I am proud to work at a dealership

"JCAlan" (jcalan) 08/09/2014 at 15:09 • Filed to: None

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What's with the anti-dealer tone on the front page lately??

I get it. Car dealers are bad. Many people detest dealing with them. Dealers have earned their reputations, you can cite example after example of unscrupulous behavior from them.

HOWEVER, there are also many dealers that treat their customers right and do their best to run an honest business that serves their community. These stories don't get told, because they're boring. "Car dealer helps college grad pick out first new car, customer is thrilled with low payment" is a headline that you'll never see, for example. Dealers also employ people in your community. The auto industry itself is huge, and all those factory workers, transporters, suppliers, etc all depend on the folks at the dealership level for their livelihood. As car enthusiasts, many of us commenters on Jalopnik work in this industry.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for exposing bad guys. But crowding the news with story after story about dealership mis-doings sets a tone that lately has been making me uncomfortable. Is there nothing positive that can be said? Maybe even just tips for buying? Does it always have to be about deals gone horribly wrong, that shed our entire industry in a bad light?

I've worked in the car business my entire adult life. Pretty much everyone I know outside of my family is in the car business, and pretty much they're all great people. I live in a small town, so all the different dealer employees know each other, and outside of a couple bad apples, everyone I have dealt with has been a person just like you or me, trying to make a living, doing the right things, and taking care of their families. Even at nationwide conferences I've attended, I have met great folks.

I am proud of my occupation. I love cars and I have a job where I get to play with cars all day. I get to meet great people, in both our customers and our employees. I am an honest person. I have never ripped anyone off. Our owner goes out of his way to make sure that his customers are taken care of, and the right thing is done for them every time.

I doubt that my experience is that unique.

TheRallyStache > JCAlan 08/09/2014 at 15:13

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I've worked at 3 different dealerships, and all of them left me with a bad taste in my mouth. I've seen so much unscrupulous behavior first hand that I doubt I'll ever go back to that world. So yes, from my personal experience, I'd say your experience is unique.

Newsboy > JCAlan 08/09/2014 at 15:18

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Good on ya'.

It's easy to focus on the bad dealers, like most things in life, but there are plenty out there that take care of their customers. I've got a great Subaru dealer, and a good Fiat dealer. The only bad experience I've had at either is haggling over a defective A/C control knob.

That said, you reap what you sow. If you go for the low-price $159/mo bargain basement dealer with annoying TV and print ads, you're probably going to have a bad experience during and after the sale. No-haggle dealerships with high customer service ratings are the way to go.

IDROVEAPICKUPTRUCK > JCAlan 08/09/2014 at 15:18

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I've had some very good dealer experiences, especially when I bought my Focus ST. That being said the reason why it was good was simply because they did exactly what I wanted them to. I had X-plan pricing, I found an outgoing 2013 model year a few hours away, I told them I wanted that specific car and they got it for me. No dickering on price because of X-Plan. I think what a lot of people dislike (me included) are the dealer laws requiring you to use a dealer. It adds cost, why should I be giving a middle man my money when I can spec out the exact car I want online? Why can't a factory store do this? If independent dealers truly add value let the market show that and let them compete against factory dealers and demonstrate their value instead of hiding behind protectionist anti-competitive laws.

When I bought my truck in 2011 though I got nailed by the most classic dealer move in the book: Floor mats. I saw rubber floor mats on the invoice and I thought, sure, this is going to be a work truck whatever I won't raise a stink about it. Then when I actually get the vehicle there are two sets of rubber floor mats, the truck already came with rubber floor mats, they just put another set on top.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > JCAlan 08/09/2014 at 15:20

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News rarely covers the good guys, therefore the bad guys seem more prevalent. Always been the case, bad news gets more viewers. My dealer experience was pretty reasonable.

thebigbossyboss > JCAlan 08/09/2014 at 15:24

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The two times I have taken my car (chevy) to a chevy dealer both times I was told they couldn't help me.

The first time they said they didn't have exhaust brackets or whatever, and the 2nd time they wanted $8.45 for an M6 bolt. I went to Rona (hardware store) and got them for 20 cents.

PatBateman > JCAlan 08/09/2014 at 15:42

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Don't worry about it. No matter how much good you do, someone will think you're just a scumbag because REASONS!! Stereotyping and painting people with a broad brush is par for the course on the internet.

- A Financial Advisor

desertdog5051 > TheRallyStache 08/09/2014 at 16:07

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I feel your pain said the insurance salesman.

UH60_Pilot > JCAlan 08/09/2014 at 16:21

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I think it would be nice if there were a list of the dealers like the one that JCAlan describes working for. That way the general public won't have to waste their time going to the dealers that couldn't care less about helping people. It would also force them to clean up their act if they wanted to stay in business. It is amazing this day in age with all the information that is available at our fingertips and people are still too lazy or don't care enough to avoid getting ripped off.

Went to local dealership last winter, to test drive and see about ordering a particular model. Told the salesperson up front that we were eligible for fleet pricing and it was our understanding that any dealer could place that order. (unrelated but in the first few seconds of the test drive we could tell he was not a "car guy" and only there for the paycheck. - The wheels on the car he pulled up were caked with road salt[understandable] and instead of pointing he kicked one of them and said something to the effect of them being "sweet wheels")

Anyway, after the drive we sat down to see about the order process knowing full well it may take 12 weeks to be built and shipped. He handed us a piece of paper with a price on it. We informed him that was thousands more than the fleet quote. He played the "I'll need to speak with the manager" game and came back with a slightly lower price, yet still thousands too high. It was clear he didn't have any intention of helping us with the fleet order and was hell bent on talking us into paying more, so we promptly thanked him for wasting our time and left. At least we got to test drive it. And I won't hesitate to waste their time by test driving other vehicles I may be interested in.

sdwarf36 > JCAlan 08/09/2014 at 16:33

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Almost all mechanics I've known that work at dealership are ok people-but are you willing to throw yourself in with every other person that work at dealerships? What the salesman says? What the fianance guy does? What your service manager tell customers?

