Why American car companies suck - Page 8

Wagner · #71 03-16-2009, 09:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FSETH

Actually, as B-Line said, it was two dealers, so once again it may be a GM thing.

Also, BMW is in a much different position financially than GM right now and when you were shopping cars. I don't think GM can afford to be snobby about it. They need to do whatever thy can to move cars, not turn people off. Hell, they owe all of us test drives after all the charity we gave them.

Not trying to be a jerk, but at the end of the day the CTS-V is just a Caddy with a Vette engine, and while very nice, neither of those things are "rare" by any means.

Really doubt the sale of 1 65K car solves GM woes

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FSETH · #72 03-16-2009, 09:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wagner

Really doubt the sale of 1 65K car solves GM woes

It is their whole mentality. Like B-Line said, it is about getting people into the dealerships to drive cars. They are in no position to turn anyone away or turn anyone off from making a trip to see their products like they did in his case. Maybe they wouldn't buy the CTS, but there is a chance that they may see or drive another product and buy it. Of course 1 car isn't going to turn the company around, but if this happens to multiple people at GM's MANY dealerships across the US, of course that can have an affect on things. Beggers can't be chosers, or snobby/discriminating car dealers either.

Dannyell · #73 03-16-2009, 09:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wagner

Really doubt the sale of 1 65K car solves GM woes

That's not the point...

Couple of dealers does not necessarily make it a GM thing IMO...but that attitude towards potential customers will not get too far ahead...

E61Silver · #74 03-16-2009, 09:52 AM

I wanted to test drive a CTS high output, they only had one and it was at another lot, but the dealer went and got it. I find NYC dealers hard to work with and buy my cars on Long Island. B Line you might try a dealer just outside of LA.

motordavid · #75 03-16-2009, 10:00 AM

Pretty amazing thread, esp. in terms of number of views...I called the local
Naples, FL stlr this am, DeVoe Cadillac, out of curiosity. I asked if V & I could
come in to test drive a few different models. They said I could drive every model
on the lot. I emailed the Internet Mgr and asked the same question; he was back
to me in 5 mins with the same response.

If/when we waddled in for those test drives, we may bump into the ol'
"are you prepared to buy this car today" routine, but on phone and, on
the net, they seemed as though they would be happy to see "interested
customers". All that is anecdotal, but so is most of this thread.

No conclusion, other than this local stlr said I could, and B-Line's dlrs were jerks.
BR,mD

blondboinsd · #76 03-16-2009, 10:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ylwjacket

As a matter of fact, I did. In fact, the parallels were pretty similar. I wanted an M5, but they didn't have any yet, and weren't going to get one before my lease expired on the X5.

So, I wanted to test drive a 545, and a 645, then make a decision. They told me they didn't let people test drive 645's - they were too expensive to use as demo cars. The manager (or at least someone who claimed to be the manager), agreed. They also only were going to let me drive a 525 or 530 (whichever they made then, I don't remember), because they only had a few 545's, and they didn't want to put miles on them. I told them I had just bought an Escalade, and if they were going to be jerks, I'd go take serious look at the CTS-V (first gen). They told me nobody cross-shopped their cars with Cadillacs, so that wasn't going to pursuade them to let me take a test drive.

So, off I went, and bought the V.

Again, I drove in there, saying my X5 lease is up in 45 days, and I need a new car. Somehow, they evidently didn't think I qualified, even though I was drove there in one of their cars.

As for CTS-V's, at this moment in time, I have no doubt that some dealers are being jerks about them. The new factor is still there, and I'm sure dealers get all sorts of crackpots wanting to take a 560hp car for a spin.

If I were you, and I really wanted to drive it, I'd probably go in there.

However - this hardly a GM problem. It is one dealer being arrogant, because he probably misjudged the allure of his offering, and your desire to buy it.

So, since he's stupid, he lost a sale of a $65k car.

See I don't get the whole "we don't allow people to test drive thing" If you get 5 crackpots for every 1 person who buys it you STILL sold 1 car and most likely at MSRP. One thing that may be overlooked at that a person buying say a CTS-V is buying it more as a long-term piece (think keeping it as a museum piece or so) and those people wouldn't want more than a certain amount of miles on it. Perhaps a 25 mile car wouldn't sell because it's too "used" for the demographic buying it.

blondboinsd · #77 03-16-2009, 10:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wagner

Really doubt the sale of 1 65K car solves GM woes

BUT that is going to pay for 3 of GM's gold plated retiree's medical benefits!

LeMansX5 · #78 03-16-2009, 10:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FSETH

It is their whole mentality. Like B-Line said, it is about getting people into the dealerships to drive cars. They are in no position to turn anyone away or turn anyone off from making a trip to see their products like they did in his case. Maybe they wouldn't buy the CTS, but there is a chance that they may see or drive another product and buy it. Of course 1 car isn't going to turn the company around, but if this happens to multiple people at GM's MANY dealerships across the US, of course that can have an affect on things. Beggers can't be chosers, or snobby/discriminating car dealers either.

Exactly! and they should know that a unhappy customer bad mouths more than 10 times as much as happy customer.
In this case it has been over 100++.

blondboinsd · #79 03-16-2009, 10:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LeMansX5

Exactly! and they should know that a unhappy customer bad mouths more than 10 times as much as happy customer.
In this case it has been over 100++.

Does Caddy have a tight lid on customer service? I know with VW (I have bought from 2 dealers) they are extremely into making sure their customers are happy. They literally call for every sale or service. They seems to hold their dealers to a very high standard and it shows.

mrkbbd · #80 03-16-2009, 11:17 AM

It took 2 visits for me to drive a CTS-V, I went by and they said no until you put a deposit on it. So I went to get my checkbook (refundable deposits in the state of FLA so it doesn't really matter) came back and they said it was dark so we couldn't drive it until the next day. At that I flipped out and asked them how they could possibly still be in business when they turn customers like me away who pay cash and can actually afford the vehicle. At that the car 2 cars were moved and the CTS-V was ready for me to drive in less than 5 minutes and I refused to put a deposit on it. Overall my impression was that it is ALMOST as good as a M5, which they took as a complete insult and then started telling me I didn't know what the hell I was talking about and to read a review. To that I said the M5 is a much better car for my driving style and expectations and that I, being the customer, am always right and that I was prepared to buy it (checkbook in my pocket), but that after that they could pretty much go f*ck themselves.

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