Was at a dealer seeing if they had any 2013 Mustang brochures...had 2 different salesmen ask me if my Performance Package wheels were factory or aftermarket..come on guys...know the product you are selling. There are not many people in the dealership, so spend some of that time learning about the product you are selling....

 

They also still had a 2011 red GT500 sitting in the dealership,,,went over and looked at it and it had a nice small scratch on the rear fender...ouch...

 

They aren't required to know everything. They can read a brochure and enter numbers into a computer.

Much like the dealer "techs" or "mechanics" can read a service manual procedure and turn a wrench. It's not rocket science when you have all the tools available.

 

Yeah most car sales people are a joke, and don't know the product they are selling. However, my wife and I just bought a 2012 Subaru Legacy, (her DD) and the salesmen knew his sh*t about the car. I was very impressed.

 

That's rare!

 

Eh, I'm used to it. I stopped by my dealer to see if they had any 2013s in and ended up talking to them for an hour about the different packages because they didnt have a clue. We're enthusiasts, we want to know everything.... It's like (oh no!) I'm a girl. I like purses, specifically Coach. I know more about Coach bags than most everyone who works at Coach, but that's because I study it, they don't, styles and models are transient... It doesn't pay for a salesperson to know every detail...

 

That's why you try to find out which salesman owns a Mustang. That's what I did, and my salesman owned 5.

He knew his stuff, and took care of me fully.

 

Agreed. Did the same thing. My salesman has been in mustangs since the 1970s. Whole process went so smooth. Felt so confident talking with someone that knew about mustangs and the community.

I've dealt with dealers where I actually believe I knew more about the car then the salesman. For example:

"Why does he want at a California Special? Doesn't it come with California emissions?"

What was said to my friend who went with me to the dealer to look at a 12 GT/CS.

Or even better, a salesman became confused if this one 11 GT was a 2010 or 2011. To add we're standing right next to the 5.0 badge and he was staring right at the car. He actually walked around to the sticker to find out. This was back in 2010 when the 11s just started showing up.

 

I don't know, if you are trying to earn a living (especially a potentially well paying one) I think you invest some time in to learning the ins and outs of your craft, and in car sales, that includes knowledge of at least the vehicles the dealership you work at is titled after for at least the last 3 model years.

 

I spent 8 years selling cars and I took great pride in knowing every detail I could. If I didn't know everything, how could I justify my car over the competitors? I will say a lot of that is on the dealers, my two dealers (one was Chevy and one was Mercedes) put a lot of emphasis and pressure on the salespeople to learn the product. I think that makes a huge difference.

That being said, I was/am very disappointed with my current salesperson. He seemed to know very little, including 2 weeks ago telling me the '13s won't arrive for months. Unfortunately this is the best available place to buy, but I probably won't be a repeat customer.

 

That's the hope... But I guess in my experience it just doesn't happen. Mind, I never expected to get told off by a dealership because they didn't know the 2013 existed.

 

Rep at my closest dealer thinks looking cool is more important than helping his customers and also offered me nothing below MSRP for a GT nor anything but rock bottom for trade-in, so I walked. Found a sales manager at another joint who owns three stangs and runs a local club, who gave me $100 over invoice and actually knows models, dates. Guess where I went? If you dont know your sh*t, good luck splitting Fiesta sales. I bust my hump at work for my customers, internal and external. If you cant even approach the same for commission work, I want nothing to do with you.

 

LOL Sounds typical. I just never talk to anyone my own age or younger at a dealership. They all pretty much have the same attitude.

 

The salespeople I see at training seminars and their lack of product knowledge just boggles my mind!!! I've been doing this job for 15 years. All at the same dealer. I started when I was 20 (I'm 35 now). The reason I got the job was my dad called the GM here (he was good friends with him) and just asked if he would talk to me. My dad told him I loved cars and knew them like the back of my hand. The GM started when he was 18 back in the 60s so he related to me.

I had called a Chevy dealer about a year prior asking about selling cars and he told me "your too young to sell cars!! This is a man's job"! Made me upset. So I stayed in retail (sneaker sales) but a year later, I met with the GM of my store (he has since passed away back in 2008. I miss him ALOT) and after a few interviews and such, he gave me the job). I love learning about new cars. I'm the 1st one to climb in a new model, and play with everything. I'm the SYNC Specialist here and I can order a car without the order guide. I know all the codes by heart.

These salespeople who think they can get by on their looks and bad habits will be okay, are wrong. PRODUCT KNOWLEDGE IS KEY!!! Trust me!!!

 

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Yah I have to agree, just seem wrong when they start asking me questions...

 

if its so easy they why dot you just do it all yourself? Save you some money!

 

I had similar problems with a few dealers I spoke with when ordering my mustang GT. I followed one guy outside to look at a 2012 GT they had. We walked right past it and I kept trying to tell the guy where it was. He just ignored me and insisted it was a Shelby gt500. That kind of stuff doesn't inspire confidence in the dealership. Needless to say I didn't order my Mustang through that guy. The other dealers didn't fair much better, but luckily I knew most everything about the car which made it easier for me.

 

Because the Mustang is such a niche market, every dealer should have at least one salesperson that specializes in the details of the car and share the same Mustang enthusiasm as you.

 

I went into one of my local dealers, a Roush and SMS dealer, about 2 years ago and walked into the showroom to take a peek at the SMS. As a Saleen man, I was intrigued and the first salesman I talked to said "I got a great deal I can give you on that....I'll sell it for the MSRP." Way to just completely kill any hope of even trying to get someone interested.