Chiggro

hello there, my dad is currently wanting to purchase a mercedes-benz later on in the year, but i'm just wondering what would you wear to go to a mercedes dealership? because my dad is not the kind of guy that dresses like a business man... would my dad get any service if he went dressing like he dresses everyday?? what what would be the situation??

davis449

From my experience in the dealers, wear a suit! No, I think your dad will be just fine. Now let's say it were you, and you are young, going in there (provided you were going to shop for a car) then I would definitely wear a suit and no less. I've gotten absolutely no respect at the Mercedes dealers I've been to. Most of them have to see my Mercedes to give me any. I don't dress Abercrombie either, usually jeans and a T-shirt, both with no holes and don't look like I stole them off a bum. Helll I've gone into them with my work slacks and button down on with my nice shoes and belt and everything and still gotten no respect. I hate Mercedes dealers for that.

mick1

haha. I wore a t-shirt and denim short and tennis shoes.

Chiggro

well i am young, im only 15... i'm just trying to get some advice if my dad goes to a dealership and check out a mercedes, but get no service...

what about to a car show?? like last year he wore some jeans and a big puffy jacket... he asked the mercedes guy how much the e350 starts at.. but it didnt seem like my dad could afford one.. LOOKS CAN BE DESEAVING!! am i not correct?

Chiggro

not hating on your c-class, but i would wear that too if i were buying a c-class, but my dad wants something in the up-range.. like the s-class.. he is wanting the s500, but i told him its s550 now and it has more power, and its cheaper than the previous s500

my dad is not the kind of guy that wears suits.. he has a suit, but it was for like a funeral, or a wedding.. to tell u the truth, he is a farmer.. and farmer's are dirty dressing... currently he is driving a 1998 dodge caravan, with almost 300,000km... u can see.. from a dodge caravan to a mercedes is a pretty big up..

AsianML

You're right about the S550 being more powerful.

Now, since he's looking for something like the S-Class, I'd say he could wear not a full suit, but just the button-up shirt (what's the technical term?), and the nice pants and a tie. He won't need a full suit, with the blazer or anything.




Man, after trying to type this post, I realized how long it's been since I had to use the technical terms for suits, and I'm in a wedding in a few months!

AsianML

Not to be rude or anything but... DAYUM!!!! A farmer with a minivan going on up to an S550!!

My dad has a 2003 Dodge Grand Caravan, my mom drives the ML.

I have a lot of respect for farmers.

hotel_calif

I can't see the need to dress specifically to go to a car dealer. If I'm the customer, I should be able to dress in whatever way is most comfortable for me. When I bought my last Mercedes, I wore my usual shirt and shorts, and they treated me just fine. If a dealer treats someone badly because they aren't wearing a suit and tie, then I say find another dealer!

Will

e1000

He should dress however he wants. If they don't give him the service, leave and go to another dealership.

AsianML

While that may be true, unfortunately there is rarely a dealer that won't judge you by the way you look.

When we were in Florida during Christmas break, we went to a Polo Ralph Lauren store, wearing normal clothes. The service we got was okay, they treated us like we couldn't afford any of the stuff, but we ended up buying like 4 bags worth of stuff. Same thing when we went in a Gucci and Coach store.

e1000

I hate stuff like that. I walked out of 2 dealerships while I was looking for my car. One because they suggested I buy a C230 and the other for not even looking for a C350 for me.

mick1

If i were going to the dealer to buy a S550, I would dress the same way. I don't believe in dressing up to impress the sales guy.

Just tell your dad to bring his checkbook because that's what the sales guy is interested in, if your dad intends to place an order on that day.

e1000

I'd roll up in there with overalls, a pitchfork, and some "fertilizer".

AsianML

I suggest your dad bring a huge wad of cash when he walks in, and count it right before he walks in. Make sure the salespeople see him, then put it away when he walks in.

But like I said before, you'll rarely see a dealer that won't judge you by the way you dress anymore, so he should try to dress "okay".

Put yourself in the salespersons shoes for a minute. A guy with baggy shorts, t-shirt, and sandals walks in your dealership, would you take him as seriously than if he wore some sort of suit, or something nicer?

Same thing when you are interviewing someone for a job, would you be more impressed with a casually dressed person, or someone wearing something nicer?

AsianML

Don't forget the lanterns and other screaming farmers running with you with more pitchforks and lanterns.

mick1

dressing for a job interview is different, AsianML. You would dress up because you want to impress the interviewer.

