MB Sales guy's anti-Tesla sales pitch

[phaduman]

So this guy calls me to talk about our B-class EV's lease ending and trying to replace with another MB. They don't have pure EVs anymore, so C350-hybrid is the only option. With driver assistance package, it is at $56K before taxes.
So to have fun, I said we are also looking at Model3 which feels like a great deal at $50K with 310mile range. I didn't tell him we own a ModelS.

This is how he engaged me:
He: "if you try to get a Model3 now, you have to wait for 1-2years".
I: "Well, we had applied earlier and now can have the car in 3-6weeks".
---pause---
He: "Haven't you been reading news lately? Every day someone is dying. Cars are driving themselves to walls, into lakes. Blowing themselves up. Tesla as a company will not survive for long"
I: "Quite likely more people are dying everyday from MB and BMW accidents than Tesla accidents."
He: Pause..."Are you serious? Where did you find that stats?"
I: "Have you driven a Tesla yet?"
He: "No, and I won't. Too dangerous".
(I feel - secretly he wish he owned one...)

Anyways, I wrapped up saying, "MB is likely in quite a bit of trouble looking at the lines people are forming for Model3."

I think he would be putting an order for M3 shortly...

Happy Friday, happy long-weekend, and drive/stay safe - everyone!!

 

[xyeahtony]

Thats funny he thinks nobody has ever died in a MB ever

 

[K-MTG]

When I wanted to return my leased Acura early (for a fee) as I was ordering my 3 last December. The Acura salesman told me to just return the car at the end of my lease (one year left) as the early 3's will have quality issues. I didn't listen and got the 3 and returned the Acura.

 

[EV-lutioin]

Went to test drive a Bolt (before the Model 3 was available) and all the salesman wanted to do was look at my Model X. I ended up giving *him* a test ride in the X... and he was blown away. "Whoa it can take the turn in self driving mode!" "OK, now that acceleration just slammed my head into the headrest.... incredible!". After that, the Bolt was never really in play.

 

[Bebop]

Went to test drive a Bolt (before the Model 3 was available) and all the salesman wanted to do was look at my Model X. I ended up giving *him* a test ride in the X... and he was blown away. "Whoa it can take the turn in self driving mode!" "OK, now that acceleration just slammed my head into the headrest.... incredible!". After that, the Bolt was never really in play.

Usually that surprise pedal slam does the trick.

 

[PrGrPa]

Makes me think back to last year when I finally decided to get a Model S.

I called MB ‘we have some plug in hybrids and hybrids. No electric cars. And none planned’. I drove a Hyundai Ioniq electric. Nice. Hyundai said ‘don’t buy one of these. Limited range. Nightmare charging. Get the plug in hybrid or regular hybrid’.

Neither got the point: i wanted an electric car. if I wanted a dinosaur car I’d ask for one with a proper, big engine.

Tesla was the only viable option. Very glad it was.

This recent BBC news piece seemed to capture the story I experienced. Dealer tactics stall electric car sales

 

[murphyS90D]

Car salesman do not understand electric cars and don't want to learn. When I went in to factory order a 2013 Ford Fusion Energi the salesman tried to convince me that I could only drive it 21 miles, which is the all electric range of the car. I still have the car and keep the gas tank between 1/8 and 1/4 and put gas in it once a year. It works just fine for trips to the grocery store, doctor, dentist, Lowes, Home Depot etc. Basically anything that is within 10 miles.

 

[boaterva]

We should start a pool on when the ICE dealers will get it... so far, no one seems to. Wonder what Europe/UK is going to do when they get closer to the ‘ban’ dates?!

 

[Barklikeadog]

We should start a pool on when the ICE dealers will get it... so far, no one seems to. Wonder what Europe/UK is going to do when they get closer to the ‘ban’ dates?!

Would you try and sell someone something that you don't have? Why don't all of you go into an Apple store and ask for something with an Android OS. When the Apple nerd says
that Android sucks and whatever other false negative stuff about Android, you can come in here and post about it.

There is a lot of repressed anger around here. Why bother some guy who is trying to feed his family? Do you really expect a salesman to gush about how great a competitor's product is?

 

[Visscher]

True. If that android ran on a battery and the iPhone had a gas tank.

 

[mkspeedr]

I get anti sales from Tesla delivery specialists.

Buying my new model X has been a series of one confused specialist after another.

