To expect care salesmen to be interested when you want to buy a car?

[higgle]

Well, in fairness, mainly the Audi ones. Last weekend DH decided to have a look around all the contenders with a view to changing our main car. This meant a trip to the Ford, Honda and Audi dealers locally. Ford dealer had lovely sales man who I wanted to adopt. Honda Salesman was competent and friendly. Off to the local Audi garage where we parked lovely not very old car outside and sat in, looked at and tried to find brochures for a new Audi. 4 salesmen sat around doing absoloutely nothing for the duration of our visit and not one said hello or tried to assist us.

I'd worn my special car viewing outfit too!

DH decided to go alone to another Audi dealer yesterday, 15 miles away, where for a second time he was totally ignored by all the showrom staff. We have decided not to buy an Audi as they seem to be telling us we are not Audi people. AIBU to have expected some attention?

[Shesparkles]

Patpig please tell me what you drive so I can make the same sweeping generalisation :)

[Pendeen]

SconeInSixtySeconds

It's very nice indeed, looks gorgeous in red, drives like a dream (great fun on the open roads here) and has so far been very reliable :)

[HelgatheHairy]

DH and I went to pick up our new car last night and the salesman was STILL brilliant (Nissan). Even so far as taking us into the service/parts section and introducing us to the service manager! And mentioning if we were ever around doing our shopping (dealership is in a shopping centre) drop the car in and they would give it a wash and Hoover!

(He also spend lots of time going through all buttons and switches and things but it was the little details that really impressed us)

Could not have been more impressed!

[Kendodd]

I remember about ten years ago wanting to buy a new car, small economy model, but brand new. I can't remember which dealer it was, I just remember one, who wouldn't tell me the price. We talked about a car I was looking at, I had been round other dealers and had a few cars in the running, he just kept on saying "when you've decided this is the car you want, well, we'll sit down, go though the options and make a deal on the price" I pointed out that the price was a major factor in my decision making, but he still wouldn't tell me how much the car was. At least he didn't ignore me I suppose.

Oh and I didn't buy the car, I didn't know how much it was!

[ComposHat]

My own prejudices were punctured too though - we went to BMW, salesman was a gelled-hair, sharp-suit type. I assumed he'd talk to DH - Wrong! Once he knew the car was for me, he ignored DH and focused on finding out what I wanted.

I thought that would be the first question a salesperson would want to ask 'who will be driving the car? - JUst one of you or both of you' so that they could pitch to that person.*

Seems short sighted as well as sexist.

*I don't know as all my cars have come from the 'cheap n' cheerful' section in the local paper, so I've never had to deal with salespeople.

[SconeInSixtySeconds]

I have been driving an Audi (the same one!) for 11 years. I am an atrocious cunt but not when driving.

[PatPig]

Audi drivers are cunts, so they probably thought you didn't like like a cunt, hence ignoring you.

[wonkylegs]

Audi are well known to have some dealerships where the service is woeful.
Our experience when buying our audi was so dire I wrote to head office to complain.
There reaction was also underwhelming.
We were considering Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Jaguar, Alfa Romeo and Porsche. Audi was the only one with an attitude problem.
I love the car it's fab but the dealership would stop me buying one ever again from them (indifference at 3 local dealerships, extreme rudeness, failed to look after my personal details, lying, unexplained lateness of delivery, mistakes at delivery and a failure to apologise for any of this)
In the end after head office interceded I did get a bouquet of flowers as an woefully lacking apology on fucking up the purchase of near £40k's worth of car!
I would have walked away but I'd driven the car and it was my favourite by a mile.
Thankfully we are in the process of moving and will be closer to the dealership where my FIL buys his Audis who seem to be more competent and pleasant to deal with, so we may get another one.

[Poledra]

The worst experience I've had with car dealers was in VW - went with DH and then-baby DD2. Salesman kept talking to DH. DH said 'I don't drive, my wife is the driver, she decides what car we're having.' Salesman still talking to DH. DH picks up DD2's carseat and wanders off - salesman finally talks to me. Then, as DH sees that I'm winding down, he comes back over - salesman immediately switches his attention to DH again! I didn't buy the car, but got a phonecall a few days later from the garage 'Hello MrsPol, has been asked to leave the company, we're just following up with all his customers to see if we can help them, as we think you might not have seen the best our cars have to offer.' No shit.

Mind you, they were too late, as I'd already bought another car in the meantime. My own prejudices were punctured too though - we went to BMW, salesman was a gelled-hair, sharp-suit type. I assumed he'd talk to DH - Wrong! Once he knew the car was for me, he ignored DH and focused on finding out what I wanted. Definitely a man who knew where his commission was coming from

[idococktailshedoesbeer]

If you really fancy an Audi I'd drop an email to their customer services dept at head office, I'm sure they'd be horrified to know how rude their franchises are.

I had bad service after I'd bought my Mini, months later I was sent a questionnaire asking for feedback. I sent it off and received a phone call from the branch shortly afterwards. Lots of apologies with a very indignant undertone. They said my negative ratings would have a big impact on their annual customer service standings nationally and their managers had gone mad about it. They were trying to make me feel bad but I was very fair in my feedback - the service was unacceptable and they didn't dispute anything I said happened.

[QuintessentialOHara]

We have bought two cars from Warwick Wright in Chiswick, Peugeot, that is.
We received excellent and friendly service on both occasions. The first car was brand spanking new, the 206, and I bet we were among the first in London to drive it, as it actually turned heads!

