Car Salesmen Don’t Look or Talk Like Car Salesmen Anymore

 - by Earl Stewart 

Many of my readers know that I send mystery shoppers weekly to car dealerships around South Florida so that I can learn how they are selling, leasing and servicing cars. I do this for two reasons. The first is that this is a common practice for all businesses to learn how their competition operates and to have the competitive edge you really need to know how your competitors do business. The second reason is that I feature a mystery shopping report on my weekly radio show, Earl Stewart on Cars that airs between 9 and 10 every Saturday morning. I've done hundreds of these mystery shops and I've noticed an interesting trend over the years.

Back in the day, car salesmen looked and sounded like what many people consider the stereotype for a car salesman. You know what I mean, gold chains, diamond pinkie ring, sunglasses, loud shirt, and white shoes. As car buyers became more educated, sophisticated, and demanding, it didn't take car dealers long to realize that they had to dress their car salesmen in a nicer fashion, “lipstick on a pig”, But even though they looked nicer, they sounded and acted pretty much the same.

With the advent of the Internet, Google, today’s consumer has made a quantum leap in knowledge, education and sophistication. Today’s buyer of virtually everything is far more demanding and far less tolerant of deceptive advertising and sales tactics.

The most recent shift I've seen in car dealers’ efforts to make their salesmen seem less threatening is in who they hire and how they train their salesmen to behave. More and more car dealers are hiring younger sales people, and fewer older, experienced salesmen. These dealers want their sales people to treat their customers with courtesy and respect and gain their confidence. We've all heard the terms con man and con-artist. We also know the verb, “to con”. To con somebody means to steal from them as in Bernie Madoff. Did you know that “con” is short for confidence? A successful con man is good at gaining the confidence of his victim. The con man’s appearance and how he sounds play a critical role in this. I often hear people who were taken advantage of and stolen from say, “He looked and sounded like such a nice person”. Think about that for a minute. How successful could a crook be who looked and sounded like one?

The important thing to remember is that it’s usually not the car salesman who is responsible for the deception. Certainly, he cannot be held accountable for the deceptive and often illegal advertising. In fact, many car sales people hate the advertising that brings prospective customers into the car dealership by false and misleading promises. Especially in today’s economy, many people work in car dealerships because they can’t find a job anywhere else. Imagine how embarrassing it must be to a salesman, new to the car business, when he must try to explain away a bait and switch advertisement. How can you tell a prospective customer that the “sale car” on the showroom floor costs several thousands of dollars more than the one advertised on TV? In my mystery shops, it’s becoming more and more common for the salesman to “nicely” tell my shopper when she asks to see the advertised car that they can’t really buy the car for that price and to apologize for the deceptive ad! These sales people will say right up front that the ad is just to get you to come in so that they can try to sell you a car at higher price.

Also, the salesman is often an innocent victim when it comes to the deceptive sales practices. Many car dealers use attractive, friendly sounding sales people to lure the fly into the web. It’s been proven in studies that customers put more stock in the individual they deal with at a store than the store itself. If that salesman can capture your trust and especially if he can make you like him, the car dealership is 90% closer to closing the sale.

Today’s sales people are more “greeters” than sales people. Many car sales people today are not privy to the cost or even the selling price of the cars they “sell”. The true cost of the car is known only by the sales managers who are also known as closers and team leaders. These managers are also the only ones authorized to quote a price. They also appraise your trade-in. The interest rates you pay and the warranties, maintenance plans, GAP insurance, etc. that you buy are all handled by mangers.

The bottom line is that it’s not the rude, aggressive car salesman you need to be afraid of. There are very few of those around anymore. The car dealers have wised up and you will be dealing with young, attractive, non-threatening, and polite sales people today. In many cases, they know very little about the unfair and deceptive sales and advertising. What little they do know makes them feel bad, but they need the job and want to put food on the table for their family. As much as you like this salesman or saleswoman, don’t give him or her your trust when it comes getting a fair price, trade-in allowance, lease payment, or interest rate. That nice, smiling sales person is the dealer’s pawn and is “just following orders”. Verify all the numbers your new friend gives you by competitively shopping and comparing at least two other car dealers.

The Lemon Law: Your Nuclear Option

By Earl Stewart
Lemon laws are state laws which give rights to purchasers of new vehicles if they find that they have bought a car with a defect that cannot be fixed in a timely fashion by the dealer or the manufacturer. Every states lemon law is somewhat different, but they all have a lot in common and are aimed at the same result. Most car buyers have misconceptions of the lemon law. These are some the most common ones: The car owners think they are going against their car dealer when they are really going against their car’s manufacturer. If you prevail it costs the car dealer nothing. The manufacturer pays. The law applies only to cars purchased as new, not used. If you win a lemon law dispute, the manufacturer or dealer does not simply replace your car with a brand new on. The amount of credit you win toward a replacement vehicle is arrived at by deducting a charge for the usage of your lemon car based on time and mileage.

