Dealer Enquiry

[Cheerypete]

Hi,

Now just a quick question.

Has anyone recently had any experience of dealers not responding to a sales enquiry? As I have been approached and spoken to 2 different dealers groups in the last few weeks (one being Steven Eagell's, the supplying dealer, and the other being the Vantage's, the servicing agent), with regards to possibly replace my 2020 Corolla Design TS for a similar vehicle.

Now both dealers stressed that they were short of nearly new stock, and that my car was of interest, with them both taking significant amount of details, only to never hear anything again..... So can I ask, is this the norm???? As I was ready to sign on the dotted line. 

[FROSTYBALLS]

9 minutes ago, Cheerypete said:

As I have been approached and spoken to 2 different dealers groups

Looks as though they approached you??

[Hornet3D]

If my local dealership is anything to go by they are running at full pelt for most of the time.  We visited a couple of times when we purchased an Aygo ex-demonstrator and the sales team appeared to be busy with people waiting.  I have visited a couple of time since and the situation does not appear to have let up.  To their credit we never felt rushed despite the fact there were always people waiting.

[Cheerypete]

39 minutes ago, FROSTYBALLS said:

Looks as though they approached you??

Yes, I was approached by both dealer, with the first contact being in late February

[Catlover]

Perhaps the dealer offering what you think is a good deal they are waiting for a response. In the meantime maybe they offered good deal to others and they busy processing the orders.

[Cheerypete]

That’s just it, both dealers still haven’t provided any figures, after promising to ring me back the following day. 
 

Only for me to ring them both back a couple of days later, a leave messages with various staff members, asking for someone to contact me, and I’m still waiting over just over a week later.

Now I realise that phone enquiries can be problematic. But a return can’t be too hard, even if to say “thanks, but no thanks”.

[Bernard Foy]

If the mountain won’t come to Mohammad, then yada yada, just contact them again and ask if they are still interested.

[Roy124]

AFAIK sales are 'personal' so speaking to other staff members is really only a hope that they will pass the message on. 

They may have contacted several others and as Cat says busy processing other 'better' orders. 

 

[Cyker]

Yeah this is partly why I found the dealer experience so frustrating - Lack of communication. It was a miracle if I ever got an e-mail response or phone callback - In 90% of cases I'd have to physically go down to the dealer and try and catch someone, and even then the receptionist would usually get me to sit in the waiting area which usually cost me another 30 minutes of my life. They still haven't sorted out the missing trim on my Mk4 that was omitted due the sales agent not paying attention, but I've basically given up on that as it's not important enough for all the frustration it will generate.

The HQ office by comparison were usually very good at responding to e-mails and calls, and eventually I just started routing my queries through them and let them experience the joy of trying to get a response from their incommunicado dealer network - It was nice hearing them get annoyed at nobody picking up the phone instead of me for a change  

[Roy124]

One thing that puzzles me about salesmen is they make little attempt to keep their customers.  I trusted the salesman that sold me my Corolla, then he wasn't there. 

I asked where he was and got a 'moved to Leicester' or similar.  Buying a new car is an exciting but worrying experience.  A salesman who can match your needs and expectations with the right product will ensure a happy customer.  Why dealers don't exploit this personal client relationship? 

A dealership near our last home, I first went there in 1964, and returned in 1988 , was always looking for a deal.  Even if I was just looking in the window (the advantage of a High Street dealership) he would invite me on for a natter and a cuppa. 

[Big_D]

Why is it that dealers nowdays aren't interested in talking to you.

 

I flatly refuse to go to our local dealer which is 6 miles away. I find them to be rude and totally disinterested. This is after numerous visits to try and buy a car from them and being totally ignored.

 

I bought my C-HR from a dealer 25 miles away who took the time to speak to me. My wife bought her Yaris from another dealer who made the time to speak with us. At both dealerships we arrived without an appointment and walked in.

