One man’s struggle to find the 1

[otoz]

Forgive me, this may be the longest first post in history, but, if you care to read it and share your experiences with dealerships it would be appreciated :-) I look forward to ordering my 135.

Not too long ago I totaled my car, so I decided to go new car shopping, at the time, I was still in limbo with the insurance company as to whether the car would be totaled, and I have a car I can drive in the mean time, so I wasn’t ready to really to negotiate, I just wanted to get a feel for some cars and see what I liked. I hadn’t done a lot of research; I was wanting to be sold on a car so that I could find out more about it and make an educated decision. Needless to say, the experience varied, from dismal to a complete blast, and my future decisions will be based quite a bit from these impressions.

First off I went to the Honda dealer, I had totaled a Honda, and, while my civic wasn’t the best car I’ve owned, it was pretty reliable, and has served me well for the past seven years. Now, Honda isn’t what I’d call the most trusting dealer, I was there with my dad, with a rep that we had worked with before, and he insisted on getting copies of both our licenses even though only one of us was driving(me). We weren’t in a hurry, and this wasn’t a big deal, but it did take quite a bit longer than expected. First I took out an accord v6, I walk over to the sticker, $32400? Really? For an accord, the sales rep assures us, “it’s a rocket.” Well, let’s just say rocket isn’t the term I would apply to an accord. Then I wanted to take out the s2000, I had been wanting an s2000 since they came out, and was pretty excited to finally drive it, but wait, the salesman says “you can’t drive it, you’re too young.” Excuse me? Now, I’m 22, but I haven’t been told I’m too young to do something in a while, and to me, “you’re too much of an insurance risk” is code for “I don’t really want to ever sell you a car anyway.”

Next off, we go to the Subaru dealer, I had seen a couple legacy GT’s and thought they looked pretty good, so I went to my local dealer and asked for a test drive. I pull up to the lot on a sunny Friday afternoon, start to look at cars in the lot, and expect someone to come out and greet me. A couple minutes pass, I look around, no one is coming out. Figuring they’re all busy I head inside, hmm, no one inside either. I look around and find a rep sitting in a cubical on the far side of the room talking on the phone. This is odd I think to myself, why is no one working. I wait for the rep to get off the phone and ask him if I can take a test drive, sure he tells me. We go for a test drive, the sales rep sitting in the back seat, and I ask him how to change the display on the dash. “I don’t know” he responds, “I’m more of a Ford guy myself, I don’t usually sell Subaru’s.” Confused, I ask him what he meant, “I’m just filling in.” At this point I determined that I’d finish the test drive and head over to the Nissan dealer, surely they would have reps that knew about their vehicles?

I arrive at the Nissan dealer and think to myself, wow, business must be terrible! Every parking space on the lot is full with a new car, hmm; well at least I should get a good deal out of this I think. We park in front of the building behind some cars and go inside. I begin to look at an Altima 3.5, my friend has one and raves over how fast it is. Determined to keep an open mind, and despite the plastic feel of the inside, I ask for a test drive. An overweight rep that hadn’t said a word as I was looking at the vehicle asks, “when are you looking to buy?” “Sometime in the next 2-3 months” I reply, “then no, today isn’t a good day for a test drive.” The sales rep replies. “Excuse me?” I say, hoping by some miracle he’s joking. “it’s getting dark out here soon” he says, I glance at my watch, 3:45 it says. Frustrated, I tell off the rep and leave.

Next up, the bmw dealer. I hadn’t really considered a bmw, I thought they’d all be out of my price range. But, one can dream, and I thought certainly it can’t get any worse. I get to the dealer and explain I’d be looking to buy within 2-3 months, and I’m just trying to get a feel for what I like, and see what’s in my price range. He suggests the 128 right away, base price of $28k? I like it. I take one for a test drive, no hassle about licenses, no saying I’m too young, everyone is well spoken and dressed nicely, now this is how it should be I say to myself. Maintenance included for the first 4 years, the best ride I’d experienced so far, and by far the best feeling engine. The sales rep was able to explain the car completely, anything I could think to ask him he knew off the top of his head. I was basically sold on the 128 right away, but once I got home and did some research I began to wonder what that same car would feel like with 100 extra horses.
This time I go to a different dealer, I tell them again, I wouldn’t be buying for a couple months; I just wanted to get an idea for a couple cars. “you have to test drive the 135i” he says,” that thing is a rocket.” I had heard that line before, but was expecting just a little bit more this time around, and boy was he right, 300 lb/ft of torque right off the bat is one of the strangest feelings in the world coming from a Honda. Not having to down shift and rev the engine to pass a car is quite a satisfying experience. To me, the extra 100 hp is well worth the money, and by far, this is the car that was most satisfying to drive. Immediately I couldn’t wait to own one, but, good things come to those that wait.

