REVscene - Vancouver Automotive Forum

LancerBoy · 03-10-2018, 02:59 PM

Looking for some responses from the veteran salesman on this forum.

So what's it like being a car salesman? Besides getting commission on the cars you sale, do you get paid hourly when no-one comes in? Who decides on how many days or hours you work?

What kind of perks do you get? Employee discounts on car purchases/leases?

prudz · 03-10-2018, 03:06 PM

I'm going into my 10th year. I worked for Chrysler for 7.5 years and now with BMW. Love it. Dress well or dress casual, drive awesome cars, get paid great (if successful), tons of perks (some dealers have monthly car allowances, special lease rates, allow taking demo's overnight etc), great job if you are a car guy and enjoy talking/working with cars. Despite what people say about sales people the majority of the people you deal with are decent humans that don't treat you like the scourge of humanity. You get to meet some very interesting people and hear some cool stories. You'll also experience some crazy people which can be pretty entertaining. I got in when I was 21 so I had a very low stress life, next to no bills etc. I've seen many start later in life 30's-40's with wife and kids to support and they often look like basket cases. Long hours but flexible (most places) and if you land a position at a solid dealer generally the staff are all decent people too. Pay structures vary at every dealer but if you know what you are doing or have a good mentor you can go far and succeed with any of them.

GabAlmighty · 03-10-2018, 03:25 PM

Talk to Tofu

tofu1413 · 03-10-2018, 03:34 PM

^ Lol

sup.

Badhobz · 03-10-2018, 04:07 PM

My sales rep at fmov seems to be doing quite well. He's happy and well adjusted. On the other hand the few sales rep I've seen selling volume products (Toyota, Honda, etc) aren't exactly the friendliest bunch. Probably due to the nature of the business where these poor smucks who deal with corolla sales only get 150-300 dollars and you gotta push the quota or else.

That's a lot of pressure and dealing with the general car buying public who thinks you're trash without you even opening your mouth is a hard gig. I couldn't do it.

Gerbs · 03-10-2018, 05:01 PM

Would it be common for car sales guys to clear 60 - 80k a year? Or do most successful ones make more.

GS8 · 03-10-2018, 05:18 PM

As a shopper, I will say good dealerships hire good staff. Shitty dealerships hire good people and turn them into shit.

i.e. I had good experiences at Preston GM

But fuck Dueck GM to the bottom of the ocean

donjalapeno · 03-10-2018, 08:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gerbs

Would it be common for car sales guys to clear 60 - 80k a year? Or do most successful ones make more.

Super easy to obtain those figures. I'd say if you work at a generic brand (honda, toyota,mazda) the 80k mark is probably delivering 12-15 cars / Month and anything lower is 11 and below (Including a average of the spiffs and bonus' based off my stores guideline)

Problem with the generic brands is that if you don't work on a flat commission the gross of the new cars is so low that even if you get 20% of the margin you will walk away with a $100 commission slip and trust me, 4/5 clients expect a discount or have unhaggle/car cost canada report. You also spend 2x as long delivering a new car and have to worry about the customer survey.

From what I've heard luxury and domestic brands is the exact opposite but a little more cut throat.

I love the store i work at and wouldn't go anywhere else as the no stress and reasonable vacation/day off days is worth everything to me. Management is awesome and supportive, Its a super busy store, No negotiating on used cars etc) Ive gotten plenty of job offers at other stores but choose to stay here.

Blah_Teggie · 03-10-2018, 08:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by donjalapeno

Super easy to obtain those figures. I'd say if you work at a generic brand (honda, toyota,mazda) the 80k mark is probably delivering 12-15 cars / Month and anything lower is 11 and below (Including a average of the spiffs and bonus' based off my stores guideline)

Problem with the generic brands is that if you don't work on a flat commission the gross of the new cars is so low that even if you get 20% of the margin you will walk away with a $100 commission slip and trust me, 4/5 clients expect a discount or have unhaggle/car cost canada report. You also spend 2x as long delivering a new car and have to worry about the customer survey.

From what I've heard luxury and domestic brands is the exact opposite but a little more cut throat.

I love the store i work at and wouldn't go anywhere else as the no stress and reasonable vacation/day off days is worth everything to me. Management is awesome and supportive, Its a super busy store, No negotiating on used cars etc) Ive gotten plenty of job offers at other stores but choose to stay here.

Wow. 12-15 cars a month? You must be super good but at selling cars. But I worked 2 years at Pacific Honda and only one guy did 12-15 a month consistently. Everybody else was 6-8 including myself. Super easy to obtain 80k a year? Again, as far as I know, only one guy at my dealership made that. He made over 110k that year but that's only one guy while the rest of us made barely enough to eat. I'm not trying to discredit anything you've said but I think the OP should hear the other side of car sales and not only from the top 1%. At 12-15 a month, you must be getting a lot of referrals. There's no way you can get that strictly waiting for ups. I'll admit, I wasn't very good at it but to say it's easy to sell 12-15 a month especially when you're first starting out in this business to me is impossible. If anybody cares, my best month ever was 9.5 cars and I was at the dealership a grand total of 26 days that month (on shift, appointments, going in to deliver cars etc)

Gunsmokez · 03-10-2018, 09:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GS8

As a shopper, I will say good dealerships hire good staff. Shitty dealerships hire good people and turn them into shit.

i.e. I had good experiences at Preston GM

But fuck Dueck GM to the bottom of the ocean

I agree!

donjalapeno · 03-10-2018, 09:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blah_Teggie

Wow. 12-15 cars a month? You must be super good but at selling cars. But I worked 2 years at Pacific Honda and only one guy did 12-15 a month consistently. Everybody else was 6-8 including myself. Super easy to obtain 80k a year? Again, as far as I know, only one guy at my dealership made that. He made over 110k that year but that's only one guy while the rest of us made barely enough to eat. I'm not trying to discredit anything you've said but I think the OP should hear the other side of car sales and not only from the top 1%. At 12-15 a month, you must be getting a lot of referrals. There's no way you can get that strictly waiting for ups. I'll admit, I wasn't very good at it but to say it's easy to sell 12-15 a month especially when you're first starting out in this business to me is impossible. If anybody cares, my best month ever was 9.5 cars and I was at the dealership a grand total of 26 days that month (on shift, appointments, going in to deliver cars etc)

We have two top sales consultants that do 25-30 a month.

