Ever have someone test drive your car and then seriously piss you off? Lowballers. Nickelshitters. Liars and scum aplenty who think they have the right to NASCAR your car? Phony little fruitcakes who drive to your place in a complete POS-mobile and then whine about a loose cupholder? Unfortunately, I’ve seen it all in the retail world and as an auto auctioneer… and I’ve created a few healthy coping mechanisms.
If someone lowballs by a country mile while I’m on or off the block, I try to offer quick answers. “What?” in Steve Austin speak tends to be the favorite answer for me and most auctioneers. Repeated as many times as possible until they ‘hopefully’ get the joke. Sometimes I get to say it about four to six times. When done right everyone’s laughing their vital organs off. While the fellow either gets increasingly irate or finally realizes the joke’s on them. Several times I’ve even seen a societal dumbass turn into three shades of purple while offering $1000 for a $3500 car at the auctions.
When they’re at least civil while lowballing me, I’ll always be nice. There are five responses you can have to any potential conflict. Reason, guilt, threat, avoidance, and confrontation. For my world reason rules, and by simply stating something in the lines of, “I can see that if the car had xxx miles and dents…” I try to keep a worthwhile conversation intact. Sometimes they come back later and buy it. Both in the retail world and in the auction barn. Sometimes… it’s oh bla di oh bla da. Life goes on. Ha!
I give ’em the “You can always finance the rest” line.
I can sympathize. I haven’t had any bad experiences selling cars…most offers I got were reasonable and the people explained why they though they should pay less.
However, I’ve sold things on eBay and have wanted on many occasions to tell people to f-off.
That’s one thing I try to avoid when I have bought cars…making an insulting offer. I guess some might argue ‘you might get a good deal and who cares if they get mad’, but my feeling is that it gets everything off on a really bad foot. Maybe it’s the Canadian in me coming out.
I admire your patience, Mr Lang. If worst comes to worst you could say ‘Well, that covers the wheels, tires and a tank of gas…now how much are you offering for the rest of the car?”
I always say in a happy voice “I like your optimism.” and I laugh and they do too.
Having never been to an auto auction, and not knowing the “rules” I’m guessing there are “minimum” bids, either expressed or understood? If so, what happens if the bids never rise to the intended threshold?
I understand feeling put out when selling a car directly and getting low-ball offers, especially after taking time to meet potential buyers who turn out to be a waste of time.
But in an auction setting, the market is right in front of you. If the only bidder wants to pay $1,000 for a car that you think is worth $3,500… that’s the market. If you have a reserve on the car, take the bid and see if anyone else thinks it’s worth what you want for it. If not, then no sale anyway.
There’s no point in getting insulted. By definition, auctions reduce everything to price… you are trying to get as much as you can for your item and buyers are trying to pay as little as possible.
It’s like dealers who put BS ads in the paper every weekend with huge price starbursts and impossible one-off prices then act surprised when consumers come in and try to low-ball them on cars. They have created an environment in which vehicle sales is antagonistic and reduced to a discussion about price and payments then act surprised when consumers act in direct reponse to this.
I just counter offer $50.00 higher that my posted price.
I just turn things around in a condescending way.
“Mr. Smith, I understand that you don’t do this everyday and have no real clue what you are talking about or means to put a value on a car. Thats why I’m here; to make it easy for you.
I’ve also ran people off. If they were being ignorant to a salesman and I had to come in and didn’t get anywhere sometimes I’ll be a jerk right back.
I am a little surprised at professional car dealers being insulted by an auction bid. I thought this was what an auction was all about – buyer tries to buy low and seller hopes to sell high, and everyone comes to some place reasonable.
Also, as much as I usually agree with Mr. Lang on things automotive, I find it hard to work up much sympathy for dealers at retail being insulted by a low initial offer. As badly mauled as many of us have been by car salesmen, it is hard to blame joe off the street for assuming that there is perhaps more margin in the transaction than may really be there.
It is one thing if you are CarMax or Saturn and sell for a posted no-haggle price. But you, sir, are in the haggle business. A litigation lawyer I once worked for once said “if you are not going to be embarrassed by your initial offer, why make it?” It has been my experience that many if not most dealers follow this approach, so they should not be insulted when the customer does the same.
It is all about the leverage. I have sat at a used car tent sale for 2 hours stuck on a number halfway between retail and wholesale on an unpopular model (I eventually went up $25 and bought the car), and have also paid sticker for a new car that is a hot commodity. It may be your car, but it is my money.
“Is your price firm?”
“No, I’ll take more!”
True ad for a Harley in the Denver Post said: “$15,000 firm or best offer”.
Twotone
I’ve sold a couple of vehicles at auction, one live, one on eBay, at what I thought were near-insultingly low prices. But I make a practice of not offering anything at auction unless I want it gone, so in both cases I grumbled a bit, took my money, and got on with my life.
Do any of you watch Real Estate Intervention?
Host – Sorry, but your house is only work 280k.
Guest – But, but I owe 490k on it.
Host – It’s only worth 280k.
Guest – But I paid 520k.
Host – What you paid doesn’t really matter – what matters is what someone is willing to pay for it.
