GM loses a sale to Ford thanks to dealership

[el ess A]

Based solely on responses, there's a few here that actually get it. There's a lot here that apparently don't.

The stupid, outdated franchise laws for new automobiles says the manufacturer MUST sell to a licensed dealer to purchase one. And you have to deal with the allocations to provide a fair distribution (Fbodfather has explained this many times). Both of these are useless in today's world, and so anti-free-market it isn't even funny, but somehow they survive through the $$ of the car-dealer lobby.

The dealership is the face of the company. How you get treated there can have you believe how you'd be treated elsewhere. I believe if it were up to GM, and many of us, they'd rather deliver one to your door rather than have you deal with some of these crummy dealerships and end up buying from someone else.

For those that say- just go to another dealership...WHY should you need to? Those that are brand loyal may do so, but if your not, you don't want to waste your time with that brand if the f**k-knuckles at the dealership won't or can't work with you. If you're not getting treated with respect or getting filled with misinformation at one dealership, what makes you think that'll change? GOOD dealerships are far and few between. If you find one, hang on to it. You're lucky.

I learned first-hand Monday when my mother-in-law finally settled on her Ford Focus that all dealerships around here aren't the same. We took the time to shop the dealers that had the car she wanted at the best price OTD. I expected the same crappy treatment I'd get from the local GM dealerships. The two Ford dealerships we visited were more than nice to us, and since we weren't trading anything in, all I asked for was what incentives were offered, and their best OTD price. I felt like a fish out of water at a blue-oval dealership. But even the LITTLE things like opening the doors to the showroom for us, explaining the factory features/warranty and what all the little buttons were for on the dash went a long way. They actually KNEW the product! Imagine that. Granted, I've only researched the Ford Focus for about a week or so, so I'm not as fluent in Ford's features like I would have if it were a Camaro.

Salespeople are salespeople. It doesn't matter what they're selling. Car salespeople have a reputation for being a tad scummy for a REASON. Not all are, but it doesn't take many bad ones to ruin it for everyone. But if they give you a sense that they are SOLVING your problem(s) with a fair price and treat you with respect, you'll get what you want and be satisfied. Remember, if you sign the papers, you're saying it's a fair deal whether it is or not to anyone else.

Unfortunately, for a Chevy dealership, I'd have to go out of the area to get the same respect or uncrappy deal. GM has been getting their dealerships to LOOK good, now if they can actually find more salespeople that know what the hell they're supposed to be doing...that's a tall order.

[PQ]

Agree with el ess X.

As far as the individual dealers and customer service and communication I wish they'd just explain the process more thoroughly to customers.

Consumers are going to couple the face to face point of their business with a company with the integrity, professionalism, credibility, etc........... of that company. A company will usually get what it pays for. If I walked in to my office and saw my front desk person treat a customer rudely I'd fire him or her on the spot. I might not even let them go get their belongings.

Me personally, I realize this so I try not to hold a company responsible for shitty CS when I notice it's just a crappy employee. And it's also why I'll let a company know when I see things with the things I buy or accept as service that I can live with but someone else might not. As a courtesy to that company.

Communication works.

[Fightinfire921]

WGAS

[My Caroline]

Because one dealership is "how GM does business".
Because one salesman is how the entire dealership does business.
That's like this whole "one YouTube video represents the whole of America"
Yeah right.

If a dealer can't order you a car, they can't order you a car. Sure they could have said it differently but that doesn't really matter. If he really wanted a ZL1 he would have gone elsewhere.

Just an example from my experience, I was told to leave a Chrysler/Jeep/Dodge dealership and come back with my parents. A) I am not a child. B) should we decide we want a Jeep or whatever, there are other dealers. That's not a reflection of "how Chrysler does business".

[90503]

Originally Posted by Caitlin&Caroline

Why do we have to even interact with dealers still?

If you can search and/or build online, why can't you just order online with home delivery?

I mean that as a serious question. I can do this with everything from furniture to riding lawn mowers to sheds to TVs. I would even pay more to NOT interact with a salesman. Their jobs are obselete. They are a hindrance to the sales process.

This is why I buy through my credit union...They have an in-house service that will shop for the exact car you want, for the best price...and the reason they are there is so you don't have to "deal" with the dealership or their sales people...The car still technically comes from a dealership (unknown to me)...lol...I've seen posts here where you can buy the car you want through Costco...and never have to set foot on a car lot...

Not sure how dealership sales people fit into this scenario, if at all, but I agree that if you are able to shop online, compare prices, etc., the car lot salesman is not even required to buy a new car....

[2010SS2SS]

Just like we don't need baggers or cashiers at the grocery store, bank tellers, or servers at a restaurant...

[Angrybird 12]

Originally Posted by 90503

This is why I buy through my credit union...They have an in-house service that will shop for the exact car you want, for the best price...and the reason they are there is so you don't have to "deal" with the dealership or their sales people...The car still technically comes from a dealership (unknown to me)...lol...I've seen posts here where you can buy the car you want through Costco...and never have to set foot on a car lot...

Not sure how dealership sales people fit into this scenario, if at all, but I agree that if you are able to shop online, compare prices, etc., the car lot salesman is not even required to buy a new car....

Sams also offers that service. But I am not sure if they can get cars like the ZL1 that have low allocations.

[sykb47l]

Originally Posted by My Caroline

Because one dealership is "how GM does business".
Because one salesman is how the entire dealership does business.
That's like this whole "one YouTube video represents the whole of America"
Yeah right.