Its sounds like you work in a small town-my town is the same-3 dealerships + maybe 3 independent shops-I'm sure 75% know each other. The small town dealership are usually far better caliber-all your customers are nearby-and bad news travels fast. Its the mega dealerships that seem less concerned about honesty. Super auto group owns 45 dealerships-and know that a service dept of X size should make Y dollars a month. And the service manager works on commission-and the threat over his head to make quota or else. They aren't the ones that are going to just free up a ladies sticking ebrake cable for .5 hours-they are going to turn it into a 6 hour job + $500 in parts.

A service manager I know once explained a whole bunch with his statement to me while holding up a pencil-" this is the most profitable tool in the shop."

JCAlan > IDROVEAPICKUPTRUCK 08/09/2014 at 16:36

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What leads you to believe a factory store would be better for consumers? Would they not have the exact same overhead as a franchise? Have your experiences at corporate owned chain stores like Wal Mart or Best Buy been that much better than a mom or pop store? Do you get a much better deal because you're buying your computer directly from Apple?

I'm not against it, I'm a free market guy. I just see no advantage. Dealers competing with each other for your business is a good thing.

JCAlan > sdwarf36 08/09/2014 at 16:42

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Lol I am the finance guy. I've held every job in a dealership from lot boy to GM. I've been at my current employer for 10 years and plan to retire here.

IDROVEAPICKUPTRUCK > JCAlan 08/09/2014 at 16:49

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I order a car online. I pick it up at a dealer, no need to pay a salesman a commission. This is one place where I wish cars were more like appliances. Pay the sale people you do have at dealerships salary instead of on commission so they can actually provide a better buying experience if you want to go in person instead of high pressure sale practices. I'm not a big Tesla guy but this is one place where I love what they're doing.

JCAlan > UH60_Pilot 08/09/2014 at 16:50

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The guy obviously didn't know what he was doing. In the makes that I'm familiar with, fleet, supplier, or employee deals are a set price, you can't deviate from them, and the dealership actually makes more money on them than a regular retail buyer, so it's all win.

UH60_Pilot > JCAlan 08/09/2014 at 16:56

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I didn't realize that. I guess he and his manager didn't either?

JCAlan > IDROVEAPICKUPTRUCK 08/09/2014 at 17:06

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You still need a salesman. In my observation auto makers are requiring more and more from the salesman, especially at time of delivery. Consumer satisfaction is a huge concern of theirs. The customers are sent a survey, and get a chance to grade every aspect of the process. Did the salesman go over the features of the car? Was the warranty explained? Did they go over the Quick Reference Guide with you? Did they show you where the service dept is? Did they set up your Onstar account for you? And on and on and on. If the customer doesn't understand a feature of their car or have no one to ask, they tell people (like consumer reports) that it doesn't work. I'm sorry, but buying a new car is never going to be just picking up your keys and driving off, it's just not heading in that direction. Even if you ordered your car online, someone will need to facilitate the sale. I've not been to a Tesla store, but I guarantee they have salesman. Handsomely paid salesman.

JCAlan > UH60_Pilot 08/09/2014 at 17:38

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As far as a list of reputable dealers, there are many sites where consumers can review their experiences. Google, dealerrater, yelp, and others. But just like any other review site, you have to take it with a grain of salt and realize that some people are never happy, and that most people who are happy aren't motivated to fill out a review. I like Cars.com for dealer reviews. It's a simple format, you don't have to create an account just to do it, and they do a decent job of policing to make sure the reviews are from real customers. Our dealership actually has more reviews on cars.com than any dealer in the country, with currently 3490 people out of 3515 recommending us. We take pride in that, and respond personally to each reviewer, good or bad.

VincentMalamute-Kim > JCAlan 08/10/2014 at 21:26

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I am sorry my post with the possibly shady (or not) shenanigans at the Acura dealer my friend experienced evidently touched a nerve there. (and one where the Audi dealer charged my friend $2700 to replace a fuel pump that may or may not have been bad and screwed up a bunch of other stuff while they were in there. But I have a ton of stories like that) I'm sure there are good dealers out there. I personally have not experienced that. And like others point out, the bad experiences completely wipe out any good experiences in people's memories.

Although I do not trust most dealers, that really is true about most business and tradespeople and professionals like doctors and lawyers trying to make a living. That is they are all human beings and it is too easy to take advantage of people when you have more knowledge than they do and the incentive in terms of increasing your income is huge.

I've had similar bad experiences with HVAC people, appliance repair people, contractors, etc etc. I'm in the medical field and I know there are hospitals and doctors who are more interested in increasing their income than doing the right thing for their patient. So it's not dealers specifically that are evil. People in general are evil but this is a car site so we talk about dealers and mechanics a lot.

I do have a mechanic I trust but haven't used him in years after I started doing all my own work. But I refer everyone else I know to him. So I know there are good people out there and good on you for being one of the good guys. It's too bad you're not local to me otherwise I'd send people to you too.