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129 Cars

thisamericanlife.org

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Re: 129 Cars

#11

Post by mattlutze »

yread wrote: post #2

I can't listen to audio. Why is it interesting?

It humanizes car dealers and translates their specific life lessons into generalized experiences the listener can internalize.

It discusses the life of a a Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep new and used sales shop through shadowed interviews of almost the entire staff. It discusses the lives and approach to work of the sales managers and many of the sales people, as well as the struggles and realities of how much a dealership actually makes, the pressures from the manufacturers, and how hard they work to both provide a fair price to customers and a life for their families.

Re: 129 Cars

#12

Post by praptak »

patio11 wrote: post #6
AVTizzle wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"One of the best podcast episodes you'll ever hear about selling software. Actually about cars. Stick with it." https://twitter.com/patio11/status/418879954894340096

To substantiate that, if the only thing you got from the interview was the mindset for dealing with customers who are not ready to purchase ("Let's go over this: they are in a car dealership ..."), it is worth it. Next time I have a call with a purchasing officer for the County of Springfield (not actually my last call) I'm going to say "Remember, Patrick, nobody ever sent an email to the CEO of an appointment remind…

> "Let's go over this: they are in a car dealership..."

Yet another reason why physically going to a dealership seriously weakens your negotiation position as a buyer. Mail, phone or fax multiple dealerships and do not enter one before getting a good offer.

Re: 129 Cars

#13

Post by rallison »

A quite enjoyable and interesting piece by TAL. One aspect that I found interesting is that Manny, the guy inspired by Sun Tzu and without much inherent interest in the cars themselves, actually fared poorly in sales [1].

This sort of salesman is exactly the sort of person I always want to avoid when I am looking at purchasing something, so I am glad to see his techniques were not all that effective.

Overall, the piece doesn't paint the dealership model in a very positive light. While it makes one sympathetic to some of the individual salesmen (at least, to some extent), it also largely reinforces many peoples' assumptions that, mostly, they are prey when they arrive at a dealership, unless they know what they are doing (or, if they happen to arrive at the end of the month during a poor sales month and happen to be slightly stubborn).

A related note: I'd love to see more car sales go the way of Tesla and Saturn [2] (yes, Saturn), where pricing is much more transparent/fixed. Basically, I find the current dealership model's incentives to be largely mismatched to the actual needs of consumers.

[1] (~10 cars per month) http://www.thisamericanlife.org/at-the-car-lot/

[2] http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/saturn-a-wealth-o...

Re: 129 Cars

#15

Post by jap »

I don't understand why the general manager didn't wait till the last minute to book the dealership's two loaner car purchases.

Re: 129 Cars

#16

Post by o0-0o »

I prefer the fax method of buying a car, or eBay. The fax method is anonymous and you save thousands. eBay only for used cars, sleepers , et cetera. I've saved so much money and even have flipped ones that were not my style using these methods. The only reason to go to a dealer is to talk to the mechanics.

Can't wait to listen to this though.

Re: 129 Cars

#17

Post by anonu »

This episode was definitely very well done. Made me think about how Tesla is subverting the traditional dealership model by opening up their own salesrooms, despite strong opposition from these dealers. I wonder who will prevail in a world where price comparisons are instantly done over the internet. The podcast even highlights the fact that profit margins have been squeezed because of this.

Re: 129 Cars

#20

Post by aquateen »

praptak wrote: post #12
patio11 wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To substantiate that, if the only thing you got from the interview was the mindset for dealing with customers who are not ready to purchase ("Let's go over this: they are in a car dealership ..."), it is worth it. Next time I have a call with a purchasing officer for the County of Springfield (not actually my last call) I'm going to say "Remember, Patrick, nobody ever sent an email to the CEO of an appointment remind…

> "Let's go over this: they are in a car dealership..." Yet another reason why physically going to a dealership seriously weakens your negotiation position as a buyer. Mail, phone or fax multiple dealerships and do not enter one before getting a good offer.

Possibly things have changed, but I remember PG posted his correspondence with a car salesman via email trying to buy a Jetta or something. Basically got stonewalled.
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