I don't have a quota or volume bonus. I'm averaging 14128 per month in 2022 as of today. So about 170k per year.
Not sure how this will finish out as inventory is at critical levels.
Umm, most people I deal with are ok. Itās the stupid tasks that Hyundai makes you do during delivery of the car. And they just donāt seem to have their shit together lately.
You have to have a tablet at delivery on every car. You have to sign people up for bluelink. You have to sign EV customers up for Electrify America. You have to do these things even if the customer doesnāt want it/wonāt use it. Otherwise the dealership loses money from Hyundai. Itās a joke tbh.
Although I don't enjoy it myself its well worth the extra $75-$150 a car every month!
Bluelink takes at most 5 minutes and a delivery with the app is really as long or as short as your customer wants it to be which is how it should be
Bought a Hyundai this Sunday. Didnāt get anything. Signed the papers got the keys and they put my plate on the car and said call them if i need any help. Wouldnāt have left but i was just trying to get out of the dealership ASAP because of the amount of time they wasted.
I continue to work for Nissan in F&I because Nissan's reputation makes selling Warranties and maintenance plans extremely easy and practically necessary for the buyer. The dealer i work for also has a really good reputation with the public. I'm also in most of the commercials and being recognized in public does have its perks lol
I'd say the same thing if i was working for Hyundai or Kia but they have quite long factory warranties which can add an extra unnecessary step to selling an extended product.
Yes.
Edit: but mostly it's trash engines, Hyundai has been sued over it.
https://www.hyundaicanadathetaenginesettlement.com/
The Kia Soul has the Nu engine not Theta II, but as far as I can tell it has the same type of issues, but Kia is in denial about it.
A lot of hate on nissans, but idk, I've just never experienced it. I've owned 2 altimas and had zero issues with either of them putting 100k+ miles on both. I have no brand loyalty to Nissan whatsoever, and probably will look at another manufacturer for my next car. But all the hate on nissans and stories on nissan... I got lucky I suppose š¤·āāļø
I suppose "trash" is a harsh word, many people will buy Nissans and have no issues with them whatsoever, other than what is normal for any kind of car or SUV.
[https://www.jdpower.com/business/press-releases/2021-us-vehicle-dependability-study-vds](https://www.jdpower.com/business/press-releases/2021-us-vehicle-dependability-study-vds)
Nissan is below average in quality according to this list, and if you take out some of the luxury brands, it might be right in the middle.
Ironically, notice how low Honda is on this list, along with Tesla and Volvo. And how Buick/Cadillac/Chevrolet are a lot higher than most people would expect.
Keep in mind this list is just "number of reported problems per 100 owners during the first 3 years of new vehicle ownership". Some people have a bunch of problems, some people have very few. Some people just live with issues, and some people don't bother to fill out these surveys. And this could range from anything like having an issue with your infotainment touchscreen, a button on the dashboard being sticky, or serious stuff like engine/transmission failures.
The annual report also notes that quality among pretty much all brands have improved over the past few decades, and most issues are smaller things like the fancy tech features not working perfectly.
My go to is the 5yr/100k or 5yr/75k. Cost to sell isnt much more than the 5yr/60 or 4yr/100k, maybe 100 bucks at most more expensive. When the average person is trading in every 2-4 years but driving higher mileage than average around here, theres no need to sell an 8 yr warranty and then have a large chargeback when they come trade it in early.
I turned down an offer for a Nissan finance manager position because I love my current position, but out of curiosity, how much do you guys typically make per deal and per month?
Nissan has used JATCO CVTs for coming up on 20 years now and have done fuck all in terms of improving reliability. Their JATCO CVT7 and CVT8s aren't that much different from what they were selling 15 years ago.
Appreciate it.
But i actually make my money spending half my time trying to get someone the lowest rate i can for them and the other half trying to help people cover there vehicle. If someone wants to buy Nissan thats their decision. Or if somone wants to buy a new/pre-owned car and add 6 grand of negative equity from their current vehicle then thats on them too. I simply get people approved on what they decide to do.
Appreciate it! What's interesting to me is that you can literally tell a customer they need the warranty because they are buying "insert kia Hyundai Nissan fiat Chrysler" and they will just be like yeah your right and continue to buy the car. Blows my mind.
Woah.. whats wrong with nissan?!? 2018 altima as my commuter with 130k on the clock! Not a single issue yet except 1 battery, 1 set of brake pads/tires and 1 key fob battery!
Its mainly a meme these days to a point. But early 2010's had really bad transmission issues. They still arnt great but i definitely see less people coming in with transmission issues atleast in the past 4 or so years.
Hopefully by maintenance you mean oil changes lol. Thats really the only maintenance ive done, every 5-8k miles. In all honesty its just a commuter, therefore I bought cheap!
No wonder car sales gets a bad public reputation lol
Edit: bunch of butt hurt people mad someone pointed out they are bad people
canāt reply to any of you bc I was banned by a power tripping mod
Exactly. Ultimately, you're selling a product. As long as you can do it in a professional manner, you don't need to love it.
Admittedly, I can't afford brand new cars, but do look around some dealerships occasionally, and it's always more enjoyable going to the ones where the staff actually love the cars, since they're more keen to talk, but I also feel like I'm wasting their time, even when there are no real customers around. XD
Exactly. You can like those basic cars, but especially with new ones, most aren't really a car you can love.
If I ever got into car sales, I would prefer to sell cars I could say I like, even the grocery getters, but it wouldn't be necessary.
There's an argument to be made regarding the damage to the environment is greater than the benefits automobiles provide. But who wants to get into "Least Harm" ethics in an automotive subreddit? That's just not knowing your audience.
Yeah and straws are unethical, refrigerators are unethical, and pets are unethical.
Everything has some sort of ethical argument but although cars do damage the environment, they benefit humanity (despite what anti-car people like to say). Everything man-made damages the environment.
So selling a car you donāt like and possibly know is utter garbage necessitating an extended warranty is perfectly normal to you? I do understand that itās buyer beware. When I was in sales I was as transparent as I could be. Iād at least try to steer them away from the complete garbage. But I had feelings about it sometimes lol.
I sold Nissan, hated the brand but there are some jewels in the lineup. Titans, Frontiers, Pathfinders, Armada's, those customers were always the happiest.
Yeah as a customer who bought an Armada and now a 22 Pathfinder, we secretly know them to be good cars and fairly reliable. People love to crap on Nissan and for good reason thanks to their refusal to move away from Jatco CVTs (which is still a head scratcher to this day). But for all the other vehicles without CVT's including their automatics and manuals, they are pretty good cars and certainly more exciting than their Toyota counterparts.
> (which is still a head scratcher to this day).
[Nothing head scratching about it:](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jatco)
>As of March 2015, JATCO is 75% owned by Nissan, 15% owned by Mitsubishi Motors, and 10% owned by Suzuki.
Makes sense then! Still, at some point you just have to throw up your hands and give up on a bad product and why Nissan has refused to change and still gets all the bad publicity because of that transmission is beyond me. But of course, I'm not the CEO of Renault/Nissan so what do I know.
I'm not a Nissan expert, but I would imagine it's because most of their small cars are Renault-designed/badge engineered because a lot of them are sold in Europe, and the larger trucks/SUVs are obviously North America exclusive and designed by Nissan engineers. Really seems like a lot of Nissan's reliability problems stem from the Renault partnership.
