Oil Filters

[teaboyjim]

I used to maintain properties for a multimillionaire who looked like a homeless man.
Always unkempt, old clothes on, no fashion labels, driving an old fiat brava.
On one of our long conversations while I was fitting new doors in one of his properties he mentioned treating himself to a nice car and I offered my assistance for the weekend, knowing i would've got a posh meal in a nice upmarket restaurant (never knew how they could spot he was rich)
We went to bmw and we were treated like ****: the salesman was asking odd questions like "do you work?" Have you got a deposit? Etc. Basically he pushed us out.
We went to Audi.
Salesman was talking to me at all time despite me telling him that it wasn't me buying.
Anyhow, they let us test drive an A8 saloon, beast of a car.
The boss wanted me to try it and off we went.
He sat in the back.
TBH at one point i thought he was gonna buy it for me, so when he asked me if i liked it i went on and on about it.
After this 5 minutes private conversation we went in and bought the beast.
£55K on a bank card, all in one go.
The salesman was having an heart attack.
We went for lunch, came back a couple of hours later, car was ready, we left the fiat (i'm sure he shed a tear at this point) and off we went.
He didn't want to drive, my hope to have that car for myself grew more solid.
He directed me to the bmw dealer who kicked us out.
"Watch this" he said.
We parked at the front, went in to the salesman and he showed him the invoice with the card receipt stapled to it.
"Here boy, you lost a good sale today."
Manager heard and the receipt was shown to him.
I bet the salesman was unemployed next day.
We left with a massive smile.
One of the best days of my life.
Unfortunately the car wasn't for me, he kept it until his son crashed it.

Good story!

 

[johnny2007]

That is a really good story! The best part was going back to the arrogant BMW salesman who treated you both as if you weren't good enough or wealthy enough. It would have been a good lesson for him as well

I'm sure most of us here don't judge a book by the cover.
We've all met customers who look rich and are totally bankrupt as well as the opposite.

 

[teaboyjim]

I'm sure most of us here don't judge a book by the cover. We've all met customers who look rich and are totally bankrupt as well as the opposite.

Agreed!

 

[chainsaw_masochist]

Is it simply a case of the dealer and their salesforce perceiving an individual as ‘not wealthy enough’ or is it more likely that those who are substantially resourced are disinclined to submit to a PCP, HP or lease agreement to finance their new wheels? The whole car dealer network these days would appear to only serve the needs of those prepared to tether themselves to some scheme which requires monthly payments. The result being that the cash buyer, who might reasonably expect to do a deal, often gets the short end of the stick as 'funds up front' upsets the whole car finance process. Any views?

 

[johnny2007]

Is it simply a case of the dealer and their salesforce perceiving an individual as ‘not wealthy enough’ or is it more likely that those who are substantially resourced are disinclined to submit to a PCP, HP or lease agreement to finance their new wheels? The whole car dealer network these days would appear to only serve the needs of those prepared to tether themselves to some scheme which requires monthly payments. The result being that the cash buyer, who might reasonably expect to do a deal, often gets the short end of the stick as 'funds up front' upsets the whole car finance process. Any views?

Very true.
So the margin for the dealer on a cash sale is reduced, but surely there's still a margin, they don't lose money.
So why not sell the car to cash buyers?

 

[Keithmac]

I had similar with our Kuga (only £15k mind) first salesman wasn't too interested.

His face said it all when I came back a week later to collect it after doing a deal with his mate.

Can imagine £55k being all the more sweeter!.

A lad who comes into work just got left a £million estate by his uncle (they worked together for 30 years as builders). Said he had no idea, bloke didn't dress posh or drive a posh car.

Seems the other way now, poor pretending to have money!, I genuinely can't stand people who try that on.

 

[johnny2007]

Seems the other way now, poor pretending to have money!, I genuinely can't stand people who try that on.

Appearance seems to be fashionable nowadays.
Never mind people can't buy food, as long as they appear to be rich.
My wife regularly shows me her friends on Facebook pretending to be on holiday when in fact they're at home in their pj.
Even during the lockdown!!!
And these are grown up people...
FFS!

 

[teaboyjim]

Appearance seems to be fashionable nowadays. Never mind people can't buy food, as long as they appear to be rich.
My wife regularly shows me her friends on Facebook pretending to be on holiday when in fact they're at home in their pj. Even during the lockdown!!! And these are grown up people...
FFS!

