The Car Salesman

[jbowman1993]

My wife and I went to several Toyota dealers, when we were car hunting. One of the main reasons I chose the one I did was the salemen. He was knowledgable, and had some solid insights into the vehicle that I hadn't heard before, and he seemed to be quite honest (as car salesman go). I remember asking him why I should by the car from him, expecting the usual bs about "service, etc..", but he told me it didn't matter if I bought it from him or not, but he recommended I buy from a larger Bangkok dealer chain, rather than an independent dealer, because they have more influence wiith the main office, when it comes to delivery dates and priority. That is just an example of the many quality answers he had for me.

The dealerships that turned me off immediately were the ones that had the airhead girl saleman (predominantly girls, there were a couple guys), who lacked almost total knowledge about the products they were selling. I knew much more about the Vigo, and its various options than most of them. Now, I made sure to do my research, but isn't that their job too? Too know more than me, about the cars and trucks they are selling?

Ill get off my soapbox. Have any of you had similar experiences?

Peace

Edited January 11, 2006 by jbowman1993

[terdsak_12]

It's normal practice to unleash sales people on products they nothing about here, silly really. They know the price and it's colour only!!!

[Thaiboxer]

Car salesmen in the US are called "sharks" and for good reason: they often literally close in on and circle the customers as soon as they enter the parking lot. Car dealerships (both new and used) in the States have a notorious reputation for screwing their customers left, right and center. There are all sorts of ingenious little ways for them to factor in all these BS fees when you buy a car. Luckily, several good websites will help you to distinguish a good deal from a total rip-off. A great film called "Suckers" gives a vivid description of US car salesmen.

I'm not surprised that you found the sales staff at the Bangkok dealerships to be useless when it came to answering technical questions. A lot of these dealerships hire pretty, young sales girls to dress up in sexy outfits and show off their cars but the girls usually don't know squat. It's always better to talk with folks who own or have owned the vehicles you're interested in. A good, honest mechanic can also give you some technical info on a particular model.

Edited January 11, 2006 by Thaiboxer

[Plus]

In Thailand the prices and options are the same from dealer to dealer so it doesn't really matter who sells the car to you. Thais like "pretty" so "pretty" they get.

[The Dan Sai Kid]

I ended up buying a Toyota, when I really wanted a Honda, thanks to the numpty girl in the Honda showroom. She quoted a price and when we sat down, we were suddenly paying for extras that she said were free.

She did us a favour though, it would have been a mistake to buy the Honda.