Are Car Dealers Complete Idiots?

"Nick drives Stick (not Stig)" (NickR)
01/27/2015 at 17:37 • Filed to: Car Buying

I see this all the time when I'm looking at cars on Autotrader and other similar sites. The information provided by the dealer is utterly useless to me. It's like the more information the better, but in fact the information overload is preventing me from finding what I'm actually looking for.

Here's an example

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

...and that's not even one of the worst I've seen. Power door locks, Power Windows, Tachometer, AM/FM Radio, Anti-locking braking system, Reclining seats? Really???? How can any dealer think that this is useful information? Those things are standard equipment in any modern car less than 10 years old and in an effort to filter through all the unnecessary crap, it takes forever to find the useful information about specs and options.

I've just stopped paying attention to dealers that post ads like that and close the page immediately, because if they're full of bullshit on the interwebs, there's a good chance they're full of it in real life.

What baffles me is that anyone thinks this will sell more cars?

DISCUSSION (25)

dogisbadob > Nick drives Stick (not Stig)
01/27/2015 at 17:42

Of course they're idiots. And crooks, too.

JGrabowMSt > Nick drives Stick (not Stig)
01/27/2015 at 17:43

My sisters 2014 Sonic has manual windows.....

I agree that dealers listing cars need to publish better information, but there's a surprising amount of things that aren't standard, even today. My sisters previous car, 2005 Civic DX did not have a tachometer. Both the Sonic and Civic have 5spd manual transmissions. The Civic had manual door locks as well.

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > Nick drives Stick (not Stig)
01/27/2015 at 17:44

My favorite ones are the ones for newer cars that read like:

Driver's side vanity mirror

Passenger side vanity mirror

Door Handles in Body Color

Front Roof Rail

Rear Roof Rail

Spare Tire

Dashboard Glove Compartment

Rear Luggage Compartment

Driver Air Bag

Forward Lighting System

Front and Rear Reading Lights

Front and Rear Cup Holders

Dual Windscreen Wiper Blades

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Nick drives Stick (not Stig)
01/27/2015 at 17:54

Yes.

bootstrap > Nick drives Stick (not Stig)
01/27/2015 at 17:54

Dealers intentionally withhold details as they want you to contact them.

Nick drives Stick (not Stig) > JGrabowMSt
01/27/2015 at 17:55

There are always rules to the exception... But to feature "power door locks" as an option on a 2013 Porsche 911 is just ridiculous!

Wait, no tach and manual transmission? What, really???

JGrabowMSt > Nick drives Stick (not Stig)
01/27/2015 at 18:00

I'm sure since my money would be just as good as your money, I could order a Porsche damn near any way I wanted it. If I really didn't want power door locks, they can either say no to the sale, or accept that I'm giving them money to make that happen.

But yes, the Civic had a manual trans and no tach. The same with my oldest sisters first gen Neon (96 Coupe IIRC). Companies do all sorts of things to squeeze profits out of certain models, including using the dash from another model because it fits and they have it (as opposed to adding a tach and having to make another set of dashboards).

Nick drives Stick (not Stig) > JGrabowMSt
01/27/2015 at 18:03

I challenge you to find a used 991 that doesn't have power locks! ;-)

jariten1781 > Nick drives Stick (not Stig)
01/27/2015 at 18:15

You underestimate the stupidity of shoppers as well though. People still think that power locks are options because that Chevette they owned decades ago didn't have them.

Trust me, dealers field those calls.

cazzyodo > Nick drives Stick (not Stig)
01/27/2015 at 18:20

My favorite are the ones that say manual transmission and then you see the pics. It gets me every time when im looking at wranglers.

ranwhenparked > Nick drives Stick (not Stig)
01/27/2015 at 18:20

A lot of them haven't adjusted to the modern world. Yeah, they're posting ads on the Internet, but they still think an airbag is a feature, as opposed to a mandatory piece of equipment.

30 years ago, power windows was still a selling point on most cars, so dealers just got stuck in habit of listing PWR WDNW on cars that have it, and for whatever reason, haven't got the presence of mind to recognize that they are now listing it for every damn car on the lot and have for years.

Tapas > Nick drives Stick (not Stig)
01/27/2015 at 18:46

Dude, I'm with you on this.

90% of the dealer adverts I see for the car brands they've been selling for ages has non-relevant and/or incorrect information. It drives me fucking nuts!

