Ignorant Sales people amaze me

[Nikos]

No, what would be amazing is an intelligent and informed sales person. Ignorant sales people are a dime a dozen.

Fortunately, my dealer doesn’t have but couple of them. Fortunately, the head of sales and service have warned/informed their people not to talk “ bullshit about EVs” around me.
Ask questions, learn about EVs from the people who have them.
We didn’t spend our hard earned money for some, MYTH.!!!!

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[Adventureboy]

shut up, and let the customer talk...

This works in all situations in life ;-).

My sales guy admitted he knew nothing about the EVs when I ordered mine. He was happy to take the order but I'm 100% sure he wouldn't be able to "Sell" me on it.

 

[flyct]

sales'person

'Sales'people are exactly that... don't expect more.

They are not 'education' people. They don't get paid for that.

As you already probably know, you've bought things from many, many more uneducated 'salespeople' in the past, and had no reservations about it. We somehow expect a vehicle 'sales'person to know more than the cashier at the bigbox store.

With more than potentially 50 different models, trims, and technology levels, as well as power train types, on any dealer's lot at any given moment, you are almost asking for aggravation and annoyance when you expect ANY 'sales'person to know 'everything' about 'everything'.

I don't expect expect ANY 'sales'person to know 'everything' about 'everything. They should take an effort to learn the basics about the product they are selling. This guy berated EV's right off the bat. He knew nothing about the dealership inventory and made up stories about their EV inventory.

My experience with most Ford sales people recently has been they don't like EVs.

I know I am not the average customer. I'm on my 8th EV since my first Nissan Leaf with only a 85 miles of range in 2015. I do my research and when ready to order or buy I just look for someone to take my order at the best price. New trucks and cars are just a commodity, every dealer sells the same product.

But an uneducated customer should expect a knowledgeable sales rep to guide them to a vehicle that properly meets the customer's needs. Not just what gives the seller the most profit or sales person the biggest commision.

EV's unfortunately are a very politically charged product.

 

[FirstF150InCasco]

My dad -- who died suddenly in his mid 40's in 1962 from wounds infliceted in WWII -- was a car salesman when it was a job done by professionals. I'm pleased that at Bonnell Motors in Winchester MA the sales manager has (for the last 25+ years) always given me sales reps that are like my dad.

 

[BennyTheBeaver]

I've had two Lightning purchasing experiences now. I can 100% it is solely dependent on the dealer. The first dealership I bought from was my custom ordered Pro. The sales team was completely awful. They were unknowledgeable about the truck (it had been out for 6+ months at this point). They tried to take advantage of me every chance they could. I refuse to give that sales team any more of my business.

The truck I currently have was a much better experience from a dealer 60 miles away. They were knowledgeable, kind, and genuinely seemed to want to work with me so we were both comfortable with the deal. I think it depends on how much the owner/management want to invest into EV sales. It's not hard to teach a salesperson the features and benefits of our trucks, the management/owner just needs to value it and provide training/resources.

 

[invertedspear]

There were a couple things I didn’t know they he showed me.

Mind if I ask what those were, maybe I'm missing something too

So for the car salesmen here, what is the commission on a truck sold at the sticker price that only shows a destination charge? Is a dealer percentage baked into the sticker price? I have heard dealers don't make much money off of new car sales and that makes sense. I also can't see regular maintenance of EVs generating much revenue. So no wonder dealers don't like EVs.

I haven't sold them, but I worked in the IT department of a multi location local dealer several years ago.

The commission ranged from $500-5k depending on the vehicle. This was a Cadillac/Hummer/Saab dealer, so commissions were likely a bit higher than others brands. This came out of the dealer profit that, yes, is baked into the "Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price" on the sticker. MSRP usually contains 5-10% of profit for the dealer to split how they see fit with the salesperson. Dealers don't make a ton per new car, but they sell enough new cars to justify the huge lots and fancy buildings. I think even in late 2008 early 2009 that dealership was selling about 250 luxury cars per month, during a recession.

I think you're right that they aren't going to make much residual service off of the EV line, but that's not why they don't like them. Something about car sales and service attracts the worst of the Fox-News-consumer crowd. Lots of the same anti-EV propaganda gets repeated around dealerships.

 

[BabyDoc1012]

Mind if I ask what those were, maybe I'm missing something too


I haven't sold them, but I worked in the IT department of a multi location local dealer several years ago.