The complete lemon law process is a difficult and time-consuming task for all concerned… you, the car dealer, and the manufacturer. It’s difficult for you because the law requires specific and extensive documentation. You must have allowed your dealer to try to fix the problem at least three times and you must have detailed written documentation of this. You must be sure that your complaint is clearly spelled out by the dealer on your repair order and that his failure to fix it is also a matter of written record. After three times, you must notify the manufacturer by certified letter that you are invoking the lemon law. Now the manufacturer has one last chance to fix your car. At this time, the manufacturer may take your car to another dealer who he feels is more competent in repairing your car. If the fourth attempt to fix your car fails, your case is assigned to a board of arbitrators. Their ruling is final. This entire process usually takes a very long time. Several months is not uncommon. Meanwhile, you’re saddled with a car that has a problem nobody can fix.

When you formally invoke the lemon law with your certified letter, you sever all communications with the manufacturer other than formal, legal communications as dictated by the law. The manufacturer considers you a legal adversary and their attorneys consider anything they say to you as something that can be used against them in the arbitration. At this point they are legally barred from fixing your car or talking to you about fixing your car.

All the above is why I advise that you use the lemon law only as a last resort…the nuclear option. Put emotion aside and focus on what your purpose should be, which is to have a car that you can drive without the problem that has been driving your crazy since you bought it. Your priority should not be to punish the dealer because, as I already said, he suffers nothing from your winning a lemon law decision. You are punishing the manufacturer to some extent, but this is “business as usual” to all manufacturers who fight (and usually win) thousands of lemon laws annually. What I’m suggesting is that you might want to consider giving the dealer and manufacturer a little more time to fix your car after the first three attempts. If they look like they are sincere and trying hard, it could save you a lot of time driving your broken car (not to mention the mental anguish) compared to waiting months for the lemon law process to work itself out.

I’m not saying that you shouldn’t tell the dealer and manufacturer that you will invoke the lemon law if you have no other choice. You should do that. You should let both the dealer and the manufacturer know in no uncertain terms that you have meticulous documentation of their failed efforts to fix your car, you have familiarized yourself completely with the specifics of your state’s lemon law, and you will not hesitate to invoke it if you are left no other choice. This will instill a sense of urgency to fix your car ASAP if it’s within their abilities. The reason is the dealer and the manufacturer want to keep you as a customer. In fact, the dealer may stretch to give you a better deal on a new car to replace yours than you would ever otherwise have gotten. He can’t do that once the lemon law has been invoked because he would be trading in a “lemon”. A “legal lemon” has the same stigma as a flood car or totaled car that has been rebuilt. The manufacturer not only wants to keep you as a customer but wants to avoid the cost of arbitration (the manufacturer is responsible for all the costs… the cost of disposing of a lemon, and the cost of the damage to their reputation by chalking up another lemon laws loss in the record books. For more information about the lemon law, Florida residents can call the lemon law hotline, 800 321-5366 or you can click this link: http://www.myfloridalegal.com/lemonlaw.

FLORIDA CAR BUYERS BEWARE

By Earl Stewart

This front-page headline appeared in last week in USA Today. I’ll summarize the story for you: Car dealers and their associations are lobbying legislation into state laws to preserve their legal right to sell you a used car with a dangerous recall, like a defective Takata airbag. The law they’re advocating “sounds” like a good law until you think about it. The law is to require car dealers to “disclose” to the buyer that the car they’re buying has a dangerous recall. The word “disclose” when applied to car dealers becomes an oxymoron. Car dealers bury their “disclosures” in ultra-fine print, flashed on the TV screen, webpage, or PC monitor in a fraction of the time you can read it…that is, if you could even see it. Car dealers believe that, but getting these laws passed, they’ll dissuade federal and

state government from doing what they should have done years ago…MAKE IT ILLEGAL TO SELL A VEHICLE WITH A DANGEROUS SAFETY RECALL. By the way, there’s still no law in Florida requiring car dealers to disclose dangerous recalls.

Can anyone explain to me why it’s legal to sell you a vehicle with a dangerous recall? In fact, it’s even legal to sell you a vehicle with a dangerous recall that CANNOT BE REPAIRED. Thousands of used vehicles are sold every day with defective Takata airbags that cannot be fixed because the parts to fix them are unavailable.

I’ll answer my own question of why this is legal. Auto manufacturers and car dealers are afraid of the huge economic impact upon them if such a law were passed. The Florida Auto Dealers Association, FADA (and all other state dealers’ associations) the National Auto Dealers Association NADA, and Big Auto (VW, Toyota, GM, Ford, Honda, etc), combined, have ENORMOUS POLITICAL CLOUT. The auto manufacturer-auto dealer syndicate makes the NRA look “politically weak by comparison”.

So, what are Florida used car buyers to do? Contact Governor Ron DeSantis, Attorney General Ashley Moody, and your state senators and representatives. I tried for two years with Rick Scott and Pam Bondi to no avail. The more likely successful course of action is to check every used car you buy at www.SaferCar.gov, the website for the National Highway Traffic Safety Association. DO NOT BUY A USED CAR UNTIL YOU CHECK YOUR VIN AND VERIFIED IT HAS NO OUTSTANDING SAFETY RECALLS.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Florida Attorney General’s Seniors vs Crime presents free program April 25 on How Not to Get Ripped Off when Buying, Leasing or Maintaining a Vehicle

Earl and Nancy Stewart to be Featured Speakers

Thanks to our new Florida Attorney General, Ashley Moody and her Seniors vs. Crime members, Tony Zappone, Sheila Butler and Frank Starnella for inviting Nancy Stewart and me to speak to the seniors of South Florida this April 25th.

