Dealers...

[jb747]

A few weeks ago, I was at a party, and talking cars with some friends. Amazingly three people said they were considering a new car, and two were already interested in the Eos. The third one pricked up his ears immediately, as he wasn't aware of the Eos, and I heard from him yesterday that he's just bought one (black/red leather/DSG/petrol). I'm looking forward to a drive.

The other two both live out on the western side of Melbourne and had had a total of zero luck actually getting a drive of the car (both are well into their 50s, and aren't tyre kickers). One dealer (their local) went so far as to say they weren't getting a test drive until after paying a deposit.....needless to say that was the last he saw of them.

Anyway, I've just dropped off my R32 for its 15,000 km service, and whilst there sussed out my dealer's range of demo cars. And what a lovely array. Just about everything, even including an R36 (which I'm going to drive tomorrow). These are proper demo cars, and this dealer just gives them to you for an hour or so, so that you can have a proper test drive. And as we all know, the cars sell themselves if you get a chance to drive one for long enough.

Yes, I know the dealers can't just hand out the cars, willy nilly, to everyone, but some of them need to seriously wake up.

Oh, and whilst my 32 is being serviced, today I'm driving a Golf Edition, TDI manual. It's a very pleasant little car.

[Blitzen]

.One dealer (their local) went so far as to say they weren't getting a test drive until after paying a deposit.....needless to say that was the last he saw of them.

Yeah, I have had the same thing when looking at my last 2 cars, and wasn't impressed when I was told. One even said that if I was so keen to buy, why not put the deposit down....I told him what I thought about his attitude and walked out....

[gerhard]

Barloworld Glen Waverley and Burwin will Provide a car for test drive.

Barlo will copy your license and make you sign a form (accepting liability for the insurance excess no doubt) whereas Burwin will most likely just give you the keys and point you at the car after copying your license (but not signing anything).

Hell - if a dealer refused me a test drive (I'm late 50's) I'd make damn sure to go back after I've bought elsewhere and have a chat to the dealer sales manager and name names.

It would (and should) probably be different for a 19yo rocking up in a riced civic asking for a drive of a GTI or R32.

[Greg Roles]

I found inner city dealers far less willing to go out of their way than the out of towners, where they HAVE to try for your business, and even for the trouble of driving a good hour to get there!

I can't rate Garry Cricks at Maroochydore on the Sunshine Coast highly enough for the Briso's in the market. They were SO keen to have me test drive everything, and I mean everything, that I ended up buying the diesel which wasn't even on the radar when I walked in 4 hours earlier.

Toowoomba, a good hour west of Brisbane recently won the QLD VW dealer award, and adds to my opinion the out of towners give you the extra service as a rule.

[vanDub]

I have posted this before but

I purchased my Passat with corporate discount so the price of car and dealer delivery were set by VWA. I had $2K of accessories and the local stealer was still $2K above my best price elsewhere.

The stupid sales manager still doesn't understand why I paid $129 each for 2 airfares from North Queensland to Melbourne. The wife and I flew down then drove it back and made a holiday out of the exercise. The $2k cheaper price included the Albury/Wodonga dealer trucking it to Melbourne.

[jb747]

The helpful dealer is Burwin. I had a drive of the R36 when I went back to pick up my R32. Very nice car, but not what I'm looking for these days. Anyway, they stand a really good chance of selling a pair of Eos (or whatever the plural of that is).

On a slightly different note, I was also very pleased with the way the service went. Even recoded my RNS510, as we'd never set it properly for the R32. Downside is that they recommend I replace my tyres fairly quickly. Rears are well on the way out, whilst the fronts have a little to go.

[gerhard]

The dealer is Burwin. I had a drive of the R36 when I went back to pick up my R32. Very nice car, but not what I'm looking for these days. Anyway, they stand a really good chance of selling a pair of Eos (or whatever the plural of that is).

On a slightly different note, I was also very pleased with the way the service went. Even recoded my RNS510, as we'd never set it properly for the R32. Downside is that they recommend I replace my tyres fairly quickly. Rears are well on the way out, whilst the fronts have a little to go.

If they do sell to your friends, make sure you are named as the referrer - I know Barlo will pay $150 for a lead that turns into a sale, and I'd be very surprised if Burwin were any different. With $300 you could have a nice celebration with the new VW family members

Burwin will also quote a no-nonsense very good price without any B/S if you/your friends talk to the sales manager directly. With 2 cars would be even a bit better than with one.

[Greg Roles]

Yeah...that'd be one tyre....

[gti]

I found one Subaru Dealership in particular to be useless. Never went for a test drive and so glad about that as I brought a far more superior car and they lost my sale. LOSERS!

They shouldn't judge you by what car you're turning up in to the dealership nor what you look like to determine whether they decide to give you a test drive or not.

Barloworld Glen Waverley and Burwin will Provide a car for test drive.

Barlo will copy your license and make you sign a form (accepting liability for the insurance excess no doubt) whereas Burwin will most likely just give you the keys and point you at the car after copying your license (but not signing anything).

Hell - if a dealer refused me a test drive (I'm late 50's) I'd make damn sure to go back after I've bought elsewhere and have a chat to the dealer sales manager and name names.

It would (and should) probably be different for a 19yo rocking up in a riced civic asking for a drive of a GTI or R32.

[ozgriff]

I found one Subaru Dealership in particular to be useless. Never went for a test drive and so glad about that as I brought a far more superior car and they lost my sale. LOSERS!

