MB Sales guy's anti-Tesla sales pitch

[mattack4000]

I tried to avoid my $595 disposition by getting a Mercedes product to replace my B, but the C350e was disappointing. Instead of being a EV car with gas assist, it is actually the other way. It runs primarily as a gas car with batteries for idling and additional power, it honestly felt like an overpowered Prius. They tried hard to make it sporty, but the driving position is awful for a family sedan. I was so disappointed in it that I took the Smart car over the C350e.

 

[BLKMDL3]

So a friend of ours (Who drives a Range Rover Supercharged and crazy X6M) asks for a ride in the 3 through canyons. He says he will miss engine. Slam him back in seat, trades in BMW and orders XP100D same day. Never looked back.

 

[timvracer]

Huh?
The only repressed anger I sense is in your post, which doesn't even make sense.
The issue is the salesperson was both lying, and didn't know what he was talking about. I absolutely expect him to sell the crap out of his stuff and why it is better than the other guy's, but to do so with some amount of reason and data. I detest sales people who operate like this guy did, but maybe you are one of those that think all is fair if you just get them to "sign on the line which is dotted."

Everyone is trying to feed their family, that doesn't justify lying, deceiving, and misleading. Then again, maybe you don't agree.

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?

 

[boaterva]

Huh?
The only repressed anger I sense is in your post, which doesn't even make sense.
The issue is the salesperson was both lying, and didn't know what he was talking about. I absolutely expect him to sell the crap out of his stuff and why it is better than the other guy's, but to do so with some amount of reason and data. I detest sales people who operate like this guy did, but maybe you are one of those that think all is fair if you just get them to "sign on the line which is dotted."

Everyone is trying to feed their family, that doesn't justify lying, deceiving, and misleading. Then again, maybe you don't agree.

Right, I was talking about ‘people who don’t know their own products (EVs).’ Not at all about Ford not selling Tesla, which makes no sense at all. (Apple pushing Google, whatever.)

Salespeople pushing ICE cars because they have the most service revenue will be the death of them all.

 

[Science fan]

The dealerships have "bought" corrupt state level congressmen in order to prevent Tesla from competing in a free market. Ironic, as most of them profess to be conservatives. The result: Higher car prices to support the life styles of wealthy dealers. I feel no sense of responsibility to dealers who succeed only by bribing their way through life to avoid meaningful competition in this zero sum market. Every morning, I think "Another 750 Teslas built and another 750 sales lost to dealers."

 

[tinm]

Gotta watch out for those Meredes cars: they're burnin' down all over the place.

Mercedes Benz Recalls 42,800 Smart ForTwos for Fire Risk
Mercedes-Benz recalls 42,800 Smart ForTwos for fire risk

Mercedes fleeing police hits CTA bus, catches fire on West Side
Mercedes fleeing police hits CTA bus, catches fire on West Side

Unregistered Mercedes Destroyed During Car Fire in Dearborn Heights
Unregistered Mercedes destroyed during car fire in Dearborn Heights

Animal May Have Started Dramatic Smart car Fire
Animal may have caused dramatic Smart car fire | CBC News

Why do Rome’s buses (made by Mercedes) keep catching fire?
Why do Rome's buses keep catching fire?

Passenger Escapes Car Fire (Mercedes) in Langley High Street
Passengers escape car fire in Langley High Street

Mercedes Recalls 9,800 Vehicles With 'Active Curve' Systems
Mercedes Recalls 9,800 Vehicles With 'Active Curve' Systems

Fire in Mercedes-Benz showroom causes ‘major, major damage’
Fire in Mercedes-Benz showroom causes ‘major, major damage’

Fire Torches Car (a Mercedes) At Caldwell Mercedes On Bloomfield Avenue
Fire Torches Car At Caldwell Mercedes On Bloomfield Avenue

Man sets a taxi on fire out of jealousy
Man sets a taxi on fire out of jealousy

 

[Magomboman]

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?

Actually my area MB and Lexus sales reps were very understandable when I decided on my MS. The Lexus sales rep actually has stock and made his Tesla plant visit to CA just last December. Even though I didnt get there brand they told me great choice and enjoy.

 

[croman]

As a former salesperson, I never had to lie or do anything nefarious for sales. I didn't sell cars but sales is sales. I was my company's top sales person for 6 months. It's all about rapport and meeting needs and expectations. You don't win them all but a good salesperson doesn't need to denigrate anything to be successful.

 

[CliffG]

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?!

We should start a pool on when someone's going to figure out how to provide incentives for the sales people, not just for customers.

 

[boaterva]

We should start a pool on when someone's going to figure out how to provide incentives for the sales people, not just for customers.

Good point. If they had a reason to push the cars, besides the dealership made money on service....

 

[TaoJones]

As long as stealerships derive the majority of revenue (~75%) from disservice visits (repairs, both warranty and non-warranty), there will remain an inherent conflict of interest - especially when it comes to the promotion of vehicles with far fewer moving parts.

If I was a stealership owner *twitch*, I would seriously consider divesting into a bunch of premium alignment/tire/suspension and body shops.

