Weirdest experience at a dealership so far. Went home vowing to never return, but also kind of feeling sorry for the salesperson. He was friendly and polite, but also lied a ton. Someone coach him to the good side, please.
I went to test drive a Rogue after work on a Wednesday with my partner. It was dead, with five or so salespeople hovering outside when we drove up as the only customer.
We were greeted promptly, by the 'new' (he said he'd been there a month) young-guy. He seemed awkward but friendly. Unfortunately he didn't know his stuff, but proceeded to make things up anyways.
I think if he was given better training and instruction he could be fine. Unfortunately lies from a car dealership pretty much guarantee I won't be doing business with them - even if they have the best deal in town.
The whole interaction was off-putting:
1) Asked 'what is your monthly budget' within first few minutes. Congrats if you can get that out via natural conversation (i.e. via an uniformed customer), but not something you ask. We already told him the year range we were looking at and the model. Don't make yourself unlikable so quickly. Talk about your deals or the total price of the car, or maybe smooth it up a bit and wait to ask that.
2) Lied about endless features of the vehicle, including: MSRP, mpg, trim features, safety features, etc. Note: I like to ask questions that I already know the answer to in order to gauge a) how much they know and b) how honest they are. If you don't know the answer all you have to say is 'I can't recall, let me grab those details for you before you go', and shut up. I understand there is a learning curve, but to be there a month and not know basic stats of your best-selling car is lazy. To make up stats because you don't know the answer is outrageous.
One exception is that he admitted during our test drive that he didn't know the ground clearance, but then strangely said that he didn't think anyone else at the dealership would know that either. Odd flex, but ok. That is a super common SUV and CUV question. Just another red flag.
3) At this point [before the test drive] we actually asked 'hey we understand you are new, but since we are on a bit of a time crunch do you think there is another salesperson who is perhaps more knowledgeable that we can talk to'. He refused to get anyone else.
4) Got the keys to test drive a Rogue, but turns out it was very low on fuel. No big deal. But instead of grabbing keys to another vehicle we were asked to go to the gas station with him. We asked 'is there no other vehicle here that we could test drive that already has fuel'? He lied and said no. So we went with him to a gas station, then did a very shortened test drive (our choice) ... because at this point we were ready to be done with that dealership.
Side note: We oddly test drove a newer car with plastic wrap still on the seats. Couldn't get a real feel for the drive or ride comfort. Would have been better to drive a lower trim model with no plastic wrap.
5) Upon return, he politely asked if we had anymore questions. We told him no additional questions, thanks for the help and test drive, shook his hand and said goodbye. He wanted to get the manager for some reason. We waved him off and told him thanks but no, and goodbye about three more times. We literally drove away while he was jogging inside. Read the room, buddy. Super awkward.
So... I debated about posting this because on one hand he comes across as a nice guy who could be fine at this with the proper training. My guess is he has been given the 'slimy' hard-sales training, but is just bad at it. Dude should study up and/or go work for the nearby Toyota or Honda dealerships where they appear to be more ethically minded in their sales tactics. Honesty and low-pressure sales would look better on you.
But on the other hand, he repeatedly lied to us, so we will definitely not be purchasing from them. Baffles me that on a day with zero sales (he accidentally let that slip), they would send their least experienced guy to us. read more