Another Dealership-Hating Article on the Front Page. Shocker.

"BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather" (bugeyedacura)
09/17/2014 at 01:32 • Filed to: None

I saw Doug's article on dealership tag brackets got shared to Facebook. Of course I'm interested in his opinion on the matter, but there's a problem. I can't even get past the first four paragraphs. Here's why:

Doug's a hell of a writer, no doubt about it. But he starts off the article with every negative car-shopping cliche in the book. He boils down what can be a very pleasant experience to a list of 4-5 negative stereotypes. And they're all from the 80s.

And I'm not saying the experience is always perfect. Hell, it never is. The truth of the matter is that sales is a sloppy job anywhere and in any industry. But in today's digital world, there are no reasons to have a bad car-buying experience. Do your research, be realistic, and don't waste any time once a dealership has proven they're not trustworthy.

The disconnect is when people try to make unreliable dealerships break or meet them halfway. They're too lazy to get out of the chair and go to another dealership, so the experience becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy of their outlandish demands and expected slights.

So here's the thing: go to a 5 star dealership and pay a bit more. You'll get actual consultation and an experience worth the money. Or you can go to CarMax and hate every car buying experience you have. The choice is yours.

DISCUSSION (29)

Jordaneer, The Mountaineer Man > BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather
09/17/2014 at 01:37

or just buy off of craigslist and the terrible ads that comprise 98% of all craigslist ads.

BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather > Jordaneer, The Mountaineer Man
09/17/2014 at 01:40

I think I'd endorse that over going somewhere that only sells used cars.

Conan > BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather
09/17/2014 at 01:42

Having worked sales I don't think many of the worst issues with dealerships actually have to do with sales people. Not everybody sees that though.

Jordaneer, The Mountaineer Man > BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather
09/17/2014 at 01:46

I actually bought my first car off of craigslist, but it was from a decent ad. I'm totally turned off to ads that have very little description and/or few or awful pictures.

Squid > BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather
09/17/2014 at 01:59

A majority of the issues with dealerships are the customers that demand the world and special treatment.

Plate frames I'm cool with, but keep your damn CarMax decals off the fucking paint of the car for fucks sake!

RiceRocketeer Extraordinaire > BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather
09/17/2014 at 02:02

You're too nice to Doug.

RoadHead -- Armand > BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather
09/17/2014 at 02:03

I have only ever bought one car from a dealership, and it was a good experience. That being said, that was nearly 15 years ago. I still have that car but I have owned, oh lets see, 1,2,3....8 different cars since then, all of them were bought through Craigslist or private auctions. Honestly theres not much that is good about the dealership experience. I don't ever buy new cars because I'm not stupid, so I really don't see whats good about the system. You have to haggle with buffoons, overpay, and deal with borderline harrassment. I'll pass. Fuck the dealerships. Let them burn. If I were buying a new car, I would MUCH rather buy directly from the manufacturer like Tesla. Then I'll deal with technicians who actually know what they're talking about and not worry about any bullshit premiums.

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather
09/17/2014 at 03:06

You work for a dealership don't you.

PS9 > BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather
09/17/2014 at 04:34

I don't really sympathize. Crappy dealers earned their crappy reputation through their crappy sales tactics that crappy out-of-date state and federal laws protect. The entire system is broken, and I hate it. I hate being told 'It's between X and Y' when asking what a car costs, as if the saleman/woman doesn't know what the fucking overhead is. I hate the 'make 'em wait so we can take control of the deal' bullshit. I hate trying to be talked into something I don't want to buy. I hate interacting with someone who treats me like a long lost relative so they can leverage the brownie points they didn't earn against me. I hate the cloak and daggar BS, And above all I really hate the every dealer I've been to employs at least one of these shitty tactics, from top tier state-wide superchains, all the way down to mom-and-pop used car dirt lots, it doesn't matter when you go, they all do it and it sucks. It's dehumanizing. It's one of the reasons I don't get cars through dealers anymore, and I won't again, ever.

thebigbossyboss > BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather
09/17/2014 at 06:52

I bought my car from a place that only sells used cars. I got $4K car for $3K.

