[LancerBoy]

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]

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]

Talk to Tofu

[tofu1413]

^ Lol


sup.

[Badhobz]

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]

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

[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

[donjalapeno]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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 :troll:). 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]

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/etc/d/looking-for-contract-auto/6522691073.html

[forcedot]

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. :ilied:

[VR6GTI]

^ is that one of the dumbest posts of 2018?

[forcedot]

^ 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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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 (http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2017/11/23/canadians-household-debt-tops-all-other-countries-in-oecd-report_a_23286624/)

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/11/24/canadas-household-debt-levels-higher-than-any-other-country-report-says.html

[tofu1413]

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]

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?

[swfk]

It is my third month selling cars at Jaguar Land Rover Langley. I started as a delivery specialist and I liked working at my dealer even though it's a 45 minute commute each way. My mentor had left to another dealer and some new staff joined so I got to hear a lot of stories at other dealers. Now I realize I fucking love my dealer.

Simply put, I am so fortunate that my dealer is a dream team without drama. Outside of my dealer, this business is cut throat as fuck. A crap load of work place politics at other dealers between salespersons or salesperson with manager. It really is a hit or miss based on the dealer, not even the brand.

Perhaps consider joining larger automotive groups where you can switch between the brands and positions in the future just less mom and pop shop. Before I started my delivery specialist position I was choosing between working with exotics at a used dealer or delivery specialist at an Open Road dealer. I really wanted to get to be around exotics everyday but I ended up choosing to work with a large automotive group. There's just more room to grow within and there's a system in place.

You can grind and grind and some people just aren't ready to buy. Don't let a bad month deter you either. So many instances where if it's a bad month it's a bad month. Keep at it and take an average over a longer period of time.

I have bought cars from dealers before and some salesmen just lie out of their ass. Just be an honest person, the customer came to you because they're interested in the car. Don't feed BS and they'll buy it lol

[quasi]

I have bought cars from dealers before and some salesmen just lie out of their ass. Just be an honest person, the customer came to you because they're interested in the car. Don't feed BS and they'll buy it lol

This guy gets it, I can't stand over the top sales BS. All I want when I go to the dealership is the facts. Don't try and dazzle me with bullshit about a vehicle I already know about. If I have a question I'll ask. My biggest pet peeve is not taking no for an answer.

I had an experience two weeks ago where I was seriously looking at a new truck. I just wanted to check it out, i didn't want to test drive it I didn't want to go inside and sit down (go over the numbers with that bullshit good cop bad cop Saleman/Sales Manager act) I just wanted to see it. The salesman wouldn't take no for an answer to the point of being overly aggressive and annoying.

I'm going to buy that truck or another one just like it but I'm not going to buy it from him. I'm an easy sale, all cash no BS and all he had to do was open the truck up let me look at it and give me his card so I could come back with an offer but he managed to fuck it up.

[GabAlmighty]

Exactly^^^

When I first moved here I tried trading in my Focus for a used truck but couldn't get the numbers to match. They weren't pushy or anything, and a little while later I went back there because I could get in to a new truck with the numbers making sense. Told them what I wanted, how much I was willing to pay a month. Easy peasy, they read their customer (me) and could tell that I was an easy sale. I knew what I wanted and they respected/understood that.

[brrrz]

I have been doing this for 4 years and have been at my current dealer for 3 years. Each dealer has its perks and downsides like any job in the world. Where I currently am I'm sure more sales reps wouldn't believe the culture here. I am at a family run dealer and there truly is a trickle down in the culture here.

-No cold calling. Most dealers hand out books and say call all these people and see if they want to buy a car. There is a upside and downside to this. Culture here is to not piss people off by calling them at random.

-Vacation. A word that can be laughed at in the industry. Since 2016 I have been to Miami, Mexico twice, Seattle, multiple weekends in Kelowna and Whistler, Minnesota, Vegas, and going to Thailand for 3 weeks next month.

-Demo vehicles. Get a new car, truck, SUV every 6 months, till is sells, or 10,000kms

-Hours rotate 9-3/3-8 and rotate weekends which are optional if you want to come in on your off weekend. Yes I work a 30 hour week then a 40 hour week. People will question you why you are still around if you are still there 30min past your shift. This is unheard of.

The whole industry is changing. Most people know what they want when they come in. The day of driving lot to lot and listening to someone try and sell you a product you don't have much knowledge about is dying. Honestly there are multiple times where people know more about the product then I do (and I keep up to date with everything) because they have watched hours and hours and youtube videos and have memorized every detail on a specific model. "Make a friend, sell a car" was probably the best quote I have ever heard in the business.

What can you make in the industry? Minimum wage - $400k here

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?

Some people you cannot help. Just the other week I had a man and woman come in with their baby trading in a car that was worth the amount of gas in the tank. A dealer had sold them a car 6 years ago and 29.99% for 30k they pay $500 month and still owed $13,000 on the car. I begged them for the child to take a new car so they could finance their negative equity at 0%. Long story short they went back to the same dealer they bought at before because I couldn't get them the payments they wanted in a higher trim. So they rolled $13,000 into a $50,000 loan at a high interest rate on the never never plan. Im sure you will see them soon.

[donjalapeno]

You can grind and grind and some people just aren't ready to buy. Don't let a bad month deter you either. So many instances where if it's a bad month it's a bad month. Keep at it and take an average over a longer period of time.


I can't agree more. Some months you will talk to several people, make 100s of calls and emails and will get no where as other months everyone that sits down at your desk signs and drives. Its so easy to get unmotivated during tough periods. Always know that the next month will start from scratch and once the quarter passes that "bad month" will be deleted from your life.

I have bought cars from dealers before and some salesmen just lie out of their ass. Just be an honest person, the customer came to you because they're interested in the car. Don't feed BS and they'll buy it lol

This is true as well and it will save you from headaches in the future and less risk of any cancelled deals. Be 100% honest about the car and the deal itself and you will be golden. Ive gotten more referrals/repeats because of this than any other "newish" sales person at my store.


You sir hit the nail on the head with that post.

[tofu1413]

To survive in sales nowadays is just being up front and no bs as possible.


Consumers are much more better educated nowadays.... (thanks to internet) and good online rep seems to matter to drive traffic in to see you (thanks you guys for your support! :lawl: )

[Adorkami]

Tofu was easy to deal with when i bought my Volvo. When i wanted to test drive one somewhere else they tried to have me put money down. Fuck that.

[hwangr]

Tofu was freakin awesome. Unfortunate the deal couldn't get worked out because of too much negative on my car but it felt like I just walked in to see a friend. He just handed me the keys to the car I wanted to test drive and said to see me when I'm done. :)