US Car Sales

Discussion in 'General Motoring' started by Mike, Feb 18, 2007.

  1. Mike

    Mike Guest

    I've been to a local Saturn dealer three times looking a the SKY and
    threatening to buy one. At no time did any of the three different saleman
    know anything technical about the car except for basics such as horsepower
    nor could they explain how the Sky is different from the Pontiac roadster or
    how it differes from other roadsters out there. I'm trying to buy a $30K
    car and the sales guys don't know how to market it.

    A buddy needs a light pick up truck so he goes to the largest Chevvy dealer
    in town and wants to buy a LUV pickup truck. The sales guy is ignorant re:
    technical aspects of the truck, adding no towing pkg or oil cooler is
    available however there is a tow bar option. The buddy goes to a local
    Honda dealer and learns the Honda pickup truck has a towing pkg, oil cooler,
    etc and a salesman who states "I'll work with you to get the truck the way
    you want it. Guess I'll go by that Honda dealership and check out there
    sporty cars.

    No wonder American cars sales are tanking.

    Mike
     
    Mike, Feb 18, 2007
    #1
  2. I suspect that the sellers know more or less what the buyers tend to
    ask, otherwise they'll get tired of saying "I don't know" to the same
    questions over and over and try to find out the answers so that the next
    person who asks goes away happier.

    -- Mark
     
    Mark T.B. Carroll, Feb 18, 2007
    #2
  3. Mike

    BläBlä Guest

    Well the Sky is supposed to have an improved suspension. At least when
    they first came out it did. Why dont you try researching online? Ever
    heard of Google?
    Luv truck? There hasnt been anything called the Luv truck in the US
    since the 70's. He could also try the GMC dealer. You guys can also try
    www.chevrolet.com & www.gmc.com and get build sheets online.
    If he's looking at a "Ridgeline" then it's obvious to me that he's not
    looking for a "truck". If he wants a car with a truck bed on it with
    lousy gas mileage have at it.
    You guys want to rely on a dealer to do your homework for you??? Yeah
    you guys are asking to get burned. Have fun with those timing belts.


    Seems like anyone going out and buying something that cost that much
    would do their own homework. It seems everyone up until these guys have.
    IIRC there are over 100 models in GM's line up. I sure as hell wouldn't
    memorize all of them.

    Yeah I'm being abrasive.
     
    BläBlä, Feb 18, 2007
    #3
  4. Mike

    Mike Guest

    Not the point of my message.
    If my job was to separate customers from $30K I'd dam sure know my product
    and know how to sell it.
    You completely missed the point of the message. Went right by you. . zoom.
    .. . . . .

    Reread my message as I'm not asking for advice on purchasing a Sky or a
    light pickup truck
    I'm referring to the vast differences in how the Honda salesguy handled a
    potential sale and the availbility
    of useful options for the Honda versus the Chevvy sales guy and lack of
    useful options for the light Chevvy pickup truck
    then speculating how much the lack of knowledgable us auto salesguys may be
    responsible for the drop in sales for us autos.
    Today, the wife of a friend was discussing why she bought a Camry instead od
    a new Saturn.
     
    Mike, Feb 18, 2007
    #4
  5. Mike

    marx404 Guest

    I mostly have to agree w/ BlaBla, and furthermore detect a bit of trolling
    here.

    I find it hard to believe that these "alleged 3 salesmen" at Saturn had no
    product knowledge nor any knowledge of competitive products. That's
    insulting. The only apparent "threat' you impose is your failure to stop
    harassing your local Saturn store.

    "A buddy needs a light pick up truck so he goes to the largest Chevvy
    (Chewy?) dealer
    in town and wants to buy a LUV pickup truck. The sales guy is ignorant re:
    technical aspects of the truck, adding no towing pkg or oil cooler is
    available however there is a tow bar option. "

    Um, the LUV hasn't been made for about a decade, your point? Don't answer,
    we already know.

