Sin City

I think car salesmen today (I'm not talking about Vette specialists -- just car salesman in general) know very little about the cars they sell. And that's because most people today either don't know themselves or don't care either.

So when you run into a showroom and Joe Shmoe finally shows up to talk to you, you know more than he does 90% of the time.

Car salesmen know A LOT about financing and incentives and tricks to get you to buy. But the technical things are way beyond them.

It's not just GM dealers. A couple of years ago I walked into a major LA BWM dealer looking to order a 2 Series Manual, which the BMW website said was available as an option. No dealer anywhere in the USA had one for sale. The first salesman I met in LA pulled out the "sales manager" (not sure if that's true or not but its what he said) and told me that yes, a car could be ordered but suggested not to do it. The reason was he could not guarantee the price when delivered, did not know how long it would take, and didn't know if it was ordered if the factory would even accept it.

Instead he suggested 4 cars on the lot that didn't have manuals that he could give me "at a great price" and "I should drive one with an automatic because I'll love it"

I said no thanks.

Sin City

Completely agree. And Mike really knows his stuff about the cars and customers.

RapidC84B

Other than folks who rise to "specialists" like Mike Furman, the turn over in the business is crazy. These are low level sales jobs for most and they know the bare minimum. The Mike Furmans of the world work via appointment only. They're not walking the lot to find you.

I sold cars for a year when I was in between jobs... worked at a Porsche/Audi/Jag store. I knew everything there was to know about every car they made... didn't help me sell any cars

Bigeasyvette

My experience with the dealerships is to realize going in that the sales people know very little about Corvettes compared to us, even if that is the so called " Corvette Specialist". In 2016 I wanted to sit in some competition seats B4 ordering a 2017 Z06 to see if I wanted them on my order. After a long search I found a dealer about an hour away that had one 2016 car with competition seats, so I headed off to check them out. Upon be greeted by a young salesman & him finding out what I was there for he immediately informed me that I would be handled by their "Corvette Specialist" so I thought this would be a good thing. Long story short, the car with the competition seats turned out to have a dead battery & the seats were all the way forward from a previous customer who was very short, so I could not fit into the seat. No issues replied the Corvette Specialist" we will just a porter to bring us a wheeled battery charger from the shop. After a few minutes they brought up the battery charger & the "Corvette Specialist" proceeded to pop the hood & start his search for the battery, I looked on & laughed for about 10 minutes b4
telling him the battery was in the rear to which he began to argue with me & tell me that was incorrect...……. never did get to sit in those seats until my 2017 Z06 arrived, and never have been back to a dealer since that day...…..but still managed to buy 2 more new Corvettes & I am also waiting to get a new C8 ordered.

I guess there may be some exceptions to this problem with dealerships, just not in my area of the country.

RMS73

From above: "the Maryland mandated $300 doc/prep fee." Maryland does not mandate the fee, it only allows the dealer to charge a maximum of $300.

Also Mike Furman will take care of you as a walk-in if he is not busy as he did me.

rudolph schenker

LuisZ51

I agree with this 100%. When you walk in that dealer it should be with all your research done and ready to buy. I bought my wife an SUV this weekend. I knew exactly the one she wanted where it was and how much I was willing to pay for it. I walked in and had a sales guy just like you are explaining come up to me. He was trying to talk me into something different. I immediately asked for the sales manager. He reluctantly went and got him. I told him which vehicle I wanted and made him an offer. He ran to the back then came back with $2,000 higher offer. I told him one more time what my offer was and told him it would be cash payment, yes or no? He put his hand out for me to shake. I was in and out in under an hour.

vettefordays

Make love to his wife before you go to the dealership and have the pictures handy.

ChiefBoats

Used to have the aggressive no nothing young ones just pounce on you as soon as you walk through the door, or trot up to you on the lot while browsing, standard answer to the "can I help you" question was, "not at this time, just browsing". Once I made up my mind what I wanted, I'd go to an older and experienced salesperson.

That was some years ago, now my last 5 or so new car purchases have been on-line and via emails.

WoozyWagtail

I've never negotiated at a dealership.

Like others here, I walk in knowing what I want and what I'm going to pay. I tell them which car I'm going to buy and how much I'll pay for it. If they counter with something different its as simple as "Well, this is what I'm going to pay. Otherwise I'm leaving".