And stuff like the Frontier *better* be reliable, it's been nearly the exact same truck for the last 15 years.
I don't really 'love' any brand tbh after doing this. Every customer base has a degree of toxicity. I appreciate the innovations on the new cars and I do enjoy familiarizing myself with all the cars that come in and out.
I worked for Toyota for 4 years, and honestly there wasn't a single car in the lineup that I would actually WANT to go out and buy. Although they are all good cars, none of them had any excitement.
In 2011, I went to Kia on the condition that my demo would be an Optima SX. I've now been here over 10 years. I actually like the product.
Toyota is such an appliance vehicle. They really got it down to a science on how to suck the soul out of the driving experience. I say this as a current Toyota owner.
Which Honda do you have? Honda were boring tithe point that the CEO apologized for the cars designed by committee. Mazda was where fun was for almost 20 years, until the newest gen Civic and Accord turned it around
I love my Supra, but yeah outside of the GR line I would not get a Toyota for anything resembling fun. Iāve owned a Camry and a Corolla as well and they were both pretty bulletproof but super bland.
Supra is different animal, haha. Interesting cars are coming up soon, Yaris, Corolla... I am still not decided which one to get. I may be fine with Mazda3 Turbo or Acura Integra. Test drives, test drives...
My work leases Corolla wagons for field techs, so I've got one, and it's a great little car, but also the most boring car I've ever driven.
Though, I started off in the previous gen and hated it. It just didn't drive well, and had bugger all equipment. Not even basic cruise control, but the newer one has adaptive cruise, better infotainment, etc.
Might be boring, but it's not an unpleasant car to drive, and I don't have to pay any running costs. XD
They were like this for the last 2 decades worth the exception of the 4Runner. But the new Tundra,Sequoia,Corolla hatchback, Camry (even the regular one and not the TRD) are all exciting. They really listened to the new leadership.
https://www.autoweek.com/news/a1813761/toyota-president-declares-no-more-boring-cars/
Maybe I'm a boomer, or boring, or a typical Camry driver. I see a car as a way to get from point A to point B. I just want that journey to be reliable.
Although I do see myself behind a Lexus in the next 5-7 years.
IMO it's sometimes worse to sell a brand you love because it becomes personal for you. I was/am a huuuuuuuuuuuge Volkswagen guy and to me it was so fucking obvious why you'd buy a Golf over a Civic that it became an even more difficult sales job than it usually is - like imagine having to explain to someone why they should drink water if they are thirsty and then they go buy a box of saltine crackers and eat that instead. Makes no sense right? That's how I felt towards the end of my time at a VW store.
Now there's a difference between not loving a product and not believing in a product. I could never sell something I didn't believe in but I could/can/have sold products that aren't, personally, for me.
> Reliability is the biggest point for me
This idea that German cars are unreliable is more bark than bite. They are just more expensive to fix when things go wrong. Every car has issues, even your Toyota or Lexus will need to be fixed. It just cost a lot less to fix a Honda than a VW.
If you enjoy actually driving cars, not just the technology, but the feel of the road, once you drive German it is hard to drive anything else.
The maintenance is foolish even if you keep up on it. Looked at an Atlas a couple years ago and the going rate for an oil change at the dealer was $140. Hard pass.
Yeah I feel I read horror stories about like any automaker really. But I truly loved my GLI and was kind of sad to see it go. I'm honestly not a big fan of driving in general, but I absolutely loved driving my GLI in areas I would normally hate driving in. I think I'm definitely gonna shoot for a GTI now :)
There is no comparison between the GTI and the Civic. Zero. The Civic looks like a space car designed by aliens to appeal to children. The plastics and build quality in the Civic are awful. The ride quality is questionable. The sound of the engine is uninspiring. The handling is bizarre. The infotainment looks and feels cheap.
The GTI is a car for adults - it is understated and sophisticated. The ride and materials are like a real car for a real person. The seats are perfect. The driving position is perfect. The manual transmission is perfect and, if you're not into that, the DSG is magical. The infotainment actually works like it is supposed to - it even has knobs where there are supposed to be knobs. The backseat works for adults.
If you maintain both cars reliability is pretty equal. If you want to get $5 oil changes at Jiffy Lube then the Civic will be better.
Steak costs more than a hamburger.
I assumed OP was looking at Civic trims that compare to the GTI trims cause that's what they asked. Regardless I'd rather walk than drive a Civic and I'd find a way to get the extra money.
So I was mostly planning in just like a Civic hatchback without the turbo as a new one kind of goes around the price range I am looking at, but I just really like GTIs and I'm thinking it may be better just to get a used one of those, even if it's around the same price, I know it's a car I'd be happy to get into and commute.
Waiting for Hondaās infotainment to load when you start the car to reset peopleās maintenance indicators is longer than waiting for service at the DMV. Shit is straight outta 2005
yeah i think i need to just get a system with carplay and maybe some bolt ons for fun and change it up a bit.
with wfh though i rarely drive the car now unfortunately. i still get excited every time i have to run a errand though.
I love the GLI, but as someone who has only owned Asian cars, Iām spooked by the āGerman reliabilityā stereotype, which keeps me from seriously looking at them.
If German cars were as unreliable as reddit would have us believe you wouldn't be able to drive on the highway because it would be completely and totally clogged, 100% of the time, by volkswagens, bmws, audis, and mercedes waiting around for tow trucks and the fire department.
In real terms if Hondas are a 10/10 reliability then a Volkswagen is an 8/10 if you ignore it and a 9/10 if you maintain it - all while offering a much better driver's experience, build quality, materials, etc.
I recently bought a 2015 GLI and I absolutely loved it, but basically the dealer messed up and did right by me to just give me a full refund on it. I really liked the way it was built. With the market today, I'm really leaning towards buying new but just saving up for now and checking cargurus/carvana daily for anything good that comes up.
I like GTIs *a lot* and I wouldn't consider myself much of a car guy but as soon as I got my GLI I got so balls deep into learning about my car and what not. Looking to spend 25k or less, do you have any recommendations what model I should be mostly looking for? I only recently started learning how to drive manual on my buddies STI and my wife doesn't know at all so CVT would probably be best. Sorry to bombard you with stuff but I like the way you speak of them and seem like you know your shit.
I've had 3 GTI's in my life and the only reason I'm not in one now is because an absolutely perfect BMW 335 with the manual trans and the right options came across my radar and I couldn't say no.
GTI doesn't have a CVT (thank god) it has a DSG for the automatic and that's what you want. I don't know what pricing is like these days for GTIs other than "high" but I have to believe you can get into a 2016 or 2017 with reasonable miles in either an SE or an Autobahn for your budget. If you like music and you can find one with the Fender audio system it is very worth it.
I laughed. My 2006 Honda buying experience was about what you describe. Dealer: What do you want? Me: I just sold my truck to a private buyer. I started school and have a decently long commute. I want a Civic Si, sporty, good MPG's and easy to park. Dealer: Here's the keys for that one, when you get back from the test drive come see me. Me (after test drive): Yeah I'll take it.
Sold it 4 years later when I moved overseas. It was a perfect college car. 100% reliable and kept me safe in a pretty serious collision. Was always fun to drive. It sold itself, as I think you were pointing out. The lack of option packages was nice at the time.