 

[rhumbliner]

Would you try and sell someone something that you don't have?

Well, I would agree with you in that instance.

But I’ve experienced anti-selling when the dealer did have EV’s to sell. When I bought my first Leaf, the Nissan salesman tried to steer me to a “more reliable” car with a gasoline engine. Even after I closed the sale there was no congratulatory handshake. He simply told me to come back if the Leaf didn’t work out for me.

Last fall, I drove over to a Chevy dealer, with my Leaf, just to give the Bolt a test drive. The usual cadre of sales personnel were lounging around out front and one smiling rep walked over and asked if I was ready to trade in the Leaf. I said it was possible and I would like to test drive the Bolt. His demeanor changed immediately (no more smiles) and he asked if I was sure I didn’t want something with a longer range, i.e. a nice ICE. When I insisted on test driving the Bolt he went from being helpful to scowling and saying I’d have to go inside and ask for Alex. Turns out Alex had graduated high school that Spring and had been working for the dealership ever since. He was the Bolt specialist but during the test drive admitted he didn’t know much about them. Although I was impressed with the Bolt (but too expensive for what it offers, imho) I was not impressed with the dealership.

 

[The Duke]

When I bought Nicki each of my friends had the same comment "I cannot imagine you in an electric car". I have a reputation for driving hyper cars, I guess. One by one they got test drives and each said "I had no idea your car would do that" or something similar.

I cannot blame salespeople for their ignorance and therefore erroneous advice. My concern is how to educate them.

 

[Uncle Paul]

The automotive world is changing much faster then the legacy dealerships can adapt.

If you drive a Tesla you will understand how fantastic it is. If you just learn from the journalists you hear how bad it is from their fake news.

A journalist will get lots more clicke writing "Tesla catches fire" than "Chevrolet catches fire" Ralph Nader killed the Corvair with his publication...Unsafe at any speed. That car was just as safe as a Pinto (also destroyed by journalists) or a Chevette (also killed by Journalists).

 

[hacer]

I happened to overhear a conversation between 3 people I didn't know several weeks ago simply because I was seated at a table near them. One was describing how they went to a GM dealership and wanted to see whether hybrid or electric cars were "viable" yet; they were told it was a bad idea, did not test drive any BEV or hybrids, and bought an ICE car. Then one of the other guys said that he had a neighbor who owned a Tesla. He said that is neighbor was a big "risk taker" and drives it all sorts of crazy places. He said his neighbor once even drove his Tesla through the Baltimore harbor tunnel! He said it as if that were some huge challenge, or dangerous or something.

The level of ignorance about EVs that this shows among the general population is astonishing to me. But that's reality today.

 

[ForeverFree]

The Doubters Just Don’t Get It

 

[D.E.]

Why bother some guy who is trying to feed his family?

Sales people should know their product, they should be authorities on purchase/lease options for their products. They should not make unsolicited inaccurate comments about competing products. Misinformation should be condemned regardless of the source or the motivation.

 

[Hugh Mannity]

Sales people should know their product, they should be authorities on purchase/lease options for their products. They should not make unsolicited inaccurate comments about competing products. Misinformation should be condemned regardless of the source or the motivation.

This has been my pet peeve for years. It constantly blows me away how little the average car salesperson knows their own product. I’ve asked typical, normal questions that I already knew the answers to and most salespeople didn’t know the answers. WTF? This is YOUR company, YOUR paycheque. I guess most customers are dumb and just accept at face value what the sales guys tell them ? IDK. I had one exception; sales guy at BMW knew more than I did about the Z3 I bought years ago, that was rare and impressive.

 

[xyeahtony]

This has been my pet peeve for years. It constantly blows me away how little the average car salesperson knows their own product. I’ve asked typical, normal questions that I already knew the answers to and most salespeople didn’t know the answers. WTF? This is YOUR company, YOUR paycheque. I guess most customers are dumb and just accept at face value what the sales guys tell them ? IDK. I had one exception; sales guy at BMW knew more than I did about the Z3 I bought years ago, that was rare and impressive.

Before I bought a Tesla, I wanted to buy a Nissan 370Z and the salesman did not know it could be configured with a manual transmission until I showed him the configuration on Nissan.com :|

This is why we all hate dealerships.

 

[Jays200]

I took my friendly Renault dealer for a ride in our MX after looking at the Zoe. He to was blown away.

I finished with the comment, "know thy enemy".