Here’s a glaringly obvious statement: People aren’t getting cut out of the new car buying process anytime soon. Regardless of whether you buy from a manufacturer that does direct sales in a state that allows them or buy from a franchise dealership, you’ll probably encounter at least one salesperson, and the experience they provide can be a make-or-break for what you buy. Today on Autopian Asks, we want to know what sort of knowledge you expect to be met with when buying a new car.
If I walked into a showroom to buy a new car, I’d expect a salesperson to have decent product knowledge including which trim level offers which features and which color combinations are permitted, but that’s all stuff that’s easy to glean from an automaker’s website. I reckon it’s more critical that salespeople are knowledgable about the business and ordering side of things. Current subvented rates, special programs, lead times, if a dealer trade is possible, what options are on constraint (meaning not easily available on configured orders), OEM extended warranty options, that sort of stuff.
Let’s use Volvo as an example. Outside of current finance and lease rates, Volvo has special programs for employees of some partner companies, first responders, teachers, members of the military, members of the American Bar Association, American Medical Association, and American Dental Association, as well as people who’ve participated or volunteered in select Volvo-sponsored New York Road Runners events. Assuming a customer’s a New York-based doctor who’s run in a Volvo-sponsored event, there could be serious cash on the hood of a new Volvo that a salesperson not knowledgable about these programs might not know about.
Another example is Porsche’s one-year extended service contract that it sells on top of the existing certified pre-owned warranty. With the same coverage as the two-year unlimited-mileage CPO warranty, it can be a prudent move for someone looking to put serious mileage on a gently used Porsche, but benefits and costs must be properly explained, along with the inspection process to determine eligibility.
Put simply, in the information age, customers know more than ever before about the vehicles they’re buying, but they’re less likely to know about the intricacies of a deal. So that’s what I want to see, though my bar’s not particularly high these days. What about technical things about a car, an understanding of the car in a greater context of the industry, historical context? What level of knowledge do you expect to be met with when you walk into a showroom?
Top graphic credit: Deposit Photos, Entertainment Earth
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ITT: people who have exclusively bought used cars and would be annoying to deal with in any retail setting
My expectations are usually too high and I wind up being disappointed. Although I give credit to the woman that sold me my Mazda3. I asked her what was the nicest trim and configuration I could get in a 6 speed manual, and she knew the answer right away. She was also correct.
Speaking of car specs, I remember asking a sales rep back in the day about cam lift and duration on a performance car (maybe Camaro). No answer.
After reading all the comments, I can sum them up: salespeople only know how to sell, not know anything about cars. But in the trucking world it is completely different. I can walk into any freightliner, peterbilt, or kw dealer, tell them I need a tridem with a 20k front, and they will automatically know I need a heavy haul truck.
I only expect him to know the sales process necessary to deliver my new vehicle on our agreed terms.
I will research anything technical that is important to me.
I expect the car sales person to know everything about the money side of things and very little in the way of technical details of the vehicle itself. That’s not always the case, but that’s what I expect.
I expect nothing. As an example… Guy selling a new Bolt said the batteries need to be changed every 4 years or 30,000 miles. Second, I mentioned that the car had torque steer and he said the tech could fix that.
I try to keep my sights set LOW, and I always come up short.
It’s even worse when they just repeat shit they read on Facebook than when they transparently know nothing.
The first time I looked at a car on a dealer lot, it was a Q50 3.7, the Nissan Dealer salesman said it had a 4 cylinder and a CVT… And now I know I can’t trust salespeople to know the left from right tire.
Eh, if I’m looking at a car, it’s probably because that’s what I’ve already decided I want, and really just need an in-person check over and test drive to confirm that. The salesman just needs to be able to answer whether they can get the color and configuration I want, how soon, and also for what price, and how much will they give on trade.
When I know more about the vehicle that I want to buy vs the salesperson, I find that very concerning. I do some preliminary research but some of these folks seem down right clueless. I get sales is not everyone’s forte but at least know your products. You have 10 models at least know the basics. I don’t need you to quote all the trim levels and options from memory but the available drivetrains and some key features especially if they cross models.
I expect them to know the spec sheet, but they consistently don’t. I hate when they insist on coming along for a test drive when I’m helping someone shop because they keep trying to chime in with pointless comments about features that are standard in everything in the category.
The only knowledge I want from a sales person is that they know what vehicles they have on the lot, and where the keys are for a test drive.
The last vehicle my wife bought, used from a dealership, was a very specific vehicle that she had found. When we went in and asked about it, they didn’t know they had it. We showed it to them on their own website, and eventually they figured things out and tracked it down, but initially did not know it existed.
My favorite car dealership sales person experience was the guy who immediately said “I’ve only been working here a week, I’m sure you know more about the vehicles than I do, want to go on a test drive?” and went and got the keys.
“My favorite car dealership sales person experience was the guy who immediately said “I’ve only been working here a week, I’m sure you know more about the vehicles than I do, want to go on a test drive?” and went and got the keys.”
Well at least that guy was honest… which counts for something!
Very. I just stopped into a Kia dealership 2 days ago, and the dolt that greeted me didn’t know the K4 was going to offered as a hatchback. ( Kia announced this more than a year ago, with more details arriving in just the last week or two ). He also wasn’t aware that the Soul is now offered in a “Soulmate” trim level ( they had three on the lot ).