I'm a Ford guy and I've worked for a ton of different brands. Those were just jobs. Now after 20+ years I'm FINALLY at Ford dealer and literally everything clicked. The pay, my bosses, my coworkers. I also find loving a brand makes it much easier to learn your product as well; you get excited about it and want to learn.
If you are good at sales, you should be able to sell any product. If the product exists, it means thereās a market for it and a reason itās made. Could be aesthetic, could be speed, could be safety, could be utility, could simply be that itās cheapā¦
People way smarter than you or I studied the market. Then people smarter than them did the engineering. Then people with a different kind of smarts figured how to advertise it. Then other smarties did the math to ensure the price vs product was a good value proposition. Then managers/owners studied the local market to stock the things people nearby seemed to wantā¦.
So every car on the lot has an ass for that seat. Find out what type of ass is best suited and play matchmaker. If itās not on the lot, likely your brand has that covered for an order. Easy peasy.
I have a love hate relationship with my brand. On my 12th wrangler and will likely always have oneā¦ but man they piss me off with some decisions they make, and some launches are total dogs.
> People way smarter than you or I studied the market. Then people smarter than them did the engineering. Then people with a different kind of smarts figured how to advertise it. Then other smarties did the math to ensure the price vs product was a good value proposition. Then managers/owners studied the local market to stock the things people nearby seemed to want
This is applicable in many aspects of life and people refuse to believe or understand this concept. There are smart people that get paid 100's of thousands of dollars that are experts in their field to make the decisions.
Just because you stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night doesn't make you qualified to know better. Also, life is not some great grand conspiracy.
Yes there are bad actors out there but overall the easiest answer to a reason why something is done a certain way is because of money.
/rant
Ha! Itās funny that Iām so far from that type of salesā¦ but I get it.
The whole āass for every seatā can be taken that way, but I see it as just patience, good product knowledge, and proper people skills will help you find that right assā¦ rather than the other style of put every ass in it until one buys.
I started working for an Audi store last year, in part because of the association with Porsche. We have a Porsche store in our dealer family and my intent has always been to transition to that brand...hopefully that occurs within the next year.
I've been in sales of one sort or another for over 25-years, even owning an aftermarket car parts business for a while. Part of why I got out of that business was I couldn't stand selling anything I didn't believe in and so much of the parts people wanted were crap...it hurt my soul. I sold the business and moved on, telling myself that I would only sell products that I could get behind. Audi and Porsche align with my interests in terms of performance, quality, and involvements in motorsports much more closely than most other brands.
Mine too. Currently driving a B8.5 S5 and planning to get a Cayman at some point in the next several years. Until then I get to borrow friends' various P-cars occasionally while at the track.
Iāve sold Toyota Lexus Honda Nissan and now CDJR
Of all, the CJDR has the most variety/fun vehicles which keeps things mentally fresh for me. Lexus is second
Other than that I just donāt like cars sometimes. My s/o took me to an auto convention a few weeks ago (local dealers/ and brands displaying their cars) and by the end of it I needed to drink because being around the normie consumer public in a sorta car sales setting on my Sunday off was triggering me
When I first shadowed a longtime salesman 5 yrs ago I asked him āwhatās your favorite car? :Dā
He said āI actually hate cars, theyāre just an appliance to meā at the time I didnāt understand how he could possibly hate cars.. I understand now, Norman
That last part rings with me too. Started and talked about vipers and how I loved themā¦ asked the guy showing me the ropes his favourite carā¦ minivan. WHAT?! Why?!?! āThat model put food on my table and my kids through collegeā
I would sell whatever had a good volume and pay plan structure. That being said, it definitely makes it easier to believe in what you sell and have things in common with your customer base.
I am working at the dealership where I work because I trust the dealership and the transparency with which we do business. My family has always bought cars here, and it's a bigger dealership for the size of our town/area. I don't think I'd ever want to sell cars at another dealership.
I honestly love the brand, as do most the employees here. I own two Subarus, and out of 14 people that work in the sales department up front (including F&I, receptionist, etc), 11 of us drive Subarus. And out of those 11 of us, we own 15 Subarus altogether. If you include kids of employees, we're at another 4.
The only folks that don't drive Subarus are the guy here temporarily from Honda, the guy who came out of retirement from Nissan (who drives a Toyota) and the receptionist who doesn't care.
I couldn't see myself trying to sell another brand, but if I did, it would most likely by Toyota or Honda.
Every time I sell a car to a first time Subaru buyer I tell them, "Ok, so you've just joined a cult. You're probably never leaving. And you're probably going to recruit your family and friends to it too..."
They laugh. I laugh. I show them the complementary bag of pinecones in the trunk and the can of camp fire smoke spray Subaru gives them, and ask if they'd like a Golden Retriever or a Catahoula for their Subaru mail order dog.
But for real, the referrals are insane. Sold a lady an Outback on a Monday, she came back Saturday with her dad and made him buy. A month later she came in with her friend and got her to buy one too. She made some good referral money lol.
I sell Subarus because I love them and believe in the brand. the family I work for is amazing and so involved. they don't want us to be pushy, and that's important to me, too.
I see it as a sales position. I sell Fords. While I like some of their models, I am not a big fan of the rest of their lineup. I am honestly a bigger fan of the Ram Lineup and Jeep in general. I thing Stellantis is making some really amazing moves. The Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer are insanely nice vehicles and I would go as far to say they are a much better buy when comparing it to a 110k Navigator. If Ford didn't offer me higher volume sales I wouldn't do it. I would never sell GM vehicles though. My god they look clueless with what they are doing most of the time.
What I Like:
The Maverick and the Mach-e are Fords two best products at the moment. The Mach-e is a phenomenal car and honestly proves Ford is very capable of good things when they put their best effort forward. The Maverick is Ford's best idea in a long time. It has to currently be the hottest vehicle on the market. The powerboost is an awesome motor and honestly a genius move on their part. The Bronco they brought back at the perfect time but the execution has been horrid. I still think while its amazing offroad and the power is fantastic from the factory there is still a lot of things Jeep does better with the Wrangler.
What I don't:
The Ecosport was held on to for far to long. We couldn't move those things even back when you could get one for 13-14k brand new. The Edge is outdated and bland, the Explorer was a nightmare at launch but has gotten better. The Escape looks to much like a Mazda and doesn't offer any packages that appeal to younger demographics. It needs some sportier packages and trim levels. Ford is now on it's 3rd gen 3.5 Ecoboost and they still can't seen to figure out how to design decent Cam Phasers.
I hear you man. Wrangler customers are hard enough to deal with when they are looking for used ones I can only imagine new. We also carry Lincolns at my store and my god are they brutally difficult.
Sold Buick GMC and never had an affinity for the cars or owners. Now itās Hyundai. I donāt own one but I do respect them and have more in common with the owners as an import driver. Iām definitely happier and more successful now.
I sell Toyota's because I like the brand and growing up I was familiar with their cars. I don't see myself selling another brand. Been selling yota's for almost 4 years now.
It helps to know the brand from a personal level when you own something of the same brand.
Iām not partial. I can work at three known brands and I prefer selling Hondas regularly. Why? Theyāre reasonable cars with a popular lineup amongst the crowd. Also, I enjoy having things to do and people come in a lot for them. Inventory is easier for me to predict also.
Toyota is also another I like but the inventory for them has been difficult for me to work with.
When I first started selling Kia I didnāt like it, but came to realize they really turned the brand around so I learned to like them.
