Who would have thought that a 1992 Pontiac Transport still looks unique and futuristic in 2018?
Posted on 10/23/2018 4:25:54 AM PDT by Kaslin
After being asked 4 times if I need help I have no control over myself
An article with accurate observations. The youngster who works around here sometimes merely shows up. He exhibits little in the way of passion or enthusiasm. He has to not only be told what to do you eventually have to demonstrate it and he does exactly what he is told or shown without any logic or consideration for changed conditions. He is just a machine most of the time. If you wind him up and point him in a direction to march he will march right off a cliff.
The only slight passion I can detect in him is for fly fishing which isn’t all bad but it too is pretty much a lukewarm matter. With all the information available these days I would be a walking encyclopedia on fly fishing and fly tying. He is anything but though he does catch fish.
As the article suggests, the only thing many of these kids think they have to do is show up.
A lot of that can be blamed on gubbermint CAFE standards, and to a lesser extent, a genuine consumer demand for fuel economy. The wind tunnel at GM performs just like the wind tunnels at BMW, Ford, Toyota, etc. Jeep responded by tilting their once upright windshield back a few degrees lol.
“I decided exactly what make and model I wanted ahead of time so all that was left was the color and price.”
Using the Internet... Yes, and more.
I decided what make and model of new car to buy. What options and color to buy. Which dealership to buy it at, because on their website I could view their entire inventory (including pricing) including cars on their way to the dealership. I researched the value of my trade in.
I walked into the dealership knowing which vehicles (including their stock numbers) to look at, how much to pay, and how much to get for my trade.
Once I made my choice, I only needed the salesman to fill out the paperwork.
My comment was a comparison of knowing about something useful (a car, transportation) against something that isn't useful (games).
YMMV...
You need some product knowledge in the repair side of the business. My long time auto dealer was sold to a big regional dealer. About 6 months later, I didn't recognize anybody. The experienced people took off after receiving sizable pay cuts. I took my car in for an oil change and the tech rep said I needed major clutch work. I told him there was nothing wrong with the clutch and have driven ~20K miles since then.
"...do not pursue..."
They don’t know the answers-—they just use their phone to look it up.
Had a similar conversation at senior center lunch yesterday.
A lady who takes home ‘left overs’-—(not allowed)— and who has had pretty tough financial issues the past 6 years I have known her was talking about “getting the new something or another phone”.
She will spend well over the amount of a house payment (in this area) for a phone to replace the one she bought less than 7 months ago, and she needs a new shower stall at home.
I discussed with them the fact that the worst thing I see wrong with the phones is that seniors I know are ‘abdicating their memory’ to the phone. They can no longer remember phone numbers that they had in their heads for years. It is truly wrong. As seniors, we have enough memory problems lurking.
I also have encountered those ‘fresh as a daisy’ auto salesmen, but mostly because I have gone to the local Chevy dealership looking for a part for my truck. They are at the side of my car——out in the lot—before I can get out & organized to go ask the PARTS department the question I have.
They certainly are disappointed when I tell them I won’t even LOOK at a truck that costs over 3 times more than my first house cost me, and is far too expensive to repair.
The parts department does it’s best, but the “NEW METHODS’ at dealerships are that everything is in the computers —— they no longer use the parts books that hold the real information. Hence, my 43 year old truck gets more parts now from Summit Racing Parts than from the dealership that originally was connected to the truck. BTW- Summit sales persons—usually on the phone—have NEVER failed me. I have had them on the phone for over 19 minutes trying to find a lower radiator hose for my 40 year old Buick & they found it. After all of that-—the hose cost me $12.96 & they would ship it to their store in Reno, and my neighbor would pick it up for me. Cannot beat that. AND- there is absolutely NO exasperation in their voice when I say “1976 Chevy 1 ton or 1979 Buick station wagon.
Really glad that I am not looking for another vehicle, but then, I would probably start with Hemmings Motor News. NOT a dealership.
I would bet you a $5 bill that IF you had handed him a piece of paper & pen & asked him to list all the ‘socially conscious’ items that he was talking about, he couldn’t list more than 3.
They throw words around that they hear, but have NO idea of the meaning.