I have no intention of dressing up to impress the sales guy. Like what Hotel_Calif said, if the sales guy doesn't treat me well, there are many other Mercedes-Benz dealers I can take my business to.

AsianML

I don't know where you live, but here in W Michigan, there are very few MB dealers.

If the nearest dealer doesn't treat me well, then I'll have to go all the way out 50 miles for the next nearest dealer.

So having the nearest dealer treat me well, is pretty important.

mick1

I'm in northern California and there are three Mercedes-Benz dealers nearby.

ONE SICK SLR

I think it is funny because it happen to me this summer. I went to a dealer here in long island new york. My kids & I stoped in to see a SLR. I was wearing a tee shirt and shorts with flip flops my kids were dress the same way. We pulled up in my ford pick up. walked in the show room not one person would stop to talk to us. We were there for about 40 min's look at all the cars but most of the time we were looking at the SLR. So we left I started calling other dealers in new york to see who has the car I wanted. The next day we went to another dealer dressed the same way and bought the car I wanted. A few weeks later I am at a cruise night here on long island with my new SLR And one of the sales persons from the dealer ship that would not give me the time of the day stoped and starts to talk to me telling me I should of stoped in at the dealer ship were he works and he could sold me the same car. So by this time some people are starting to stop an look at my car. So I start to tell him that I was at the dealer ship were he works the they would not give my time of the day And I was in the dealer ship for 40 mins Because of the way I was dress. So I went to a dealer ship that did not care about the way people dress and bought the car. He ran away It was pretty funny.


Rick O S SLR

hotel_calif

And they should treat you well, whether you wear a suit & tie or shirt/shorts. I'm fortunate to have three MB dealerships in San Diego county, and all of them are very good. But if a dealership treated me badly (for any reason), I would let the manager and MBUSA know and then most likely buy a different make of car. A dealership that treats it's customers badly deserves to go out of business.

mleskovar

I don't know what's worse....having a retailer (of anything) treat you by personal traits like color, sex, dress, age, height, weight, or speech or being concerned about what a dealer thinks of your color, sex, dress, age, height, weight, or speech. A great man suggested we judge people by their character. If they don't like the color of your money then go elsewhere. You're not buying a car to make friends with a car dealership.

Chiggro

well thanks for all the advise

my dad is really wanting to buy a mercedes but doesn't know what class he wants.. either the e500 or s550. and yes from a dodge caravan to a mercedes is a big up; insurance money from our other home. my dad and i will probably go to the next international car show to check out some vehicles..

mick1: no need for a check book. my dad wants to use his credit card for the payments.. since he wants the points and such.. spending over a $100K CAD, that can get enough points for a few plane tickets back to china... 3-4 plane tickets...

Ferraristi23

I've gone to several high end dealerships to test drive cars in weekend clothes (t shirts and jeans) including the local Ferrari and Lamborghini dealerships. I have never had a problem. Jeez, I went on a 25 mile test drive in a 40th Anniversary Murcielago dressed in T shirts and jeans. I don't believe in dressing up to impress anyone - ESPECIALLY a car dealer. After all, I am giving them my hard earned money. No one has ever treated me poorly, I am glad to say.

Dress how you normally do. If they give you a hard time, say that you have no problem in taking the business elsewhere and go there. And call the manufacturer to tell them that you were treated poorly .

chitownC55

If it is busy in the dealership and the sales people have limited time you can be sure they will make a quick judgement call on how their time is best used, i.e. who looks like they can afford the car and isn't just killing time browsing cool new cars. Of course this is NOT a fair/neutral/PC way to do things but that is life.

You definitely do not need a suit but I think you will receive better service if you do not show up in old jeans,t-shirt..etc. The salesperson has no idea who you are and can only make a judgement call based on what he/she sees.

I am baffled why some people think this is such a big deal. I am sure people don't wear ripped shorts and flip flops to a nice restaurant,church,work meeting,a friends house for a nice dinner..etc..etc.

Everyone is free to wear what they want but shouldn't be surprised if they receive less than stellar serive if they show up looking like they just got off the beach.

mleskovar

Everything is relative...where I live everybody looks "like they just got off the beach" The "big deal" is there should be no bias/prejudice involved and one person's 'tacky' could be another person's 'comfortable'. I do agree with your 'quick judgement' statement though and it's unfortunate but true. Ever see how the richest man in the world, Bill Gates, dresses?