[jrios_jr]

Originally Posted by iatacs19

yes, in a very good way.

oh okay good.. b/c they gave me a very good deal

[Mr.F1 Fan]

Scotty, I have my checkered flag banners as well. They will go a long way to make it look sporty.

I can't figure out why one of our local dealerships doesn't go out of their way to court our business. We may not want to pay sticker, but they still get all of the warranty work and anything post warranty. Seems odd they just keep treating people like sh*t. I have purchased from BMW Fairfax.....ahh, never again! I have purchased from Sterling and my CA left and the new woman I picked up actually blasted me for interrupting her lunch one day. I had no idea when I walked in that she was in back eating. I guess I was supposed to be psychic! So now I'm done with her and have moved on to Irv in Chicago who is just like one of us. I have chatted with him numerous times. If I was in Chicago I would go ask to work on his team. I can understand why this mentality is so hard to get around here. It should be a prerequisite to at least like BMW's before you start selling them. I think a large percentage of people who buy them, buy them for the way they drive. This b*tch at Sterling probably could care less, it's ONLY about a paycheck!

Rant over! I need to eat, I'm grumpy!

[FrankoQ]

Originally Posted by Mr.F1 Fan

Scotty, I have my checkered flag banners as well. They will go a long way to make it look sporty.

I can't figure out why one of our local dealerships doesn't go out of their way to court our business. We may not want to pay sticker, but they still get all of the warranty work and anything post warranty. Seems odd they just keep treating people like sh*t. I have purchased from BMW Fairfax.....ahh, never again! I have purchased from Sterling and my CA left and the new woman I picked up actually blasted me for interrupting her lunch one day. I had no idea when I walked in that she was in back eating. I guess I was supposed to be psychic! So now I'm done with her and have moved on to Irv in Chicago who is just like one of us. I have chatted with him numerous times. If I was in Chicago I would go ask to work on his team. I can understand why this mentality is so hard to get around here. It should be a prerequisite to at least like BMW's before you start selling them. I think a large percentage of people who buy them, buy them for the way they drive. This b*tch at Sterling probably could care less, it's ONLY about a paycheck!

Rant over! I need to eat, I'm grumpy!

Here is a happy thought to make you feel better...
F1 weekend!!!

[Mr.F1 Fan]

Originally Posted by FrankoQ

Here is a happy thought to make you feel better...
F1 weekend!!!

Monaco! Someday I hope to be there for the race.

Sucks I will be busy all weekend and end up watching it on the fly

[Scottz71]

just was at sterling...i think they'll help out in some way

[Scottz71]

note my sales guy is just awesome...but the manager i spoke with was not so nice...you would think that they'd roll out the red carpet for an enthusiast community like ours, but I just don't get that warm and fuzzy feeling...

[iatacs19]

Originally Posted by Scottz71

note my sales guy is just awesome...but the manager i spoke with was not so nice...you would think that they'd roll out the red carpet for an enthusiast community like ours, but I just don't get that warm and fuzzy feeling...

you are 100% right and their cheap ass mentality of trying to save $500 possibly cost them more than $500,000 in future sales.

[Scottz71]

i always thought that i'd be a great car dealership manager...i like people, especially people who are passionate about their cars.

But I couldn't cut costs just for the sake of the bottom line. If it comes down to a few dollars or making people happy, I would choose making people happy every time.

[BK]

Originally Posted by Scottz71

But I couldn't cut costs just for the sake of the bottom line. If it comes down to a few dollars or making people happy, I would choose making people happy every time.

I suspect that's where many of these guys start, and then the investors squeeze the crap out of them.

[minichamp03]

I may catch a boat load of crap for this, but here goes.....

maybe it is not the dealers.....

At every center that I know of, the sales people are paid on the gross profit of the sale and the comission structure is normally 18 -20% of the gross profit. If you paid MSRP for a car that lists for $50,000 and the gross profit in the car is about 7% ( and it is ) the sales person would earn about a 20% comission on $3,500.00 or $700.00. Here is where it gets a little sticky....when customers GRIND the dealers on the price ( and I am not saying that at times the dealers can not be a little flexible, depending on model) the sales person looses a big chunk of dough. So, if the gross profit as an example is reduced to let's say $1,500 the sales person now earns $300.00. Now, lets say the sales person sells 10 cars. His income for the month is only three grand gross, minus taxes. How many of you that are buying or leasing $50,000 to $70,000 cars earn $3,000 per month.......none of you huh?

We all do differnet things for a living, but all of us deserve to earn. We all expect great service from the people that we do business with, from the resturant that charges us all the money to eat there, our banks, where we by our clothes, the market, the dry cleaner, etc, etc etc and from whom we buy cars.

Here is the question....would you want to be the salesperson who sells you a car? You may be the most helpful, product wise sales person on the planet, and then some mooooch walks in and doesn't think that either you or the dealership deserves to make a profit and/or earn a living. Just how helpful do you now become or how helpful would you be later? You get what you pay for in life.

And, from a sales perspective, the best customers always pay all the money, they always refer business, they are always happy, they are always great on csi scores and they always come back. In return, a sales person will generally do anything and everything in their power to insure that the customer gets anything that they might need and work their asses off for the client. They will go above an beyond ( most of them ) providing they had a chance to earn up-front. It is a two way street.

If the Client advisor at your dealership is a great guy/gal, is product wise and really has your best interest at heart, for god sake allow them to earn some money. Please do not concern yourself over how much the dealership makes, be more concerned about how much the sales person earns. It will pay off later on.

[ase2dais]

Huh?

so what does that say about Sterling BMW?