Not wanting to be narrow minded, I also head over to the Audi / Porsche dealer. I knew that only the a3 and a4 would be anywhere near my price range, but boy, that a5 is sexy. Immediately the sales rep asks if I want to test drive it, what a difference this is from the Honda or Nissan dealer I think. He’s letting me take out a $54000 car with no hassle, taking the time to explain every detail and feature of the car. Now I’m haven’t been in a lot of nice cars, but boy, the a5 was one of the nicest rides I’ve ever driven. It goes when you want it to, but it’s so refined when it does it, like it doesn’t even have to try. Everything about the car was effortless, and what it lacked in sport, it made up in luxury. If my price range was $45k+, the a5 would be a definite contender. But while the Audi’s were definitely refined and very nice to ride in, none of them were as sporty as the 135i.
All this to say I don’t think car manufactures realize how much their dealerships, and their reps reflect their product. I don’t know that I’ll ever buy a Honda or Nissan now based on how they’ve treated me. Neither makes particularly bad cars I think, but if the dealer isn’t willing to sell the car, why would I want to buy from them? I think my search is finally complete, the 135i is definitely my choice for a car, and I think I’ll probably be taking European delivery here in the next 6 months or so.

[Robert]

Cool, nice experience you had from BMW, but your miles may vary dependent on dealership. Sales at Honda and Toyota are usually more crass from my experience but they are selling appliances. What do they care.

[60Driver]

Otoz,

I'm glad the CA's at BMW treated you right. You're absolutely right about the dealership salesmen. Treat me with respect and I might buy a car from you. Blow me off and I will NOT buy a car from you and maybe never set foot in the brand's dealership again. Customer service can kill a company.

Now, if you actually pull the trigger and order a car you'll know the pain that we here all know. The wait.

[adrean8j]

Funny you mention this...I was thinking something along similar lines back in '03 when I bought my 5er. This was when I was still working in Germany and had just come back from OIF. I went into the Audi dealership and walked around for about 20minutes with my girlfriend. Not one SA came up to me, nor did anyone else ask me if I needed help. We walked out of there and I vowed never to set foot in an Audi dealership again. I then went back to the OPEL dealership I had bought my current SEAT Toledo GT from and found my old SA still worked there. He was super friendly, spoke excellent english and just a great guy (even burned me a copy of Aerosmith's Greatest Hits CD...LOL). So when I saw the E39 w/M-sport package sitting there I bypassed the Used Car SA and when straight to him(he normally only sells the new cars). So to make a long story short I went to the dealer I knew would give me great service. The BMW dealers I have been to for servicing all seem to pride themselves on great service. After every service my car was always returned to me cleaned (inside and out) and they even always left a little napkin thingy(?) over the steering wheel with the BMW Logo dead center(maybe to not put more dirt on it?). It was a great feeling and made me feel like I was getting a quality product and service.

[ptack]

Getting the sales part down should be the easy part, but obviously at the lower end of the market you're generally dealing with a whole lower cost structure which means they invest less in the sales people. If you're cross shopping with BMW, however, you should try the Infiniti and Acura dealers for a fair comparison, not Nissan and Honda. In any case, your experience with the sales guy will be short lived now matter how nice, so you should also pay great attention to the service department. Luxury car makers will tend to have much better service departments, but with a matching price. Lucky for you BMW includes free service (hopefully you won't be putting on a lot of miles) so it may be the best choice in that respect even if you're stretching your budget.

[otoz]

I've been meaning to check out a lexus dealer, and hadn't really thought about infinity, i may swing by one and take a look. Really, i don't think I'm going to find anything as sporty as the 135 for the price though. The included free service is definitely a major selling point for the 135 as well. My previous Honda i spent close to $4000 in the first 4 years on fixing things(new rack being the most expensive due to a leak they couldn't fix), so not having to worry about that for the first 4 years will be a relief.

[dbtheo]

Originally Posted by Phiberglass

Thanks for sharing your story.

We just recently had some brand training at my work. It went into depths explaining that a Brand was much more than a logo but more of a promise. When you buy from that brand and receive products up to your standards and what the company claims you gain a trust with them and continue to support and purchase their products. If that happened to me in each of those dealers I would instantly lose the trust I could've gained from that Brand.

