Car sales people sure love to hate Tesla

[ReturnZero]

You guys, I just had to share this.

I went to the BMW dealer today because my wife is interested in the X4 and her lease is about up. The sales person was showing me the new 5 series which looks nice, and he was telling me all about the additional luxury I get from BMW vs Tesla. He said Tesla is no good because the service centers don't have tires so if you get a flat you have to go to Discount tire, and also when you take your Tesla in for an oil change they don't have service loaners.

These are actual things he said to me. Maybe he couldn't get a loaner because he was trying to get an oil change on a Tesla?

 

[mal_tsla]

Haha what a dummy! He should just say that if your Tesla gets into an accident, you’ll be making those payments for months while driving a Hertz rental, whereas the BMW will be repaired in a week or so.

 

[ABVA]

Had a like kind experience when I took my MS for safety inspection, inspector tried to convince me for an emission inspection as well.

 

[ReturnZero]

This is true - there are tons of valid things that can be said against Tesla, but the ones he picked were classic.

 

[AMPd]

He's totally wrong, I've gotten a tesla loaner everytime I went in for an oil change.

 

[Canuck]

Haha what a dummy! He should just say that if your Tesla gets into an accident, you’ll be making those payments for months while driving a Hertz rental, whereas the BMW will be repaired in a week or so.

Ha! There's a lot of truth in that statement. The only thing I would add is that when mine was repaired after an accident (and long wait) I was so happy to get back in a Tesla. I cringe every time I have to drive my wife's BMW.

 

[whitex]

I cringe every time I have to drive my wife's BMW.

Well, maybe should have bought your wife a Tesla then

 

[xav-]

Well put yourself in the mind of a car salesman. A BMW sales guy will make $80k or more if I recollect (super long hours though).

Comes Tesla and it's direct sales model and the salesman basically makes $15 an hour (or maybe $20.. but you get what I mean)

You have an entire array of middle class jobs that are going to disappear. Not saying teslas model is wrong or anything, just saying their perspective.

 

[JohnnyG]

I think I know the guy you're talking about...

 

[whitex]

Well put yourself in the mind of a car salesman. A BMW sales guy will make $80k or more if I recollect (super long hours though).

Comes Tesla and it's direct sales model and the salesman basically makes $15 an hour (or maybe $20.. but you get what I mean)

You have an entire array of middle class jobs that are going to disappear. Not saying teslas model is wrong or anything, just saying their perspective.

Tesla direct sales model is nothing new. Most people actually prefer it, but the dealer's association managed strong-arm all manufacturers into submission, forcing customers to pay for a service they don't want. I bought a lot of cars in my life, never once did the sales person know any more than me about the car, a lot of times they didn't know or worse - made up lies to cover-up their lack of knowledge. Tesla is simply a new manufacturer that chose not to get beat down into paying "protection money" to the dealer gang. They are still trying hard via lobbies and misinformation campaigns. What the sales guy said may not at have been from self-preservation, but simply repeating the misinformation they were trained to repeat.

 

[SSedan]

People usually identify politicians and lawyers as scum of the earth but if you stop and think about it they are nothing but salesman........

 

[xyeahtony]

i guess i'd be mad too if i had to buy gasoline for my car lol.

 

[rjcbox]

Tesla is eating BMW's lunch, and they don't even know it yet

 

[K-MTG]

When I was returning my MDX over two years ago to my Acura dealer and suggested that I might get a Model X (was a reservation holder). He told me to lease another MDX and wait 3 more years before buying the X so Tesla resolves the initial bugs.

Even though that is somewhat true I don't regret not listening to him.

 

[jdjeff88]

I just got the state inspection renewed for my car. The good news is that I passed the "gas cap integrity" test.

 

[JPoldo]

5 years ago I became seriously interest in buying a Tesla but the Mercedes sales guy convinced my wife range was too short, service problems, Spartan interior, over priced, and ride/seats not as good as Mercedes. I gave in and leased a lower cost E-series Benz. 3 years later, I needed a new lease and Tesla was tops on the list. Gas prices were about $2/gal and Mercedes sales guy said Tesla buys obsolete Mecedes gear shift and other steering column controls so why would we we want inferior items. The wife pressured me to another E-series Benz but I limited lease to 2 years. A couple of months ago I priced out a S75, eliminating options not esential to me such as auto pilot, dual motors, hepa air filter etc so price was not much more than loaded E class. Finally after a 5 year wait, last Thursday my Tesla was ready for pickup. This is my first weekend to enjoy the model S. The wife is getting a new E-series cabriolet next week so now both of us will have vehicles surpassing expectations. I love all the free charging locations and my Nema 14-50 outlet is fast. Remember the old saying, "happy wife...happy life"

 

[Saghost]

5 years ago I became seriously interest in buying a Tesla but the Mercedes sales guy convinced my wife range was too short, service problems, Spartan interior, over priced, and ride/seats not as good as Mercedes. I gave in and leased a lower cost E-series Benz. 3 years later, I needed a new lease and Tesla was tops on the list. Gas prices were about $2/gal and Mercedes sales guy said Tesla buys obsolete Mecedes gear shift and other steering column controls so why would we we want inferior items. The wife pressured me to another E-series Benz but I limited lease to 2 years. A couple of months ago I priced out a S75, eliminating options not esential to me such as auto pilot, dual motors, hepa air filter etc so price was not much more than loaded E class. Finally after a 5 year wait, last Thursday my Tesla was ready for pickup. This is my first weekend to enjoy the model S. The wife is getting a new E-series cabriolet next week so now both of us will have vehicles surpassing expectations. I love all the free charging locations and my Nema 14-50 outlet is fast. Remember the old saying, "happy wife...happy life"

Just be careful about letting her drive it - you might not get it back...

 

[KarenRei]

Actually, I'd be encouraging her to drive it.

Curious about this part:

Mercedes sales guy said Tesla buys obsolete Mecedes gear shift

Um, gear shift? Do they mean the steering wheel lever to select R/N/D/P? Does Mercedes make electronic steering wheel gear levers?

 

[Saghost]

Actually, I'd be encouraging her to drive it.

Curious about this part:



Um, gear shift? Do they mean the steering wheel lever to select R/N/D/P? Does BMW make electronic steering wheel gear levers?

Most of the switch gear - the drive stalk, the turn signal stalk, the cruise control stalk, and the window switches - is lifted from what at the time was the current generation Mercedes parts bin. I'm not aware of MB replacing them with newer versions, but I might have missed something.

 

[KarenRei]

Most of the switch gear - the drive stalk, the turn signal stalk, the cruise control stalk, and the window switches - is lifted from what at the time was the current generation Mercedes parts bin. I'm not aware of MB replacing them with newer versions, but I might have missed something.

Interesting - didn't know that