Car dealers not responding.

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noproblem

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My brother drives a 14-2 Hyundai i40 station wagon (not the coupe) and made enquiries lately ( before Xmas) at 2 different Hyundai dealers with a mind to trade in for new car. One in Galway, one in Mayo and all details were taken by salesman on both occasions, he was told they would get back with cost of new model, etc, but no answer in either case. He would be a cash buyer, the trade in is in perfect condition, low mileage and all that but absolutely no call back or answer. He hasn't got back to them, but wonders is this the way things have gone?
 
Busiest time of year for dealers, most will just about get through the walk-ins and call backs will drop in the priority order.
 
With a trade-in he is not a cash buyer, another reason to drop down the priority list. Older cars can be harder to move on.
 
Ineptitude that is rampant in Ireland. In recent weeks I have had to chase a mechanic, auctioneer, solicitor and plumber trying to give each of them my money, for unrelated issues, but they appear to be indifferent. This has been my life long experience in this country.
 
i had similar experiences with car dealers- sign mini boom is back imho
 
noproblem said:
He hasn't got back to them, but wonders is this the way things have gone?
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No, 'twas ever thus. At least in my (limited) experience, this is absolutely typical behaviour in the car trade.

Interestingly, north of the border seems to be different: I bought my last car there, and the experience was a complete contrast: they actually seemed pleased to see me and made the whole experience as painless as possible. Nothing remarkable about that you would think, until you try and do the same more locally. Were things any different at the height of the recession I wonder? Maybe others could shed some light on that?
 
In reply to mathepac.
But he is a cash buyer, wants to trade for newer and bigger vehicle.

Thanks for replies and it seems others are being treated the same. Sad really, shows an awful lack of oomph and business acumen. I just wonder do the owners know what so called salesmen are doing, or, as in this case not doing?
 
I bought a 161 Mazda in Limerick last year and was surprised to hear from my salesman yesterday asking if all was well. This is the 3rd call. I would have thought this is their busy time.
 
All depends on the dealership and also on their own cashflow position, he's not a cash buyer because of the trade in and if the forecourt is full of trade in's already then the garage may not want to add to their stock. Alternatively they could just be useless or incompetent. Either way, unless he contacts the garages again, he'll never know.
 
noproblem said:
My brother drives a 14-2 Hyundai i40 station wagon (not the coupe) and made enquiries lately ( before Xmas) at 2 different Hyundai dealers with a mind to trade in for new car. One in Galway, one in Mayo and all details were taken by salesman on both occasions, he was told they would get back with cost of new model, etc, but no answer in either case. He would be a cash buyer, the trade in is in perfect condition, low mileage and all that but absolutely no call back or answer. He hasn't got back to them, but wonders is this the way things have gone?
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For a laugh get your brother to call them again and ask if they do finance ;)
 
T McGibney said:
It's said that dealers now prefer to have customers relying in finance as they get commission on it.
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In many cases they can make more money selling finance than selling cars.
The salesperson also gets commission from the finance company. A punter with a high value trade-in and cash to pay for the rest is the least attractive customer they have.
At this time of year they want customers buying with finance and no trade in or cash buyers so that they can clear some of the massive debt they have. Remember that the dealer had to buy their stock from the manufacturer in the last quarter of last year and that was financed by borrowing, usually from the manufacturers own bank.

If they sell a car for €40,000 (remember they borrowed to get that car) they might make €1500 up front (with the possibility of volume bonuses later in the year), so if they take a trade in for €25,000 they are an additional €23,500 in debt until they sell that €25,000 car. That in turn might be sold with a lower value trade in so it could be September before they are cash positive on the transaction.
 
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