BMW does quite a bit of brand training with us. Actually it is one of the more fun things we do. Unfortunately alot of ca's still don't get the msg or don't care. But fortunately a lot do care. Sounds like you found some good ones:smile:

[spudw]

I'd never say that sales (car sales or otherwise) is an easy business. It's not. But it amazes me how painfully difficult some people make it look.

Treat people with respect; be sensitive to their wants/needs; represent the strengths of your product; be aware of and willing to acknowledge the weaknesses; be an enthusiast for your product; and impart that enthusiasm on your clients.

Some salespeople so spectacularly fail to do any of the above, it's a wonder they ever sell anything. To me, a salesman who looks for "ideal timing" for a test drive is code for a salesman desperate to close an easy sale: "You're not buying now, so I'm not taking myself off the floor for 45 minutes in case a 'real client' comes through the door." Short-term, desperate thinking, IMO.

[Tom K.]

Otoz, considering the many online gripes from younger potential buyers complaining about insensitive Euro brand dealers, it was great to read your post.
Hope you begin enjoying your 135i as soon as possible.
Tom

[sluday]

I went to BMW dealer the other day and asked the salesman to check the computer to see what was available. The dealership was empty and he acted like he had better things to do. I am sure that pulling up in my wife's 2002 Saturn made him think I was a dreamer. So after about 5 minutes of his jackass, smug attitude, I went to the glove box of my car and pulled out a blank auto loan bank voucher good up to $50000 and put it in front of him and said " NOW DO YOU HAVE TIME FOR ME?" It was like he saw Jesus Christ. He asked me to take the car out for a test drive offered me soda and water and snacks. I wanted to test drive the 135 again but I did not want to give him the satisfaction. I asked what his schedule was to see his days off and he asked for my info and I gave him my address and phone. oops the number I gave him was old and disconnected. If I do go back to this dealership, which I doubt, it will be on his day off and deal with another salesman. Just because a person drives a POS does not mean they are a poor piece of garbage. :iono::iono:

[morscode]

cliffs?

[plien69]

Honda, Subie, and Nissan dealers treated him like crap.
BMW, Audi/Porsche treated him properly.
135i rules
A5 nice but expensive
Looking at ED of 135i in 6 months

[JasonCSU]

I've had varying experiences with many dealers as well. The service you receive really does depend on the particular dealer, sales rep, and how you present yourself. I was looking for a new car back when I was 22, and I couldn't believe how some dealers treated me. I first went to a Audi dealer and they had no problem letting me drive new and used A4/S4's on my own. They just needed a copy of my license. I was cross shopping numerous cars with varying price ranges, so I went to several dealers. Some dealers just plain ignored me while others gave me grief that I wanted to take a test drive. One Subaru salesman told me he was sick of letting people test drive the WRX because they were putting too many miles on their cars (this was back in '02/'03). I ask him why they don't have a demo car. He says it is because people want to test drive different color cars. Whatever... I ended up buying a new WRX from a different dealer who treated me like a real customer.

A couple of years ago I thought about buying a 350Z. I stopped by a Nissan dealer during the winter thinking I could possibly get a better deal with sports car sales usually being a little slow. They had several Z's on the lot but refused to let me drive one because they thought I was too young. I was 25 at the time, and they also saw me driving the WRX. Another dealer let me take a test drive without any issue.

Anyway, while a 350Z would have been fun, I'm glad I waited for the 135.

[Genericuser1]

Originally Posted by plien69

Honda, Subie, and Nissan dealers treated him like crap.
BMW, Audi/Porsche treated him properly.
135i rules
A5 nice but expensive
Looking at ED of 135i in 6 months

Awesome summary.

I plan on test driving a few cars tomorrow, for fun. The 135 will be one of them if one is available an A5 too but I don't think either of the Audi dealers near me has one. The only possible fly in the ointment is that we may have thunderstorms tomorrow so i don't want to take the family out and try to drive cars in that.

[Kiety]

I would probably drop by a Lexus dealership, we've had 3 lexus' in the family, and I can honestly say the service is absolutely wonderful. There was a recall one time on my sister's Lexus IS, and they sent her a new ipod nano as an apology for the inconvenience of having to bring her car in.