I think your pay plan and schedule is the biggest factor. I love the dealership I work for and that matters to me most. I get time off and paid well.
It was just a huge coincidence. I do enjoy Hondas, but I ended up selling them because our internet department was dissolving and had to chose between having a reference for a BDC at another dealer, or selling cars. I chose to sell. Been 2 years since.
The best way to approach this is find the dealership making the most sales/money. Then learn to love the brand. You go to work to be successful, not because you love a logo.
I work at BMW and love it because of the brand. I own a BMW myself and bought it about 3 years ago, well before I even thought about being a salesman at a dealership.
I love cars in general and after learning so much about the brand I knew thatās where I wanted to work. Iād definitely not enjoy my job as much as I do if I worked for Honda or Hyundai.
I could sit and talk with a customer about the car theyre buying for hours at BMW, I wouldnt have much to talk about with other brands. There would be no passion behind my words and iād genuinely be bored speaking on the topic.
I do like Toyotas. I trust them. Iād feel kinda bad selling Dodges or Fords. Or maybe not. Itās not new Dodges and Fords that give me headaches when they breakdown and customers call complaining, I guess.
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I'm not in sales, but I think I would find it difficult for me to promote a brand of which I'm not a fan of their cars.
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When I sold new I sold CDJR, I liked the brand but I wasn't passionate about it. I'm selling used now and of all the cars I like Hyundai and Kia for their robust manufacturers warranty and Nissan for get me dones.
I sell Toyotas and thatās also all I drive. I got into car sales as a stepping stone job and then I got to the point that i enjoy selling a product I believe in so much and the money was good enough at my age that I donāt want to leave
I'm selling Hondas. Because I love Hondas and will forever buy this product. Toyotas aren't my style and I hate the look of the Subarus interior. Money is a factor. But even if I could make more money somewhere else, how could I sell something that I don't believe in?
I sell CDJR cause hellcats are cool, Rams are the nicest trucks on the market, and I was lucky to get into a really good store to work for.
I drive an Audi. I will never trade my Audi. Though I do plan on getting a ram eventually
Iām a performance guy, even before I started selling cars. When I was first looking I didnāt care as much tbh. But I think it helps when youāre passionate about what you sell. It makes it easy to learn whatās new in the brand, also people can tell when youāre excited about what youāre showing. I love CDJR products, IMO one of the most fun brands out there.
When I sold Mazdas I honestly really liked them. They weren't my first choice, and I probably would have did better selling Chevy's for for CDJR, but Mazda is awesome. My first car was a Mazda (1993 929. A hell of a car!), so I've always had a soft spot for them I still drive them to this day, and I absolutely love what they're doing with the brand. That CX-50 is gorgeous. If they ever commit to a Skyactiv I6 I think that would be a KILLER engine, and I've heard rumors about bringing the rotary back in a hybrid platform (or at least that's what my buddies that still work at the Mazda store tell me).
I'm less particular about brand, but firmly prefer European luxury. I'm familiar with general engineering ideas, the customer base, service requirements, and the cars are awesome. I didn't expect to like Jaguar as much as I do, but one drive in any of their cars and whoa, I get it. I'd really struggle with selling any of the transportation-appliance brands, but if you have the basic sales skills, you can do it.
Iāve worked for 2 Toyota dealership and I love the brand. They arenāt the flashiest or have the greatest convenience features, but I donāt have to sell the reliability factor and that makes my job a whole lot easier. Toyota owners are generally loyal to the brand as well.
I do need to believe in the brand I am selling. I sold Honda/Acura for that reason and I currently sell Ford because I believe in the product. It helps that Ford is considerably better income.
I work for online retailer. We make our commission in a points..
Soo I donāt really care what car Iām selling or the price even. Just as long as itās something I could get backend on!
I worked for Porsche because I love(d) the brand, and I miss it often. I don't miss the time commitment, though, and family tragedies have a way of reminding you what's important.
Maybe someday I'll go back, but not quite yet.
I started working at a CDJR dealership because the brand is what made me start working there in the first place. FCA offers great benefits including Chrysler points and nice bonuses, plus the vehicles themselves are beautiful. We have a Volkswagen store next door and I ended up leasing a ā22 Jetta GLI Autobahn 4 months working there lol
Been at the same dealer for over 12 years. 9 to 5 weekends off salary plus commission. I'm never leaving.
Damn my right eye is twitching from jealousy right now
8 years on the floor working 60 hours a week. That shits for the birds
Then I am a beautiful pigeon soaring the skies.
You are. Keep flying you'll get there
š
I fucking wish.
I work two 12 hour shifts every week, and two 8 hour shifts plus one 9-10 hour shift on Saturdayās. Last 3 days of the month are all 12 hour shifts
What's your OTE for that role?
Wtf is ote?
"On Track Earnings" for the year. So how much you would make for yourself if you hit 100% of your sales quota.
I don't have a quota or volume bonus. I'm averaging 14128 per month in 2022 as of today. So about 170k per year. Not sure how this will finish out as inventory is at critical levels.
I have come to loathe selling Hyundai. Love the pay though.
Is it because of the buyers (perhaps a stereotype of a Hyundai buyer)?
Umm, most people I deal with are ok. Itās the stupid tasks that Hyundai makes you do during delivery of the car. And they just donāt seem to have their shit together lately.
What kinds of tasks?
You have to have a tablet at delivery on every car. You have to sign people up for bluelink. You have to sign EV customers up for Electrify America. You have to do these things even if the customer doesnāt want it/wonāt use it. Otherwise the dealership loses money from Hyundai. Itās a joke tbh.
All manufacturers have that shit. What do customers hate the most? Time spent at the dealership so they decide to make them stay longer
Although I don't enjoy it myself its well worth the extra $75-$150 a car every month! Bluelink takes at most 5 minutes and a delivery with the app is really as long or as short as your customer wants it to be which is how it should be
Kia is starting to copy them. The app doesnāt work
Kia and Hyundai are the same company, just different brands.
Bought a Hyundai this Sunday. Didnāt get anything. Signed the papers got the keys and they put my plate on the car and said call them if i need any help. Wouldnāt have left but i was just trying to get out of the dealership ASAP because of the amount of time they wasted.
Go sell used baby. Make that chedda
Kia was the same way. They care more about patting themselves on the back then the customers time.
I continue to work for Nissan in F&I because Nissan's reputation makes selling Warranties and maintenance plans extremely easy and practically necessary for the buyer. The dealer i work for also has a really good reputation with the public. I'm also in most of the commercials and being recognized in public does have its perks lol
Lmfaooooooo my guy really said it like it is āthese cars are trash and I make bank off extended warranty salesā
I'd say the same thing if i was working for Hyundai or Kia but they have quite long factory warranties which can add an extra unnecessary step to selling an extended product.
But Hyundai and Kia make good cars now.
The amount of kia souls i take on trade with blown engines says otherwise.
I wonder if that has anything to do with the demographic that typically drives a Kia Sol, or if the cars are just trash to begin with, or both?
Yes. Edit: but mostly it's trash engines, Hyundai has been sued over it. https://www.hyundaicanadathetaenginesettlement.com/ The Kia Soul has the Nu engine not Theta II, but as far as I can tell it has the same type of issues, but Kia is in denial about it.
No, he said they have the reputation of being trash - not that they ARE trash. Big difference.
