great time to be in the Chrysler business. Now our cars command a good amount of respect on their own and discounting is at an all time low. I have been selling FCA cars since 1989. We have the best cars we have ever had, now on par or better than most everything on the road. That being said, most everyone makes a pretty good car for the money you have to spend today .....

DangerRanger > As Du Volant
11/18/2014 at 12:35

Wait, you only have 320 something cars on your dealer lot? We have 700 something, must be a small town

KillerBee > The Gray Adder
11/18/2014 at 12:41

As one who leans pretty far to the right myself (not a Tea Partier), I was opposed to the program in principle. But when someone shoves a bag of cash in your face, it's hard to say no. In the end, it was worth it for me, but it sure was painful getting there.

MotoArigato > As Du Volant
11/18/2014 at 12:44

I recall this time in Chrysler's history very clearly as my father was a retired employee of Daimler and always bought new Chrysler/Dodge/Ram/Plymouth/Jeep and went out looking for a replacement for my Mother's 300c. She found a black on black 2009 Challenger with a lifetime bumper to bumper warranty (due to the bailout as you mentioned) so they paid cash and took it home. Still own and drive it today, it's been a fantastic car and they will never have out of pocket repairs, that is just astounding to me! It also tells me that all those jerk-offs who came in just to try and rub salt into your dealership's wounds are now the guys paying full retail and getting standard warranties now that they realize they DO need a car.

Along those lines, funny how people reacted to this situation, some felt the company was dishonorable by accepting the bailout, but my father looked at his purchase as his own mini-bailout, saying. "Chrysler took care of us for so many years, maybe this will help them stay in business." Apparently enough people like him made the difference and I'm glad for it... hence, Hellcat!

Ark > As Du Volant
11/18/2014 at 12:54

I was working as a tech at a Saturn dealer in fall of '08, and going to GM school at the same time. Things got rough. The first thing all the dealers did was start laying off their work study people. New sales dried up and a bunch of salespeople left. The service department continued doing decent business until Saturn got shut down and ALL the techs lost their jobs. A huge dealership that sold Hummers, Cadillacs and Saturns ended up mothballing 75% of their building space and just selling Caddys.

The Gray Adder > KillerBee
11/18/2014 at 13:00

Well, pity those like me with shitty timing. I had a beater Honda Accord that I needed to replace now, not later, so I found a new '09 Corolla that had $1500 cash back on it. End cost was a RCH under $15K for a base model with automatic for the frau , who can't drive stick. Thought it was a really good deal because Toyota hardly ever incentivizes cars that tend to sell themselves. I'm not sure a four-pot '99 Accord would have qualified for C4C in any case, but it sure would have been swell to get $4500 for it.

And then there's the pellet stove we bought in '08. Had we waited, we would have gotten a bag of cash thrown our way on that deal as well. We left quite the sum on the table for being proactive and all.

hoffmanbike > As Du Volant
11/18/2014 at 13:16

love the Hudson dealership postcard as the example.

Patrick George > As Du Volant
11/18/2014 at 13:28

People are horrible. Great story though. Can't wait to read more of them. I'm sure Cash for Clunkers was interesting.

Ad_absurdum_per_aspera > Maxaxle
11/18/2014 at 13:30

I have no idea how many real or likely "classics" got caught up in it, over and above their usual rate of attrition from the fleet. It was hard not to notice that the Cash for Clunker impound lots contained some ordinary getting-around-in cars that seemed nicer than what I was getting around in.

One of those occasions was when I was getting new tires. I remarked on this to the manager, and he pointed out, "Well, at least they look that way on the outside."

Point taken — and it goes to that nice-but-mistreated category, which might be better described as once -nice-but-mistreated. My Camry had a couple hundred thousand on the clock, the most recent 50k of them mine, and had obviously been the previous owner's dog car... but he'd treated it to new Castrol and Nippondenso filter every 3k, and after getting those new tires I took it on a thousand-mile road trip with justified confidence.

snowden > As Du Volant
11/18/2014 at 13:35

I bought a 2009 Dodge Ram after owning Mopar products my whole life. What a piece of crap. It rusted out by 35k miles. I had complained about a month after I bought it that there were rust issues. They said wait until it gets worse. Worse came with perforations through the side of the bed. Granted I kept this thing washed and waxed by hand not letting it go more than a month without doing so. Chrysler refused to warranty it. Shoot, it took me countless phone calls for them to admit I ever called them to complain the first time. I dumped it. I never will buy mopar again.

badvibe > As Du Volant
11/18/2014 at 13:43

Great story BTW. Was there an another dealership; Chevy, Ford, Toyota, Honda, etc that you considered working for if you didn't get hired at this one and did they survive the franchise axe?

As Du Volant > badvibe
11/18/2014 at 13:47

I didn't really consider leaving- when I first got hired stuff hadn't gotten really bad yet. When it did I initially considered seeking out another brand, but then the sales team thinned out so much that I was actually able to make a decent living even though we were only selling a handful of cars per month. I wasn't getting rich by any means but I was able to keep a roof over my head, and I felt if I toughed it out I'd be better off in the end.