It's had a few problems (fuel pump was one notable one), but I've put 61,000 miles on it since I bought it (total mileage about 117,000). Overall it's been a good value.

GhostZ > PS9
09/17/2014 at 07:04

Sleezy dealership tactics aren't from the 80s, they still exist, they're just veiled now.

BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather > thebigbossyboss
09/17/2014 at 07:56

Not knocking your car, but a place like that probably paid 2k if you got it for 3. Or they knew it needed things like that pump and just wanted it gone.

BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather > Jordaneer, The Mountaineer Man
09/17/2014 at 07:57

To me, pictures make or break an ad. I know not everyone realizes what's important enough to write a decent ad. But pictures are just a matter of effort.

BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather > PS9
09/17/2014 at 08:03

You know what I hate? The fact that customers expect me to be able to give them a price when that is determined purely by management, and the incentives offered that day/week/month by the manufacturer. I hate how customers want to rush through the transaction so fast that even they don't realize what they're doing half the time. I hate when people pick the wrong vehicle for their lifestyle or don't understand that it costs more to get one not in stock. I really hate that every customer looks at me like I just stabbed their first born when I ask them simple questions like where they live or work. You see, this goes both ways. We don't do the cloak and dagger at my store. If you're having these problems, either you're creating a hostile environment through your actions, or you keep going to crappy stores. Do your research, and be open to the fact that you're dealing with a human being when you get there.

BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather > RoadHead -- Armand
09/17/2014 at 08:07

I guess it depends on your definition of overpay. Certain brands have hardly a 10% markup WITH incentives. So overpaying isn't really an option for those. And buying from manufacturers will only lead to gouging. Oh, and my dealership has 8 certified master techs. Your dealer experience may vary, and maybe we're a special case, but I know they exist.

BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather > Conan
09/17/2014 at 08:09

People whose "experience" with the industry is limited to reading the Google and Yahoo articles about how to get the best deal possible often think they know more than they do. In fact they really don't. But you can't explain it to them either because they automatically assume you're lying.

BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent
09/17/2014 at 08:11

Indeed I do. I work for a dealership that honors transparency and service above all else. I know that many dealerships out there still us snake tactics, we compete with a lot of them, but I wouldn't work at this dealer if things weren't on the up and up.

BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather > RiceRocketeer Extraordinaire
09/17/2014 at 08:11

You think?

thebigbossyboss > BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather
09/17/2014 at 08:25

Yeah they probably didnt pay much for it. But that's not my problem.

The fuel pump broke after 3 years of ownership so I am thinking that it was probably fine when I left the dealer with it.

BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather > thebigbossyboss
09/17/2014 at 08:30

Very true

Sir_Stig: and toxic masculinity ruins the party again. > BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather
09/17/2014 at 09:11

It's not dealership hating so much as tacky plate and sticker hating.

PS9 > BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather
09/17/2014 at 09:54

"Wrong vehicle for their lifestyle"...

Here's another thing I can't stand; dealers who think they know better than I DO about the things I WANT. It ain't for you to tell me what kind of car I should be driving. Nevermind with that. If I have the money to get the car and want that specific model, I should be getting 0% roadblocks from the dealership selling it. What I do with my life outside of this one business transaction is none of your goddamned business. You are a dealer, not a family member. Hell, not even a family member has any goddmaned business telling me what is right and wrong for my 'lifestyle'.

Dealers need to see their customers as human beings if they want the same. You need to understand that it isn't a walking cash register that makes inconvenient word sounds you are dealing with. It is another thinking-feeling-percieveing person who MIGHT have already done a ton of market research, and MIGHT already be aware of what they are looking for when they come on to the lot. That other model in the corner gathering dust no one even test-drives isn't relevant to that person's wants. Your opinion on whether they should be buying a specific model or not (unless the issue is dealer-marquee provided financing) is not relevant to what that person wants. Your desire to move a specific number of this or that model is not relevant to that persons wants, unless it is. Do you see the pattern here? It's OUR money that is going to be poured into this vehicle for whatever number of years (or for me, one lump sum all in one shot) so OUR needs and wants have to come first.

BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather > PS9
09/17/2014 at 10:10

You really have no idea how ignorant what you just said is, do you? You just took away the most legitimate part of our jobs, the fact finding and consulting side, and reduced yourself to nothing more than a walking wad of cash.

If you treat your salesman this way, then no wonder you get taken advantage of. I wouldn't want to help you out either.

PS9 > BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather
09/17/2014 at 19:07

Yep. A person who has already done all the 'fact-finding', researched their choice to near-death, and knows what exact specific car they want and maybe needs a test drive to seal the deal is 'nothing more than an ignorant walking walking wad of cash.' Ok. Whatever dude. I would ask you to consider this next time you want to cry about the bad reputation dealers seem to universally have, but you'd just find some way to fault your customers for it anyway. I mean, you are a dealer yourself so I'd have no right to be shocked about that.

If you treat your salesman this way, then no wonder you get taken advantage of. I wouldn't want to help you out either.

Believe me when I tell you that us consumers know exactly what you mean by 'help' in this context, and we were never asking for it.

BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather > PS9
09/17/2014 at 20:31

Oh, I forgot. A couple of hours on Yahoo and Google makes you an expert. And there's nothing I can do as a person who spends 50-60 hours a week with these cars every week could ever offer you in terms of insight. So what do you do? Maybe I can check out a couple library books and become in expert in your field too! Then we can compare notes and I can belittle your career and tell you how unneccesary you are.

Believe me sir when I say, car lots all over the world are better off if you buy everything off Craigslist and never darken one of our doors again.

PS9 > BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather
09/17/2014 at 21:01

Oh STFU with that. 'Spending 50-60 hours a week' with a car will not enlighten you any further than the manufactures own website can. You aren't going to know more about the makers own products than they will. We're not talking about lawson's criterion for nuclear reaction here. Whether or not a car can be expect to do the things you want isn't locked away in arcane texts that take years to discover; it's publically available, everywhere.

I do get why you would want to project the illusion that you and only you have the correct information though; knowledge is power, and if you can convince your customers you know more about their own desires than they do, you have the ability to steer them into all sorts of deals you find favorable (and they find un favorable later, but that was $2k down and a 5 year financing contract ago so too late to change your mind now, sucker) That's not going to work with everyone, and it definitely isn't going to work with me. Guess not every slimey dealer tactic comes straight out of the 80s, huh?

Maybe I can check out a couple library books and become in expert in your field too! Then we can compare notes and I can belittle your career and tell you how unneccesary you are.

...nobody said this, but you can feel free to keep spooning that strawman.

Believe me sir when I say, car lots all over the world are better off if you buy everything off Craigslist and never darken one of our doors again.

Translation: Holy hell. How would I be able to control car deals the way I like to if everyone's BS detector was as as high as this guy's?

BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather > PS9
09/17/2014 at 21:19

Okay man. If you say so. And LOL to the last part. I'm not a predator. In fact, I'm nothing like your preconceived misconceptions. But please, keep insulting me.

Supra_Star > BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather
09/17/2014 at 21:21

If you treat your customers with the attitude you've shown here, you are the poster child for why everyone hates sleazy car salesmen. You're doing yourself and your "profession" zero favors here.

BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather > Supra_Star
09/17/2014 at 21:33

But here's the thing. He's not my customer. He's never met me. What he did, in fact, was insult me and my coworkers, and my whole profession. I would never treat a customer this way. But whenever someone comes in this belligerent about the process, we have no problems asking them to leave. I just figured I'd engage as we have the opportunity and both sides needed to get it out. But as is the vibe I get whenever I have this conversation, the salesman is guilty until proven innocent (which most people feel would never happen) and the customer is always the opposite.