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      08-27-2019, 11:35 AM   #23
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Meh, I don't expect much from any Sales Rep regardless of brand. I do enough research on my own and know what I want before walking into any dealership.
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      08-27-2019, 04:08 PM   #24
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I don't discuss the car's spec and performance with the sales anymore, since I know what I am buying and pretty sure i know much more than they do. So only thing is the monthly payment I gotta deal with them. But I recalled there was a sales around 10 years ago? When I was buying the Honda Civic Si, the sales told me the car is fuel economy-friendly since it has VTEC, so it save more gas when VTEC kicks in...I was like... WTF you talking about dude?!?!?!
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      08-29-2019, 09:36 AM   #25
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It started going downhill once the compensation models for sales people were changed drastically. It has led to the aforementioned turnover. Combine that with the flood of BMW models in the market now and the buyer demographic. We as enthusiast are a minority nowadays and not a focus target market anymore .....
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      08-29-2019, 12:48 PM   #26
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just read all the articles on how car salesmen are treated at dealerships. its basically one step above working at a best buy...so you can understand why most salesmen dont care unless its a brand there really into.
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      08-29-2019, 02:55 PM   #27
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I agree
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      09-05-2019, 08:14 PM   #28
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I don't particularly care whether a salesman is knowledgeable on the car I'm buying or not. As long as he/she gets me the right deal, all that matters.
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      09-07-2019, 07:35 AM   #29
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It's hit or miss with dealerships, I don't think it's specific to BMW.
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      09-09-2019, 08:53 AM   #30
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JackyStuntin View Post
The salesman told me my OG m2 has the same engine as M3 and M4 lol
The V6, right?

Seriously though, as to the OP's complaint, it's really a crap-shoot as to the salesperson that you get. Some good and some bad in any industry.
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      09-09-2019, 01:54 PM   #31
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as with everything else in this world...its all about who you know.
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      09-10-2019, 04:05 AM   #32
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I still have yet to meet the salesman or saleswoman who knows about the car I'm interested in more than I do, and I'm saying this with sadness (across BMW, Audi, Merc, Porsche, VW, Land Rover and Mazda). The closest one was the Mazda salesman earlier this year who happened to be a Miata enthusiast. Not many of that kind remain.
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      09-10-2019, 05:11 AM   #33
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Quote:
Originally Posted by norberts View Post
I still have yet to meet the salesman or saleswoman who knows about the car I'm interested in more than I do, and I'm saying this with sadness (across BMW, Audi, Merc, Porsche, VW, Land Rover and Mazda). The closest one was the Mazda salesman earlier this year who happened to be a Miata enthusiast. Not many of that kind remain.
Depends whether the person at your dealer is also an enthusiast. Especially techies who work on the car and also got one themselves. I usually say "OK, I'm listening - teach me something".

But with sales people my conversations could be a bit sobering.
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      09-10-2019, 12:38 PM   #34
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Originally Posted by norberts View Post
I still have yet to meet the salesman or saleswoman who knows about the car I'm interested in more than I do, and I'm saying this with sadness (across BMW, Audi, Merc, Porsche, VW, Land Rover and Mazda). The closest one was the Mazda salesman earlier this year who happened to be a Miata enthusiast. Not many of that kind remain.
i actually met a salesman that was into a bunch of different cars..he knew how suspension geometry works and automous tech. the guy even read SAE papers for fun. We talked about different between 48volt system vs the 350 and 375 volt systems on a tesla. akins cycle on certain engines. the suspension geometry differences between double wish bone and Mcpharson. i asked the guy if he was studying to be a mechancial or electrical engineer...he said he just read those papers for fun.

the guy was a kia sales men lol..
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      09-10-2019, 02:33 PM   #35
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Originally Posted by NotMe View Post
she is on point with 99% of BMW buyers
Kind of true....M buyers and IMO certainly M2 buyers are a bit different than most of the other typical BMW customers. I think 75% of their costumers are people who drive a short term leased company car and are just interested in the BMW logo. When I go to my BMW dealership for service on my M2 and I see most of the other customers, then I see almost nobody I can relate to (or not car I would want to buy). When I see someone driving a M2 on the street...I mostly think; hey that looks like the same kind of petrolhead guy like me

