Sorry for the extra thread, but I put this up in the regional thread, but got few views and fewer responses and my friend is getting desperate!

A good friend lives in the Pt. Jefferson area and is looking for a new car. He is more interested in the M than the G because of family, the type of car he wants, etc. He needs the car soon as his present car may be beyond resuscitation.

He hates shopping for cars. He hates every aspect. He doesn't want a sales person to push him, try to sell him something he doesn't want, breathe down his neck, etc (gee, he sounds like the rest of us).

He thinks he might like the M, but needs to sit in it, drive it, etc. The closest Infiniti dealer is Competition. Does any one have a sales person they can recommend so that he has a good buying experience there? You can post or PM if you wish. If he doesn't like your salesperson, don't take it personally!

Thanks for your help.

 

If he hates every aspect - and wants a good deal - he may want to consider talking to an auto broker. (But he really needs to know what he wants before he does that)

 

yea..go there to drive..and go online..i heard many people buying cars online and had great success...

 

Actually, he did that with the Acura RL he and his wife just leased. I think he feels funny about using the dealer and then going to the lease people and I suggested he buy it through a dealer. I think he tried with the Acura, but disliked the dealer so much he did it on-line.

Thanks,

 

I hate buying cars too. But this time was different. I'm picking up my new G35 Sedan tomorrow night and I did all of my negotiating thru email.

It takes the emotional warfare out of the process when you're simply sending an email saying "Your invoice is this much, i'll pay this much, do we have a deal, yes or no?"

Im getting the Lakeshore Slate w/Stone, Prem. Pkg B, sport susp. and aero for $500 over invoice.

I'll never walk on a lot to buy a car again.

 

Actually, I AM an Infiniti salesperson & thought I'd share the other point-of-view on this...if you guys don't mind.

To be honest, I have had pretty good experiences as a customer in the past, before I became a salesperson. However, I hear horror stories from my customers all the time, so I know what you guys are talking about.

I think the most important thing is to KNOW WHAT YOU WANT. Maybe for most of you whom, like me, is a car-nut anyways...so, we usually already know exactly what we want when we go looking for the next new car. People like us usually aren't comparing 3 or 4 different cars, and then deciding which one to get like 5 months from now. But, I'm amazed at how many people really do go "shopping"...I mean, for the general public it really is a comparison-based decision.

The thing is, you need to compare comparable things. Don't go into a luxury-car dealership & try to say, "well, Honda across the street is giving me this much of a discount, can you beat that?" When was the last time you went into Ralph Lauren & tell the salesperson that ROSS Dress for Less has the same exact shirt for half the price, can they match prices? Y'know what I'm saying?

*****************************

And the 2nd most important thing? BE REALISTIC about the price/negotiation aspect. Of course we're all looking for a "good deal"...on everything from our cars to the shoes on our feet. But too often, I'll have customers come in & offer us $30,000 out-the-door on a car w/ $39,000 MSRP. C'mon, get the f**k outta here, dude! For one, most import cars DON'T have that much of a profit margin in their sticker prices...unless the dealership is marking them up (on a seperate, non-manufacturer provided sticker). Second, if you're looking at a super popular car (say for example, G35 Coupe 6MT in blk-on-blk)...ask yourself, why "should" they give you a discount on something that the next guy will pay full-price for? If they didn't give you a discount, is that ripping you off? Or just good business sense? We're all out to MAKE PROFIT, aren't we? Whatever business you're in...don't YOU make money for the products you sell or services you provide? If you're looking at a run-of-the-mill Camry or Accord...they're a dime a dozen, dealers are definitely willing to discount because those are "commodity" items. But now you're looking at a "premium, luxury" item...not to mention, a very hot seller. So, don't feel like you're getting ripped off just because you didn't get a huge discount.

We see TV-ads all day long from Ford or Chevy (basically most domestic brands) offering "$10,000 factory cash rebates", blah, blah, blah. Do you EVER see any Japanese or European cars being advertised like that? NO...why? 'Cause there isn't that type of margin built in.

And PLEASE consider this: If YOU were a car-dealership owner, would YOU (through the help of your banks & the manufacturer, of course) put up $30-40k & hope to only make $500 profit? Really, folks, we're just like any other business out there...we just happen to have the bad rep-stigma of being the liars & cheaters out to get your hard-earned dollars.

If you feel you're experiencing this at an INFINITI dealership, I feel thats pretty sad. One would think that since you're buying these "high-line" products, that you'd get better treatment. We certainly offer it at our dealership. No - we don't kiss your ***, but we will treat you like one should be treated...with respect...all we ask is that you respect us too.

Hehehe...sorry if this post is getting very long...I just felt like sharing the "other side" w/ y'all. ^-^

Just remember this...CUSTOMERS lie to the CAR SALESMEN waaayyyyy more than the other way around. I'm not gonna say that I haven't met a few slimey car-salemen in my day...however, most are pretty good honest folks just like yourselves. Its too bad that in this industry, the saying "one rotten apple...spoils the barrell" really gave us such a bad rep.

 

GTHREE5....thanks for your input. It was nice to hear an honest opinion.

 

Gtree5 6MT-

Yes thank you for your help which I will pass along. It is not the price problem, alone, but he does not enjoy the debate. The whole process, perhaps because of the history of car sales and some sales people (your "rotten apples) is unappealing to him and he has been buying cars for about 35 years. He always feels like they are trying to put one over on him one way or another. Part of it is the system, where the pricing now is fluid without a solid reference. Other probelms may be inexperienced sales people who give the wrong answer and the process of talking to a sales person, then arranging actual purchase price with someone else, etc.

Personallly, I've had all these problems and others (including a low-ball contract with my first car) at dealers. My Infiniti dealer (Douglas here in NJ) has been an exception to my other car buying experiences and I would hope other Infiniti dealers would be similar, but I've seen on this board that that is not the case.

Thanks again (and by the way, I don't lie to car sales people, so if I shop with you I'll be truthful). Keep contributing to the board

Andy