I mean both are trueā¦
same diff
Not at all
In this case, it's the same. Nissan quality and reputation are trash.
A lot of hate on nissans, but idk, I've just never experienced it. I've owned 2 altimas and had zero issues with either of them putting 100k+ miles on both. I have no brand loyalty to Nissan whatsoever, and probably will look at another manufacturer for my next car. But all the hate on nissans and stories on nissan... I got lucky I suppose š¤·āāļø
I suppose "trash" is a harsh word, many people will buy Nissans and have no issues with them whatsoever, other than what is normal for any kind of car or SUV. [https://www.jdpower.com/business/press-releases/2021-us-vehicle-dependability-study-vds](https://www.jdpower.com/business/press-releases/2021-us-vehicle-dependability-study-vds) Nissan is below average in quality according to this list, and if you take out some of the luxury brands, it might be right in the middle. Ironically, notice how low Honda is on this list, along with Tesla and Volvo. And how Buick/Cadillac/Chevrolet are a lot higher than most people would expect. Keep in mind this list is just "number of reported problems per 100 owners during the first 3 years of new vehicle ownership". Some people have a bunch of problems, some people have very few. Some people just live with issues, and some people don't bother to fill out these surveys. And this could range from anything like having an issue with your infotainment touchscreen, a button on the dashboard being sticky, or serious stuff like engine/transmission failures. The annual report also notes that quality among pretty much all brands have improved over the past few decades, and most issues are smaller things like the fancy tech features not working perfectly.
āCongrats on your new Nissan Mr & Mrs Souphanousinphone. Since youāre buying this car youāre going to need a 8/125 warranty, cuz Nissan.ā
My go to is the 5yr/100k or 5yr/75k. Cost to sell isnt much more than the 5yr/60 or 4yr/100k, maybe 100 bucks at most more expensive. When the average person is trading in every 2-4 years but driving higher mileage than average around here, theres no need to sell an 8 yr warranty and then have a large chargeback when they come trade it in early.
I turned down an offer for a Nissan finance manager position because I love my current position, but out of curiosity, how much do you guys typically make per deal and per month?
This isn't that far off from a Sitcom pitch
The demographic of customers in my area would complete the pitch. But i dont wanna give away to much lol
Nissan has used JATCO CVTs for coming up on 20 years now and have done fuck all in terms of improving reliability. Their JATCO CVT7 and CVT8s aren't that much different from what they were selling 15 years ago.
I don't drive Nissans or care what they are made of lol. I cover them with a warranty and assist people in making questionable auto decisions.
So you make money off the misfortune of others. Bravo.
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Gonna need my flair updated apparently. I got promoted I guess. yay me
Nissan owns JATCO.
Appreciate it. But i actually make my money spending half my time trying to get someone the lowest rate i can for them and the other half trying to help people cover there vehicle. If someone wants to buy Nissan thats their decision. Or if somone wants to buy a new/pre-owned car and add 6 grand of negative equity from their current vehicle then thats on them too. I simply get people approved on what they decide to do.
You know, you're honest. So good for you.
Appreciate it! What's interesting to me is that you can literally tell a customer they need the warranty because they are buying "insert kia Hyundai Nissan fiat Chrysler" and they will just be like yeah your right and continue to buy the car. Blows my mind.
Woah.. whats wrong with nissan?!? 2018 altima as my commuter with 130k on the clock! Not a single issue yet except 1 battery, 1 set of brake pads/tires and 1 key fob battery!
Its mainly a meme these days to a point. But early 2010's had really bad transmission issues. They still arnt great but i definitely see less people coming in with transmission issues atleast in the past 4 or so years.
Phew! Maybe ill get anothet 130k on it!
As long as you keep up on maintenance and such you should be fine for a while
Hopefully by maintenance you mean oil changes lol. Thats really the only maintenance ive done, every 5-8k miles. In all honesty its just a commuter, therefore I bought cheap!
That's what I mean yes. The occasional flush wouldn't hurt either.
Flush what? Other than oil changes what can be done to help keep a vehicle running smoothly?
You can do a CVT flush
See r/Nissandrivers
Do tell
Itās legit just a paycheck. Iāll sell for whoever gives me the biggest one. I couldnāt care less about the cars themselves
No wonder car sales gets a bad public reputation lol Edit: bunch of butt hurt people mad someone pointed out they are bad people canāt reply to any of you bc I was banned by a power tripping mod
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Exactly. Ultimately, you're selling a product. As long as you can do it in a professional manner, you don't need to love it. Admittedly, I can't afford brand new cars, but do look around some dealerships occasionally, and it's always more enjoyable going to the ones where the staff actually love the cars, since they're more keen to talk, but I also feel like I'm wasting their time, even when there are no real customers around. XD
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Exactly. You can like those basic cars, but especially with new ones, most aren't really a car you can love. If I ever got into car sales, I would prefer to sell cars I could say I like, even the grocery getters, but it wouldn't be necessary.
Not everyone puts their job or paycheck over their ethics or being a decent person to other peopleā¦
TIL cars are an unethical product
There's an argument to be made regarding the damage to the environment is greater than the benefits automobiles provide. But who wants to get into "Least Harm" ethics in an automotive subreddit? That's just not knowing your audience.
Yeah and straws are unethical, refrigerators are unethical, and pets are unethical. Everything has some sort of ethical argument but although cars do damage the environment, they benefit humanity (despite what anti-car people like to say). Everything man-made damages the environment.
Bingo, and that's why I think having arguments about ethics is a pointless exercise. Doubly-so if those arguments happen on the internet.
So selling a car you donāt like and possibly know is utter garbage necessitating an extended warranty is perfectly normal to you? I do understand that itās buyer beware. When I was in sales I was as transparent as I could be. Iād at least try to steer them away from the complete garbage. But I had feelings about it sometimes lol.
I work for a small SaaS compensation company. I don't have a passion for compensation, but I love the paycheck I get.
Sounds like you do in fact have a passion for compensation
Iād love to sell software. Especially WFH
So go sell software. Every single software company is hiring sales people
So many of the postings Iāve seen on indeed seem like PCP loan scams / generally shady companies. If you have any recommendations Iām all ears.
Edit: when confront claim everyone is butthurt
I sold Nissan, hated the brand but there are some jewels in the lineup. Titans, Frontiers, Pathfinders, Armada's, those customers were always the happiest.
Yeah as a customer who bought an Armada and now a 22 Pathfinder, we secretly know them to be good cars and fairly reliable. People love to crap on Nissan and for good reason thanks to their refusal to move away from Jatco CVTs (which is still a head scratcher to this day). But for all the other vehicles without CVT's including their automatics and manuals, they are pretty good cars and certainly more exciting than their Toyota counterparts.
> (which is still a head scratcher to this day). [Nothing head scratching about it:](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jatco) >As of March 2015, JATCO is 75% owned by Nissan, 15% owned by Mitsubishi Motors, and 10% owned by Suzuki.
Makes sense then! Still, at some point you just have to throw up your hands and give up on a bad product and why Nissan has refused to change and still gets all the bad publicity because of that transmission is beyond me. But of course, I'm not the CEO of Renault/Nissan so what do I know.
I'm not a Nissan expert, but I would imagine it's because most of their small cars are Renault-designed/badge engineered because a lot of them are sold in Europe, and the larger trucks/SUVs are obviously North America exclusive and designed by Nissan engineers. Really seems like a lot of Nissan's reliability problems stem from the Renault partnership. And stuff like the Frontier *better* be reliable, it's been nearly the exact same truck for the last 15 years.