I've heard that about Facebook and Instagram

 

[chainsaw_masochist]

So the margin for the dealer on a cash sale is reduced, but surely there's still a margin, they don't lose money.

No, they don’t lose money but, from the customer (with the wedge in his trousers) viewpoint, there would appear to be absolutely no saving in paying cash. It seems only one in ten car sales these days in the UK are paid this way so if you enter your local dealer you are likely to find the salesman to be an expert in ‘finance arrangement plans’ despite not knowing his sump plug from his spark plug. In the US the car industry has become so gripped by their dependency on these finance schemes that there are a slew of self-help tuition videos on YouTube to avoid the traps in place for the unwary buyer.

Presumably things are not quite this bad in the UK but this article explains why we should all be concerned as to how this credit dependency contributes to the escalating debt crisis. All rather worrying.

 

[johnny2007]

I've heard this said about Facebook and Instagram but I never knew how true it was. Are they actually telling proper porky pies and expecting people to believe them? That's a topic that some psychology student could study for their PhD

It is very true.
They post pictures of exotic places showing legs or feet in the sand, food, drinks and all of that with captions along the lines of: "beautiful day on the beach", "#chillax", "don't wanna go back home", "sorry you're stuck at home because of the rain" and "a balmy 37 Celsius here in Bali".
Then you see them down the shops in a trench coat covering their pyjamas.
Some of them go over the top by photoshopping themselves in a sunny place.
My wife constantly shows me this stuff.
Sad, really sad.

 

[johnny2007]

No, they don’t lose money but, from the customer (with the wedge in his trousers) viewpoint, there would appear to be absolutely no saving in paying cash. It seems only one in ten car sales these days in the UK are paid this way so if you enter your local dealer you are likely to find the salesman to be an expert in ‘finance arrangement plans’ despite not knowing his sump plug from his spark plug. In the US the car industry has become so gripped by their dependency on these finance schemes that there are a slew of self-help tuition videos on YouTube to avoid the traps in place for the unwary buyer.

Presumably things are not quite this bad in the UK but this article explains why we should all be concerned as to how this credit dependency contributes to the escalating debt crisis. All rather worrying.

It is now accepted that we must live beyond our means.
How else a teenager would afford a brand new car of any sort?
Finance the car, the insurance, even the road tax!
They give me the dirty look when I pay all in one go for anything.
I have tried to teach my kids to pay for what they can afford and use a line of credit only in emergency or to buy a house.
I have been partially successful, but the pushy salesmen are sometimes more convincing than me.
Sofas, TVs, double glazing anyone???

 

[ReganAndCarter]

I'm sure most of us here don't judge a book by the cover.
We've all met customers who look rich and are totally bankrupt as well as the opposite.

They used to say "if you have money, you don't have to dress."

 

[teaboyjim]

It is very true. They post pictures of exotic places showing legs or feet in the sand, food, drinks and all of that with captions along the lines of: "beautiful day on the beach", "#chillax", "don't wanna go back home", "sorry you're stuck at home because of the rain" and "a balmy 37 Celsius here in Bali".

Some people say that social media makes them depressed

 

[mointainwalker]

I'm sure most of us here don't judge a book by the cover.
We've all met customers who look rich and are totally bankrupt as well as the opposite.

The problem is, as a car-salesman you do have to discriminate. The boss isn't going to be very happy if there's another 800 miles on the BMW 7 series with 20 test-drives in a week and no sales. I have never been in that business but I'm sure there are plenty of people who just want a drive in any nice new car - especially a luxury or sports model - with no intention of buying: you have to weed out the time-wasters and what else do you have apart from how they arrived ( type of car ), how they dress and what interest they show in all aspects of the purchase ? Nowadays someone with a bag full of £ 20 notes is equally problematical as an indicator!

Undoubtedly experience will give you some good pointers and maybe some key-questions ( how would you be financing the car ? ) that let you" feel out" the situation, but, as always, there will be mistakes.

Maybe even the type of FB phonies you mention would want to do this kind of thing to show the kind of "upgrade " they are thinking of treating themselves to.

 

[teaboyjim]

It is now accepted that we must live beyond our means.How else a teenager would afford a brand new car of any sort?
Finance the car, the insurance, even the road tax!They give me the dirty look when I pay all in one go for anything.I have tried to teach my kids to pay for what they can afford and use a line of credit only in emergency or to buy a house.I have been partially successful, but the pushy salesmen are sometimes more convincing than me.Sofas, TVs, double glazing anyone???

I completely agree!