The Life of a Car Salesman: Part 1

So this morning I was getting dressed and ready to go out. I had my socks on, tied on one shoe and as I reached for the other I got spooked. I saw a "many legged bug" crawl from out of the wall and toward me. My reaction surprised even me. I screamed and jumped on my bed. Yup, you read it right. I acted like a 1950s housewife who just spotted a mouse. Except, I happened to have a broom near me and I killed it. I feel like the bugs around here found out I'm moving and decided to freak me the hell out!

On another note, I was reading an article about a former car salesman who worked undercover for Edmunds to investigate car salesman tactics. It was pretty long, but very informative. I definitely feel some sympathy car salesmen but it doesn't make me wanna stop at a dealership and feel ripped off. Basically, at high pressured dealerships, the salesmen are almost always men. Some of them were ex-cons or former cops, they had the typical sleazy slick backs and gold watches, and were fast talkers.

All the tactics were pretty cut throat. Everyone who walks into the dealership is forced into buy a car. If you go in and wanna discuss the total cost of a car, you get roped into focusing on the monthly payments. That's where they get ya. They usually start with $300. I remember when I went car shopping and guy told me the payments would be that much. I was shocked. When I did my math the actual amount should have been around $250. So then he offers to lower the price to please me. He wrote down $298 and I felt like I was being treated like an idiot. Most people who don't do their research beforehand might have settled for the $300 and paid $2,000 to $4,000 more than the invoice.

Of course, his manager comes over to see how things are going after I show my disapproval of the cost. This is another tactic. A newer salesman will have a "closer" to help them seal the deal. If you ask they'll also appraise your car. Doing that is like going to your campus book store instead of half.com to sell you book. It's always less then it's really worth. Once you agree, then comes the test drive. They tell you how great the car is so that you feel excited and wanna take it home.

You get inside and head into the F&I (finance and insurance) office. By then you might feel surprised by the total cost including the warranty, interest rate, and other fees. You might also feel obligated to pay it all because you already said yes, but don't be. Apparently, you can say no to the deal up until you leave with the car.

These kind of salesmen mostly make their money off of the commission from each sale. They spend their mornings standing out front waiting for a customer to drive in. They'll call people who've had their cars serviced at the dealership and even those who brought cars there only five years ago. To top it off they have a boss breathing down their neck about a lack of sales. Sometimes, the guys in F&I change things around so the salesmen end up with nothing. It's tough, but there's still more to read. Tune in for the next part of "The Life of a Car Salesman".

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