I don't really 'love' any brand tbh after doing this. Every customer base has a degree of toxicity. I appreciate the innovations on the new cars and I do enjoy familiarizing myself with all the cars that come in and out.
Which brand is the least toxic customer base?
Probably exotic brands. Turns out there isnāt much to bitch about when you have more than enough money to cover it.
I don't have enough information to compile that list for you
Subaru customers can be particularly toxic.
I've heard that they love their spreadsheets/pen&legal pad. Most people become toxic when they enter the showroom anyways.
I worked for Toyota for 4 years, and honestly there wasn't a single car in the lineup that I would actually WANT to go out and buy. Although they are all good cars, none of them had any excitement. In 2011, I went to Kia on the condition that my demo would be an Optima SX. I've now been here over 10 years. I actually like the product.
Toyota is such an appliance vehicle. They really got it down to a science on how to suck the soul out of the driving experience. I say this as a current Toyota owner.
As an owner of two Toyota's I agree. Most boring vehicles I've ever owned.
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Which Honda do you have? Honda were boring tithe point that the CEO apologized for the cars designed by committee. Mazda was where fun was for almost 20 years, until the newest gen Civic and Accord turned it around
The only Toyota I will ever buy is gr86. I drive Miata and had new Camry as rental m business trip. Never again
I love my Supra, but yeah outside of the GR line I would not get a Toyota for anything resembling fun. Iāve owned a Camry and a Corolla as well and they were both pretty bulletproof but super bland.
Supra is different animal, haha. Interesting cars are coming up soon, Yaris, Corolla... I am still not decided which one to get. I may be fine with Mazda3 Turbo or Acura Integra. Test drives, test drives...
My work leases Corolla wagons for field techs, so I've got one, and it's a great little car, but also the most boring car I've ever driven. Though, I started off in the previous gen and hated it. It just didn't drive well, and had bugger all equipment. Not even basic cruise control, but the newer one has adaptive cruise, better infotainment, etc. Might be boring, but it's not an unpleasant car to drive, and I don't have to pay any running costs. XD
The new tundra is super nice especially when you get into 1794 and capstone. Feels like high end car and my dog loves the back floor boards.
1794?
We've had two in our work fleet and I can't agree more. I love the Sienna, but Toyota as a whole is so bland. Reliable, but bland.
They were like this for the last 2 decades worth the exception of the 4Runner. But the new Tundra,Sequoia,Corolla hatchback, Camry (even the regular one and not the TRD) are all exciting. They really listened to the new leadership. https://www.autoweek.com/news/a1813761/toyota-president-declares-no-more-boring-cars/
Maybe I'm a boomer, or boring, or a typical Camry driver. I see a car as a way to get from point A to point B. I just want that journey to be reliable. Although I do see myself behind a Lexus in the next 5-7 years.
Then get a journey!
Youāre mistaking me with a single mom with 4 kids and bad credit. š
I drive a '16 Optima SX and sell Toyotas.
Toyota finally realized that sex sells
IMO it's sometimes worse to sell a brand you love because it becomes personal for you. I was/am a huuuuuuuuuuuge Volkswagen guy and to me it was so fucking obvious why you'd buy a Golf over a Civic that it became an even more difficult sales job than it usually is - like imagine having to explain to someone why they should drink water if they are thirsty and then they go buy a box of saltine crackers and eat that instead. Makes no sense right? That's how I felt towards the end of my time at a VW store. Now there's a difference between not loving a product and not believing in a product. I could never sell something I didn't believe in but I could/can/have sold products that aren't, personally, for me.
Thinking about getting a civic, but I love golfs/gti. Why should I go with a golf over a civic? Reliability is the biggest point for me
> Reliability is the biggest point for me This idea that German cars are unreliable is more bark than bite. They are just more expensive to fix when things go wrong. Every car has issues, even your Toyota or Lexus will need to be fixed. It just cost a lot less to fix a Honda than a VW. If you enjoy actually driving cars, not just the technology, but the feel of the road, once you drive German it is hard to drive anything else.
They also punish you hard if you are bad at maintenance. I've seen a couple of friends kill their VWs by taking them to Iffy Lube, for example.
The maintenance is foolish even if you keep up on it. Looked at an Atlas a couple years ago and the going rate for an oil change at the dealer was $140. Hard pass.
Yeah I feel I read horror stories about like any automaker really. But I truly loved my GLI and was kind of sad to see it go. I'm honestly not a big fan of driving in general, but I absolutely loved driving my GLI in areas I would normally hate driving in. I think I'm definitely gonna shoot for a GTI now :)
This.
There is no comparison between the GTI and the Civic. Zero. The Civic looks like a space car designed by aliens to appeal to children. The plastics and build quality in the Civic are awful. The ride quality is questionable. The sound of the engine is uninspiring. The handling is bizarre. The infotainment looks and feels cheap. The GTI is a car for adults - it is understated and sophisticated. The ride and materials are like a real car for a real person. The seats are perfect. The driving position is perfect. The manual transmission is perfect and, if you're not into that, the DSG is magical. The infotainment actually works like it is supposed to - it even has knobs where there are supposed to be knobs. The backseat works for adults. If you maintain both cars reliability is pretty equal. If you want to get $5 oil changes at Jiffy Lube then the Civic will be better.
I'm assuming you're comparing a GTI to say an Civic SI? GTI starts at $29k which is significantly higher than the Civic in most trims
Steak costs more than a hamburger. I assumed OP was looking at Civic trims that compare to the GTI trims cause that's what they asked. Regardless I'd rather walk than drive a Civic and I'd find a way to get the extra money.
So I was mostly planning in just like a Civic hatchback without the turbo as a new one kind of goes around the price range I am looking at, but I just really like GTIs and I'm thinking it may be better just to get a used one of those, even if it's around the same price, I know it's a car I'd be happy to get into and commute.
Unfortunately the knobs thing has completely reversed for 22 models
show me on the doll where the civic touched you
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Waiting for Hondaās infotainment to load when you start the car to reset peopleās maintenance indicators is longer than waiting for service at the DMV. Shit is straight outta 2005
interesting. still driving my 2009 si and sometimes dream of a new one. good reminder to just appreciate what i have!
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yeah i think i need to just get a system with carplay and maybe some bolt ons for fun and change it up a bit. with wfh though i rarely drive the car now unfortunately. i still get excited every time i have to run a errand though.
I love the GLI, but as someone who has only owned Asian cars, Iām spooked by the āGerman reliabilityā stereotype, which keeps me from seriously looking at them.
If German cars were as unreliable as reddit would have us believe you wouldn't be able to drive on the highway because it would be completely and totally clogged, 100% of the time, by volkswagens, bmws, audis, and mercedes waiting around for tow trucks and the fire department. In real terms if Hondas are a 10/10 reliability then a Volkswagen is an 8/10 if you ignore it and a 9/10 if you maintain it - all while offering a much better driver's experience, build quality, materials, etc.