They shouldn't judge you by what car you're turning up in to the dealership nor what you look like to determine whether they decide to give you a test drive or not.

In an ideal world perhaps. They are like everyone else in sales, trying to judge who is going to waste their time and who is more likely to become a sale.

In saying that, the actual attitudes and methods of most I talked to were quite unbelievable, and I absolutely LOVE having to sign for their insurance excess to test drive their car.

[jamesatfish]

<rant>
Yet another story that highlights how out of touch some car dealers can be. I never cease to be amazed that every other retail industry seems to be able to overcome social stereotypes but those people who sell cars appear to have stereotyping engrained in their personality as a job requirement.

My wife owns a retail store in the furnishings industry, where a job can range from a few hundred to more than $30,000. We've done business with some of the wealthiest people in Canberra and not a single one of them comes into the store looking like anything other than an average Aussie. We've done business with tens of thousands of 'average' citizens and indeed most of our big jobs come from them rather than the uber-rich. You very quickly learn that how your customers look or act in the store has absolutely no bearing on what they're likely to spend, and if you don't treat everyone equally then you may as well close the doors for all the sales you're likely to lose through your bad attitude towards the wrong people.

Pretty much every other industry seems to have gotten this message through. High-end jewellery stores in Sydney will unlock their doors for any customer no matter how they are dressed. If you go and inspect a multi-million dollar property the real estate agent is just as likely to call you whether you wore stubbies and work boots or an Armani suit. Yet when you go to look at a car the dealers don't appear to have gotten the message that looks do not determine how likely you are to buy a car that day.

Without a doubt, sales people do use appearances to help 'qualify' their leads. I've noticed real estate agents making a note of the car I drive on their viewing register at open house inspections. I've walked into a very high-end boutique store (on Rodeo Drive in LA) and was just given a friendly but cursory 'Good morning' until a sales manager came over, apologised for not immediately noticing the type of watch I was wearing and greatly stepped up the level of attention they paid me. But in all these instances, the sales attitude went from 'good' to 'excellent' - rather than in the car sales world where the attitude is 'dirt until proven otherwise'.

I'm sure everyone has countless examples of car dealers treating them poorly and losing a sale. I ordered a new Beetle cabrio sight-unseen from an interstate dealer a few days after the announcement because a sales person at the local dealership told me to my face that "I couldn't afford that car". A local Holden dealer told my wife & mother-in-law to come back with a male customer when they went to buy an up-spec Commodore, because they couldn't seriously buy a car like that themselves. My wife couldn't even get a Ford sales rep to talk to her when she went to buy a Falcon ute - apparently only blokes buy those cars.

Strangely enough, this problem is far worse with those who sell 'regular' cars versus the premium brands. Walk into any of the Porsche or Lamborghini showrooms in Sydney and no matter who you are I guarantee you'll get treated nicely. They might not throw you the keys to a Galliardo and let you go mad, but you won't be treated with disdain or looked down upon. Walk into a Holden or Ford dealer and the same thing is most certainly not guaranteed.

Funny thing is, most of the people being treated poorly are younger, brand-loyal customers who most likely will buy at least 10 cars in their lifetime. Those are the sort of long-term customers you'd like to cultivate and keep loyal to your business, yet those are the exact same customers these useless dealers are turning away...

</rant>

[FJ Steve]

If anyone is going to Gary Cricks in Maroochydore....PM me for details. I can (possibly) get you THE best deal anywhere. (No financial reward for me....just trying to look after a friend of mine there, who will in turn, give you THE best deal, service etc anywhere)

[pinzvidz]

One dealer (their local) went so far as to say they weren't getting a test drive until after paying a deposit.....needless to say that was the last he saw of them.

If we did that at the Toyota/Mazda dealership I work at, we wouldn't be working there, simple as that!

Toowoomba, a good hour west of Brisbane recently won the QLD VW dealer award, and adds to my opinion the out of towners give you the extra service as a rule.

I used to work for metro dealers, where most of the salespeople had shocking attitudes... downright embarrasing! Now I work for a rural dealership. The difference is much more than extra service, it's the honesty that wins here. I don't think I'd ever go back to working for a metro dealer. Now I've just gotta convince my boss to take on a VW franchise!

[jb747]

Many moons ago, I lived on the south coast of NSW. I had ordered a HSV GTS, and my car was sitting in the showroom awaiting delivery. A bloke wandered in, and looked at my car and a Clubsport that was also there. He asked for test drive of my car, and was refused, but was offered one in the Clubsport. He apparently looked like he hadn't a dollar (singlet, beer gut, thongs), but they still treated him properly. He came back from his drive...signed on the line for the Clubsport, and then ordered a second, identical one for his wife.

Turns out that he'd been to the Ford dealer intending to buy his and hers GTs, but they wouldn't give him the time of day.

[STV4SYT]

Yeah, some scary dealer stories, ive just been hounded by a Holden dealership about an Astra i was looking at for my g/f. he called me religiously every 2 days. I had to set him straight and let hime know where my priorities were at, and that i didnt have time to get in at the moment. turns out she got a new job and will now be taking PT to work so don;t need a new car now, in fact we are gonna sell it and just have the golf. means i can have her space to put my bike in now too.

Im about to go thru it all again soon too, gonna start looking at changing over the golf for a fresh one. It may or may not happen, but with less than 9000km on it since late jan it should be a right decent second hand buy and ill see how i go on another new one..