This is especially true for Porsches, because of the sheer amount of options it can have.

And you'd expect a Porsche dealer to know this. But nope ._.

For Porsche's I check the pics of the centre console below the gear lever for all the options....

But you're on the right track, this car has all the options I want - PASM, Sports Exhaust and Sports Chrono (except I want PDK too. I live in Houston). On second thought, you don't need Sports Chrono for a manual car because the launch control don't work in manuals. Unless you want to pay a lot of money for a stop watch.

Nick drives Stick (not Stig) > Tapas
01/27/2015 at 19:49

And why do every site start with highest price first as default? I don't get it!!!

But you're spot on with the options... I've had a Porsche with PASM before and it will always and forever be a must have option. I also had the Sport Chrono pack with a manual and for track use it was rather useless, (I don't understand why it doesn't use GPS to log lap times?) but the new Sport Chrono does offer dynamic engine mounts and shift lights for the manual transmission, so there's definitely more reasons to have it than with last generation... What I did like about it was that throttle response was quicker and it allowed for a 15 degrees slip before traction control set in.

I'm considering this one as well. I live in San Diego and traffic is not a problem so manual is a must have for me...

NJAnon > Nick drives Stick (not Stig)
01/27/2015 at 19:59

Dealer in one description made it a point to ensure everyone knew that the Subaru Impreza WRX is turbocharged and is manual. Yes dummy we get it. We can get the engine/drivetrain legacy of the car from a different site! We don't need the life story on autotrader!

Tapas > Nick drives Stick (not Stig)
01/27/2015 at 20:29

Oh, I didn't know that about the new Sport Chrono. You're right though, GPS chrono times would be an easy code.

Gotcha, good choice on black 911 :)

Nobi > Nick drives Stick (not Stig)
01/27/2015 at 21:09

Are Car Dealers Complete Idiots?

As a "car dealer" technician, yes. They are.

Twinpowermeansoneturbo > Nick drives Stick (not Stig)
01/27/2015 at 21:26

Yes, the ads include superfluous information. There's a reason for this though. The program used to upload cars for sale online is tied in with the program used to keep track of current inventory. When you enter the VIN for the car into the program, it auto-populates all the standard features. Additional features can be checked off, to adjust value and marketplace ranking in accordance with price. All this stuff automatically dumps into the dealer listings for autotrader etc. Most used car managers don't take the time to remove the unnecessary info. Furthermore, they list so many cars per day that they often don't take the time to write a well thought out ad description.

itranthelasttimeiparkedit > sm70- why not Duesenberg?
01/27/2015 at 21:44

Hey, I've owned a bunch of german cars. cupholders are not to be taken for granted

Nick drives Stick (not Stig) > Twinpowermeansoneturbo
01/27/2015 at 22:08

That totally makes sense... Having too much to do or being too lazy to do it right is no excuse though!

Nick drives Stick (not Stig) > Tapas
01/27/2015 at 22:17

btw.

"For Porsche's I check the pics of the centre console below the gear lever for all the options...."

That's exactly what I do! (and the seats... If they're full electric, then the car has Premium or Premium Plus package.)

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > itranthelasttimeiparkedit
01/27/2015 at 22:23

Kinja'd!!!

I currently own one. Only one cupholder in the front, too tiny for most things, automatically heated w/ the seat, so no water or soda in winter (if it will even fit), and it shares a house with the GPS controls, so if anything drips/spills, all the electronics are buggered.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Nobi
01/27/2015 at 23:02

Seconded.

itranthelasttimeiparkedit > sm70- why not Duesenberg?
01/27/2015 at 23:02

haha that is pretty bad even by german standards. What kind of car is that?

Thankfully I had a porsche early on so my bar is set at no cupholders, anything past that is gravy. The e60 ones arent too bad (again relatively speaking.) I had a 2012 silverado for a year that had 12, it was like I died and went to cupholder heaven. Then I went to another porsche with ...0

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > itranthelasttimeiparkedit
01/27/2015 at 23:14

2001 Audi A8.

And yeah, the E60 has those weird curved ones, but at least they're bigger. Germany doesn't do upholders because Germans don't drink a 72oz big gulp while driving I guess.

Twinpowermeansoneturbo > Nick drives Stick (not Stig)
01/28/2015 at 09:57

I agree. I'm not saying it's a good excuse, I'm simply explaining why it happens.