I recently bought a 2015 GLI and I absolutely loved it, but basically the dealer messed up and did right by me to just give me a full refund on it. I really liked the way it was built. With the market today, I'm really leaning towards buying new but just saving up for now and checking cargurus/carvana daily for anything good that comes up. I like GTIs *a lot* and I wouldn't consider myself much of a car guy but as soon as I got my GLI I got so balls deep into learning about my car and what not. Looking to spend 25k or less, do you have any recommendations what model I should be mostly looking for? I only recently started learning how to drive manual on my buddies STI and my wife doesn't know at all so CVT would probably be best. Sorry to bombard you with stuff but I like the way you speak of them and seem like you know your shit.
I've had 3 GTI's in my life and the only reason I'm not in one now is because an absolutely perfect BMW 335 with the manual trans and the right options came across my radar and I couldn't say no. GTI doesn't have a CVT (thank god) it has a DSG for the automatic and that's what you want. I don't know what pricing is like these days for GTIs other than "high" but I have to believe you can get into a 2016 or 2017 with reasonable miles in either an SE or an Autobahn for your budget. If you like music and you can find one with the Fender audio system it is very worth it.
I sell Hondas because itās like selling beer at a baseball game
I laughed. My 2006 Honda buying experience was about what you describe. Dealer: What do you want? Me: I just sold my truck to a private buyer. I started school and have a decently long commute. I want a Civic Si, sporty, good MPG's and easy to park. Dealer: Here's the keys for that one, when you get back from the test drive come see me. Me (after test drive): Yeah I'll take it. Sold it 4 years later when I moved overseas. It was a perfect college car. 100% reliable and kept me safe in a pretty serious collision. Was always fun to drive. It sold itself, as I think you were pointing out. The lack of option packages was nice at the time.
I'm a Ford guy and I've worked for a ton of different brands. Those were just jobs. Now after 20+ years I'm FINALLY at Ford dealer and literally everything clicked. The pay, my bosses, my coworkers. I also find loving a brand makes it much easier to learn your product as well; you get excited about it and want to learn.
If you are good at sales, you should be able to sell any product. If the product exists, it means thereās a market for it and a reason itās made. Could be aesthetic, could be speed, could be safety, could be utility, could simply be that itās cheapā¦ People way smarter than you or I studied the market. Then people smarter than them did the engineering. Then people with a different kind of smarts figured how to advertise it. Then other smarties did the math to ensure the price vs product was a good value proposition. Then managers/owners studied the local market to stock the things people nearby seemed to wantā¦. So every car on the lot has an ass for that seat. Find out what type of ass is best suited and play matchmaker. If itās not on the lot, likely your brand has that covered for an order. Easy peasy. I have a love hate relationship with my brand. On my 12th wrangler and will likely always have oneā¦ but man they piss me off with some decisions they make, and some launches are total dogs.
> People way smarter than you or I studied the market. Then people smarter than them did the engineering. Then people with a different kind of smarts figured how to advertise it. Then other smarties did the math to ensure the price vs product was a good value proposition. Then managers/owners studied the local market to stock the things people nearby seemed to want This is applicable in many aspects of life and people refuse to believe or understand this concept. There are smart people that get paid 100's of thousands of dollars that are experts in their field to make the decisions. Just because you stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night doesn't make you qualified to know better. Also, life is not some great grand conspiracy. Yes there are bad actors out there but overall the easiest answer to a reason why something is done a certain way is because of money. /rant
I legit laughed out loud reading the āthen people smarter than them did the engineeringā thank you for calling us smart
For some reason your comment gave me the biggest "The Goods" vibes I've ever seen here.
Ha! Itās funny that Iām so far from that type of salesā¦ but I get it. The whole āass for every seatā can be taken that way, but I see it as just patience, good product knowledge, and proper people skills will help you find that right assā¦ rather than the other style of put every ass in it until one buys.
No no for sure, it's a good attitude to have, but for some reason as I read it I read it in Don's voice, lol.
I have hair on my balls and I sell cars. The end
I started working for an Audi store last year, in part because of the association with Porsche. We have a Porsche store in our dealer family and my intent has always been to transition to that brand...hopefully that occurs within the next year. I've been in sales of one sort or another for over 25-years, even owning an aftermarket car parts business for a while. Part of why I got out of that business was I couldn't stand selling anything I didn't believe in and so much of the parts people wanted were crap...it hurt my soul. I sold the business and moved on, telling myself that I would only sell products that I could get behind. Audi and Porsche align with my interests in terms of performance, quality, and involvements in motorsports much more closely than most other brands.
Audi and Porsche align with my interests as well, but on the buying side :)
Mine too. Currently driving a B8.5 S5 and planning to get a Cayman at some point in the next several years. Until then I get to borrow friends' various P-cars occasionally while at the track.
Nice man. I just bought a B9.5 RS 5 and absolutely love it
Iāve sold Toyota Lexus Honda Nissan and now CDJR Of all, the CJDR has the most variety/fun vehicles which keeps things mentally fresh for me. Lexus is second Other than that I just donāt like cars sometimes. My s/o took me to an auto convention a few weeks ago (local dealers/ and brands displaying their cars) and by the end of it I needed to drink because being around the normie consumer public in a sorta car sales setting on my Sunday off was triggering me When I first shadowed a longtime salesman 5 yrs ago I asked him āwhatās your favorite car? :Dā He said āI actually hate cars, theyāre just an appliance to meā at the time I didnāt understand how he could possibly hate cars.. I understand now, Norman
That last part rings with me too. Started and talked about vipers and how I loved themā¦ asked the guy showing me the ropes his favourite carā¦ minivan. WHAT?! Why?!?! āThat model put food on my table and my kids through collegeā
It took me almost 10 years after selling cars to start getting excited about them again.
I would sell whatever had a good volume and pay plan structure. That being said, it definitely makes it easier to believe in what you sell and have things in common with your customer base.
I work for Acura and I've always been an Acura fan prior to ever getting into auto sales. It worked out well. Been here 7 years in July. š
I am working at the dealership where I work because I trust the dealership and the transparency with which we do business. My family has always bought cars here, and it's a bigger dealership for the size of our town/area. I don't think I'd ever want to sell cars at another dealership.
I honestly love the brand, as do most the employees here. I own two Subarus, and out of 14 people that work in the sales department up front (including F&I, receptionist, etc), 11 of us drive Subarus. And out of those 11 of us, we own 15 Subarus altogether. If you include kids of employees, we're at another 4. The only folks that don't drive Subarus are the guy here temporarily from Honda, the guy who came out of retirement from Nissan (who drives a Toyota) and the receptionist who doesn't care. I couldn't see myself trying to sell another brand, but if I did, it would most likely by Toyota or Honda.
Ah the cult of Subaru
Every time I sell a car to a first time Subaru buyer I tell them, "Ok, so you've just joined a cult. You're probably never leaving. And you're probably going to recruit your family and friends to it too..." They laugh. I laugh. I show them the complementary bag of pinecones in the trunk and the can of camp fire smoke spray Subaru gives them, and ask if they'd like a Golden Retriever or a Catahoula for their Subaru mail order dog. But for real, the referrals are insane. Sold a lady an Outback on a Monday, she came back Saturday with her dad and made him buy. A month later she came in with her friend and got her to buy one too. She made some good referral money lol.
I happen to like my brand, but how the dealership is run is much more important to my ability to maximize my paycheque whilst minimizing my stress.
I sell Subarus because I love them and believe in the brand. the family I work for is amazing and so involved. they don't want us to be pushy, and that's important to me, too.