[minichamp03]

simple....everyone deserves to earn. Your business, any business is in business to make money. Consider that a typical BMW dealership will costs well over $50,000,000
What kind of return on investment would YOU expect? BMW only allows a 7% gross profit margin in the cars. Gross, not net. Now deduct your fixed opperaying costs, variable expensis, advertising, payroll, etc, etc, and IF the dealer sells the car at MSRP he may see a net return of 1-1/2 % return on his money. Pretty tough way to make a living. Does your business run at that kind of profit margin?...probably not.

[45ACP]

Everyone deserves a chance to get the best value for their dollar. Regarding profits and commisions, for every customer getting an awesome deal, there's at least 1-2 suckers paying near MSRP. Not everyone is consumer savvy, so it should balance out for the salesperson at the end of the month. It certainly helps the sales staff when BMW produces their hottest cars in limited quantities so that dealerships can charge an arm and a leg for them.

Supply and demand. Competition and choices. That's how the game is played.

If a car salesman is unhappy with his income, then maybe he should look into another line of work. The real moneymaker for dealerships are the parts and service departments anyway.

[BK]

I agree it sucks if your income is determined by commissions on gross profit, and you work in a cutthroat and highly competitive business with a price-savvy consumer. But unfortunately, that is the business you are in.

Employment is a free market like anything else. If a dealer won't pay a good CA what he is worth, that CA will leave and the dealer will either have to live with crappy CAs or restructure their salary methodology to retain the good ones.

[iatacs19]

Originally Posted by minichamp03

simple....everyone deserves to earn. Your business, any business is in business to make money. Consider that a typical BMW dealership will costs well over $50,000,000
What kind of return on investment would YOU expect? BMW only allows a 7% gross profit margin in the cars. Gross, not net. Now deduct your fixed opperaying costs, variable expensis, advertising, payroll, etc, etc, and IF the dealer sells the car at MSRP he may see a net return of 1-1/2 % return on his money. Pretty tough way to make a living. Does your business run at that kind of profit margin?...probably not.

Well, it depends what the 7% is out of right?

7% of $100,000 is not much, but say 7% of $100,000,000 is a different story. It doesn't seem like a tough way to make a living.

So, 1.5% of $100,000,000 is still not a bad return, provided that you are not doing anything, just sitting and collecting.


This is why they say that it takes money to make money.

[minichamp03]

Oh? allow me to expand on the thought. Yes, BMW CA's can earn a good living, unitl the very moment time some moooooooch comes into the store,
takes up hours of time and then tells you that the dealer 20 miles away will save him $12.00 a month. Then the next dealer tells him $13.50, and the next $14.72......The moooch will take the lesser payment, and then generally take his car back to the closest dealership for service and then wonder why he is not getting the preferential treatment that he demands.

YOUR best customers, regardless of what you do, are the ones who spend the most money. If you are honest about this you will have to agree!!!! The money is not the factor, your service, your talent, your product and most importantly YOU are the reason that these great customers choose to do business with you. They always refer business to you and even if everything goes to SH&%, they still buy from you. And, here is the most important part....YOU will do anything for them, won't you? !

Moooches are not YOUR best customers, They always want something for nothing, they never refer business to you and they are always a problem. 5% of the customers cause 97% of the problems. Quit doing business with the 5%....they are costing you money and time. If you are in business, you know EXACTLY what I am talking about.

Are YOU the 5%er ? If so, maybe it is not the dealership at all, perhaps they realize that doing business with you is simply too much trouble and would rather sell to the 95%. You are also most likely the same butt-head that pulls out a calculator when out to dinner with others, to make certain that you are not paying a penny too much.

[iatacs19]

I don't disagree at all, but how do you know which customer is a mooch? Are repeat customers considered mooches?

I bought my car over 4 emails. I asked for a price I wanted, got it. Emailed my CA my credit card number to place the order.

8 weeks later I went into the dealership shook hands with my CA for the first time and 45min later I was on my way home.

CA maybe didn't make too much from me? (not sure) but it sure as hell was his easiest sale ever.

The calculations I did were more about what it's like to be a dealership owner, which to me is not too shabby.

[Scottz71]

Okay, No Bashing Sterling (va) Bmw For A While...they Stepped Up To The Plate To Help Out The Bbq Event, Sure It Was 11th Hour, But They Stepped Up...banners, Media, Raffle Items, And I Met A Parts Advisor Who Is Willing To Coordinate Future Assistance For Our Community. He Was The 1st Person To Actual Admit To Some Of The Cost Cut-backs, Offer And Honest Opinion For And Against Some Of The Issues, And Gave Us A Very Good Place To Start A Constructive Dialogue. Next Time You Go To Sterling For Anything Non-sales Related Ask For Ryan Hoover...he's The Guy I Am Going To Deal With From Now On...

Good Work Sterling...you're Moving In The Right Direction!

[Mr.F1 Fan]

Originally Posted by Scottz71

Okay, No Bashing Sterling (va) Bmw For A While...they Stepped Up To The Plate To Help Out The Bbq Event, Sure It Was 11th Hour, But They Stepped Up...banners, Media, Raffle Items, And I Met A Parts Advisor Who Is Willing To Coordinate Future Assistance For Our Community. He Was The 1st Person To Actual Admit To Some Of The Cost Cut-backs, Offer And Honest Opinion For And Against Some Of The Issues, And Gave Us A Very Good Place To Start A Constructive Dialogue. Next Time You Got To Sterling For Anything Non-sales Related Ask For Ryan Hoover...he's The Guy I Am Going To Deal With From Now On...

Good Work Sterling...you're Moving In The Right Direction!

Good Faith is very important. I hope they keep it up. I'll make the trek in my car for service if they do!

[ase2dais]

most good reps there doesnt last too long, for some reason the bad weeds kills the good grass

lets pray this one will stick around