If you bring meney you'll be allright.

 

Costumer is always right and costumer has the money.It's the salespople job to impress the costumer and it's the salespeople job to keep the costumer in his store so he spends his money there.If you want the salespeople groveling at your dad's knees then rent a limo for that day and enjoy the action.
Just for fun ask to take the fastest car there for a road test and at the last moment put on a helmet .

 

Unfortunately, there are salepeople that will judge by the way someone looks, dresses, nationality, etc. This is speaking from experience when my parents were looking to buy an E class. Bottom line: If you are not treated for respect...walk out and go to another dealership. If you express a bad experience to another dealership, guaranteed you will be treated with respect.

As for using a credit card, dealerships and other various businesses only allow a certain amount to be charged. You will not be able to charge the whole amount regardless of your Dad's credit limit. Again, this is based on past purchases.

 

As long as his money is green, nobody will even notice what he is wearing.

 

Before he goes to the dealer, your dad should do his homework to know what these cars cost and know what he wants from them and in them...option wise.
A fully optioned E-class can be around the price of a base S-class.

 

Just be yourself and see who shows up! This is the sales guy you want to have the commission.

 

Have you seen how Whoopi Goldberg dresses?

 

his credit limit is not that high right now, but it can be up'd for sure..

what if i say he goes in with say ripped jeans and a ripped shirt.. any service?? ripped jeans w/ deep pockets

 

Better be a big wallet sticking out of the pocket.

 

don't worry, he doesnt carry money in his wallet.. he got deep front pockets that will be popping out...

 

Exit Wounds - Steven Segal, DMX......

loved the scene when DMX wend in to the dealer looking to buy a car.
Anthony Anderson's acting was fun also. The black dude, car salesperson
had me in stiches.

 

i wore a hoody and broken jeans. no one gave a crap about me. but i had an appointment with a sales person so that was ok. just wear casually. be yourself. it was funny coz after i drove my car out of the dealer, the other sales ppl that looked down on me when i came in were pretty surprised.

 

I don't wear suits either but I'm in my mid 30's. From my experience in NYC the MB dealers were the most snobby followed by BMW. It really turned me off and made me not want to buy a MB cause I felt insulted. I was shopping for a wagon and when I told them my current car was a Volvo XC (I also have a BMW) they laughed at me and acted like I wasn't good enough to drive a MB. He said something like 'how dare you compared MB to Volvo?' A C Class doesn't even cost that much more than a Volvo. I ended buying a used C wagon. Afterwards, I called A Brooklyn dealer to ask about the extended warranty and the guy hung up on me after I told him I didn't buy it from a MB dealer. I don't know if I just had bad luck with some A-holes but so far my eperience with MB is that they are snobby pr*cks.

 

Are you sure it was the MB dealer and not your own apprehension about dealing w/ a MB dealer. Sometimes that causes one to have a bad (false?) impression of them. It is also possible you just got a hold of an a-hole--they are everywhere. I only ask because they get paid based on a sale, and they usually are not that stupid to send a prespective customer ($$$) packing--unless you did or said something to make him/her think you were the a-hole. Just strikes me as odd that they would be so stupid or mean as to do that to themselves.

Nothing personal. Just curious.

 

I'm pretty sure that the salesman ignored my presence in the dealership until I walked up to him and asked for help and I'm sure he laughed at me when I told him I drive a Volvo. If you read some of the posts above mine, this doesn't seem like an uncommon thing. I don't think the salesman thought he sent a customer away - he probably thought I was wasting his time. Maybe the dealer gives incentive on sales amount so the sales people prioritize the customers who buy S Classes rather than C Classes.

I don't want to generalize about other people but I wouldn't be surprised that people who sell luxury goods deal with rich people so often that they themselves feel a class above the rest. I can understand this mentality although I don't agree with it. It's a free country and they can treat others however they want.

Why do you doubt that there exists a MB salesperson who stereotype customers based on percieved material status and act with snobbery towards said customer?

 

I agree, and think people who buy same luxury goods "feel a class above the rest" as well without really knowing who can afford what. I've had some of those low class people deride me for being "only able to afford a C class" when I made comments about their E Class cars in this forum. Obviously they are more impressed with what they drive than needs be. I could buy any Mercedes built today with cash tomorrow but dress to suit my comfort, not style, and treat all people equally on personal matters.

 

I bought my last 3 MB with jeans and t-shirt on. No disrespect, no side glance from anyone. I think the second and third time was given, since I bought the first one from them and the sales people know me.

Can't say that about the Volvo dealership. I could not even have a single person willing to talk to me. Any yes, I had jeans and t-shirt on too.

 

i agree with you 100%. when im spending a few hundred grand on a car, i wear what i want, do what i want (i even thrash the **** out of the cars).

they dealers always service me, maybe its my cofident ambiance

 

I didn't read all the replies so forgive me if this is a repeat of what someone else has said.

First, I believe, one should always strive to make a good first impression. Before someone knows how much money you have, your job, or your background, they are judging you entirely on your appearance. Depending on the situation, it may not matter. However, when doing something like purchasing a car, I believe it does matter and here is why:

When working with a salesman/woman, you want them help you in any way he/she can.

Sales people will size you up when they first meet you. They will be less willing to spend their time with you if they think you are wasting it.

Since its normally in your best interest to have a sales person who wants to help you in any/every way possible, making a good first impression is important.

Now this doesn't mean you have to get all "dressed up" to buy a car, but I think it's worth it to at least present a certain image. I'm sure you would get different reactions if you were dressed in a nice pair of khakis and a nice polo vs. a Reebok nylon sweat suit with the waist line below your a$$. Does this mean that someone dressed in a sweat suit does not have money? Nope. Perception and reality differ all the time. But odds are, perception will be accurate more times then its not. This is why a sales person would discriminate in this way. I know I would.

 

There has been a lot of good advice here - the bottom line is you want to make the impression that you are serious about buying the car, and can afford it. That is best done, as has been suggested above, by arming oneself up with some study on what you want. Ask for a test drive.

I have bought Mercedes in two cities with major league sports teams (football and baseball). OK, you may not think they're major league, but at least they're members of those leagues. It is not unusual to see the players - with tons of $ - at the dealerships wearing jeans and T-shirts or worse. One guy I saw, a business owner who had just received his new Maybach, was country-club casual (slacks and a decent T-shirt). The sales staff was very attentive, under each circumstance, and it wasn't based on their clothes. They knew these folks could and would pay the freight.

It's more what's in your head, and how you communicate it. Clothes might help a bit, but I think knowing what you want and letting the sales person know you are a serious buyer are the more important factors. I drove an S500 several years ago - dealer wanted a bit too much; having done my my homework, I stuck to my offer. Salesman blew me off. I don't tend to be someone who lets a jerk stand in the way of what I want - so I went back home, made a call to my bank and got my loan pre-approved in the amount I wanted to pay (plus a little headroom), and returned same day with the car I intended to trade (which had been appraised on the first visit), and my wife. Went to a different sales person, said I wanted to do business and asked him if anyone there wanted to. I refused being switched back to the first sales person. I got immediate and very serious attention. Got the car at my original offer.

Having the car I intended to trade, a pre-approved loan, and my wife present (she was happy over the car, and plainly not reticent) all communicated that this was a time to do business or lose me to a competitor. It should never be necessary to go that far - but my wife loved the new car, and we wanted to take it to the opera (no foolin') that night - a Saturday - then take a long trip to Florida on Monday morning. I didn't have time to fool around.

It wasn't the clothes. I wore jeans and a long-sleeved shirt. She wore slacks and a casual blouse. We had to hurry home after the trade to change for the opera.