So i stop by Martin's honda in delaware today on my way home from work. i saw on the web that they had a black s in their inventory. i wanted to see a black s in person since i'm in the market for a slightly used one as my 3rd car (actually i planned on doing most of my commuting with it)

i started walking around the lot and couldn't find it, then a salesman came out, introduced himself and i asked him if they still had the black s. he said yes and he will go get the key. so i'm standing inside and there are at least 10 sad faced salesman hanging out. i swear noone was smiling the mood in there was..uh.. wierd.

then the salesmen invites to drive me to look for the car(it was about a mile away in the back of the lot) i thought... cool nice guy

but as we're driving he starts talking: "my friend traded in his black s2000, the black paint was no good, tons of swirl marks" and when i inquired about and current financing promotions, he says "none, matter of fact the only cars on the lot that we don't get list price for is civics and accords". i thought hmmm list for a crv uh doubt it.

then he get real arrogant " most of our clientel are very affluent, the s is usually their 4th car and they drive it once or twice per month" , this guy was so arrogant in the way he acted is was a disgrace. i was still wearing my scrubs, guess he thought they were my pajamas. i may not be affluent but i earn a good living as a nuclear tech and my wife is a nurse.

i asked him how long he has been selling cars, he says 8 yrs and he loves it. he gave up his own graphic design business. so many employees to worry about, 401k plans, insurance...yada yada yada then the jerk says that the s is a crappy daily driver.... so i politely disagree and say "just depends on what your needs are" what an a-ss!

 

Great way to sell a car. Did you ask him if he had one as a daily driver. Otherwise, how would he know.

 

maybe he talked about the rich people crap cuz he thoguht you were a doctor??

 

I say print your post and mail it to Martin's Honda. It should be self-explanatory.

 

Sad story. If I had to sell Chevies all day, maybe I'd feel like that. Now that the Passport is gone, there's not a Honda car I'd be ashamed to sell.

Ninty percent of selling is how well you listen, not how well you talk. Too bad he doesn't get it.

 

I've run into that stuff before. Not sure the technical term, but the intent is to "prep" you for accepting a higher price.

In my case I was trying to get a low-ball price for my high-mileage S2k. So I went to a used-car dealership. I'd already determined through other means how much my car was worth, but I thought I'd see what this dealership would offer. I'd visited that dealership about 3 weeks earlier when they had 3 used S2ks on the lot. The salesman I talked to quoted some very high figures (28k for a '00 with 30k miles was one quote)

When I finally got to see the manager (I'm sure my waiting a half an hour was part of their plan), he went out with me to look at the car. All throughout he was talking about how many cars they had, how buyers are picky, and how hard it is to sell an S2k with high mileage. He noted every ding and dent. When we went back inside, he pulled out his price book (the show one, not the real one with the current prices), wrote down a number, scrunched his face and said I wouldn't like it. Then he called up another guy (the phone "happened" to be turned up on volume so I could hear the "reaction), and lo and behold, when he said the mileage, surprise came over the phone (which he moved away from his ear). He then chatted some more, then told me that he'd written a number down and the other guy had quoted a same number. The price wasn't that bad (about a thousand under what I figured the upper limit was for selling at a dealership w/o buying another car), but I was highly amused at all the games and tricks they used to "prep" me for accepting a lower price.

It's all a well-crafted sales pitch, every second you're at the dealership. As the saying goes, how can you tell that a dealership is trying to talk you into a higher/lower price than you want to pay for? An employee is talking to you (not just the salesmen) Everyone, from the receptionist out front, to the guy giving you a ride to the lot with the car, everyone is part of their web they weave.

I'm guessing that this guy's purpose was to try to convince you that there is no option but to pay the higher price, because everyone else who buys there does. Obviously this part of the plan didn't work on you!