Attorney General Ashley Moody has clearly prioritized doing more to protect Florida’s large and growing elderly population from fraud and abuse. She recently announced the formation of Florida’s Senior Protection Team that will work closely with Seniors vs. Crime and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

The details of our public seminar on how to avoid being taken advantage of when buying, leasing, maintaining or repairing a vehicle are shown below. If you are a senior, or know seniors that can benefit from our seminar, please book this time and location in your calendar or ask them to: April 25, Thursday, 2 PM at 900 Brandywine Road is located just west of the I-95, Exit # 53, Palm Beach Lakes Blvd. interchange, located on the United Methodist Church campus. Google Maps link is https://goo.gl/maps/7qSXbXU4yV72.

PRESS RELEASE:
Seniors vs Crime, a special project of the Florida Attorney General’s Office, is presenting a free public seminar to educate senior citizens on how they can prevent being victimized when buying, leasing or maintaining their vehicle. The program will be on Thursday, April 25 at 2 p.m. at 900 Brandywine Road in West Palm Beach, at the Gathering Place on the United Methodist Church of the Palm Beaches Campus. Earl and Nancy Stewart will be the featured speakers. The first 500 attendees will receive a free copy of Earl Stewart’s book “Confessions of a Recovering Car Dealer.” He is the owner of Earl Stewart Toyota in North Palm Beach. Light refreshments will be served following the program.

Topics to be covered include how to avoid tricks and scams when buying or leasing a vehicle, how to determine if buying or leasing is the best option, what to look for in a qualified mechanic or body shop, what vehicle safety options are helpful for senior drivers, how to get the most money for a trade in, are extended warranties a smart buy, how to shop for the best financing, and more. Attendees can submit questions ahead of time to earl@EarlOnCars.com with Seniors vs Crime in the subject line or text questions to 772-497-6530.

Reserve a seat by calling 561-844-3461 

or by emailing sandrav@estoyota.com

Reservations are encouraged but not required. 

“We’re pleased to offer local seniors the opportunity to learn how to avoid being ripped off when buying or maintaining their vehicle,” said Tony Zappone, a member of the Palm Beach County Seniors vs Crime organization. “Crime prevention is our key mission, and to help seniors avoid these costly mistakes is important because investing in a vehicle and maintaining it are among the biggest expenses of our age group, and an area where many are most at risk.”

“Being a senior myself, and in the car business for more than 50 years, I have too often seen older people taken advantage of and it is very upsetting,” Earl Stewart said. “Cheating anyone is wrong, but taking advantage of someone on a fixed or limited income is especially bad. We are happy to be able to pull the veil back and reveal some of the ‘tricks of the trade’ to educate people so they can avoid becoming victims.” Nancy Stewart will address some of the issues that older women face when buying or maintaining their vehicles. “Knowledge is power and we want them to go into the process of buying or maintaining their vehicle with as much information as possible,” she said.

The program site at 900 Brandywine Road is located just west of the I-95 – Palm Beach Lakes Blvd. interchange. Google Maps link is https://goo.gl/maps/7qSXbXU4yV72. Plenty of free parking is available immediately adjacent to the meeting site and the building is fully accessible.

The Seniors Vs Crime Project is sponsored by the Attorney General to reinforce the message of crime prevention and to provide methods by which Florida’s senior population can be alerted to consumer fraud, con games, and other criminal acts. The purpose of the Seniors Vs Crime Project is twofold: to offer crime prevention seminars to Florida's elderly and to provide comprehensive training for law enforcement officers and other criminal justice practitioners in understanding how the aging population impacts upon the role of police and other criminal justice professionals.

The program has more than 2,000 volunteers staffing 44 local offices throughout Florida. For more information about Seniors vs Crime visit www.seniorsvscrime.com or call 1-800-203-3099.

-->

A “TOOL” FOR AN HONEST PRICE FROM A CAR DEALER, AT LAST!

The form above was created based on a discussion with Nancy Stewart, my co-host on our radio show, “Earl Stewart on Cars”, last Saturday.

The next time you purchase a vehicle, insist that the price quoted to you by the salesman be certified by the signature of a manager of the dealership; or, if you are responding to advertisement, be sure that the advertised price is so certified.

Most of the skullduggery by car dealers comes from two sources, hidden fees added after the price is advertised or quoted and dealer installed accessories that are pre-installed on the vehicles, but not included in the advertised or quoted prices.

You can even use this form when you shop by phone or online. Fax or scan and email the form to the car salesman and insist that he sign it and fax or email it back.

This form will be available for download at EarlOnCars.com or you can just click this link here: Download "Out-the-Door" Price Form

You may even be thinking, what if the car salesman refused to sign this document? My answer is simple…LEAVE!