The commission ranged from $500-5k depending on the vehicle. This was a Cadillac/Hummer/Saab dealer, so commissions were likely a bit higher than others brands. This came out of the dealer profit that, yes, is baked into the "Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price" on the sticker. MSRP usually contains 5-10% of profit for the dealer to split how they see fit with the salesperson. Dealers don't make a ton per new car, but they sell enough new cars to justify the huge lots and fancy buildings. I think even in late 2008 early 2009 that dealership was selling about 250 luxury cars per month, during a recession.

I think you're right that they aren't going to make much residual service off of the EV line, but that's not why they don't like them. Something about car sales and service attracts the worst of the Fox-News-consumer crowd. Lots of the same anti-EV propaganda gets repeated around dealerships.

It was the way one pedal drove worked and the way the intelligent cruise worked. Stuff that it don’t think I’d have really picked up on without driving the truck.

 

[OtterJohn]

I have known more about every vehicle I have ever bought (and there have been too many, admittedly...) than any "sales associate" I have ever dealt with. I learned long ago to not contradict, to just buy what I want based on what I know, and move on.

It would be nice if they'd learn about the products their selling, but many just don't care (in my experience).

 

[flyct]

I have known more about every vehicle I have ever bought (and there have been too many, admittedly...) than any "sales associate" I have ever dealt with. I learned long ago to not contradict, to just buy what I want based on what I know, and move on.

It would be nice if they'd learn about the products their selling, but many just don't care (in my experience).

When i bought our Lightning in October of last year, after negotiating dealer discount and out the door price I asked for the confirmation that it qualified and was reported to the IRS for the Tax Credit.

Dealer said, Sorry, it doesn't qualify because the MSRP is $81,840 which is over the $80k limit and that is why they gave me a dealer discount where other dealers wouldn't discount. I informed him that the truck DOES QUALIFY because the MSRP before Destination charge is $79,845. I sent him the IRS rule and they reported it to the IRS and sent me a document confirming it qualifies for $7,500 tax credit.

Another example where dealers were unaware of the details.

BTW, I've collected the $7,500 EV Tax Credit 7 times since our first EV, a 2015 Leaf, for a total of $52,500 in tax savings. 5 Leafs, 1 Tesla and 1 Lightning.

 

[OtterJohn]

BTW, I've collected the $7,500 EV Tax Credit 7 times since our first EV, a 2015 Leaf, for a total of $52,500 in tax savings. 5 Leafs, 1 Tesla and 1 Lightning.

Nice!!

 

[potato]

'Sales'people are exactly that... don't expect more.

They are not 'education' people. They don't get paid for that.

As you already probably know, you've bought things from many, many more uneducated 'salespeople' in the past, and had no reservations about it. We somehow expect a vehicle 'sales'person to know more than the cashier at the bigbox store.

With more than potentially 50 different models, trims, and technology levels, as well as power train types, on any dealer's lot at any given moment, you are almost asking for aggravation and annoyance when you expect ANY 'sales'person to know 'everything' about 'everything'.

Some level of ignorance is fine. Personally I don't have a problem if a sales person doesn't know all the details. However I *do* have a problem with them just making stuff up. That goes beyond just ignorance. It means I cannot trust a single word that comes out of their mouths, and I will walk.

 

[BabyDoc1012]

I don’t expect the sales person to know everything about every car on the lot. They see so many used cars from across all the brands that would be difficult. However I do expect them to know the basics of whatever new car brand they sell. I remember as a kid all the dealerships had a used car side and a new car side. Typically the used salesman was new to the business. The new car salesman had been there longer and knew the brand. I feel like that just kinda stopped one day. Or maybe it was just like that in the few places I lived growing up.

 

[rraustad]

Mind if I ask what those were, maybe I'm missing something too


I haven't sold them, but I worked in the IT department of a multi location local dealer several years ago.

The commission ranged from $500-5k depending on the vehicle. This was a Cadillac/Hummer/Saab dealer, so commissions were likely a bit higher than others brands. This came out of the dealer profit that, yes, is baked into the "Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price" on the sticker. MSRP usually contains 5-10% of profit for the dealer to split how they see fit with the salesperson. Dealers don't make a ton per new car, but they sell enough new cars to justify the huge lots and fancy buildings. I think even in late 2008 early 2009 that dealership was selling about 250 luxury cars per month, during a recession.

I think you're right that they aren't going to make much residual service off of the EV line, but that's not why they don't like them. Something about car sales and service attracts the worst of the Fox-News-consumer crowd. Lots of the same anti-EV propaganda gets repeated around dealerships.

You left me hangin right at the end without saying why dealerships don't like EVs. The last 2 sentences didn't help at all.

 

[Mrvette]

I agree, stupid comment.

 

[flyct]

I agree, stupid comment.

I agree making that comment was stupid, but being stupid doesn't necessarily make it untrue.

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