I've never understood this tactic but maybe someone else does. The car salesman goes into the back room telling you he needs to "get approval from the manager" on the deal, print out paperwork, etc. And really he is just back there having coffee or whatever and purposely taking a long time. Why do they think this tactic helps them make sales?! Personally, it just pisses me off! I don't like waiting half an hour just for a guy to "print out some paperwork"...its a waste of my valuable time. I'm sitting there at the salesman's desk twiddling my thumbs the whole time thinking of all the other stuff I need to be doing...recently this happened to me and because of this and his other "salesman-like" tactics I got pissed off and decided not to buy the car (I was on the fence about it but that pushed me towards not buying).
2007-01-15 00:43:50 · 11 answers · asked by CocoaBean316 2 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Buying & Selling
It depends on the situation.
If you are negotiating on the car, then they have to go to the Manager, for a salesperson has not authority to approve or quote anything other than advertised specials.
If you have agree upon the price, and are waiting to sign paperwork, then you are waiting to get into the Finance office, which can take some time in busy dealerships.
If you are in the middle of negotiations, and the salesman gets up to speak to the manager, get up and follow him. If he say's anything, then tell him you don't have time to play games, and leave.
You must always keep the upper hand in negotiations, and a lot of times salespeople that are afraid of you leaving will stall with this tactic.
2007-01-15 00:56:41 · answer #1 · answered by Robert S 3 · 0⤊ 3⤋
We know your time is valuable and so is the salesman's. If you had more important things to do why did you walk into the dealership? It takes time to purchase a vehicle and you have to understand that the salesman is trying to make a deal that you and his manager will both accept. It really isn't a tactic to make you buy, the manager is the most knowledgeable resource a salesman has. He has access to all current programs like rates and residuals for a lease and interest rates. Now some deals can be very easy to calculate and others, like a lease or a customer with a trade can be more time consuming. This also takes time because on a typical sales floor you can have up to 10 salesman all looking for numbers. The reason for the back and forth is that there are many ways to purchase a vehicle and even more kinds of programs that a customer may qualify for. The problem is you can get stuck with a bad salesman who doesn't explain to his customers exactly what he is doing. Keep in mind you can always ask to speak to the manager, but be careful what you wish for because he is the expert salesman.
2007-01-15 02:37:16 · answer #2 · answered by Tony J 2 · 1⤊ 3⤋
They get your history by asking you to fill out the initial application; birthdate, address, social security number and etc. They then take that info and look up your life history; credit rating, financial status and all etc. The "getting approval from the manager" is a tactic to look all this over and to come back to make you think that they are giving you a good deal. Really they are deciding how to stick it to you.
A car dealer did that to my husband and I, even wrote up the deal; when we didn't bite we were sent to the "manager" to talk it over. We both got fed, ripped up the application and walked out taking the ripped application with us. Shocked the manager more than a little because he thought he had us hooked. We did like the car a lot, but NO car is worth being ripped off.
*Rule #1 when buying an automobile; always be prepared to walk away.
2007-01-15 01:16:01 · answer #3 · answered by Country Hick 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I agree with you, it is a ploy that does not work for me. My counter to all car sales tactics is to get off the salesman's turf as soon as possible after you decide what car you want to buy.
Then go home and do an evaluation at www.edmunds.com to figure out the suggested retail value and the suggested wholesale value of the vehicle you want to buy. Then make an offer over the phone, by mail or by email.
2007-01-15 01:03:29 · answer #4 · answered by regerugged 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You must be going to the wrong dealerships, I have been selling cars for 3 yrs now, we have it set up here so when you walk in the door we:
1. get the info on the trade in
2. take a test drive,
3. while we are test driving they are appraising your car.
4. when we walk in the door, the appraisal should be done and numbers on the car you were test driving is done. Included on the sheet is also 9 payment options.
(all within 30 mins or less of the time you arrived at the dealership)
Sounds like these other salespeople have way too much time on their hands, I would rather know in the first 30 mins if its a doable deal so if it's not I can move onto the next customer.
2007-01-15 04:23:16 · answer #5 · answered by cinderjo 3 · 2⤊ 1⤋
These are tactics they use to "wear you down" and so you will believe that they are doing their best for you. I counter this by researching ahead of time what I'm willing to pay for a car and securing my own financing. I tell the salesperson at the begining that I won't tolerate any of his tricks and if he leaves more than once I will leave too. If he needs to negotiate with the sales manager then we can just get rid of the middle man and he can bring the sales manager to me. If not I'm outta there.
Be firm and stick to your guns. Tell him that someone will sell you the car you want...will it be him?
2007-01-15 00:57:11 · answer #6 · answered by PRS 6 · 0⤊ 2⤋
I like your question and Tony J made some very valid points, I was a Mgr for many years retired now having fun sharing my knowleage. go to my website http://www.usedcartips.org/ and navigate to negotiate #1 and 2 ffrom there be sure to look at the web page Warranty's and the business office, you should get a fair idea how dealerships work
2007-01-15 10:51:53 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
There are some great answers here, but no one has mentioned one of the biggest reasons you wait. They want to make you impatient.
They want to make their customer's impatient?
Yes. If you are impatient you will be more apt to sign paperwork without reading everything, or worrying about small fees that may appear. If you've been there for a few hours you just want to sign everything, get your car and get out of there.
Check out this article. It should explain everything in more detail.
http://development1.blogspot.com/2007/01/buying-your-new-car.html
2007-01-15 01:20:48 · answer #8 · answered by trigam41 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
becasue they want you to feel like they're helping you get a better deal then the next guy, somebody has to be the bad guy, and the manager plays that part, while the salesman is your little cheery buddy.
2007-01-15 00:47:10 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Read this if you are interested in car sales.
Confessions of a Car Salesman
http://www.edmunds.com/advice/buying/articles/42962/article.html
2007-01-15 05:01:06 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