Agree. In fact, I urged my saleman, his salesmanager and my tech rep at the dealership to follow this forum. Each one has a computer on their desk with Internet access. I puched up this forum for the sales guy at his desk. Each one said they did not know how the Internet worked, how to use email, etc., and appreciated my interest, but did not have time for the Internet. They have plenty time to read newspapers and magazines however. I offered to train/they refused. This is only one data point, but I wonder how extensive this might be. The salepeople at this dealership are in their 20s and 30s mostly...the age where computer usage is supposed to be the norm...or maybe I'm dreaming.

 

You go on the internet because it is interesting to you. And you are interested in Mercedes cars. The sales person may have no interest in the internet. Further, they may see the cars as a hunk of metal for which they get paid to sell. Not an object of affection as you do. What's that you say? They could make more money if they were internet savvy and interested? Well, a few are and we see them on this page. Most are not savvy or interested

 

Why the flame? Since you need to tell me about myself, I'll correct some of your assumptions. I use the internet for gathering information and communicating. My car represents a way to travel in style, and I have no affection for it whatsoever. This forum keeps me informed about what is happening with these cars. Considering the three people I have dealt with at the dealership are often clueless about vehicle problems, service bulletins, etc. I suggested an information source with usually well informed people. Seems simple enough.

 

I agree with you on one point, as far as the knowledge on this site. There is much to learn about these cars of ours, and from the peeps on this site.

I'm different than you, in the fact that I am VERY PASSIONATE about our cars, and do take a true appreciation in ours. I don't love our E500, in the way that you'd love your wife, or any other being in your life, but I do love our cars, and am very grateful to have them. I can go out into the garage, and just look at them, and it makes me smile. It comes down to different strokes for different folks! That's what makes the world go around. Imagine how boring the world would be if everyone had the same opinion.

Quote:

You go on the internet because it is interesting to you. And you are interested in Mercedes cars. The sales person may have no interest in the internet. Further, they may see the cars as a hunk of metal for which they get paid to sell. Not an object of affection as you do. What's that you say? They could make more money if they were internet savvy and interested? Well, a few are and we see them on this page. Most are not savvy or interested

We do have some very good, well informed sales people on this site, that are willing to help, and will go the extra steps to become, in my opinion, what a good sales person should be. Some of the sales people that we dealt with, must've went to stupid school, as they were of little to no help when we bought our E500. It just comes down to taking some pride in the product that you're selling. whether it be Mercedes Benz cars or Fuller brushes. They're just lucky that the product sells itself, or they'd be peddling burgers at Mickey D's.

 

Have you ever been to the dealership on sunday afternoon??? I swear, every sales drone on the floor is in front of the tube watching the football game... To me this is ... If I were the man who runs things they would be on the web sites learning about the product they are selling and learning about the *****es that were cropping up on forums like this one.... Don't get me wrong, I'm a big football fan myself but thats why I have a monday thru friday job..... Their job is to sell cars to me and hopefully be more knoledgable than I doing it.... Just my .02

 

You know, the internet is a funny thing. It never ceases to amaze me how many people are still computer or internet illiterate. When I look around at the sales guys at my local dealerships, they all look a decent bit older than I (I'm 27). While I am a computer junkie, I know that many of the people in my own age range are not computer saavy and the numbers of those who do decrease with age.

Certainly, this isn't to say that many of you here haven't learned enough to at least be able to surf the web and particpate in online forums regardless of age. I think we're still very much in a transition where a karge portion of the populous is in the dark regarding this amazing form om information exchange (after all, MBWorld doesn't have it's own AOL keyword ). Hell, my original local salesguy was so uncomfortable finding his way around the computer that I had to show him where some of the menu items were in his Netstar screen and this guy has been a salesman for years!

Jeff

 

I did not intend to flame YOU. I was just saying that those of us on this forum have the skills, interest and motivation to learn which many sales people do not. I apologize for any offense you took.

I would also observe that it would be impractical for any sales person to keep up on each forum and know each M-B car as well as we know the W211. Its not his lack of specific knowledge for which I criticized my sales person. It was his lack of demonstrating an interest in serving my needs.

 

That I have a problem with, but you are 100% true, of course a general assumption, but true none the less! I do wish that if you are trying to sell the car, at least take interest in it. Even more so when the dealer has appointed you the one to talk to for a specific model (a la S600) and you have no idea that the Sport Package is what it says, a package! Those awards on your desk mean nothing sir, if you have no acquired at least some common sense!


Me too.. me too! Just looking at the car itself, taking it completley out of perspective of everything else, you can see each line of the car, the engine, the body, the wheels, the entire package is as perfect as nature itself.

The dealers in Houston are closed on Sundays, at least, the Mercedes, Lexus, BMW, and countless others are.

There is very little to learn about clicking a few links and reading, they don't have to post, just know something can be done. Last weekend I went to talk to one of the misc. service advisors asking if on my dads R230 if the locking signals could be changed from the light flashing to the beeping and guess what his response was. "There is no R230"

As for the AOL keyword, well we're thankful!

They don't have to memorize each car, just know slight details, even reading the brochures would help! :p

 

What's even scarier is that my service advisor did not know how the wood wheel works, he had to go ask someone and get back to me...

This is because in TX it is against the law to have a dealership open on Sundays....presumably because since football is the religion here..it gives the salespeople time to pray to the football gods

 

The service advisor didn't know how the wood wheel works?! Sometimes these Mercedes guys just get on my nerve, sure they are nice, bu like a few people have mentioned before, I'm looking to get the best deal out of a car I supposedly don't know about, not treat you to dinner or anything like that!!!!