I remember picking up a dvd featuring the car from the showroom first, this was before you had videos online, to persuade to go and try it. We both loved it.

This was after a terrible experience at a Ford dealership in South London, where we nearly bought a brand new Ford Focus. The car salesman actually said he would not sell us the car because "the wife is not good enough behind the wheel, it would be irresponsible of him" WTF? I had been driving since I was 18, so for 7 years!!! Who in their right minds are turning away customers ready to buy a brand new car cash?
I will never. NEVER buy Ford. I felt so insulted.

[PigletJohn]

Audi "contact us"

[PigletJohn]

I think the URL for this thread ought to be sent to a few car dealers.

[FreshLeticia]

I'm an Audi driver too, but I got mine as an ex-fleet vehicle online. I have just today changed cars. Two weeks ago my DS21 and I went to look at 4x4s as I need one for work. We stopped at our local Audi Garage (not that any dealers are local to me as we live in the middle of nowhere). The salesman made us feel as if we weren't moneyed enough to buy an audi. He was suited, in his early 60s and kept trying to give me sweets. I am over 50 . It felt very wrong and anyway, the Audi Q5 I fancied had a ridiculous lip on the boot.
We then went to the landrover garage and the salesman was lovely. Gave impartial advice on several makes of 4x4 and what type I needed. Not once did he question why a woman wanted a utility vehicle. He delivered my new Freelander this evening, after having lent me his own car because I had uninsured my Audi and the Landy wasn't quite ready in time. I am 40 miles away.

[PigletJohn]

I hope you wrote a letter of complaint to the Franchise Manager explaining why s/he lost the sale.

If the boss knows he is losing money due to the idiots he employs, s/he should haul them over the coals.

A letter always has more effect than a phone call or an email, and is more likely to get a reply. Some businesses still keep a "complaints book."

[yesididthat]

Same sort of thing happened to me once, but it was a zafira we looked at. DH and I went to the garage and looked at it thought it was very nice and we wanted to buy it.

Man at the garage said that they took credit cards. We had to go home to consider the purchase as it was alot of money.

DH and I did take zafira for a test drive. We liked it. We didn't actually say this to the salesman but said we would be in touch.

So I arrived day later with baby (and seat) and credit card to pay but without DH.

Salesman could not even be bothered to let me drive it. It would have been my car and my credit card that paid for it but he was totally indifferent when I tried to ask about the car.

Yep he lost the sale!

[Shesparkles]

I've dealt with 3 Audi dealerships, 1 the salesman was an utter tosspot, the other 2 I had no issues with. Of the 2which were ok, both times the car was for me, and the,salesman had no issue in speaking and listening to me.
The VW dealership I've been dealin with on my day's behalf recently however has been a whole different story.
Customer service abominable, understanding the needs of the customer non existent (since when did a Touran remotely resemble a Golf?? Would love to know ow much of an incentive you're,on for the Touran). The tosser only just stopped short of calling me dear and patting my hand!

Can we please have less of the calling Audi drivers cunts?? I'm an Audi driver but I'm certainly not a cunt. :)

[Callmecordelia]

DH used to be in the motor trade, and was top salesman in the country for his brand one year (a luxury one).

He did it by never, ever ignoring anyone. He didn't judge by appearances, he took every phone call that his colleagues ignored because they were too 'busy', and qualified every sale so that people got what they wanted. Oh, and he is a maths genius, and could work out exactly how much discount he could offer and still make a profit on a deal in milliseconds.

Life was pretty good for those years - the rewards were great, and the commission schemes generous. I understand that it isn't quite like that now, and he got out a while back. Now earns half what he did in that super year.

And you know what? One of the things I really don't miss is people thinking everyone in the motor trade are dicks. They aren't - just most of them are .

[YellowTulips]

It is sexist no doubt - 2 experiences:

1. Picking up new car a few years ago. "Your DH is a lucky man having that to drive. Bet he's gutted he couldn't pick up himself!" - needless to say it was my car...
   

1. Getting MOT for said car above. Arranged to wait whilst it was being done (supposedly 1-1.5hrs). Dealership not busy. About an hour in noticed Service Guy wandering around muttering "were is he? Thought he was waiting". 30 mins later same guy come back to the waiting area and speaks to a colleague "must have buggered off. I could have taken my break early. Thought this was a wait job. Can you tell Mr Yellow when he bothers to show up I have gone for lunch and he can wait for me?". Yep, my car again. I piped up "I hope you checked the car better than you did the paperwork - you might have noticed that MRS Yellow who owns the car has been said here for you all the time".

[amigababy]

when we reserved a particular VW we wanted to test drive, we turned up on time, waited absolutely ages and were eventually told the boss 's wife had borrowed it to go somewhere that weekend and would we like to test a completely different model instead?

we also specified the things we were looking for, and for each thing the salesman told us why we were wrong and why we should look at what he said instead!

[Trigglesx]

I had this happen to me at a Toyota dealership in the states. When I went to a nearby Ford dealership and bought my brand new Ford, I sent a letter to the management of the Toyota dealership telling them thanks for having inattentive sales staff, as I love my brand new Ford.

[Fleecyslippers]

I had this at the Ford Dealership. Totally disinterested salesman, sneered slightly when I asked about fuel consumption, gap insurance etc. I suspect it was because I was a member of the fairer sex

So I went next door and bought a brand new VW

[PigletJohn]

sorry I might need mine