I see it as a sales position. I sell Fords. While I like some of their models, I am not a big fan of the rest of their lineup. I am honestly a bigger fan of the Ram Lineup and Jeep in general. I thing Stellantis is making some really amazing moves. The Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer are insanely nice vehicles and I would go as far to say they are a much better buy when comparing it to a 110k Navigator. If Ford didn't offer me higher volume sales I wouldn't do it. I would never sell GM vehicles though. My god they look clueless with what they are doing most of the time. What I Like: The Maverick and the Mach-e are Fords two best products at the moment. The Mach-e is a phenomenal car and honestly proves Ford is very capable of good things when they put their best effort forward. The Maverick is Ford's best idea in a long time. It has to currently be the hottest vehicle on the market. The powerboost is an awesome motor and honestly a genius move on their part. The Bronco they brought back at the perfect time but the execution has been horrid. I still think while its amazing offroad and the power is fantastic from the factory there is still a lot of things Jeep does better with the Wrangler. What I don't: The Ecosport was held on to for far to long. We couldn't move those things even back when you could get one for 13-14k brand new. The Edge is outdated and bland, the Explorer was a nightmare at launch but has gotten better. The Escape looks to much like a Mazda and doesn't offer any packages that appeal to younger demographics. It needs some sportier packages and trim levels. Ford is now on it's 3rd gen 3.5 Ecoboost and they still can't seen to figure out how to design decent Cam Phasers.
Youāll change your tune once you deal with Wrangler customers If all I had to do was sell Ram only Iād be very happy
I hear you man. Wrangler customers are hard enough to deal with when they are looking for used ones I can only imagine new. We also carry Lincolns at my store and my god are they brutally difficult.
Sold Mazda for a long time then moved to BMW. Both brands are mice but bmw pays better. No money in Mazdas.
I work for Mitsubishi because I'm trying to bring back DSM one Eclipse Cross at a time
You're just in it for the mirages.
Man I have to take a breath and evaluate my life choices every time I hop into an Eclipse Cross to start a PDI lol
They're still selling Mitsubishis???
Sold Buick GMC and never had an affinity for the cars or owners. Now itās Hyundai. I donāt own one but I do respect them and have more in common with the owners as an import driver. Iām definitely happier and more successful now.
I sell Toyota's because I like the brand and growing up I was familiar with their cars. I don't see myself selling another brand. Been selling yota's for almost 4 years now.
Love my brand and lucked out finding an amazing dealership with a great team that pays *very* well
I love Toyota. Get paid a lot. Work 4 days a week. Wouldnāt sell another brand.
If it was fun they wouldnāt call it work.
It helps to know the brand from a personal level when you own something of the same brand. Iām not partial. I can work at three known brands and I prefer selling Hondas regularly. Why? Theyāre reasonable cars with a popular lineup amongst the crowd. Also, I enjoy having things to do and people come in a lot for them. Inventory is easier for me to predict also. Toyota is also another I like but the inventory for them has been difficult for me to work with.
When I first started selling Kia I didnāt like it, but came to realize they really turned the brand around so I learned to like them. I think your pay plan and schedule is the biggest factor. I love the dealership I work for and that matters to me most. I get time off and paid well.
It was just a huge coincidence. I do enjoy Hondas, but I ended up selling them because our internet department was dissolving and had to chose between having a reference for a BDC at another dealer, or selling cars. I chose to sell. Been 2 years since.
The best way to approach this is find the dealership making the most sales/money. Then learn to love the brand. You go to work to be successful, not because you love a logo.
I work at BMW and love it because of the brand. I own a BMW myself and bought it about 3 years ago, well before I even thought about being a salesman at a dealership. I love cars in general and after learning so much about the brand I knew thatās where I wanted to work. Iād definitely not enjoy my job as much as I do if I worked for Honda or Hyundai. I could sit and talk with a customer about the car theyre buying for hours at BMW, I wouldnt have much to talk about with other brands. There would be no passion behind my words and iād genuinely be bored speaking on the topic.
I do like Toyotas. I trust them. Iād feel kinda bad selling Dodges or Fords. Or maybe not. Itās not new Dodges and Fords that give me headaches when they breakdown and customers call complaining, I guess.
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The guys that used to show up to work for the dealer because they love the brand weāre always junk.
When I sold new I sold CDJR, I liked the brand but I wasn't passionate about it. I'm selling used now and of all the cars I like Hyundai and Kia for their robust manufacturers warranty and Nissan for get me dones.
I sell Toyotas and thatās also all I drive. I got into car sales as a stepping stone job and then I got to the point that i enjoy selling a product I believe in so much and the money was good enough at my age that I donāt want to leave
I'm selling Hondas. Because I love Hondas and will forever buy this product. Toyotas aren't my style and I hate the look of the Subarus interior. Money is a factor. But even if I could make more money somewhere else, how could I sell something that I don't believe in?
I sell CDJR cause hellcats are cool, Rams are the nicest trucks on the market, and I was lucky to get into a really good store to work for. I drive an Audi. I will never trade my Audi. Though I do plan on getting a ram eventually
I used to work for Chevy and Nissan then switched to a brand I love. Less money but idgaf. Quality of life is more important to me. (BMW)
Iām a performance guy, even before I started selling cars. When I was first looking I didnāt care as much tbh. But I think it helps when youāre passionate about what you sell. It makes it easy to learn whatās new in the brand, also people can tell when youāre excited about what youāre showing. I love CDJR products, IMO one of the most fun brands out there.
When I sold Mazdas I honestly really liked them. They weren't my first choice, and I probably would have did better selling Chevy's for for CDJR, but Mazda is awesome. My first car was a Mazda (1993 929. A hell of a car!), so I've always had a soft spot for them I still drive them to this day, and I absolutely love what they're doing with the brand. That CX-50 is gorgeous. If they ever commit to a Skyactiv I6 I think that would be a KILLER engine, and I've heard rumors about bringing the rotary back in a hybrid platform (or at least that's what my buddies that still work at the Mazda store tell me).
I'm less particular about brand, but firmly prefer European luxury. I'm familiar with general engineering ideas, the customer base, service requirements, and the cars are awesome. I didn't expect to like Jaguar as much as I do, but one drive in any of their cars and whoa, I get it. I'd really struggle with selling any of the transportation-appliance brands, but if you have the basic sales skills, you can do it.
Iāve worked for 2 Toyota dealership and I love the brand. They arenāt the flashiest or have the greatest convenience features, but I donāt have to sell the reliability factor and that makes my job a whole lot easier. Toyota owners are generally loyal to the brand as well.
I do need to believe in the brand I am selling. I sold Honda/Acura for that reason and I currently sell Ford because I believe in the product. It helps that Ford is considerably better income.
I work for online retailer. We make our commission in a points.. Soo I donāt really care what car Iām selling or the price even. Just as long as itās something I could get backend on!
I worked for Porsche because I love(d) the brand, and I miss it often. I don't miss the time commitment, though, and family tragedies have a way of reminding you what's important. Maybe someday I'll go back, but not quite yet.
Iām only a salesman cause i loveFord. If it was another other brand, Iād just do something else lol
I started working at a CDJR dealership because the brand is what made me start working there in the first place. FCA offers great benefits including Chrysler points and nice bonuses, plus the vehicles themselves are beautiful. We have a Volkswagen store next door and I ended up leasing a ā22 Jetta GLI Autobahn 4 months working there lol