TheDudeAbides_(version 2.0) > As Du Volant
11/18/2014 at 14:10

Kinja'd!!!

Fitting to see a Stratus in a dumpster. Although this one, surprisingly, still has it's bumper paint.

KillerBee > The Gray Adder
11/18/2014 at 14:11

Yup. Timing is everything. I didn't have to get rid of my rusty 95 Ram with an exhaust leak, but if Uncle Sam was willing to give me three times what it's worth on a new Ford Escape for the missus... who am I to say no? Plus, my aunt had just died and my uncle didn't need two cars anymore. He was going to gift me the PT Cruiser (shut up, it was a 5-speed) that I sold to him a few years earlier. So we traded her old car and the truck on the Escape for her and I took the PT Cruiser. Eliminated one car payment, got me back into a car with a stick, great deal on the Escape, and got a net gain of about 10mpg for the fleet. Win, win, win for everybody.

TheDudeAbides_(version 2.0) > As Du Volant
11/18/2014 at 14:16

Kinja'd!!!

What asshole at Chrysler thought it was a good idea to take a minivan and remove every-fucking-thing good about a minivan? The Pacifica was the worst thing Chrysler ever did. Worst. And so many stupid people bought them. Less forgivable than the PT Looser!

This stupid "crossover" moron-mobile here might not be a Pacifica, but it sure reminds me of one.

The Gray Adder > KillerBee
11/18/2014 at 14:22

Which, IIRC, was the point. Get those old smoking gas guzzlers off the road, permanently, and increase the average MPG of the national automobile fleet while allowing manufacturers to reduce their bloated inventories. If we're going to throw a bunch of money around, it may as well do some good.

MOOSE1111 > TheDudeAbides_(version 2.0)
11/18/2014 at 14:50

i wanna say that's an intrepid. the wheels and the plastic bit behind the rear window

TheDudeAbides_(version 2.0) > MOOSE1111
11/18/2014 at 14:52

I thought so at first too, but for some reason I second guessed myself. If it is an Intrepid, it's got a warped head. Fact.

mysimpleopinion > As Du Volant
11/18/2014 at 14:59

Interesting. Though i got into the business long after the crash it amazes me to this day how people buying the cars do so with "You guys didn't take a bailout, so we'll buy from you!" This is in CANADA too. Hard to believe but damn do i feel bad for you Dodge/GM/Chevy people...

KillerBee > The Gray Adder
11/18/2014 at 15:16

Depending on who you asked, yes.

MN > As Du Volant
11/18/2014 at 15:17

STRONG recommendation for the This American Life link. Listen to it and be part of the sales "team".

The Devil Drives a Mustang (Rotary Pending) > As Du Volant
11/18/2014 at 16:25

"You guys are bankrupt, you must be desperate to make a sale. I'll give you $20,000 (for a car that stickers at $40,000) but no more."

they'd come in and spend hours test driving cars and discussing numbers just to berate us for "stealing their tax dollars" and then storm out with a sense of smug satisfaction.

Damn that's rude. I am not a fan of the auto bailouts but I wouldn't waste my time and their time pulling that stunt. On behalf of humanity I apologize for my fellow human beings. It's not like anyone else has. Although I admit that I did take advantage of the situation myself. Except I didn't walk in an demand a Charger SRT8 for $20k. More like I got a $16k Chevrolet Cobalt LS coupe for $12k. Which wound up being one of my biggest mistakes ever but that's another story.

crown victor victoria > As Du Volant
11/18/2014 at 18:03

The salesman in the lede image looks like bootleg Urban Meyer.

BocaMoccaJoe > As Du Volant
11/18/2014 at 18:25

citizenkaneclap.gif

BobWellington > As Du Volant
11/18/2014 at 18:28

There was a local Nissan dealer here that rejected participating in C4C and ended up going going bankrupt (though I don't believe it was from C4C). The business got bought by another car dealer who was the subject of an article that was on Jalopnik as seen here .

Filmlandgrab > As Du Volant
11/18/2014 at 21:07

Great read! If you take requests, more deets on quirky salespeople and customers, hairy deals, etc. I actually have stories from my family's dealerships (we sold in'85), but both the differences and parallels make me want to read more. Thanks!

Steve in Manhattan > As Du Volant
11/19/2014 at 01:27

And maybe Senator Blutarsky voted for the bailout. We can only hope.

PyramidHat > timgray
11/19/2014 at 06:23

Want to know what else killed Chrysler? It started in 2005. Chrysler started making complete crap that year.

That year? Let me tell you about my parent's Cordoba...

Chrysler Guy > As Du Volant
11/19/2014 at 07:39

In February of 2009 , I bought a 2009 Chyrsler Aspen, sticker was 34000 and i paid 28500. It was a great deal and im still driving it. It has never let me down. Only has 48000 miles and will be 6 years old soon. It has the 5.7 Hemi and pulls like a SOB. The following month I went to my dealer and helped my son buy a 2009 Dodge Avenger. It is still going strong with 105000 miles. Sticker price of 23000 and we bought it for 175oo. I love Chrysler and will buy from them again. Enjoyed reading the article.