Salesmen dont make policies. Keep that in mind when you hear of mark ups, how orders are placed, and how people are treated. When I preordered my 2010 SS I had 10 CHEVY dealerships that either wanted a mark up or some crazy $10,000+ deposit and couldn't tell me when I'd even get the car. Quite a few refused to tell me even how many orders they had already taken. Its not like I'm ordering some custom one off Camaro that they can't sale. To ask for a 1/4 of the cars MSRP upfront is completely unreasonable. I was able to show each and every dealer that I had a $50,000 loan approved and ready when the car arrived.

Dealer #11; I would of been 3rd on their order list but they didnt actually place my order. #12 is the dealer that didnt play games, ordered the car, and kept up with the communication. None of these experiences had anything to do with allocations, just dealership policies and sales tactics.

Now we all know that dealers arent necessarily "GM" or "Ford" but they sure do have "GM" or "Ford" in big letters on their buildings. Sure this happens with each brand but one or in my case 11 bad eggs do spoil the bunch. If you have to go through this much trouble to buy a car imagine what happens when something goes wrong and you have to take it in for service. Remember these are the same dealerships you didnt trust to take your order. And I seriously doubt going out of state to get service is an option. If a dealership doesnt care enough to sale you a car, why would you think servicing a car would be a better experience.

Another example for thought: I go to the ford dealer to pick up some oil for the GT500. As I return to the car a salesman approaches me. He compliments my car and asked if I had placed my order for the 2013 GT500. I asked about mark ups and deposits and to my surprise "No Mark Up". He explained that they dont do business like that and only needed a small deposit to order the car. Keep in mind that this car is almost $30,000.00 more than the SS I ordered yet the deposit was still only $1,000.00. Got lucky? Maybe.

[bigscarymonster]

I can actually understand this. If you've kind of decided you want a car based on pictures and maybe a couple of reviews it's going to be really easy to be persuaded away from it.

I have two chevy dealers within 60 miles of me and I'm not going to keep traveling to try to find a car if they tell me I can't get the one I want. If the ford dealer has a comparable product that I can actually test drive there's a good chance I would take it.

[MiracleAces]

Originally Posted by 2010SS2SS

Just like we don't need baggers or cashiers at the grocery store, bank tellers, or servers at a restaurant...

Nicely put.

As far as buying services - they are certainly convenient, but I can tell you they almost never get you comparable price to someone who enters a dealership. The flipside is that some people will pay the higher price the buying service gets you just so they don't have to enter a dealership and I certainly understand that.

A good saleperson is quite valuable (if you can find one). If they are good they can tell you a lot more about your car than a biased review online (I'm including the favorable reviews as well. BTW - it is stated that over 60% of online reviews are fake. Be careful.). they can also facilitate a lot of the buying process and take car of your concerns for you. Same goes with a good dealership and it's management. Defintely leave the ones that don't appreciate the opportunity you a presenting them to earn your business.

Personally I would never buy a car, house, TV, cloths and a few other items online without first going to see them in person. Don't forget, EVERYONE WHO OFFERS YOU A PAID SERVICE/ PRODUCT IS A SALES PERSON. That includes doctors, care givers, dealerships, lawyers, etc... If you paid money for it, you were SOLD on it.

[ParisTNDude]

This sounds miiiiiggghhhhtttttyyyyy fishy. If he has the ability to buy a Rousch Mustang, he's certainly smart enough to know, one dealership does not a car company make. If he isn't smart enough to know the dealer is BSing him, he deserves to live with his second best choice.

[GrabberB5.Slow]

You guys are really downing the Roush, not Rousch. There's nothing wrong with either car. I'm sure the Stage 3 is just as fast or faster than a stock ZL1. The guy obviously really wanted the Roush to begin with anyway, he didn't even try to get a ZL1 judgeing by your story.

[90503]

Originally Posted by MiracleAces

Nicely put.

As far as buying services - they are certainly convenient, but I can tell you they almost never get you comparable price to someone who enters a dealership. The flipside is that some people will pay the higher price the buying service gets you just so they don't have to enter a dealership and I certainly understand that.

Yes they are convenient, but they wouldn't be allowed to operate in a member funded credit union if they didn't get you a lower price than if you entered the dealership...You are incorrect that you pay a higher price than if you went to a lot...The price and deal I got was lower than any dealership I personally went to offered...
Sure, I went to dealerships to get a first-hand look at the cars, and listened to the salesmen bs for the heck of it....But I wasn't going to go to 10 car lots and negotiate a deal that wouldn't be as good as the credit unions...
If a better deal were a sure thing at the dealership, these buying services would not exist...

[MiracleAces]

Originally Posted by 90503

Yes they are convenient, but they wouldn't be allowed to operate in a member funded credit union if they didn't get you a lower price than if you entered the dealership...You are incorrect that you pay a higher price than if you went to a lot...The price and deal I got was lower than any dealership I personally went to offered...
Sure, I went to dealerships to get a first-hand look at the cars, and listened to the salesmen bs for the heck of it....But I wasn't going to go to 10 car lots and negotiate a deal that wouldn't be as good as the credit unions...
If a better deal were a sure thing at the dealership, these buying services would not exist...

Hey 90503 - definitely not trying to get into it with you, but I promise you I am not wrong. I am the Internet Director/ Sales Manager for a Ford and Chevy dealership (separate locations of course) and I am privy to the 37 current agreements Chevy has with various buying services. The only real agreement is that we must not sell to the client at a price higher than the agreed to pricing structure or add in frieght (no smoke and mirrors). There is nothing stopping us from selling for less than the agreed upon pricing structure. Dealerships do it all the time - otherwise there would be no competition. We just did a deal last night on a Spark where we practically destroyed the price the client received from their credit union's buying service.

The only reason the buying services exist is convenience and perception.