ITT: I'm an Internet Sales Consultant for 3 high volume dealerships. One is Toyota, one is Nissan, and one is Hyundai. It is my day off, so ask me anything you'd like to know about dealerships, how they operate, etc.
Brief background - I don't sell cars directly, but I assist prospective clients with pre-purchase planning, figuring out what they are looking to accomplish, and how best to help them and how to earn their business.
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How much is the new Supra going to cost?
More than you can afford, pal.
Bump.
Why are some people so retarded at figuring out which car they want and how to pay for it?
Should I buy a used car from a dealership? Specifically an evo 8/9
Honestly have no idea. A lot of my clients are like that, and they have unrealistic expectation, like looking for $0 down and $129/mo. on a lease for a vehicle with a $20k msrp. If the residual is about 50% or so, the lease would cost about $10k, so how would $129/mo. for 36 months ever make sense?
Probably not. The only benefit you have is that you get the lemon law warranty. Dealerships make bank off of pre-owned vehicles. Buy private and pay for a certified mechanic or a shop to inspect the vehicle prior to purchase.
lel I was sitting in a stealership the other day listening to this one couple argue over the price forever. First the salesdude was like
>look, here are the numbers, if you give me $300 up front that's going to be $30/mo less do you not understand math?
he eventually resorted to basically saying
>no you can't come back tomorrow asking for the better deal I'm not even going to give you a deal this good if you pull that shit
Yeah, it can be tough being a consultant. We can give them a lot of shit, and rightly so, but working 60 hours or more a week, getting yelled at constantly by management, having your peers steal your clients without consequence, and working with prospects that expect you to lose thousands because they want the "best price" or they'll walk is a mind dumbing job.
So are you talking with them mainly online/email or over the phone? Are you the guy who goes out and takes pictures of the inventory and posts them on the company website? If so, are you also responsible for posting adds on other sites like Autotrader?
Sites like autotrader are such a convenience as a buyer and most likely the future. No more sifting through classifieds, spending all afternoon on the phone, driving to every dealership in town.
Now I can scroll around on the internet, find a good prospect, and just show up and say let me check this one out and if I like it you knock whatever off the price and I'll drive it home today.
How old are you? It's been that way for over 10 years man
Old enough to have used yellowpages and newspapers before. It's been improving the whole time, but it's a lot different now than 10 years ago, and it still has a ways to go.
> (You)
>Old enough to have used yellowpages and newspapers before. It's been improving the whole time, but it's a lot different now than 10 years ago, and it still has a ways to go.
Jesus Christ old timer, I'm 34 and have been using Autotrader.com since the early 00's, did your house just get cable internet?
That's me. We receive leads from different websites, for which the dealership pays, and my job is, at the end of the day, to convert that lease to a contacted client to an appointment to a show to a sale. There are processes in place to do this, but I am given a good amount of discretion and autonomy.
The inventory you see on websites are either put there by my manager, the BDC (busines development center) manager, or the inventory manager, depending on the management structure of the dealership.
You're exactly right. Buyers no longer visit the same 3-5 dealerships anymore; the current average is 1.3 or something. Meaning most people do a ton of research before ever attempting to contact a dealership.
Make no mistake, however; dealerships still find a way to make money through these avenues. You're not saving as much money as you think you are.
Actually, the majority of clients still just drop by, or what's referred to as a fresh up. They see ads on the paper or on tv or on the radio. Or maybe they know of us by reputation. So these traditional ways are still very effective, given that many millenials don't go shopping for brand new vehicles. Baby boomers still rock the market. But they won't for long, and the new generation of automotive sales consultants and management know this.
I make no mistake. I look at a dealership as a way to pay the luxury fee for ease of getting a car, and at the difference in what I could save as being totally overshadowed by gas and maintenance anyway.
The internet still isn't quite up to snuff on figuring out how to broker private sales with the same ease of use. I was using PayPal before it was called PayPal and it wouldn't surprise me if I could sell my eBay user number for bank, but as you say no big solution has yet overtaken the old people crowd, tv, or radio. And that's obvious for the very fact that they're still pumping advertisement into the tv, radio, and magazines.
Would you have any idea if Hyundai's warranty is that good? I kind of want a veloster AWD when they come out.
