Ask a Car Salesman

omegadan · #1 03-11-2007, 01:53 AM

I read OOT a lot, and the issue of purchasing automobiles comes up her often. I work as a fulltime Internet Salesman at a Lexus dealer in LA. I would be happy to provide insight on both sides of the buying process as well as Lexus in general. Ask Away!

mbillie1 · #2 03-11-2007, 01:55 AM

Hook a fellow 2p2er up with a Lexus?

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Thremp · #3 03-11-2007, 02:00 AM

Can I just call a buncha places and get good price quotes?

TomCollins · #4 03-11-2007, 02:02 AM

[ QUOTE ]
I read OOT a lot, and the issue of purchasing automobiles comes up her often. I work as a fulltime Internet Salesman at a Lexus dealer in LA. I would be happy to provide insight on both sides of the buying process as well as Lexus in general. Ask Away!

[/ QUOTE ]

How do the regular salesmen treat you compared to other salesmen?

Does the negotiation process differ when doing internet sales?

How much do you make?

suzzer99 · #5 03-11-2007, 02:05 AM

Why would I ever want to buy a brand new car? (as opposed get one that's a few years old for much less)

McShove · #6 03-11-2007, 02:06 AM

[ QUOTE ]
Why would I ever want to buy a brand new car? (as opposed get one that's a few years old for much less)

[/ QUOTE ]

Uh..if you have a ton of money? and want the new coolest model?

omegadan · #7 03-11-2007, 02:31 AM

mbillie, pm me if you are serious but absolutely.

omegadan · #8 03-11-2007, 02:33 AM

Thremp, the way I get my leads is from people who submit online for price quotes.
The way you make a sale is to give an aggressive price on a car you can actually produce. A lot of dealers will give out amazing numbers over the phone or internet but often won't produce at that price or overcharge elsewhere.
My goal is to stand out from the other salesman so I can make the deal on a 'real' car.

omegadan · #9 03-11-2007, 02:35 AM

TomCollins, my dealership is a very friendly work environment. I get along very well with my coworkers.

Negotiation process is ultimately the same. A lot of the time I do the negotiation over the phone and email and then reserve a car for them and they come in to pick it up and finish the transaction.
I often do business with out-of-state customers where I Fedex contracts and put the cars on trucks. You would be surprised how much more competitive prices are in LA than almost any other region.
I have been working at the dealership since June and was recent promoted to a fulltime Internet desk.
Last month I started on Feb 5 and I sold 15.5 cars, and I grossed $9200 in comission and bonuses. When I sell 10 cars, I get a $1000 bonus, 1200$ at 12 and 1500$ at 15, and so on.
I get a 25% comission on profits on the car.
Last mont was pretty exceptional especially for a very short month, it included two LS460s and 2 SC430s which have good comission.
It is very realistic to make 80-100k/year or much more at this job.

omegadan · #10 03-11-2007, 02:38 AM

suzzerr99, buying a brand new car is a distince choice. Lexus stands out from all other manufacturers in that it has the lowest incidents of maintence and the highest resale value.
When you buy a brand new car you have access to the latest technology and styling.
The very best buy is to get a 'demo' car (car driven by a manager, never been registered) of a new car for usually a decent discount. That car may have between 800-4000 miles on it but it will be in perfect shape.
Occaisonally we get 1 year old cars as trade-ins. I just so9ld a 2006 GS300 with 1800 miles on it...