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canyonwalkerWe spent a good part of the day Saturday car shopping. It was unexpected. We'd had loose plans to go hiking this weekend and maybe have friends over, but then the mechanic dropped a bombshell on us Friday afternoon that our car was basically kaput. We changed up our plans in a hurry.
I already wrote about our visit to one BMW dealership. It was exciting that a 230 convertible, basically the next generation of the 1-series we own, was very comfortable. That lifted my spirits, giving me more willingness to do more car shopping— both for more BMWs and other makes.
We were half successful in that regard at the Audi dealership. We got to sit in an A5 and see how nice it was but not drive one. No salesperson approached us at all. The staff barely even looked our way when we entered the showroom; nobody came to talk to us as we were checking out a floor model; and nobody even seemed to notice when we left 10 minutes later.
This reminded me of what I wrote last time we went car shopping: Car Salespeople Mostly Suck.
After the test drive we asked him a simple question: What's your price for this car? He took 5 minutes to come back with an answer. We asked him another question. I forget what it was but we gave up waiting after another 5+ minutes and walked toward the door. I purposefully stopped to look at a display next to the exit so he could see us leaving and rush over to meet us. I let him write his name and number on some of the paperwork he gave us. He may be a poor salesguy, but we're buying the car, not him.
This is a case where having unskilled salespeople is a big minus. None could tell us why the seats were different. I mean, it's almost certainly due to an options package. The optional seats are fine, the base ones aren't, or vice-versa. A competent salesperson would know which car has which, and what the difference is, even for a 3 year old model. But nobody there is that competent.
What that means for us is that we can't buy remotely. We can't say, "Oh, now that we know we like this model, let's call/email around and find one at the best price." We must physically test every individual vehicle we consider. What a drag.
I already wrote about our visit to one BMW dealership. It was exciting that a 230 convertible, basically the next generation of the 1-series we own, was very comfortable. That lifted my spirits, giving me more willingness to do more car shopping— both for more BMWs and other makes.
Ignored at Audi
We visited an Audi dealership next. It was just a few blocks away from the BMW dealership at Fremont's Auto Mall. I've been curious about the Audi A5/S5 convertibles for some time. They're bigger than the BMW 2-series, lining up against BMW 4-series. That makes them bigger than what we think we want but we still wanted to check them out for their nicely designed interiors and to see what their driving is like.We were half successful in that regard at the Audi dealership. We got to sit in an A5 and see how nice it was but not drive one. No salesperson approached us at all. The staff barely even looked our way when we entered the showroom; nobody came to talk to us as we were checking out a floor model; and nobody even seemed to notice when we left 10 minutes later.
This reminded me of what I wrote last time we went car shopping: Car Salespeople Mostly Suck.
BMW Wasn't Much Better
BTW the service wasn't worlds better at the BMW we'd left. We'd walked the length of the showroom without being approached. At the far end we saw a trio of staff idling at a sales desk and called out to greet them. One salesperson stepped forward to help us. He had pretty much no training or experience in how to help us, though. He couldn't answer any questions without reading a document, and each time he needed to look up a document it took several minutes. At least he got us the keys (which also took a few minutes) and let us test drive the car in peace.After the test drive we asked him a simple question: What's your price for this car? He took 5 minutes to come back with an answer. We asked him another question. I forget what it was but we gave up waiting after another 5+ minutes and walked toward the door. I purposefully stopped to look at a display next to the exit so he could see us leaving and rush over to meet us. I let him write his name and number on some of the paperwork he gave us. He may be a poor salesguy, but we're buying the car, not him.
BMW #2 - Nope, It's Not Going to be Easy
I left Fremont optimistic about the prospect of buying a newer BMW. My mild frustration with the unskilled salesperson paled in comparison to my excitement from finding that the BMW 230 fit well and drove well. When we tried a 2019 model two years ago it didn't. Alas, our experience at the San Jose BMW dealership showed us that what happened in 2019 wasn't a fluke. The model we looked at there had different seats from the one in Fremont, and they were not comfortable for Hawk.This is a case where having unskilled salespeople is a big minus. None could tell us why the seats were different. I mean, it's almost certainly due to an options package. The optional seats are fine, the base ones aren't, or vice-versa. A competent salesperson would know which car has which, and what the difference is, even for a 3 year old model. But nobody there is that competent.
What that means for us is that we can't buy remotely. We can't say, "Oh, now that we know we like this model, let's call/email around and find one at the best price." We must physically test every individual vehicle we consider. What a drag.
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Date: 2021-05-11 11:00 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-05-12 01:55 am (UTC)We're not stressed about the negotiation suck, though. Hawk and I cover the bases well together. Where I'm weak she's strong, and vice vers.