I've been looking for a replacement for my 00 VW Jetta GLS for a while and I decided that I wanted a small 5-door with great gas mileage. I drive probably 45 minutes one-way to work and the gas prices are crunching me!

Anyway, when I first started looking, I didn't see the fit. It was about 4 months ago. After some internet research, I narrowed my list of potential test drives to the Toyota Matrix, the Suzuki Aerio, and the Mazda M3. My fiance and I checked out these three cars. The Toyota dealer was very laid back and we enjoyed the car, but it seemed to get a vibration/buzz when on the highway. That kinda bugged me. The Suzuki dealer was even more laid back. He sent us out on our own for the test drive and we liked the car. It's a big engine in that little car! They also had 1200 cut off the top in dealer incentives, so it was the cheapest option. The Mazda place was awful. The car looked bigger online than it actually was and the poor salesperson pretended to be comfortable with his chin resting on his kneecaps . Afterwards he instisted that we talk to the sales manager who made the dreaded statement, "So, what do we need to do to put you in this car today?" Good grief. We told everyone that we weren't going to jump for at least a month... If I'd loved the M3, we would've purchased it somewhere else.

Anyway, I'm glad we waited!!! A week later, I saw the first ad for the Fit and started burning up the internet, including reading this forum. We took my parents to check it out when they were down for a visit and the salesperson handed us the keys and sent all four of us on the testdrive. She gave us a brochure, got our info, and we were outta there. When they got two automatics in, she left one message to let me know. Unfortunately when we went to test drive the automatic, they were already sold!!! But, I put a deposit on the first blue the have coming in three weeks from now and we're still not under any obligation. Is three weeks a fairly short waiting time? I get the impression that it might be from reading this forum!!!

She offered to check out financing as a comparision and came back with a reasonable price with no haggling (15,849 for a Sport) and the lowest rate I've found so far. I'm now taking that rate back to all the cheesy places like Capital One and E-Loans...

Long story short (yeah right): Found a car that I love AND a dealer that I actually like! So, if you're in the Charlotte, NC area, check out Honda of Rock Hill. It's worth the drive. Hopefully the happy ending will be in three weeks

 

Fantastic story! Nice to hear that some sales people remember to think about future sales (recommendation/return sales) instead of just the one they can "put you in" today.

 

Yeah, the salesperson is a new one (4 weeks on the job) and she doesn't like to do the hard sell. I have some of her cards and plan to recommend her to anyone looking for a car!

 

The Fit is a nice car, but your Jetta is probably getting over 30mpg or more isn't it? Also, the Mazda 3 barely get 28mpg, I had one, unless you get the Sedan i model.

 

not to criticize that salesperson's abilities, what happened with you, was right for your situation.

however, if she do that for everyone else, she will not succeed in this business.

you left, but returned. just ratio wise, you are 1 of 10. most people leave, and dont come back, even if there was a pleasent experience the first time they were there.

she left you a message just once. another mistake, not following up when she should.

come back with a no haggling price, works sometimes, unfortunedly, unless the dealership have a reputation as a no haggling, price firm dealership, it doesnt work. you were reasonable at understanding the price and accepting it, most people are not. they will take that already cheap price, and want more discount.

she got lucky here and found a laydown (you, sold on the car already), not much more.

and i would go easy on the mazda dealer, most dealerships have policy against not turning over customers to managers (just because you didnt like the car, i dont think you want the sales guy with his knee on his chin to lose to his job), and the manager's job is to see if you are a buyer, and is there a deal.

the dreaded, "So, what do we need to do to put you in this car today?" is actually one of the least offensive way to find out if you really are a buyer. it's not like they can just ask: "do you want the car or not?"

 

Somebody has to work at the dealerships. With luck, you find the person with the people skills to accomodate the customer. A customer can be as offensive, if not more so, than the salesman. Some of us just want to buy a car and some of us play as many games as possible. The car buying thing works both ways.

Thanks for sharing your good experiences.