Most people at my dealership know I'm an enthusiast with a BMW M history (at one point I owned 3x BMW's at the same time). They now treat me rather well and appointed specific people from the dealership to me as my contact persons. They are making a effort in trying to keep my a happy customer....but as an owner/enthusiast I know more about the past/current/future M models than most people who work there (but I know nothing about the new 320d). There was once a guy at the dealership who owned an E46 M3 CSL, but does not work there anymore....was a cool guy.
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      09-10-2019, 08:39 PM   #36
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Had one of the service techs bring up my car from the lot after a recent service...guy said "This is one of the nicest M4's I have ever seen." I just shook my head and got in the car.
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      09-11-2019, 08:11 AM   #37
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Quote:
Originally Posted by norberts View Post
I still have yet to meet the salesman or saleswoman who knows about the car I'm interested in more than I do, and I'm saying this with sadness (across BMW, Audi, Merc, Porsche, VW, Land Rover and Mazda). The closest one was the Mazda salesman earlier this year who happened to be a Miata enthusiast. Not many of that kind remain.
From experience, car enthusiasts tend not to last very long in car sales as they have an idealized version of what its about. You soon realize that the guys who don’t know anything about cars but are good with people are usually leading the board. Does having encyclopedic knowledge help? Yes, but only with a narrow group of people.
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      09-13-2019, 06:44 PM   #38
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I have a 3 series but just happened to notice this thread when looking thru the M2 forum and felt the need to comment.

As a first time BMW owner (G20) and expecting to be treated in a welcoming way to purchase the car I had worked a deal with through a broker, I was almost shocked at how a buyer is treated at some dealerships. These are expensive cars, at least show some courtesy to the buyer.

The salesperson showed no character or enthusiasm and pretty much acted like he didn't give a shit. *sign the papers, take the car and leave attitude* when I did a check around the car to make sure it had no scratches or dings he looked at me like I was an idiot.

I drove from 2 hours away to pick up the car, no small talk about the car.. no 'how's your day going' and didn't offer a refreshment (not that you have to but it's called being courteous). He didn't even know how to set up half the things on the car when I asked, so I just told him I'll figure it out from the manual. He seemed irritated that I asked him about many of the iDrive features and how to use it. It's a new car dude, I'd like to know how to use some of the shit obviously.

I did end up writing an email to them when they asked me about customer feedback, response was "we'll take a look further into it thank you for your feedback" and that was it. Mind you the salesperson was a fleet manager...

Had the complete opposite experience at my previous brand Lexus. Treated you well and were extremely welcoming. Reading this made me feel a bit less upset since it seems like it's happened to others too. Is this actually this common at BMW dealerships?
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      09-14-2019, 10:32 PM   #39
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There was time when you had to be a certified product specialist or you wouldn't get your spiff money.

Then they brought in their Genius', and sales people didn't need to know anything anymore.

Not very Genius, but incredibly stupid on BMW's part.

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      09-15-2019, 01:24 PM   #40
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Quote:
Originally Posted by premier3is View Post
I have a 3 series but just happened to notice this thread when looking thru the M2 forum and felt the need to comment.

As a first time BMW owner (G20) and expecting to be treated in a welcoming way to purchase the car I had worked a deal with through a broker, I was almost shocked at how a buyer is treated at some dealerships. These are expensive cars, at least show some courtesy to the buyer.

The salesperson showed no character or enthusiasm and pretty much acted like he didn't give a shit. *sign the papers, take the car and leave attitude* when I did a check around the car to make sure it had no scratches or dings he looked at me like I was an idiot.

I drove from 2 hours away to pick up the car, no small talk about the car.. no 'how's your day going' and didn't offer a refreshment (not that you have to but it's called being courteous). He didn't even know how to set up half the things on the car when I asked, so I just told him I'll figure it out from the manual. He seemed irritated that I asked him about many of the iDrive features and how to use it. It's a new car dude, I'd like to know how to use some of the shit obviously.

I did end up writing an email to them when they asked me about customer feedback, response was "we'll take a look further into it thank you for your feedback" and that was it. Mind you the salesperson was a fleet manager...

