The ultimate Mercedes purchase experience: how to lose a deal.

[meeeb]

Listen, I'm not going to defend the attitude you've encountered, it's not good at all, it's quite possible that he needed to make his numbers up for the month end and sell some cars and the thought of following you about while you make your mind up was a waste of time for him.

This isn't to excuse it, moreso explain it.

Like I say, I've never suffered a poor attitude from a salesman, maybe that's a reflection of my laid back attitude, who knows.

Can I ask, what do you do for a living?

I'm an old age pensioner. Thirty four years police service some as a detective, most on traffic patrol - motorbikes and cars - largely on motorways. As such I am well versed in dealing with "doughnuts".

Been retired from the police for twenty years after which I worked on ambulance patient transport, which was interesting as I was able to see the long-term effects of RTA injuries, some of them seriously life-changing. It's why I rant sometimes when I read some of the willy-waving threads on here.

 

[Deleted member 6183]

I get the impression that some people get a bit carried away when buying a new car, especially the more upmarket brands.

I see this image of someone striding into showroom, rather full of himself and expecting a lot of fawning, and being surprised that the salesman isn't falling over himself to oblige. (You've all seen Pretty Woman)

The likes of Mercedes are not struggling to move cars, quite the opposite. As I said previously, the dealer is way more interested in making some profit via finance, insurance and paint/upholstery treatment than actually selling you a car.

I often hear people say how much they'd like to sell cars, especially those that they have an interest in - No you wouldn't, you would hate it for the reasons above.

SPX has a point, possibly due to his own business experience, the way that you conduct yourself will make a difference to the service that you receive.

You will hear people refer to the sales staff as 'drones' these guys will receive a **** customer experience and probably deserve it.

As I said before the business model is changing across most businesses not just cars, financial services is another good example but it's more widespread than you think. Electrical gear, take printers as an example - they want to sell you ink cartridges because that's where the profit is. Even Amazon want you to buy their bolt-on products like Prime and offer incentives to you to do so.

As regards Sales Process, well you might not like it but it's here to stay. Sales people are measured by their ability to follow such processes and they will feel little incentive to spend time with you if you are determined to upset the process because it could cost them some bonus.
Someone posted earlier that they would never buy at an MB dealership again but would use an independent dealer, if you wish to avoid all I have posted above that's a great idea.

 

[evdok]

[YOUTUBE]RQQK0VTTXvA[/YOUTUBE]

 

[fab1975]

I get the impression that some people get a bit carried away when buying a new car, especially the more upmarket brands.

I see this image of someone striding into showroom, rather full of himself and expecting a lot of fawning, and being surprised that the salesman isn't falling over himself to oblige. (You've all seen Pretty Woman)

The likes of Mercedes are not struggling to move cars, quite the opposite. As I said previously, the dealer is way more interested in making some profit via finance, insurance and paint/upholstery treatment than actually selling you a car.

I often hear people say how much they'd like to sell cars, especially those that they have an interest in - No you wouldn't, you would hate it for the reasons above.

Personally every time I entered a showroom it was because I was genuinely interested in buying a car and I had the means to do it, which is why I have never set foot in any Ferrari, Aston Martin or Rolls Royce dealership, even if I would love to drive any of those supercars!
In the same way as I do not expect any salesman to fall over himself to oblige (whether I am buying a Mercedes, a Ford or a £ 12 paint repair kit), at the same time I cannot stand the attitude of those people who behave like they are there to do me a favour (when it pleases them, of course) because they have already sold enough cars, or had a bad day, or simply dealt with a few "time wasters". Actually most customers are not time wasters, for the simple reason that people who can actually buy a car generally have to work for it and therefore do not have an awful lot of time to waste in an activity that they are not getting paid for.
How can a salesman pretend to sell any additional insurance, paint protection or service plan if he is not even bothered to sell the actual car? The very fact that a deal might not be reached today, does not necessarily mean that it will not be reached tomorrow, or even next year: in fact, a few months ago I got really impressed with a BMW salesman in Cheshire and if I had eventually decided to buy a 4 series he would have definitely been my first point of call. A colleague of mine who bought a car from that dealership had recommended him to me and I have already done the same with other people. Did he waste his time with me back in September? Or did I waste mine when I wanted to see a car that I had seen only on paper and then realised that I did not like the interior?
In my humble opinion if a salesman is not willing to take the risk to “waste his time” with a customer, he should consider a different type of career. What about pilots who do not want to fly in hazardous conditions then? Or doctors who do not like to deal with patients with complex issues? I guess you all got the point J

 

[bpsorrel]

Maybe it's due to low volume, but Lexus seem to get it right.

When I was replacing my "daily" car I looked at various makes and spent time in different dealers (MB, Volvo, Lexus, BMW) deciding which car suited me best. The only dealer that was really helpful and efficient was the Lexus dealer at MK. Despite me making it clear at the start I didn't want finance, GAP or any other money wasting add-on, the salesman was superb. I bought the car from him and will buy another when I want to change this one.

Other brands need to follow this example!

Edit: Just remembered, by contrast the MB dealer in Vladimir, Russia was amazing! Despite the reputation Russians have for "brusque" behaviour and believe me, trying to deal with anyone here connected with administration will have you wishing you'd died the day before, the training given to the MB dealer staff was superb!! Why can't UK dealers be trained this well?

 

[fab1975]

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but I am happy to confirm that the new baby has actually arrived, bang on time on 21st April
If anyone wants to take a look, I took a few pictures on my way back from the dealer, when the car was still nice and shiny.

 

[martyz]

Lovely car.

 

[Wheelsnuts]

Very nice! Great pics.

 

[iliria]

Very nice car indeed. What's the quality of sound like coming out of those Burrmesters?

I am currently looking to buy a C or E class myself and have to admit that have not had very pleasant experiences with MB dealers in Cheshire either. But I suppose I probably get such a bad reception mainly because I am looking to buy a 2 year old car rather than brand new.

Had owning a Merc not been my dream for a long time I would have definitely gone to a different brand (and if things carry on the way they are I might truly go soon).

 

[JBD]

Going back to the original post, I feel that people like Mr C give this profession a bad name. I'd now send the dealer principal an email and a picture of your new car

 

[tron]

Fab 1975: NO pilot wants to fly in adverse weather conditions (and I have the bent bits to prove it.)
Regarding the MB sales staff. There are other cars. The best service I received was when buying a Ford Ka through a broker. The price was too good to refuse but the dealer's service and after sales service could not have been better had I bought a Rolls.
If I received the brush off from MB, I would simply buy something else. A car is not for life, it is for a limited period of time.