 

It's sales people's attitude like yours that totally turns me off from buying a new car..

a person entering the dealership is there to MAYBE buy a car.. it's YOUR job to SALE me on a car. If all you do all day is wait around for a "sure buy" buyer, then maybe it's your attitude..

a lot of my friends have now basically refuse to buy a car direct from the dealer because of this.. stop wasting everybody's time, come straight out with your best price, save us hours of haggling and stupid tactiles of 'talk to my manager', 'i lose money on this deal', etc.. bullshit

-joe

 

Actually I have a 00 Jetta and I'm only getting 22 MPG, mostly highway but stop and go traffic. I love the Jetta, but the repairs are getting too expensive at 100,000 miles and when I financed it, I wasn't very smart (I'm still paying on it, in other words) Time for something new!

Plus, I'll feel safer with the curtain side airbags and a bigger backseat for carseats in a few years.

 

Fair enough. She did say that other salespeople give her a hard time for being so laid back and she probably won't be if she stays in the business long. I'm just glad that I found her early in her career!

Toyota and Suzuki did basically the same thing. They showed us the cars, told us about any incentives or special services at their dealership, and said goodbye. Neither of those dealers called us back, even though I was initially sold on the Matrix in light blue and the Toyota dealer had one on the lot when I came back with my parents.

I'd already told the Mazda guys that we weren't buying for at least another month, because we were refinancing our house and wiping out our last credit card. The question wasn't necessary to find out if we were buyers in that situation

 

Actually, the way that sales woman does business is pretty much the way I have done business for the past seven years and I am one of the top salespeople at my dealership.

In addition, if you are still asking, What do I have to do to put you in the car today, you need to get up to date. That question is so old school.

 

those are indeed bullshits. very much like i want to test drive 4 cars, waste 3 hours of your time, but im not buying today. i got to pick up my daughter. this is all i can afford on the car, no way am i paying invoice, but i'll buy a 2500 dollar warranty later on from f&i. so and so dealer just offered me 3000 back of invoice OTD on this car.

however, unlike your friends, im not turned off by this, im amused, with all these things people come up with trying to bullshit a dealership.

i dont want to play games either, but guess what, not everyone feels the same. i make a honest living, i dont lie or bullshit anyone into buying a car, but if i need to nudge you in a direction to make a fair sale, i'll do it.

my job isnt to wait for someone coming in saying here is money, give me car. my job is to turn maybe buyers into sure buyers.

 

almost all customers we get will come in saying we are not buying today, obviously, it's just not ture.

majority of them really are not ready to purchase yet, but like i mentioned, only 1 out of 10 will ever return, better take your best effort while the customer is still here.

those that are ready to buy, just say that so they dont committ themselves. nothin wrong with that (expected with a large purchase like this, but how is this any different then the "games" dealer lie to the cosumers about).

 

i dont think that closing question is that bad, it is old, but it works if used correctly.

as for the way to conduct business. if it's a small market area where referrel is the main source of business, then yea, laid back and no pressure will work.

but if you are in a big market where random floor traffic is the main source of sales, with heavy competition from other dealerships, if you dont pressure, you wont sell.

 

if everybody who walks though the door buys, and not "waste your time" as you say, then why would they need you? they can just set up the dealer like McDonalds.. "would you like fries with that?"

you get PAID to deal with customers, and you already said, change would be buyers into buyers.. but doesn't seem that way from the way you come across

i bought all my cars (4 so far) during the first visit to a dealer, i don't even return if i get a bad experience.. what really turns me off is when people think that i am not a "buyer" but when the $$$ shows up, they are all over me trying to get the sale..

-joe

 

I think you are missing something here. The OP described what is to many of us an ideal buying experience. I believe her experience is what most people WANT. What they don't want is to be persuaded into buying a car they are not sure about. The convictions of your "sure buyers" will last about 10 minutes after they sign the paperwork. But I suppose by then that your job is done, huh?

 

the dealership I've been to in McKinney, Tx, I would have to rate as terrible. They wont work a deal with you, and their prices for a Fit are 20% over MSRP. Not only that, but they didnt take me seriously the first 2 times I went in to look at the car, and I even went in with the intention of buying one.

 

I tried to get a Fit from every Honda Dealer in Virginia, the only one that actually produced exactly what I wanted was Colonial Honda right off I95 just south of Richmond.

One dealer had a demo that they wanted $2000 premium (Over MSRP). They still have that car.

Fair, Smooth and easy transaction. Car actually arrived a week earlier than promiced. No added BS, like Scotchguard, undercoat, paint sealer, graphics, etc..

Delivered early and at exact agreed price.

 

Congratulations! I hope to be able to say that in a couple of weeks