3,4,5,6th place sales people do 16-24

The rest of the team does 8-15 which is where I stand. Ive been in the business for a year so I don't have that much repeat/referral business (maybe 2 a month).

Im basing this off the dealership I work at. Others might not be the same. Its not necessarily hard to achieve 12+ deals at my store. I should of been more clear in my original post. The numbers I based it off is only from my store.

noclue · 03-10-2018, 09:43 PM

I heard that corporate Mercedes-Benz dealers are the holy grail for car salesmen.

At the end of the day it's a sales job, unfortunately with a bad reputation. You'll have to be good at cold approaching potential customers who will look at you in either horror or dismissive.

SpeedStars · 03-11-2018, 01:09 AM

That's what I've heard for MB as well since they're corporate which offers more flexibility amongst stores/your actual boss is rarely there; and the commission is very good. Their minimum requirement was something like 2 years sales exp at a luxury dealer (they don't count Acura or Lexus

). I've got a few friends in the car sales business, one of them clears 10+ cars a month and one quit after half a year. Interpersonal skills are definitely a must if you want to succeed.

ziggyx · 03-11-2018, 07:40 AM

Become a car sales person and then get in touch with who ever this guy is trying to hire. Profit $$$ ???

https://vancouver.craigslist.ca/nvn/...522691073.html

forcedot · 03-11-2018, 06:17 PM

Being a Financial Advisor, I hate car salesmen with a passion. They give people expensive new cars with extremely high payments and then they look at me like what do you mean I can't qualify for even an apartment in the lower mainland, Well maybe you shouldn't have put a $600-1,000 monthly obligation on yourself.

I am also not a fan of the current trend to extending car terms for 7-10 years, when statistically people don't keep their cars for that long. Which means that people are often buying new cars and holding their old vehicle debt on a new one and the depreciation cycle begins. But dealerships are calling people usaully after 2 years asking them to trade in their car because its highly in demand?

So if you are comfortable going into an industry where generally speaking, the more successful of a car salesman you are, the more people you tend to hurt financially. Go right ahead.

VR6GTI · 03-11-2018, 06:51 PM

^ is that one of the dumbest posts of 2018?

forcedot · 03-11-2018, 07:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VR6GTI

^ is that one of the dumbest posts of 2018?

What exactly is dumb about it? Do you understand the type of sales role this is where even giving someone a higher interest rate for a car loan can net you a larger commission?

fliptuner · 03-11-2018, 07:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by forcedot

What exactly is dumb about it? Do you understand the type of sales role this is where even giving someone a higher interest rate for a car loan can net you a larger commission?

Do you blame the restaurant for selling $200 steaks or the broke-ass that goes there instead of eating at home?

forcedot · 03-11-2018, 07:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fliptuner

Do you blame the restaurant for selling $200 steaks or the broke-ass that goes there instead of eating at home?

I don't blame them for people's lack of research or will power, but they certainly do not help.

Badhobz · 03-11-2018, 07:46 PM

You crazy man. It's not car salesmen who indebt the individual, it's the individual themselves. Plus if they really want that shit house / condo just tell them to get a lease takerover / roll the car payment into the mortgage. it ain't rocket science.

forcedot · 03-11-2018, 07:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Badhobz

You crazy man. It's not car salesmen who indebt the individual, it's the individual themselves. Plus if they really want that shit house / condo just tell them to get a lease takerover / roll the car payment into the mortgage. it ain't rocket science.

Again, I am not disputing people's stupidity. I object people who perpetuate it by leading the herd in the same direction.

Badhobz · 03-11-2018, 07:54 PM

Buddy the herd leads itself. These guys arent actively going to people's houses to sell them cars. People go to them and usually with an idea in mind already of how much they will spend.

forcedot · 03-11-2018, 08:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Badhobz

Buddy the heard leads itself. These guys arent actively going to people's houses to sell them cars. People go to them and usually with an idea in mind already of how much they will spend.

Well car salesmen make proactive calls to clients to solicit trade ins and the fact is people assume they can afford a vehicle, simply by the monthly payment.

If you think what I am saying is crazy, just look at the fact that Canada has the worst household debt IN THE WORLD when compared to our GDP. Our herd can not afford to make mistakes as it costs us all in the long run.

Canadians' Household Debt Tops All Other Countries In OECD Report

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/11/24/cana...port-says.html

tofu1413 · 03-11-2018, 10:47 PM

lol unwise choices.

We got people insisting to get into an Audi A5 and they sign up at 19% on subprime. We ask are you sure man and they insist it.

It’s no different than going to a bank and insisting on getting a loan. You’d sign the guy up even you damn well know he doesn’t need one.

quasi · 03-12-2018, 08:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by donjalapeno

Problem with the generic brands is that if you don't work on a flat commission the gross of the new cars is so low that even if you get 20% of the margin you will walk away with a $100 commission slip and trust me, 4/5 clients expect a discount or have unhaggle/car cost canada report. You also spend 2x as long delivering a new car and have to worry about the customer survey.

Realistically what kind of deals are people generally getting based on those reports? Are they paying closer to invoice then MSRP?