As an employer, give yourself a big pat on the back. You got rid of a loser & don’t have to fill out the paperwork for his unemployment.
As my brother used to tell prospective employees (who wanted a ‘job’ and a starting salary of over $100,000) who wanted to know what benefits my brother offered....he would answer “YOUR PAYCHECK WON’T BOUNCE”.
Great article. Will offer an opinion that it is probably typical in large markets, like Los Angeles. Smaller markets I would venture have more of your “typical” sales people who are more familar with the cars they’re selling.
I’ve bought a few cars over the past 3 years and found good and bad sales people. Mostly a quirky personality thing. All were very familar with the cars/trucks I was pursuing, well educated on their specs, capabilities, options, etc.
I’m a car enthusist. I have little patience for anyone at the dealerships that don’t know what they’re talking about. While I have had good luck with sales people, service advisors are a completely different experience. The younger set are clueless and only recite the service recommendations of the manufacturer. Very frustrating.
“BTW I have a 69 Volkswagen Beetle Convertible. Talk about FUN!”
Me too. ;-) Agree 100%.
it is aerodynamic
The cars are designed to have a low coefficient of drag to meet milage law requirements. Shape to permit laminar air flow with low drag results in cars being the same shape
The Volvo dealer (yes, Volvo...they look odd with a blue lives matter flag and NRA sticker) we bought from knew each model inside and out. Even the older ones and how they’ve evolved into todays models. Impressive.
Sounds like Home Depot.
After being asked 4 times if I need help I have no control over myself
- -
If you’re not in control of yourself, who is?
My GF wanted a particular new Honda earlier this summer and went to three dealerships in the area, none of which would come of the sticker price by an inch.
She called a small dealer 2 hour drive away and told them what she wanted and what she’d pay. They were happy to sell and even delivered the car to her house on a Saturday morning.
I totally agree. Almost all cars from the major manufacturers look the same with very few exceptions.
My wife wants to trade in her Honda Odyssey and get a Honda CRV. There are millions of those smaller SUV’s on the road. Every auto maker has one. They all look the same. It has become the replacement for 4 door sedan of the 1980’s and 1990’s. Even Jaguar has one now.
The problem with being a car salesman is that it is a lower end sales job with horrible hours(nights and weekends). When I bought my last 4WD Tacoma I met a much better than average salesman. He was a first generation Hispanic male. He was from one of the northern Mass border towns. He was married with children. He worked very long hours but he was making about 100K/year working for the Toyota dealer in Nashua, NH. He was such a good salesman I tried to hire him to work at my company. However, he was the exception. He was one of the top sales people at that dealership according to the sales manager. Selling cars(or anything else) is a hard job. Most people are not good at it. That is why they are constantly advertising my sales people.
That is why the really good sales people end up at the Porsche dealerships in big cities. IF you live in the country the best sales people end up at the Ford truck or Chevy Truck dealerships selling 70K diesel pick up trucks.
Even better salesmen end up selling heavy equipment. When I bought my first Stihl chainsaw for $350(1990) there was a guy next to me buying a Hyundai Excavator for $250K. He stated it was $70K cheaper than a Caterpillar Excavator at the time. It was his third time at the dealership before he bought it.
The same thing is applicable to people that sell big farm equipment. The person selling a $500K combine knows what they are taking about. Ditto for the people selling the $500K sailboats and motorboats.
Any shmuck can selling a Honda CRV.
It must be nice where you can take some mundane personal activity, and work it into your professional political writing career.
I had a really big deuce the other day that I want to discuss it with everyone, on how it pertains to the Democrat Party.
In a sort of unrelated noted, I recently had the best car buying experience of my life. I figured out what I wanted and then e-mailed five dealers in the area and asked for the best price on the car. They all responded, a couple offered sticker and I cut them out immediately. The rest were informed of the best offer I had received (not disclosing from who) and they were given a chance to beat it. Went through two rounds of this with some dealers tapping out along the way until a clear winner was established. I then called that dealer and said if he knocked off another $200 I’d buy it today. He did, which upset me because I figure there was room for more. But the price I got blew the doors off every other area dealer by about $2,000 and I only had to talk to a car dealer one time. Pretty good stuff.
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