|  Gregory D. Lee Read Greg's bio and previous columns here
June 5, 2009
My Auto Shopping Adventure: One Reason GM Failed
On Memorial Day, I went
car shopping for an SUV. I was tempted by GM�s 0 percent financing on the
Cadillac Escalade hybrid, and found a dealership to test drive one.
The salesman was polite
enough, and showed me some, but not all, of the vehicle�s many features.
When I asked about the navigation system, he said the DVD map disc was in
the office but assured me it was one of the best. I guess I�ll just have to
take his word for it.
When I saw a sticker on
an Escalade�s windshield that read: �Today�s Special,� I asked about it.
�Oh,� he said. �That doesn�t mean anything. Somebody puts them on the cars
all the time.�
Then I test drove one,
but the salesman was too busy to come with me, so he lost another
opportunity to explain the vehicle�s many features and why it�s superior to
its competition. When I returned to the dealership, the salesman wanted to
appraise my trade-in. I had checked the Kelly Blue Book�s web site, and knew
my vehicle was in excellent condition and worth $19,000 as a trade-in. As I
predicted, the appraiser judged the vehicle to be in not excellent, or good,
but only fair condition. According to the blue book, this particular vehicle
in �fair� condition was worth only $16,000.
The salesman countered
my initial purchase offer with a figure only $2,000 less than the whopping
$76,000 sticker price. He quickly pulled out the alleged �dealer�s invoice�
to show that his wholesale price was only about $2,500 less than the sticker
price, and said that meant that he would �lose money� if he accepted my
offer. Having bought about a dozen new vehicles in my lifetime, I�m always
amazed how gullible car dealers think buyers are. I know that domestic
dealers have approximately 13 percent of a vehicle�s MSRP to play with, and
that doesn�t count manufacturer incentives, hold-backs and other things.
When I mentioned I
might look at a Lexus, the salesman blurted, �They don�t negotiate at all.�
Considering GM was on
the verge of bankruptcy, I thought if there was ever a time that a dealer
would be honest and anxious to sell his inventory, this was it. But
apparently I was mistaken.
A few days later I went
to a GMC dealership. I told the salesman that I was interested in a
front-wheel-drive GMC Acadia SUV with leather seating, navigation and memory
seats. When I asked about a CD player, he said that it was an option. When I
looked at the sticker on the window, it was clearly written that a
single-play CD was standard equipment. Of course, the dealership did not
have what I wanted. All but two in the inventory were all-wheel drive, and
neither had navigation. This was the second GMC dealer I visited that day.
The first dealer wrote down the options I wanted and promised to call me
when he found a vehicle. He didn�t have the brochure I requested, and he
never called back.
I stopped at a Toyota
dealership and found a friendly, courteous and knowledgeable salesman. He
also offered me $16,000 for my trade-in, but the Highlander hybrid I was
looking at was advertised for about $6,500 below the sticker price.
Unfortunately, the Highland does not offer memory seats so I moved on.
I finally succumbed to
my wife�s wishes and went to a Lexus dealer. The salesman was polite, and
Joe Biden would describe him as �clean and articulate.� He definitely was
knowledgeable about the products he sold. He accompanied me on two test
drives and demonstrated the vehicle�s many features and the navigation
system. He pointed out tags on the dashboards of several of the vehicles in
the showroom announcing up to $8,000 off some remaining 2009 models.
The contrast between GM
and the other dealers was dramatic. As much as I would like to buy an
American automobile, it becomes harder and harder when dealers don�t have
what you want, and the sales force don�t know their products and have a
take-it-or-leave-it attitude.
Maybe now, having filed
Chapter 11, GM will direct its dealers to sell cars instead of playing
games.
Gregory D. Lee is a nationally syndicated columnist for North
Star Writers Group. He can be reached at info@gregorydlee.com.
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