L
I got a new Hyundai last year precisely because of all the fucking rebates on it. The sales guy said all the rebates basically were my down payment on the car, so zero down, and 400 per month for 5 years with 9.9 percent interest.
I had shown up hoping to finance a used car, but I was naive as fcuk apparently. Credit deadbeats are only elligble to buy new cars.
>t. the banks
>The sales guy said all the rebates basically were my down payment on the car, so zero down, and 400 per month for 5 years with 9.9 percent interest.
wew
So many layers of extra complication just to milk you. Also don't forget you get your free credit report when you're talking to the finance guy.
It's 100k/10 year power train and 60k/5 year bumper to bumper on all new vehicles. CPO gets the remainder of all warranties, non CPO just get the remainder of the powertrain, iirc.
Anytime you get something fixed via warranty, a dealership needs approval from Hyundai. So even though you SHOULD be covered, the OEM always has discretion to say no.
Yeah, rebates are huge. Incentives vary month to month, but on certain models, they are ridiculous. I don't have the sheet in front of me, since it is my day off, but I think the Veloster has $4k in incentives right now. So hypothetically, if the msrp is $20k and you pay $17k, it's like getting the vehicle well below invoice AND the dealership makes a decent amount on the front end gross, let alone what they make on the back.
In response to the second paragraph, yeah used cars have a higher APR across the board.
Have you ever dealt with brazilian clients, with the brazilian branches of these brands or ever had to deal with brazilian-related stuff in your job?
Not that I recall. Anything specific about that?
>veloster AWD
Do you fucking know something I dont?
Last year I kept reading that the Veloster is kill.
Earlier this year I kept reading that the Veloster is getting a Gen 2.
Now a few months ago I'm reading Gen 2 is going to be mid-engine Korean Renault Cliosport.
Now you're telling me an AWD one is coming out.
I just want to refinance my 2016 NA.
Oh and btw, let's revisit this. The Veloster is shit. Even with AWD, don't get it.
I guess you're not from those latino hotsports for living (Albuquerque, Newark, etc etc). I was just going to ask the average of their financing proposals and which vehicles they tend to choose (and because I hear a couple brands do test runs on Brazil due to their severe road ocnditions, for durability purposes that can't really be tested on first world countries) I was just curious.However, thanks for answering, OP.
too l8 m8 its gr8
My one regret is not getting the turbo, just like everyone said I would WEW, but I'm holding off right now because
>no, but Gen 2 might get AWD
Well, great.
I have more faith in Hillary Clinton becoming president at this point, however.
Those electors may take the Russia shit seriously, along with Clinton's popular vote lead. But we could have a polite discussion about that elsewhere.
If you like it, good on you, man. Same cost as the Elantra, though, which is a lot more of an honest daily driver, rather than the Veloster, a car that screams sporty intentions and barely delivers.
Has business been increasing over the last 3 years?
Are you one of those four square faggots?
If I wasn't paying cash I would have walked away from my last purchase. X out those boxes.
>Veloster, a car that screams sporty intentions
Ah yes, the main criticism of the Veloster, which I've never understood. I wasn't aware color-matched wheel inserts automatically implied 9000hp, but apparently to the public, it does. "If it doesn't look like a Corolla then it must be a sportscar" is toxic meme-ology.
Hyundai has never sold it as a sporty car. Veloster was even one of the models they were inflating the MPG estimates on back in the day. It's perplexing that a representative of the company (you do work for a Hyundai dealer) doesn't know this.
Do the sales people and managers really give a different final price depending on whether or not the customer has a trade-in? Also, what's the biggest rip off your dealerships ever pulled on a buyer?
Yeah, that's why you can order one with giant ass "TURBO" vinyls plastered on it stock. Come on man.
Well, considering the TURBO version of the car comes with a TURBO engine, and more horsepower than the base model, because of TURBO, I don't see the problem.
Dude, it's just an ugly hatchback. Some people will like it, some will not. I just don't understand the people that do not like it BECAUSE they thought it was supposed to perform like a Corvette. That does not compute.
i have a velosturd turbo. its alright but thats about it. My problems with the car is the gas mileage isnt great, needs more power, and there is way too much plastic. Other than that its decent i guess has everything i need as a daily
Overall, car sales, internationally, have basically stayed consistent with economic trends. Our dealerships vary in sales based off of many variables, including salesmen, marketing campaigns, season, incentives, products, etc. Winter is always tough.