My father, of blessed memory, used to say that it never hurts to ask, the worst that will happen is that someone will say, “no”.
Steven, do you ever go to the auction house in Milton, Ontario?
Yes lowballers are annoying, but on the flip side have you ever gone along to look at a car only for some smug munchkin to tell you “It’s definitely worth $xxxx more than market value because we’ve loved it so much.” Some people believe that because their car was an extension of their family a buyer will want to pay more for it… Absolutely nuts.
I’ve even been onto a used car lot to look at the crusty trade in’s crammed in a corner ready for the auction house, when a trader came up to me and tried to convince me that these cars were definitely worth the stupid price he was asking. I mean I may not be pretty, but do I have ‘Dumbass’ stamped on my forehead? (Don’t Answer that).
stevelovescars, jpcavanaugh and jmo are all 100% correct. There is no place in business for petty, childish feelings. The only time I would be insulted by someone in a business negotiation would be if he was cursing or behaving in a threatening manner. What you paid for something, or what you think something is worth, may not be how the market values the same item on any given day. If I feel that the price is wrong — either as a buy or seller — I’ll walk, but I wont have a hissy-fit. I sold quite a bit on eBay. A few items never met the minimum, but some other items brought in more, sometimes a lot more. It all depends on the market that day….or hour. Mr Lang, if you can’t control your emotions — and a real man is always in control of his emotions, think Steve McQueen — you really need to find another business.
Nobody, I repeat nobody, can lowball like a dealer offered a trade-in. Car lots are where you can find $4995 price tags on cars dealers paid $800 for.
I’d be annoyed when I’d be selling something on eBay and I’d get asked if I could ship via media mail instead of Priority (and get negative feedback when it doesn’t show up for 3 weeks) because $2 is too precious. Or when they’d ask if I could sell it to them for a lowball lump sum shipped, without bidding.
I think shutting them down with the cold, unwavering, concise business-speak is so much more therapeutic than ranting at them could possibly be. And it so happens that people absolutely love getting their stuff in 2 days flat.
There is a big difference between the person who flashes the piece sign and mouths two for a $6000 car at the auctions vs. someone who does it six inches from the block repeatedly while yelling.
Likewise, there’s also a huge difference between someone who offers a low ball price out of ignorance and acts decent, and someone who’s acting like a complete dick.
50merc, I agree with you. Many dealerships make far more money on trade-in’s. In fact there are many that make more money on the under $3500 car than they do on the $10,000+ car. Knowing how to repair the issues and getting it done for a fraction of the cost helps quite a bit.
I’ve never been to Ontario.
This has to be the quote of the week…
“There is no place in business for petty, childish feelings.”
Only on the Planet Vulcan…
saponetta : “I just turn things around in a condescending way……..I’ve also ran people off. If they were being ignorant to a salesman and I had to come in and didn’t get anywhere sometimes I’ll be a jerk right back.”
How about a simple answer of no. I guess simple decency is too much to ask from a car salesman
Liars and scum aplenty who think they have the right to NASCAR your car?
How else do you find out what the limits of car are unless you test it? Better to find out in the test drive… and not the few seconds before an accident.
JMO: [Re; Real Estate Intervention] I looked it up and added it to my Season’s Pass on Tivo. Thanks.
Sorry,but I despise the entire process. If the price is clearly marked and seems fair and I want the thing, I’ll go with that, either at a car lot or a flea market.Just bottom line the damn thing and cut out all the voodoo.
What I hate is the low ball trade: I was offered $500.00 for a 10 year old Olds Calais with 40,000 miles on it, on a used 95 Cavalier. The car had every drop of oil, gas and repairs documented from the time I bought it and it was immaculate. It wasn’t sentiment that took umbrage at that offer.This car really was a cream puff.I just really liked the styling and everything else about the Cavalier and wanted one.
I said no.These Calais at the time were selling on other lots with twice the mileage for nearly 3-4995
They came back with an offer of $1500.00. That sounded more reasonable. Until I got to signing the papers and discovered they had added $1000.00 to the price of the car to “give me what I wanted” for mine. And stuck a $300.00 alarm system into the deal. For $300.00. Which I had told them I didn’t want. I ripped that contract up and demanded my keys back. This “salesman” should have been selling financing on skid row rather than at a major new car dealership.
Low ball all around. The Cavalier was a come on with a low price at the big Chevy dealer on LaBrea in L.A.It was only a year old and going for something like $6995.00 with 24,000 miles on it.
Eventually I did buy a new car. A Cavalier. But not from that bunch of crooks. Priced as marked using all incentives, nothing hidden.
The Ford dealer did the whole 4 Square dance and “what can we do to get you into that new Focus today?” number when I went to trade with them. I walked and haven’t been back. And may not go into the car market for another 10 or 15 years.
There is plenty of obnoxious behavior on both sides of the transaction.
If I hear “But the blue book is….” or ” On ebay they go for ….” I tell them to go on ebay and buy it or ask Kelly to sell them a car.
A simple no is an answer. If they are Kyl Busch behind the wheel they will find it much harder to negotiate me down in price.