    I'll take that your point is that you had no actual intention of buying
    anything at Saturn, wasted the alleged 3 salesmen's time with stupid
    questions and arrogance and are too ignorant to type in www.saturn.com or
    www.skyroadster.com (you CAN Google, can't you?) and get the statistics
    yourself. Um, you would have if you really wanted to know. But you didn't.
    You came only to troll. The ill-informed are prime candidates to be preyed
    upon by bad salesmen, consider yourself lucky if you actually were in the
    market for a car.

    Please take your nonsense elsewhere, this is not a place to troll. Being
    that you already know how to find this forum, you will find there are many
    here willing to help you to learn what you want to know. But trolling is a
    no-no.

    Oh, and that middle-finger that you're probably pointing at your screen
    right now, use it to press the F7 button on your keyboard next time instead.
    It may help you look a tad more intelligent, though that's debatable.

    Please do not feed this troll any longer. Post closed.

    marx404
     
    marx404, Feb 19, 2007
    #5
  6. Mike

    Mike Guest

    I detect nitwitism in your response or the inability to think or reason
    beyond your clearly limited ability to understand what I wrote. If it taxes
    your limited intelligence don't attempt to reason it through.
     
    Mike, Feb 19, 2007
    #6
  7. Mike

    Steve Guest

    You were surprised that Saturn salespeople can not answer technical
    questions about a car? I don't know what your experience has been but I
    think the bigger surprise is that the Honda salesperson did know.
    If you randomly visit an equal number (at least five) of US Honda
    dealers and US Saturn dealers, my guess is that you'd find salespeople who
    were either knowledgeable or customer-oriented ("I'll work with you to get
    the vehicle the way you want it") at both makers' dealerships and lazy,
    unknowledgeable salespeople at both makers' dealerships. What you are
    finding, I believe, is not inherent in the carmakers but a matter of your
    extending your (and your buddy's) experience with just one of each type.
     
    Steve, Feb 19, 2007
    #7
  8. Mike

    Mike Guest

    Yes, it was very limited two occasion experiences. I was surprised they
    couldn't answer basic technical questions about the car. I (apparently
    falsely:) assumed they would know how to market a $30K limited
    use auto. I have not made this a project and visited other dealers but may
    visit other
    dealer both domestic and foreign look at otherr roadsters and to check out
    the knowledge
    of their sales people.
     
    Mike, Feb 19, 2007
    #8
  9. Mike

    Steve Guest

    Oh, I'm sure they do. Provided the people to whom they are doing the
    marketing are generally not going to ask the kind of technical question you
    expected them to be able to answer. If they were wrong, most of their
    potential customers would do what you did and buy from someone else and they
    wouldn't be in business any longer.
    If you do, I hope you'll return and let us know what you find -- I would
    be quite interested to know whether my hypothesis is correct. :)
     
    Steve, Feb 20, 2007
    #9
  10. Mike

    Mike Guest

    Frankly, I was stunned this is a $30K purchase. I guess people just walk in
    ans say what a cool car
    tell me how to finance it. Then I remeber the purchasing experience of a
    woman I dated. Her vehicle
    died near where she worked she had the car towed and the service dept told
    her it needed a new transmission
    so she bought a brand a new Honda. Guess I just don't get it.
    I will report back to the group
     
    Mike, Feb 21, 2007
    #10
  11. I bought my first new vehicle in 1986 and was completely taken aback by the
    total lack of product knowledge that I encountered. Same thing happened in
    1993 when purchasing another new vehicle. The internet did not exist in 1986
    or 1993 the way it is today so one would have to use manufactures sales
    literature and reviews in magazines to do research. Google has give the
    consumer a new edge, but the salespeople are still back in 1986 wrt product
    knowledge.
    towed and the service dept told
    The price of the repair was probably in the $2000 price range. Many people
    faced with that size of a bill will often go for the new car.

    Keep in mind that for someone who does not do their own work, just replacing
    the alternator in a Honda is a $500 job. Me? $30 at the bone yard and an
    hour.

    -David
     
    David Teichholtz, Feb 24, 2007
    #11
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