Carsalesman job???

Hey guys!!! I'm new to the board

If someone could help me out with this question it would be great...

ok: I'm a 22yrd old college student (senior) and I'm looking for a carsalesman opportunity. What are my chances of getting a job as a carsalesman without any experience...I know a lot about cars(A LOT) and I'm very professional.....What is the pay like(on ave)...I'm great at selling things and I LOVE CARS...I own a 2000MRoadster myself.

Lastly, is it possible to get a job at a high-end car dealer without any experience....(used or new?)

I've heard good things and bad things about carsaleman so I'm interested in what you guys think!

Thanks guys!!!! :sunglasse

Anyone know of my chances selling high-end used or new vehicles with not much car selling experience....I'm a college undergrad senior looking to try to make a living this summer....

any opinions are welcome and thanks!!!

Anything is possible. If you have sales experience it is a plus. Some companies may feel a bit uncomfortable with a salesman in his early 20s. But I personally know a few friends who have done this with no problems. Each place may pay differently. Some pay a flat rate per week, some pay based on commission. Some pay a lower flat rate, and then extra based on commission. It all depends on the place. I say apply to a bunch of places and find out. What is the worst they will say...no. So why not give it a try. If you know your cars and have good sales experience it will show. Best of luck.

Thanks a lot!!!!

I was just wonderin if it is possible....I don't know how the whole system works....nice to get some pro-advice!!

WHOA, BUDDY!!!!!

I think I could be of some serious help to you. First, let me tell you a little bit about myself. I went to college and was an English major. I have planned on teaching for quite awhile, but I wanted to do something kind of "fun" for maybe a year or two, and then go back and get my Master's degree. (I am finishing up the first semester of my master's program right now.)

It sounds like you are thinking alot like I did a couple of years ago. I don't mean to brag, but I've got ALOT of info upstairs when it comes to cars. All cars- domestic, foreign, old, new- whatever. It was only natural that when I went to seek my semi temporary "fun" job, I started looking into car sales.

Now I don't mean to discourage you, but I'm just going to tell it like it is. Unless you get really lucky, you will have a hard time starting out at a dealer that you'll actually want to stay at. I started at a Chevrolet dealer, mainly just because they were willing to give new salespeople a chance. Well... it didn't take long to figure out that there was a reason the dealer had a huge turnover rate among salespeople. I was "hired," but then was told I would have to pay for my own training, which I would then be reimbursed for if I stayed over 90 days. I was a heck of a salesperson, but the general atmosphere was absolute hell. My salesmanagers would flat out lie to customers, and when the customer managed to wise up and the deal went sour, it was my ass that got chewed. It was a really high pressure buying environment. Furthermore, they would rob the Hell out of the whole sales force.

To understand what I'm talking about, you have to understand car deals. There is a "front end," or profit over incvoice that you are paid on, and there is a "back end" that the finance managers make thier money off of. If the customer was to get in the bussiness office and start bucking on payments (which they do 90% of the time), guess which end they end up taking the profit out of first? It doesn't take anytime before you wise up to an outfit like that and leave. I stayed for 90 days, got my training money back, and promptly got the hell out of there.

And on to dealer number two: A Ford/ Volkswagen dealer. Actually was a pretty good place to work. If I hadn't started out at the shitty dealer, though, I doubt they would have hired me. You could make good money when floor traffic was good. In our location, though, we had alot of the same old tire kickers wandering around the lot day in and day out, asking annoying question ("when's that thar 05 GT mustang comin out") and recoiling at the suggestion that he or she should consider buying something. Overall, you can kind of run into a feast or famine deal from month to month. Especially starting out, when you are trying to buld up a clientel. I don't care what B.S. stories the rednecks and paranoid idiots make up about carsalesman- they are NOT getting rich off of anyone. You'll work your ass off (60-70 hrs. wk.) your first year at a good dealer and MIGHT manage to pull in 25K. I knew some damn good salespeople who had been at it for years, and struggled to pull in over 37K a year selling Fords or Chevrolets. And that's with a fantastic customer base and years of experience.

All the above brings me to another point. The most frustrating part of being a car salesman is that 95% if people DON'T CARE about the technicals of automobiles. The minute I even mentioned something about the mechanicals of the car, I could see the customers start to glaze over. Especially the Ford people buying SUVS and Taurus's. F150 people are about as bad anymore. They want to know if the truck has a 302 or 350 in it, and get a retarded look on their face when you try to explain that the modular motors really have nothing to do with the older engines. Long story short, unless you get on at a high end dealer, the customer normally could care less about the car. They just want to know what kind of rebate is out and whether they can get 0% APR. Then you spend about 2 hours with them on the lot, only to take them into the finance office and find out that theyv'e been filling you full of shit. Low and behold, you pull their credit, and discover they haven't payed a bill in 6 months and would be lucky to get a buy rate of 28%. And just wait till you get to tell them they are upside down on their trade in!