Can't say I know what you're referencing, so I guess not, but, the many issues of financing aside, you always get a better price if you finance a car from an OEM dealership because they receive a kickback from the bank. So yeah. If you can, finance the car, pay the monthly payment for 3 months (you're penalized before that), and then pay the rest of the loan off in cash. Boom, extra $500 off.
I'm aware that Hyundai fucked with the MPG, and they got screwed for it. But thank you for that less then flattering assumption. I know car tech, even though my job description has little to do with cars; most people do their vehicle research before shopping dealerships, and I speak mostly about price and availability and finance and everything our clients are worried about us not being able to do for them and assuring them we can.
Look, the Veloster is billed as a sporting alternative to C segment vehicles (Elantra, Focus, Civic, etc.) It has a funky look, tech that marketing groups said would appeal to millenials, available turbo and DCT, body colored wheel inlays, and all the stuff that sets it apart from traditional daily drivers. All of this, and it retains basically the same starting MSRP as the Elantra, so it is additive to the segment. But when you peel away the layers of funkiness, you're left with a car no more engaging than the Elantra, and far less than the Mazda3, Focus, and all other vehicles that are good DDs and are also fun to drive.
I never said that it was supposed to be fast. Sporty isn't necessarily about speed. But it is still a poor choice if you care at all about steering feel, handling dynamics, or the like. And it is less practical than the Elantra.
>no more sifting through classifieds
>doesnt enjoy spending hours on end trying to find deals on CL
>Look, the Veloster is billed as a sporting
You mean to tell me a Hyundai car salesman tells prospective Veloster customers to go to a competitor and buy a different brand?
You're definitely a bro, but also shit at your job.
As mentioned, not only do I not "sell" the car (I sell the appointment), we're having a discussion here, where we can put aside pretenses. If a client wants a Veloster, they can buy a Veloster, I won't tell them no.
But early on, I heard the story of another consultant who had a young family, just had their first kid, and they wanted a Veloster. He got them a test drive and they were ready to take the car, when he said, "If you want the Veloster, I'll sell you a Veloster. But if you're lookong for aomething more family oriented, would you consider the Elantra or even the Sonata? There is going to be more room, the back is more easily accessible, safety features, etc." And the family never thought of that. So they bought another car from him and thanked him for the advice.
Can we sit back in our comfy internet chairs and think about how stupid they were, not realizing the Veloster isn't meant for that? Sure. But that's exactly why the human factor of a consultant is there: to offer advice based off of product knowledge and insight of the auto industry.
Also, I'm very good at my job.
Reminds me of cross shopping an Accent. First thing of their mouths was "well actually what about an Elantra? It's a bigger, nicer car, and that's really the one to look at... or even a Sonata, really."
Kept trying to usher me into it even after I explained why that didn't fit my criteria and that I already had my eye on something else I'd rather get at that price point.
My father went to buy a Honda Fit and all they kept telling him was that for $1k more, he could have a Civic. This was last gen for both vehicles, mind you. The last gen Civic is pretty meh. The last gen Fit is alctually a good car. So they fucked up, even though he still bought the car from them.
There's a line consultants need to draw between being helpful and being pushy. We've outlined how sometimes, the customer needs someone to explain to them the product that best fits their needs, but we also acknowledge that often, the customer has done their research and knows everything about the vehicle already and that it works for what they want.
I don't blame him for trying to do his job. Fortunately he didn't keep on with it after I told him I didn't want to talk about trades or financing but I just want to have a quick look at this thing because it's super cheap and I want to see which way I want to go and think it over.
He seemed bummed the whole time though. No surprise they're more excited to bantz about cars when you walk in looking like they're about to get a sale.
Yeah, if he knew there was no chance for a sale, he would be bummed. But a good salesman will be happy to show you around, because if you fall in love with the car, there's a chance they might sell the car on the spot.
Or you might even come back after, knowing that the salesman was chill about the process and you vibe with that. Either way, they did a poor job.