What are car salesmen (sorry executives) for?

[2007GTI]

You've been to the future, 01/09/2017, whats it like, is Teresa May still PM?

[TurboTrev]

My local dealer (and a couple of others relatively close) were great, they just told me to bring my best quote in and they would see how close they could get to it.  The only thing they wouldn't do was to compete against other dealerships in their group (JCT600).  Paid slightly more than DtD and very, very slightly more than CarWow (c£100), but dealt with the dealership that was on my doorstep.  Car was collected on 01/09/2017 as anticipated, and hadn't been prepped (as I had requested).  No complaints and wouldn't hesitate to use again.  Had they gone down the route that's talked about in this thread, I would have had no qualms using DtD or CarWow.

Having said what I said earlier, I do have a relatively close dealer who does the same as the above.  They try their hardest to match a CarWow quote and they are excellent to deal with. 

[Arnold_Lane]

I went home and typed my chosen spec into Orangewheels and later that same afternoon got a call from VW Gilbert Lawton in Macclesfield who placed an order.

That's interesting as I've been in to the Macclesfield VW dealer and they are less than useless.

Before I got my current Polo, I went there for a test drive and afterwards I mentioned that I had got a quote from the DtD website and the 'salesman' proceeded to tell me that, firstly DtD were owned by Gilbert Lawtons (wrong) and then that they only sold cars that dealers couldn't shift (wrong) and finally that they weren't sure if they could service the car (wrong again!)

I only get the car serviced there because it's close to one of my clients and I can get a lift there and back easily.

[brettblade]

You've been to the future, 01/09/2017, whats it like, is Teresa May still PM?

Good spot! 

[eatontrifles]

And of course when you do take an Orange Wheels or DTD quote in, they look at it, they look at you, they look at the deal again, they look at you again, then they laugh out loud, shake their head and say if you can get that deal snap their hands off, they're making a loss and they won't stick to it.  So off you trot and you do the deal as quoted, no problem.

I did exactly that and the local dealer matched the DTD price to within pennies after a chat with the sales manager. I told them as soon as I got in that I was prepared to call DTD on my way out of the showroom and place a deposit (I genuinely was) if they couldn't match it.

[Exonian]

A lot of it will be dealer specific if not group specific.
Salesmen cost money, their time is literally money.
If sales are down (in pure ££££ terms as much as number of cars shifted) then dealers will adapt a style of selling to try and win sales.
DtD dealers have it easy, they just have an order over the internet and likely still punt it through the fleet department to make the most of the higher discounts available to them. But to make that work you need a good fleet department and not all dealers have the luxury of this. Smaller rural dealerships or towns and cities in the shadow of a major city with big dealerships with a lot of clout with VW will have a different market to have to endure which is a bit more old fashioned.
If I walk into my local dealer, which is a big dealer with an ultra-modern showroom and a huge turnover, I immediately feel like a fish out of water. Glance around and you'll see slightly overworked sales execs trying to be charming to middle to older aged well healed couples who don't really know exactly what they want, what options are offered and nor to they know what the real trade value of their own car is. They'll sit there and listen to the sales exec for a while, ask stupid questions and then say they're just off to test drive a BMW and a Ford and if they still want a Tiguan or Golf or Polo or whatever then they'll be back to see if their golf bats or other sh!te will fit in the boot. Then there will be the old lady who quite obviously hates salesmen with a passion and totally mistrusts the car trade in general, having suffered Arthur Daley types in a younger life, trying to buy a Polo for either themselves or their teenage grand daughter getting completely baffled by how a PCP works.
And boy are there a lot of people who don't really understand what a PCP is.

Stuff all that, I just walk out again without speaking to anybody having been overwhelmed with cynicism, hit Carwow, online contacts and look at the broker prices to work out realistic cost to change over headline discounts.
Bigger dealers will have a dedicated salesperson to deal with Carwow or Orangewheels for people like myself.
But smaller dealers can be worth persevering with if they're a bit more old school and the sales manager wants to hit a bonus.
I've tried it all over the years, you just have to do your homework.