WHEWWW! Sorry about all that. Alot of bad memories. That being said, I appreciate the experience, but there is no way in Hell I would make a career out of it. I had some good customers. VW people were usually pretty knowledgable and had a genuine interest in learning more about the car itself. Mustang Mach 1 and Cobra buyers were normally true enthusiasts too. The funniest thing is when a fool would saunter over from the Explorers or Expeditions ("I want one with a DVD player! Tee hee!") and ask if they had and huge rebates on "Turags." They would promptly retreat back to the Ford side of the lot when they discovered that VW just doesn't work that way. They were always too dumb to realize that rebates absolutely kill trade in values, even though they INSIST on trading every two years. (Actually they at least TRY to trade every two years until they are so far upside it's not even funny. That's when you start running into 80 and 90 month car loans.)

Anyway, I'll shut up now. I just don't want to see another college grad get caught up in the same mess I did. You can do better, and make more money in a short amount of time in other jobs. You MIGHT get lucky and get on at a Toyota or Honda dealer, but then again, those companies are slowly but surely falling into the same sales philosophy that the domestics folllow. An Acura, Infinfity, BMW, or Benz dealer could be nice, but there again, they are hard to get into without experience. Of course, it never hurts to try. And one other thing- once you're in the bussiness... I don't know. It's kind of hard to get out. Especially if you sell well. My dealer was kind of pissed when I left, and I even thought pretty hard about staying. Now that I'm out, though, I'm glad. My final suggestion: If you just feel like you have to try it, go ahead. But if you just want to use sales as a good way to make money before you further your education, find something else. I'm getting in to bar tending at night to help pay for school, and there is some damn good money in it. Just think it all through carefully.

I'm going to agree and disagree a bit with the above post.

Obviously, I am not going to disagree with your experience...but that was at 2 dealerships. Not every dealership is the same. In general, there is plenty to dislike, but that can be said about any sales job, when your profit is based on your ability to extract money from a customer (commission).

I think alot of what you have said can be said for most any sales job. I have had many sales jobs over the last few years, in various fields, in both the sales rep and managerial fields. It can cut both ways, I've gotten screwed by customers, managers, and sales reps. I've dealt with stupid customers, managers, and sales reps. There are always those customers who have no interest in making a purchasing decision, there are always those who lie about their credit, etc, etc.

I can understand your frustration, as it seems you were unlucky to work at 2 less than ideal dealerships, compounded by the fact that there will always be ups and downs in any sales job. Beginning a sales job, you will almost always need to put in alot of extra hours that you wont be paid for...but in most/some it gets better.

I've gone a week without making a dime, I've had a half hour period where I made 1,600 (which was damn good for being a freshman in college at the time). Like I said, I can understand your situations, and your frustrations, etc, but all I can say is sales isn't for everyone, but it is something that I see myself doing for quite a long time. I enjoy it, not every minute of it, but in general, and would suggest that you don't let your bad experiences lead you to suggest (to people you don't even know) that they avoid it and pursue other options.

I understand your desire to tell it, like it really is. That will definantly help in his decision making, but I would venture to say, that just because it wasn't for you, doesn't mean it wont be right for him...

I don't mean to come across as being a dick or anything, just trying to present both sides of the story as accurately as possible.

PS. I hope you enjoy bartending. I did it on the weekends for 2 years and loved almost every minute of it (except the cheap college students who don't tip :disappoin ).

Fair enough Igovert.

I've really just now gotten the chance to look back at my post, and it probably came across a bit more negatively than I intended. I guess sometimes when you recount experiences like that the negative things tend to come back to mind first, and you end up painting a more dismal than real picture.

Still though, I feel like 90% of what I mentioned needed to be said, but as you wrote, it should all be weighed accordingly. Despite the downs, I am glad I got the experience I did, and I hope you end up making the decision that suits you best, MRoadster.

It really wasn't my intention to try and talk you completely out of your job choice. My main reasoning, regardless of how vauge it seems in my last post, is just that if you are looking for a job for the summer, car sales may not be the best route to go, mainly because an established clientel is what really leads to a solid income in that area. Of course, it could be tough to build up much of a customer base in a 3 month span. If you plan to stick with it, though, just research well and find yourself a good dealership. With hard work and dedication, you might just move mountains.

And BTW, bartending is working out well so far. Luckily, I've run into pretty generous tippers for the most part. :grinyes: Life is getting rough now that finals are coming up, though. :bricks1:

I wouldn't start selling cars if you are almost done with college. You can do better elsewhere. I would think that it takes a little time to get really good at selling.

BTW I tried to get a job at a honda dealer here at 19. I love hondas and am on my second accord. They offered the job to a 30 yr old loser I know that knows nothing about cars. Good Luck.