Whats Being A Car Salesman Like?

ricky409 said:
Cell phone and mattress sales >>>>>>>>>...

This right here. I've done cell and now doing mattress and its definitely some gold mines. If you have a mattress place in your city try that. PM me and ill tell you which one. :lol:

You gotta have tons of factors that are out of your control go in your favor to be a dope car dealer.
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I'm currently a sales associate at a Dodge/Jeep/Chrysler dealer, 23 years old, and counting the days until I can leave this job.  Sure the money is good, some weeks, and there are some perks, but the job really can take a toll on your mind.  Friends ask me, what did you do at work today, and most of the time I reply, nothing...all day long.  I'm the kind of person who can't stand wasting time/days doing absolutely nothing, and that's what you're doing most of the time.  Its overall a pretty shady business, full of shady co-workers.  All that being said, I would recommend it for the time being while you're going to school, also doesn't look bad on the resume.  From my experience, I started delievering parts at the dealership always hoping I could make my way to the sales floor.  After being here for a year, it really isn't worth the BS you have to put up with.  Goodluck!
 
Jada2001Retro said:
You get minimum wage + commission, I don't think there is an actual dealership where you get 100% commission.
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Ohhhhh trust me, they're out there.
 
Jada2001Retro said:
Being a car salesman at Carmax is much easier as to being one at a certain dealership that sells mostly of a certain brand (Chrysler, Ford, Toyota, etc).

Carmax sells all makes and models, which makes easier since they have a larger amount of people that would go there since they could find almost anything they want.

I think working there your checks will be quite nice, if you are a good salesmen, of course.

It does come with a lot of stress, I worked at Honda previously and I can tell you the salesmen age horribly, by the stress they have...every day you go into work praying you sell at least 1 car.

If you're a great liar, you'll do great.

Good luck!
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Carmax he will not make big $$$ they have a different pay system than most, i would go to a used (non franchised) store, they pay much better (30% of gross) so say you sell a car for 10k and the store has 7k in it you would earn $900 on that sale, and NO if you are a liar you will NOT be a good salesman, it ALWAYS will come back to haunt you! i have been selling cars for 10 years, NEVER LIE TO A CUSTOMER! if you do they will NEVER come back or send you there freinds or family! the last 2 years i haven't even had to chase a customer on the lot, the key is follow up, if you follow up with your sold customers you will never have to take a fresh up on the lot again, trust me on this, i made 76k last year and NEVER took a single up from the floor, FOLLOW UP IS KEY TO THE $$$$$
 
I thought Carmax does no haggle pricing too...so the price that is listed is what you pay. Which i would assume would be way less stressful then a normal dealership.
 
UltraPaleKid said:
I'm currently a sales associate at a Dodge/Jeep/Chrysler dealer, 23 years old, and counting the days until I can leave this job.  Sure the money is good, some weeks, and there are some perks, but the job really can take a toll on your mind.  Friends ask me, what did you do at work today, and most of the time I reply, nothing...all day long.  I'm the kind of person who can't stand wasting time/days doing absolutely nothing, and that's what you're doing most of the time.  Its overall a pretty shady business, full of shady co-workers.  All that being said, I would recommend it for the time being while you're going to school, also doesn't look bad on the resume.  From my experience, I started delievering parts at the dealership always hoping I could make my way to the sales floor.  After being here for a year, it really isn't worth the BS you have to put up with.  Goodluck!
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so you're still on the job? and yeah i figured if i got hired and the days are slow i just kick back text people here and there and catch up on school work on the job if possible. i hear stories about it being bs and then i hear good stories. and it certainly beats restaurant jobs imo.
 
KingofNE said:
Carmax he will not make big $$$ they have a different pay system than most, i would go to a used (non franchised) store, they pay much better (30% of gross) so say you sell a car for 10k and the store has 7k in it you would earn $900 on that sale, and NO if you are a liar you will NOT be a good salesman, it ALWAYS will come back to haunt you! i have been selling cars for 10 years, NEVER LIE TO A CUSTOMER! if you do they will NEVER come back or send you there freinds or family! the last 2 years i haven't even had to chase a customer on the lot, the key is follow up, if you follow up with your sold customers you will never have to take a fresh up on the lot again, trust me on this, i made 76k last year and NEVER took a single up from the floor, FOLLOW UP IS KEY TO THE $$$$$
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what would you have to lie about though? :nerd: like when negotiating prices? or car specs? i mean if hired, i would try my best to be a good salesman and earn a honest living like what you're saying here.
 
I sold cars for almost 10yrs man (last gig was at a local BMW dealer) and even breaking 6 figures with no college degree, will NOT make me go back to doing it!!