Yes, football is religion here.

 

quote:
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I would also observe that it would be impractical for any sales person to keep up on each forum and know each M-B car as well as we know the W211.
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How can anyone say that it is impractical for a salesman to know the products he is representing? Who else is going to do it? They get paid a ton of money to sell 7-8 models with 4-5 variants each. It is understandable to have some ignorance around new model or new year introduction but the level of salesperson incomptetence year round is unacceptable.

 

I don't have one myself but maybe this might help;
http://www.mbusalearning.com/w211ele...ction/pg38.htm

 

Thank you very much for that link, I'm going to start reading

Edit: If you replace w211 with any other model designation such as R230, it'll go to the respective site. Awesome!

 

It is interesting to see assumptions that car salesmen "make a ton of money". I'd like to see any salespersons on the site comment, but from what I have heard and seen, salespeople at most dealerships might make 25% of the net profit on the deal. That's the selling price less car cost and less something called a "pack" that represents the dealer sales overhead. About $200-$600, usually. Any trade-in is credited at "ACV" or actual cash value, not the number we might see as trade value. My dealer said a salesperson will see maybe $400 on a C-class sale at sticker price (MSRP, no disount, typical for their market). On a "minimum deal" where the total dealership profit less the pack is less than $400, the salesman usually gets a minimum commission of $100 or less. There are opportunities to get "spiffs" from the factory for either promoted models or for excellent quality scores (thus the pleadings to get good marks) but they are not more than a couple hundred dollars.

Now, if the dealer sells everything at MSRP and low trade, everyone is happy. Or if you could sell a bunch of SL's at sticker---if you could get them........But, where does the money to pay the salesman come from at below invoice and $100 over deals? The home runs are in used cars where big dollars can be made, and where the customer usually does not have high expectations for detailed information on model features because they are "old" cars. And they are delivered on the spot--no need for tedious explanations of ordering protocols. Plus, the guy down the street cannot have the exact model you're looking it--the salesman can create "value" in the uniqueness of his used car--miles, options, color, etc., to increase selling price.

It's a cut-throat job, and turnover is high. I've not had the same salesperson for any of the last 3 MB's, but the service department has the same team service writer for 15 years and tech turnover seems really low based upon the award plaques in the hallways. All the satisfaction I've experienced at my dealer's has been the result of the service department. Unless the sales people can get a decent income early-on, and then build repeats and referrals, it's tough to make a good income, and seldom great. It may be good to ask yourself whether a good salesman is worth paying more? I think the people who have expressed satisfaction with the known sales people on this site have been pleased with the responsiveness, and I assume the dollars were within an acceptable range or they live in a market like I do, where there just is little or no discounting.

 

It is very different out here in California I guess. At the dealership I patronize (one of the largest), the staff turnover is extremely low. It is an exclusive club and many reps have been there 20+ years. The GM of the store is a good friend who has been there almost 25 years and tells me that sales reps make up to $30,000 per month. I don't know what you make but to me that is a killing for a job that requires a lot of standing around.

Also, they sell very few cars below sticker. What does go out below sticker is more than offset by all of the "used" (<300 miles)AMG and allocated cars that sell for $10-20K over.

Bottom line is, regardless of what they make or how long they've been there, it is their responsibility to accurately represent the product.

 

Interesting. It would not appear that the sales folks at the dealership I use make anywhere near that level of income, although most cars are going out at sticker. The whole staff is new since I bought my '01. Sales manager left, returned, and left again in that time, too. But they do not charge over sticker on specialty models, much to their customers' benefit. The owner's family has been in business with MB since the early 60's, and selling a Dodge line for 75 years. Service, as I said, is great.

I'm not in sales, never have sold anything, but I can't imagine not knowing product. Unfortunately, I have only once in my car lifetime (37 cars in 38 years) found a sales person who knew the car's features and details better than I did before I arrived at the dealership. (A 1970 VW Beetle, bought from Al Holbert of Porsche racing fame, who worked at his Dad's VW/Porsche dealership following college and before he made a full time career racing and managing the Porsche team). When I got my '03 very early in it's product life, my salesman turned me over to a young lady who he said "knows what all the features are". True, she did, but she had little incentive to help me at the expense of her own commission sales opportunities when her customer showed up in the showroom. She still spent the time and did an outstanding job, however. She's still there, he left after 3 months to go to another MB dealer.

 

I seriously doubt there are more than a handful of salespeople in CA making $30K/mo.

 

Hello Ricky:



It is very true that your friend can not get the wood and leather stering

wheel because it is available as now on the Sport Models AND THE AMG models.

At my Dealership delivery time on a E 500 W is approximately 90 to 120 days.

This is the currant status which could change, ok.





Linus Miller
________________________________

That's the message he replied and I just got now. Late.

 

Then why can you order a non-sport E500 with the wood wheel via Netstar if it's not really available?

 

I remember reading about this on this forum a few months back. Not sure if those threads were lost when the forum database crashed, though.

 

Based on the overall bad reputation they (car salesmen) have as a profession, I'd say you are right but they are out there. The fleet manager at GMC I know makes over $25,000 per month without breaking a sweat. I know MB salesmen are selling fewer cars each month, they are making more per car.

The point is, the good car dealers recognize good salesmen (and women) and know how to keep them by paying them accordingly.