Since *all* vehicles will need those services, regardless of how much traction ride-sharing does or does not get over time.

 

[hmmm]

@ a Porsche dealership, while taking a Panamera for a spin:

- I'm also looking at an S, FYI
- Yes but these things are just a big blog of plastic!
- Wait, it's mostly aluminum, not plastic.
- Well the car just sounds like a big blob of plastic when you're driving it.

We had a good laugh, and here I am.

 

[ReturnZero]

@ a Porsche dealership, while taking a Panamera for a spin:

- I'm also looking at an S, FYI
- Yes but these things are just a big blog of plastic!
- Wait, it's mostly aluminum, not plastic.
- Well the car just sounds like a big blob of plastic when you're driving it.

We had a good laugh, and here I am.

This is funny, especially considering the first time I sat in a Paramera the first thing I thought when I saw the center console was "holy crap that's a lot of plastic!"

 

[BLKMDL3]

This is funny, especially considering the first time I sat in a Paramera the first thing I thought when I saw the center console was "holy crap that's a lot of plastic!"

There is so many buttons and black plastic, but we don’t hear any whining about that scratching like the Model 3 is very good at doing. Here’s the 2 buttons that matter most. Sport=Less MPG and Sport Plus=Even more trips to the gas station. I know because one used to live in my driveway. Actually 2 in a row. Then bought a Model X and voila! No buttons. Then got a Model 3 and even less buttons.

 

[FlatSix911]

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.

Very sad state of affairs ... the average car sales person has very little education and product knowledge. All FUD

 

[Lipsyte]

A friend went to Chevy to get a Volt, I was with him, and the salesperson told us "It's faster than a Tesla". I told him 'wait what?' and he added "from 0 to 30!". We ended up talking all about Tesla and he said it was his car goal to get one ;_)
I think all the salespersons are trained to deal with Tesla questions

 

[whitex]

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.

First, old timers don't want to learn new tricks. It's easier to dis the new product rather than learn about it, especially that they all probably have owned ICE cars before, but never an EV.

Second, I've been buying cars for a long time now, and have to tell you, I've always known way more about the car I was buying than almost any sales guy I ever dealt with. The worst IMO is when they make up information or straight out lie. If you think this is an ICE phenomenon, it's not. It was also true buying Teslas. This is why when I find a good sales person, I stick with them. Sadly, they usually end up getting promoted to higher level manager or move to a different company by the time I need the next car (which coincidentally also turned out to the case with Tesla for me, after finally dealing with the most competent OA, a year later she was a site manager, but did refer me to the second best OA I've dealt with so far).

Third, dealerships live off of service. Many of times I bought cars with little profit to the dealer because they knew I was going to service it there. EV service is an unknown to the dealers and they have no idea whether they can make as good money on it. For one, they need to retrain their techs which costs money. At this point in time, there is more money for an established shop to service ICE cars. This is probably a big reason why they'd steer their customers and offer sales incentives for salespeople to sell ICE cars.

 

[whitex]

Huh?
The only repressed anger I sense is in your post, which doesn't even make sense.
The issue is the salesperson was both lying, and didn't know what he was talking about. I absolutely expect him to sell the crap out of his stuff and why it is better than the other guy's, but to do so with some amount of reason and data. I detest sales people who operate like this guy did, but maybe you are one of those that think all is fair if you just get them to "sign on the line which is dotted."

Everyone is trying to feed their family, that doesn't justify lying, deceiving, and misleading. Then again, maybe you don't agree.

Sales people lying or being misinformed is not an ICE unique problem. After I pointed out that the power gauge during my test drive of a Model S P85D doesn't even come close to the advertised 691hp, a Tesla OA told me if I buy it I would get an OTA update soon to unleash the full 691hp. Obviously he was lying or misinformed since the 50% more power update still didn't come over 3 years later. By the way, he also told me there is no way to confirm the order before the week "cool off period" was out, even though I told him I had done it before. I stopped at the store on another day and another OA helped me confirm the order right there and then, so again, he was either lying or misinformed.

 

[whitex]

As a former salesperson, I never had to lie or do anything nefarious for sales. I didn't sell cars but sales is sales. I was my company's top sales person for 6 months. It's all about rapport and meeting needs and expectations. You don't win them all but a good salesperson doesn't need to denigrate anything to be successful.

Like in any profession, there are people really good at it and others who simply suck at their job.

 

[whitex]

Just to contrast people's stories here. The Lexus sales guy who sold me cars before talked to me when I was servicing my car, just before I got my first Tesla. I told him I was going to buy a Tesla. He didn't try to slam it, he actually told me he thought they were great cars. He also told me he probably wasn't going to change my mind but wanted me to give him a chance by taking a brand new Lexus for an extended test drive while my car was being serviced (it was a recall service which took a day to fix). So I did, actually took 2 different ones because he didn't have the exact car I wanted on the first day, so we swapped the next day. When I came back I told him I still haven't changed my mind and will place my Tesla order within days. He said he understands, and if I ever want to come back to Lexus to give him a call.

So yes, there are nice and competent sales people selling ICE cars too.