Really not much to it. These are Corvettes. You really can leave and just go to 10 or 20 other dealerships and get the exact same thing in the same week if you want to. The dealership doesnt have a whole bunch of leverage since they arent really selling anything special. I've walked before, too. I remember going in to look at a $65k GTR and somehow the salesman deciding that I should pay $72k before dealer fees, title, reg, etc. The guy refused to come down so I just left. Overpaying for nonlimited cars is for suckers.

Bill Dearborn

When the 97s came out I was at a Corvette Club meeting when one of the other members said he had been at our local dealership and they supposedly had an allocation for 1 car for the year. The next morning I took time off from work and walked into the showroom as soon as they unlocked the doors. The guy who unlocked the door was a salesman and I said I wanted to order a new Corvette. He said just a moment I have to talk to the sales manager. When he came back he said we are getting just one and it is yours if you want it. I said how much and he said MSRP. I said lets do the deal. The first thing he said is I have some videos on the new car to show you while I do some research. The videos were about a half hour long and when they were done he had everything set up in his office. We went through all of the options and constraints. If the item wasn't something I really wanted and it was on constraint it didn't get added to the order. If it was something I wanted like the M6 and the Z51 it was added and he said I might not get the car right away due to that. When all was said and done I wrote a check for a $500 deposit got a copy of the signed order and left. He kept in touch with me and let me know the progress of the order. When the car was delivered he said he had some things for me and handed me a large package. It was all of the dealership's marketing info including the videos I watched. The whole shebang. He said they didn't need them as they weren't getting anymore Corvettes that year and the package should provide me with a great starting point for a documenting the car and its delivery. He also had all of the pictures from the day the car was dropped off by the truck and when it was brought into the service bay for new car prep.

Bill

235265283...

OP's Slick Rick example has low skills and will probably not last long in sales. Number one rule of sales: Probe before offering benefit statements. If Rick would do that, he would learn that most Corvette shoppers (like almost everyone who posted on this thread) know more about the car than any salesman could possibly know, and they are proud of what they know. Moreover, they often know exactly what they want. So a good sales strategy might be to subtly complement the prospect regarding their knowledge of Corvettes. This might lower barriers, make the prospect more friendly toward the salesman, and maybe even result in a sale.

Paradox: Skillful sales people usually can't teach sales. That's because they do these things instinctively, so they have a hard time breaking what they do into something teachable. People who study what good salesmen do make better sales teachers.

BTW, I'm not a salesman. I'm a mostly retired mechanical engineer.

LowRyter

I got a haircut yesterday and drove the C6. Kevin, my barber was talking about the new C8 and what I thought of it. Of course I love it. Kevin said he called the local Chevy dealer, which is probably one of the top volume dealers in the state, to ask about purchasing one. He said that they were asking $10k premium. I said that I would wait when the supply is up and the quality is improved.

bladex10

Like some others have said, Call and ask for a Corvette specialist or veteran salesman and set up an appointment. I've worked at a few dealerships and most of the veteran/top salesmen arent running around chasing everyone who steps foot on the lot. Those are the rookie/low level salesmen that come and go in a few weeks/months.

Factoid

If you can’t manage the salesman, there is a low probability you will be able to manage the C8 electronics.

Anyway, great advice above on navigating your way to a painless outcome.

rbeasley1

People skills and electronic skills are two different things, I am sure there are many socially awkward IT / computer nerds. Not saying the OP is socially awkward only your statement doesn't make much sense.

LowRyter

You know if they slow leak this thing long enough and the line to get one is too long and takes too much time, half their customers will die of old age waiting on this new car. The other half will be in rest homes and wheelchairs.

Bob Paris

Any decent salesperson will tell you that they are the Corvette specialist. People on this forum profess to know more than the salesperson all the time. Maybe so. Doesn't matter if you know more about the car or they do. The bottom line is to negotiate the best deal which I do in-person with the salesperson. Usually get handed-off to a sales manager who has authority to do the deal and we're done. I don't ask them any questions about the car or financing or service or their hours or what time it is or if they have free donuts in the customer lounge. It doesn't matter. Keep your eye on the ball, the deal being the ball...

air86

Just a little car dealership stuff. When you show up with no appt. or anything and the salesman that approaches you is doing it because they are "UP". They are usually new greenpea salesmen that just started out and have no client base built. They are being forced by sales managers that you're their customer and if you don't take him then you lose you up and have to get into the back of the line. Depending on day and time you may be their only customer of the day.

David Guardado

what?