[Crowley]

Originally Posted by plien69

Honda, Subie, and Nissan dealers treated him like crap.
BMW, Audi/Porsche treated him properly.
135i rules
A5 nice but expensive
Looking at ED of 135i in 6 months

LOL .. right on

Crowley

[otoz]

Originally Posted by Design1stCode2nd

Awesome summary.

I plan on test driving a few cars tomorrow, for fun. The 135 will be one of them if one is available an A5 too but I don't think either of the Audi dealers near me has one. The only possible fly in the ointment is that we may have thunderstorms tomorrow so i don't want to take the family out and try to drive cars in that.

When i test drove the a5 the sales rep said "i hope some rain comes in so you can really have some fun with it and see how well the all wheel drive works," but sadly, it didn't rain any.

Both the A5 and the the S5 are apparently really hard to come by, the dealer said they had 3-4 S5's come through, and all of them were sold the day they came in. The A5 i test drove had the s-line package, so it looked like the S5, but handled like the a5, he said they had just gotten it in the day before. Good luck with your test drives!

[FinalDrive]

Originally Posted by JasonCSU

I've had varying experiences with many dealers as well. The service you receive really does depend on the particular dealer, sales rep, and how you present yourself. I was looking for a new car back when I was 22, and I couldn't believe how some dealers treated me. I first went to a Audi dealer and they had no problem letting me drive new and used A4/S4's on my own. They just needed a copy of my license. I was cross shopping numerous cars with varying price ranges, so I went to several dealers. Some dealers just plain ignored me while others gave me grief that I wanted to take a test drive. One Subaru salesman told me he was sick of letting people test drive the WRX because they were putting too many miles on their cars (this was back in '02/'03). I ask him why they don't have a demo car. He says it is because people want to test drive different color cars. Whatever... I ended up buying a new WRX from a different dealer who treated me like a real customer.

A couple of years ago I thought about buying a 350Z. I stopped by a Nissan dealer during the winter thinking I could possibly get a better deal with sports car sales usually being a little slow. They had several Z's on the lot but refused to let me drive one because they thought I was too young. I was 25 at the time, and they also saw me driving the WRX. Another dealer let me take a test drive without any issue.

Anyway, while a 350Z would have been fun, I'm glad I waited for the 135.

I couldn't agree more - my experience has been that it's really hit or miss depending on all the factors mentioned above. I've had great service from a Toyota salesman, crap service from a Lexus salesman, the "yeah right you just want to test drive this for fun" attitude from a BMW dealership.

You just have to look around until you find the right dealership and salesperson that works. Fortunately I've lived in areas where there were always many of each brand's dealerships but some aren't as lucky. Good luck picking a car - I'd recommend the 128 or 135 as well.

I was cross-shopping the 335 coupe, A5, S5 and 135 and ultimately found the 135 was most enjoyable for me. It was the most fun-to-drive of the bunch and the interior space was enough for me (not a family man yet). I test drove an A5 and wasn't impressed, although the car looks fantastic - that is for sure. I do think though the 335 coupe looks awesome too in comparison. There was a big difference in the drive between the two though (335 coupe being much more engaging and enjoyable).

135 FTW though! (I'm sure the 128 is a blast too - I've test-driven a 328 and found it to be more than enough fun).

[adc]

If you want the best possible deal for ED, no hassles and no glitches, send me a PM and I'll get you a contact. It's the go-to person for ED in the DC area - and you can check reports on him over at bimmerfest's ED forum...

I've had 2 cars via ED with him (but aren't getting any commissions ).

[itsthechuck]

Good story, I remember when I went shopping the Subaru dealer told me they weren't letting people test drive the STI as STI drivers know what they want. That STI is still sitting in their lot.

[morscode]

Originally Posted by plien69

Honda, Subie, and Nissan dealers treated him like crap.
BMW, Audi/Porsche treated him properly.
135i rules
A5 nice but expensive
Looking at ED of 135i in 6 months

Sweet...

I can vouch for the subie crappy dealerships. I went in the other day with a friend looking for an STI, they didn't tend to us after almost 2 hours and bounced.

[Heinzftw]

I myself actually have a mixed bag of good and bad experiences with dealerships. When shopping for a new Accord, depending on the dealership. They either said, sure what model do you want to drive. Or "Do you even have a license, and how long have been driving?" "Oh and can you even drive a stick?" Some Sales Reps are real asshats.

Few months ago, when the new Volvo C30 came out I went over at around 7pm. Surprisingly, a sales rep approached me. Showed me around the car. Asked if I wanted a test drive. He just asked me to show him my license and we were off! What a nice guy too.