It’s one thing if you don’t know about details on your used cars, but new cars?? c’mon. know the basics.
I pretty much usually know more than the “salesman” about the car I’m looking for. It’s frustrating, as I know I pretty much can’t believe a word they say.
My Kia story is showing up to test-drive a Forte GT (which I did wind up buying) four hours after setting up the test-drive appointment and seeing it still parked in the showroom. This was weird, since it was only three months ago and the Forte wasn’t even a current model anymore.
Once that was sorted out the sales guy was cool enough and fairly knowledgeable but the whole process was tedious at best, including the inevitable trip to F&I where they tried (and failed) to get a better APR than my credit union.
I expect them to know where the car keys are and where their finance manager is. That’s about it. I wouldn’t even need the finance manager, but they always insist they become a part of the purchase process.
I have zero expectations.
And yet, they STILL do not meet expectations.
Exactly. Disappointing they don’t know their product, would be nice to hear some functional insights (tech insights not needed), eg how much luggage one can get into the boot and surprising or limiting quirks and features
Not that there aren’t exceptions, but my expectations are minimal. They’re there to make the dealership money. Giving them training to know (and test that knowledge on) every trim and spec of every car on the lot (even with a limited inventory) sounds like a pricey proposition. Not to mention, of course, that I imagine being a car person and a car salesperson probably drains your enthusiasm pretty quickly.
I only have two examples I can give from personal experience (neither which were major issues).
First was when test-driving my Prius v. I held the brake pedal all the way down one time, and it beeped at me and the traction control light blinked repeatedly for a few moments til I hit the gas, then went away. If I were smart, I would’ve stopped until we knew what that was. Luckily, it was an intended feature and not a fault–it’s the “hill hold assist” feature, which keeps the brake depressed for 3 seconds or until the accelerator is depressed, whichever comes first.
Would I ever need this feature? Probably not. I’ve barely used it at all. But you can imagine it’s quite startling on a test drive to get a quick “beep beep” and a blinking warning light.
The second time–and admittedly an even lesser concern–but I test drove a GMC Savana with a 19-year-old salesperson in the passenger seat and he was a great conversationalist, but he’d never heard of conversion vans. Relevant to the job? Not really, I guess. And obviously conversion vans are getting rarer. But it was just slightly sad to me, who has fond memories of my own.
If a woman asks a question, respond to her – and not the man standing next to her.
Still, many sales people fail this basic test.
Excellent!!!! I hate how sales people treat women. My abusive step father was a car salesman and he knew a woman with kids walking in the dealership was an easy mark.
This is why I no longer take my husband car shopping with me.
Yep. When shopping for a car, especially when it comes to the $ side of things, I walk away, far away, so that all questions end up with my account-wife. Besides, she likes that part of the process, while I hate it.
Surprisingly, the best experiences I have had were at CarMax. I don’t think the sales staff works on commission, so they do not care if you buy a car. Most of them seem to be honest about not knowing things and I faced no pressure there. Unfortunately, the online listings aren’t always as thorough as I’d like, so the cars I have been interested in have had flaws that kept me from spending the money they asked, but I felt better about the place than I thought I would.
I expect them to know very little about the car. Basically how to get you to buy it, and maybe how to run the infotainment system. Car salespeople are, with exception, sales people and not car people.
the more you know as a salesman the harder it is because the average car buyer is, and im putting it mildly here, a fucking idiot. speaking from personal experience on that one
Are you talking about the people that buy an SUV only because they qualified for the loan and liked the shade of silver? Then they can’t figure out how to pair their phone with the infotainment so they get one of those phone clips that attaches to the air vent?
I bought my most recently acquired car from the Lane Motor Museum. They provided me with a copy of their handwritten instructions on how to start it and their best estimate of how many gears it has, which is to say they knew more about it than I did at the time. I’m satisfied with that:
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54498431587_39027bf225_o.jpg
I have very low expectations for car salesmen knowledge. Twice, I’ve had car salesmen try to convince me that a FWD car was RWD. One even told me that all Tauruses are RWD because they raced them in NASCAR.
There’s that, and they also often will tell you that a car has a feature, then be completely unable to show that feature (because it doesn’t exist). Bonus points if they insist it exists, but you’ll just need to look up how it works after you buy the car.
At a dealership, I generally expect they won’t be capable of walking and chewing gum at the same time. But I have also never bought a car from a dealership, nor do I intend to. My only experience with them was helping parents and wife pick theirs out. Admittedly, all went well and the salespeople were fine.
Knowledgeable enough to know about what the difference between cars are, like the difference between the last gen Charger & Challenger. I still meet people who work in sales that couldn’t tell the difference between a 4 door and a 2 door when they weren’t even alive for the original 2 door Charger to know it was a 2 door, yet magically they called every Challenger they saw a Charger.
I was once the most knowledgeable, friendly, and thoughtful salesperson at a used car superstore in the early oughts (and also SO humble!).
Guess, what? Those three traits don’t mean jack to employers.
Branded dealerships have some small expectation of training, but by the time I’m ready to darken the door of a new car dealer, I’m prepared to know a lot more than the salesperson. The hard part then becomes having a discussion with them without being condescending to their work and potentially screwing yourself over on a deal.
The main thing I look for in a salesperson is willingness to put things in writing, as well as decent financial acumen — like, if I told you I’m shopping price, not payments, stop talking to me about cost per month.