 

On Saturday, I went out to look for a new car for my daughter. My first choice was the same dealer where I bought my C-HR. I wandered around, looked at all the used stock, went inside, and was totally ignored. All the staff were too busy talking to each other. Only when I walked out, and was about to start my vehicle did someone come out and try to speak with me.

 

Why is it dealers aren't interested. 

 

As Roy says, buying a new car is an exciting and worrying experience. Why don't salesmen use the relationship they already have with their customer. I want to build that relationship with the salesperson. You can't do that if they aren't interested in speaking to you.

[Spo2]

If you know what you want, you have researched well, then buying online is better. In many cases, I never found a salesperson to be more knowledgeable than a customer who had done his/her homework. For older cars, groups like Cazoo, Cinch etc, I found them very good. I could never get my dealer to fix minor detailing and other issues, but Cazoo would arrange detailers, send them at home to sort out the problem. 

[Big_D]

Maybe I'm too old, but I just don't feel right buying a car online. I like to see, feel, and speak to people before I buy.

[Notfer]

8 hours ago, Big_D said:

Maybe I'm too old, but I just don't feel right buying a car online. I like to see, feel, and speak to people before I buy.

I take a hybrid approach. Go and look at the car first in person, test drive it etc. Then bung in the details on carwow, or similar sites, and then either deal direct on there with the cheapest, or go back to said dealer with that price.

I've done that twice now. My last car was bought blind directly though carwow, with the only face to face interaction with the dealer being when I collected the car (the dealer was 200 miles away), and then this time around, got the quotes first, went into to the dealer and they offered me a better price.

If you can try it, I highly recommend it.

[Roy124]

Spo2's approach would work if the information was out there or you know the car. 

I am with Big D, we wanted a new car and visited 5 different dealerships and were 'sold' a Corolla.  We went back to that dealership to 'consider' a new Corolla.  We were 'sold' a Yaris. 

Notfer's approach worked for us when we bought our 3rd second hand Mercedes. Our garage quizzed the salesman and confirmed the suitability of the model. 

Really depends on what you are comfortable with. 

[Cheerypete]

21 hours ago, Bernard Foy said:

If the mountain won’t come to Mohammad, then yada yada, just contact them again and ask if they are still interested.

Now I was planning on doing that later today, until I spoke to a recently retired Senior Sales Executive I know, and to quote him "Dealers won't bother calling you back, if the deal doesn't work for them. As they won't put anytime into what they see as a dead end lead, where they can't make a significant profit".

As the current view in the motor trade, is that there are some rich pickings to be had at the moment, and this is borne out by the staggering profits most dealer groups are now making.

So guess I'll just park the idea of possibly changing my car to one side for now

[Roy124]

"It's forever twitching or trying to sit on the (wrong) edge of a lane. So if it's active I'm forever fighting it. If I relax and let it do its thing I then get chided for not holding onto the wheel." 

a couple of adhesive hands perhaps? 

I wonder exactly how it senses the hands?  Sometimes it tells me to hold the wheel when I already am.  Others the merest brush works. 

 

[Big_D]

Apparently it senses weight, not the hands. I was reading an article where a guy in the US stuck a small weight on his steering wheel to pull him towards the centre line. The LDA would kick in. This, along with the ACC meant he had a self driving car on his way to work.

 

[Cyker]

Some newer cars use a capacitive sensor to detect your hands, which really sucks if you wear gloves, but thankfully the Toyota ones just rely on the same steering wheel torque sensor that the power steering system uses! I like that - just re-use existing sensors, no extra costs or parts!

 

I feel that the staff in smaller and family-run dealerships tend to be more attentive but the staff in the big franchises *cough*jemca*cough* just don't seem to give a flying one. The most attentive person at my local is usually the receptionist/greeter but they just seem to get no help from their colleagues (It's also a bit concerning that every time I go there the receptionist has changed!)