Had the complete opposite experience at my previous brand Lexus. Treated you well and were extremely welcoming. Reading this made me feel a bit less upset since it seems like it's happened to others too. Is this actually this common at BMW dealerships?
Well, to be fair the fleet manager is not really there to wine and dine customers. That's who you go to when you went to buy a bunch of cars or you're smart enough to look them up when shopping for a car so you're not dealing with on the floor salesman four square games. That said, it doesn't hurt if they're nice to work with when buying a car.
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      09-15-2019, 03:47 PM   #41
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Quote:
Originally Posted by akkando View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by premier3is View Post
I have a 3 series but just happened to notice this thread when looking thru the M2 forum and felt the need to comment.

As a first time BMW owner (G20) and expecting to be treated in a welcoming way to purchase the car I had worked a deal with through a broker, I was almost shocked at how a buyer is treated at some dealerships. These are expensive cars, at least show some courtesy to the buyer.

The salesperson showed no character or enthusiasm and pretty much acted like he didn't give a shit. *sign the papers, take the car and leave attitude* when I did a check around the car to make sure it had no scratches or dings he looked at me like I was an idiot.

I drove from 2 hours away to pick up the car, no small talk about the car.. no 'how's your day going' and didn't offer a refreshment (not that you have to but it's called being courteous). He didn't even know how to set up half the things on the car when I asked, so I just told him I'll figure it out from the manual. He seemed irritated that I asked him about many of the iDrive features and how to use it. It's a new car dude, I'd like to know how to use some of the shit obviously.

I did end up writing an email to them when they asked me about customer feedback, response was "we'll take a look further into it thank you for your feedback" and that was it. Mind you the salesperson was a fleet manager...

Had the complete opposite experience at my previous brand Lexus. Treated you well and were extremely welcoming. Reading this made me feel a bit less upset since it seems like it's happened to others too. Is this actually this common at BMW dealerships?
Well, to be fair the fleet manager is not really there to wine and dine customers. That's who you go to when you went to buy a bunch of cars or you're smart enough to look them up when shopping for a car so you're not dealing with on the floor salesman four square games. That said, it doesn't hurt if they're nice to work with when buying a car.
Who said I asked to be 'wined and dined'? I asked to be treated in a courteous manner since I was purchasing a car from his dealership and not being treated like he didn't give a shit about the sale.

Also, I worked with a broker, I did not know who to expect there to work when I got to the dealership.

I don't care if it's BMW or Toyota or Lamborghini, a level of courtesy should be given to any client/customer who walks through your doors.
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      09-15-2019, 08:27 PM   #42
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ///M TOWN View Post
There was time when you had to be a certified product specialist or you wouldn't get your spiff money.

Then they brought in their Genius', and sales people didn't need to know anything anymore.

Not very Genius, but incredibly stupid on BMW's part.

It's not just auto sales, practically all forms of retail commerce now uses oblivious sales associates, who's knowledge doesn't surpass knowing how to operate the cash register.

Merchants doesn't want to invest the money into hiring actual experts of their products, so their focus just pushing the flair or physical attributes of the item.

Can't blame them; most consumers nowadays are more concern with the color of a vehicle and "does it have a remote starter" than the actual performance or inner working and mechanics of a vehicle. So what's the point of paying someone educate potential consumers, when they really don't care to learn.
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      09-15-2019, 10:20 PM   #43
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Poochie View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by ///M TOWN View Post
There was time when you had to be a certified product specialist or you wouldn't get your spiff money.

Then they brought in their Genius', and sales people didn't need to know anything anymore.

Not very Genius, but incredibly stupid on BMW's part.

It's not just auto sales, practically all forms of retail commerce now uses oblivious sales associates, who's knowledge doesn't surpass knowing how to operate the cash register.

Merchants doesn't want to invest the money into hiring actual experts of their products, so their focus just pushing the flair or physical attributes of the item.

Can't blame them; most consumers nowadays are more concern with the color of a vehicle and "does it have a remote starter" than the actual performance or inner working and mechanics of a vehicle. So what's the point of paying someone educate potential consumers, when they really don't care to learn.
Competition is going to get increasingly more difficult as time goes on. They'll probably have to go back to what they used to do, which was invest in people that know what they're doing , so they can actually create value, instead relying on their good looks and luck alone.

That's exactly why I simply skip the seemingly worthless salespeople and deal directly with the GSM.
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