After 9/11 happened-everything just went downhill from there-people was scared to spend money, we were basically fighting other BMW dealers to give away cars-that we werent even supposed to give away (i.e  M-series, 6 and 7-series and X5's), overall-just harder to hold your gross and make a living out of it!  At least to what we were all used to-back in the days!  Dealing with people and their ridiculous expectations-just made me sick of people-honestly-it just burned me out and made me sick of people!   

I cant give u an opinion of how it is now-since ive been out of the game for years now and the only guys I know that are still at the BMW dealership I used to work for-when we would text each other, here and there, they would complain as to how slow it is...

If u dont mind the long hours, working weekends (every Sat and every other Sun) and being grimey-then get ur hustle on man-can't knock the hustle, I always say!

GL!
 
GreyFoxx said:
what would you have to lie about though?
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like when negotiating prices? or car specs? i mean if hired, i would try my best to be a good salesman and earn a honest living like what you're saying here.
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people lie about dumb stuff, like specs, price, rates, service history, all kinds of things, if you don't know then just be honest and ask your manager, it really is not a hard job at all, just get to know your customer, make them feel comfortable, relate to there situation, when it's time to close the deal and you have them in your office laughing and talking about stuff that has nothing to do with the sale, getting the $$$ is easy! just be yourself. 
 
PATBAROK said:
I sold cars for almost 10yrs man (last gig was at a local BMW dealer) and even breaking 6 figures with no college degree, will NOT make me go back to doing it!!

After 9/11 happened-everything just went downhill from there-people was scared to spend money, we were basically fighting other BMW dealers to give away cars-that we werent even supposed to give away (i.e  M-series, 6 and 7-series and X5's), overall-just harder to hold your gross and make a living out of it!  At least to what we were all used to-back in the days!  Dealing with people and their ridiculous expectations-just made me sick of people-honestly-it just burned me out and made me sick of people!   

I cant give u an opinion of how it is now-since ive been out of the game for years now and the only guys I know that are still at the BMW dealership I used to work for-when we would text each other, here and there, they would complain as to how slow it is...

If u dont mind the long hours, working weekends (every Sat and every other Sun) and being grimey-then get ur hustle on man-can't knock the hustle, I always say!


GL!
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another horror story :rolleyes :lol: well i dont mind doing every sat & sun for the most part but generally, are managers lenient about taking off for certain occasions? I.E. a friends graduation and another friends wedding?
 
no leniency at all!!   All Sales mgrs/ Finance mgrs make their money off of the sales force and what they sell-so of course-they want a packed floor!!  Also, depends on how long you have been working there.  "You wont make money if ur not here!" that's what they will always say to u when they see a request for the day off...
GreyFoxx said:
another horror story
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well i dont mind doing every sat & sun for the most part but generally, are managers lenient about taking off for certain occasions? I.E. a friends graduation and another friends wedding?
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PATBAROK said:
no leniency at all!!   All Sales mgrs/ Finance mgrs make their money off of the sales force and what they sell-so of course-they want a packed floor!!  Also, depends on how long you have been working there.  "You wont make money if ur not here!" that's what they will always say to u when they see a request for the day off...
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true, but if you are top dog that month, you can pretty much do what you want! again, follow up follow up follow up!!! then you can set your appointments to your schedule and leave for a few hours everyday! 
 
interview went well. or at least i think so...did a role playing thing where i pretended to sell a toyota camry. just gotta wait on a follow up now.
 
Sell phones man. I worked at all the major carriers and earned some ok money. Plus they most likely will work with your school schedule.
 
Yo, I'm 21. And now thinking about heading in the car salesmen career, but still going to school as well. I'm thinking it's either this or mail carrier.
But anyways,hows your experience been @greyfoxx ? If you ended up getting the job
 
Start in used sales at a known manufacturer dealership, build your book of business, then take the step into higher end automotive sales if you are successful. Being a representative is cut-throat in terms of competition, but it is very fun if you're a self-motivated individual.

Money can be made easily and be very good, but if you aren't working the phone/previous customers, you aren't making any money. It's a numbers game; the more you prospect buyers, the higher your chances of meeting your quotas and making a good amount of money.

If you are selling new vehicles, only work at a volume dealership(they will sell at cost to move a unit) if you're in a large metropolitan area.


The best trick you can have is being able to sell the dealership owner's customers (I.e. friends, family, etc). If you can do that, you're golden.

Automotive sales is one of the best ways to better your communication abilities. If you get the gig, you'll never forget the phrase, "always be closing".
 
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Thanks for the insight, I'm thinking more of the lines of good people trying to find good cars for good customers, but who am I kidding.
DipsetGeneral said:
It's a terrible job. Don't do it, OP.
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What kind of experience did you have that makes you say this?
 
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