Weirdly I've had better luck with Renault and Hyundai - Sales person was available and happy to chat, whereas VW and BMW were similar to my local Toyota (i.e. hiding in their office talking amongst themselves until dragged out by the receptionist!).

From my experience I had been wondering why Toyota dealers get such high ratings but it does really sound like a typical London problem - It seems the closer a forum member lives to London the worse their dealer experience  

[StreetHawk]

I’ve had varied experiences when buying my last few cars, one thing in common though is the way the salesman stops trying to be your best friend as soon as the car is yours. There are usually always little things that need to be sorted out post purchase and then you are nothing but an inconvenience to them.

The worst I ever had was a VW sales guy, he was the laziest salesman ever, dealing with him was like wading through treacle and it got so bad that I pulled out of the purchase even after waiting 3 months for the car and it had been delivered. 
 

The best was when buying an Audi, he was really switched on and did everything when he said he would. I asked about changing the spec and was just too late but he offered to give me another build slot to spec as I pleased. He also got the car turned round in less than 24 hours from delivery to them as we were going away. Great service. 
 

 

[AJones]

21 hours ago, Spo2 said:

For older cars, groups like Cazoo, Cinch etc, I found them very good. 

Yes Cazoo is excellent, you can tell its a tech company selling cars, rather than a car company trying to build a sales website, from the attention to detail and process, they've got everything covered, with the attention to detail like the vehicle spec, masses of photos, 360 view, details of the imperfections and servicing history. The sales and delivery process is so efficient and slick.

The car manufacturers and their dealerships are going to have to raise their game, particularly as newer generations of car buyers now expect seamless online sales processes, the typical dealership and their processes look old and clunky by comparison.

[Cyker]

Yes, that's exactly it, just treat you like an annoyance after the sale! Like when the salesman set up, but didn't activate the 3-day insurance, so I was driving around uninsured! When I realized this (Thank smeg I checked the MID database after becoming suspicious I didn't get any confirmation!), and eventually got hold of him (Didn't answer e-mails or calls until I got their head-office involved) he was like oh you're lucky I'm in I don't normally work today, and was dismissive and kept telling me not to panic and it was fine and I wouldn't get in trouble, just being face-punchingly condescending, and apparently oblivious of the number of ANPR cameras around here. At least he did activate the insurance once I cornered him, but not even an apology or admission that he'd messed up, just putting out the feel that I was blowing things out of proportion and hassling him with trivial matters when he had more important things to do (Because of course getting your brand new car impounded is absolutely nothing to be concerned about)

The most irritating thing is their only motivation is for you to give them a good survey rating - That's all they were focused on, not actually delivering good customer service but then smiling and asking me to give them a 5 star rating. Like heck that was going to happen after my order was missing one of the things I specced because he wasn't paying attention, and me narrowly avoiding getting my car impounded for driving without insurance!!

But I should try not to dwell on such things - It helps that the Mk4 is such an awesome car that the dealer experience hasn't tarnished the enjoyment of the car!

 

[AJones]

11 minutes ago, Cyker said:

Like when the salesman set up, but didn't activate the 3-day insurance, so I was driving around uninsured!

It's details like that which the online sales companies have got sorted, once you've bought the car and selected the delivery time and date, within a few minutes the email arrives with your drive away insurance policy details and the certificate for you to print out ready for when the vehicle arrives.

[davidif]

23 hours ago, Roy124 said:

"It's forever twitching or trying to sit on the (wrong) edge of a lane. So if it's active I'm forever fighting it. If I relax and let it do its thing I then get chided for not holding onto the wheel." 

a couple of adhesive hands perhaps? 

I wonder exactly how it senses the hands?  Sometimes it tells me to hold the wheel when I already am.  Others the merest brush works. 

 

Not quite sure what relevance this has to the current thread?

[Bernard Foy]

4 minutes ago, davidif said:

Not quite sure what relevance this has to the current thread?

No relevance at all to the original post, but sometimes we go off on a tangent and get carried away from the original query.