[hog_hedge]

I went home and typed my chosen spec into Orangewheels and later that same afternoon got a call from VW Gilbert Lawton in Macclesfield who placed an order.

That's interesting as I've been in to the Macclesfield VW dealer and they are less than useless.

Before I got my current Polo, I went there for a test drive and afterwards I mentioned that I had got a quote from the DtD website and the 'salesman' proceeded to tell me that, firstly DtD were owned by Gilbert Lawtons (wrong) and then that they only sold cars that dealers couldn't shift (wrong) and finally that they weren't sure if they could service the car (wrong again!)

I only get the car serviced there because it's close to one of my clients and I can get a lift there and back easily.

I second this, I was trying to buy my GTI through Adam Derbyshire at Macclesfield and I visited 3 times on consecutive days to see him about a Carwow quote. All 3 times he was too busy to see me and on the final time I complained and he came out to tell me that the carwow price was final and he wasn't interested in negotiating further. Crewe VW got my custom in the end but it did take some haggling, they were a million times better to deal with.

[Boulton]

It was the same for me. Went to a big dealership who tried to flog me the standard GTI in the not spec I wanted and acted like I was doing them a favour taking it off their hands.

I then did my research, discovered DTD and went back. The salesman then told me after being offered a lifetime supply of coffees the best they could do was 10% and no more.

I walked out of the dealership and to a Listers 5 miles up the road. Went in there with my DTD quote and after some haggling they got within a couple hundred pounds of it and beat orangewheels and carwow.

I'm picking my car up next Thursday and all in all, I think when you get a salesman you trust the experience can be quite pleasant. Shame most are out to con you. Just don't be afraid to say no and walk away.

[bgbazz]

A quick response to the comment by Exonian regarding people who don't know what PCP is...I'm one of them! I've purchased around 66 vehicles in my legal driving lifetime and have decided to keep my last one...that's a fair amount of haggling and dealing over the years but I've rarely been 'sold up the creek'.

Reading through the numerous posts on this forum and others, I find that I just get confused with all these acronyms and end up doing my homework all by myself....find the car, walk in with the cash and drive out.

[evo1986]

Having recently bought a Mk7 Golf and currently in the process of trying to buy a Polo for my parents, I'm beginning to wonder what they actually do.

You arrive at the dealer and get guided towards reception as there is no one else about. A sales person gets called out of whatever room they're kept in and introduced to you. After telling them what you have come to see, they will show you around the car you have come to see, wittering on about completely pointless aspects of said car. When you throw some technical questions at them that you already know the answers to, they spout out the first thing that comes into their head, which is inevitably wrong.

After a test drive where they show incredibly slovenly driving techniques, whilst still spouting more drivel before letting you take the helm, you are ushered over to the coffee machine while they go and talk to their manager about the deal.

You have obviously done your sums before getting there, so after what seems like for ever, they produce a tablet with completely unrealistic deal on it. The starting deal I had for the Polo included GAP and GardX, none of which I had asked for. Perhaps they are now miss selling this as opposed to PPI? When told how completely unacceptable the deal is, they have to go off to see their manager again. This can happen several times, each time taking longer and longer, probably in the hope that you'll cave in and accept their crazy offer.

Why the hell can't we just deal with one person and do battle face to face across a desk? That's how it always was. I know they do it as it's easier for the sales person to say no, when they make out it's not them actually saying no, but where's the sport in that? I hate buying cars with a passion. I don't know how you serial car changers can keep going through this. Arrggggghhhhhh.

Not only that, but what do all the spare people do at the dealers? Whilst waiting around for the next offer to come back from the manager, countless people who look like they spend far too much time getting ready in the morning, mill around. Not going anywhere in particular, not carrying anything, in fact not appearing to be doing anything at all. Are these the other sales people (sorry, executives) getting some exercise?

One plus note to all this, the commercial boys are far better to deal with. No messing, one to one haggling and a deal reached. Buying the Amarok was fun, but the cars...

PM sent Simon, let me know what you are after and I will do what I can to help