Dealer closed events
 

Hi all,

we have been invited to a dealer event, Marshall Nottingham.

Promised VIP discounts across the range, we are actually looking at going up to an XC90, (used) eight grand-children now.

Is it all waffle as ever with salesmen, or can I expect some good waffle.

Has anyone any experience of these events, and is it a way to shift stock before the 67 reg?

Complete and total twaddle of the highest order.

Can you imagine someone arriving on the day and not being let in. LOL

its marketing bull to make people feel special. best way to buy a new car is as I do, ring several dealers and tell them what you are prepared to pay.

I got £9000 off a brand new very high spec car in August last year as a factory order by doing it like this. The dealer even delivered it to my door.

PS, im a salesman........not cars thankfully

By all means go along and play the 'captive customer', but if you have not priced up the car using Drivethedeal and Carwow BEFORE you enter the showroom, you are highly vulnerable to the 'offer' which will 'not be available' once you leave the showroom.

just do some research on similar-spec cars to the one you're going to look at - a similar Volvo Selekt car would be a good bargaining chip to introduce - and be prepared to haggle! If that's the car you want, and if they want to do a deal with you there and then, great. They all know if you walk away you may not come back, so PREPARE. At least you may well get some food and drink there as it's a "special event"....good luck, and hope you end up happy:-)

If they really wanted to offer genuine enticements to existing customers, or carefully chosen 'probables', they could do a lot worse than Saab around 1999/2000.

...A 24 hour test drive. Car delivered to my home on a Friday afternoon unlimited mileage for 24 hours, full fuel tank thrown in. Next day the guy called at my door to collect the keys and off he drove without any discussion at all and no further follow up. I don't even know which dealership supplied it.

I guess they were just confident that I was a likely prospect. And they were right, I ordered one a few months later (having agreed a sensible discount of course).

It was the "Volvo Freedom" test day that got me hooked in 2013, booked back to back test drives with 3 models (and cars!)..Nice hotel location, no salesmen!
I put pen to paper a year later..

when I was in company cars fleet dealers would be all over us for tests. we were only a small firm (50+) people), but would often have 3 cars parked outside for a week for anyone to take out.
Had an Audi A6 Quattro for a weekend.
I was on my 3rd Saab and they gave me a 2.3 Aero HOT estate for 3 days, including a drive from Milton Keynes to Chester for a sales visit.
And, of COURSE I ordered one. Same colour. Even paid extra for the roof spoiler...happy days.

Pure rubbish don't fall for the VIP con.
Good friend works at a main dealer and they laugh at how many people fall for this..... Free glass of champagne for you and the wife though. Might be expensive champagne if you sign up.
Why do you think they do these events to reward their customers or boost profits.......

and if you make someone feel special they relax a bit. Just a sales technique, but if you're buying anyway, use it to put THEM on the back foot.

Don't know if they still do, but dealers have quotas by mode, not just number of cars/value to get their bonus from the manufacturer. So a tactic I've used in the past is taking the time to ring round dealers who are in a demographic where maybe the car you are thinking about, XC90, isn't likley to sell that well.

I agree the VIP thing is tosh. And anyway I can't be doing with the many sales people, in car sales showrooms, with insufficient product knowledge, no sales training and who think as a 'punter' you are probaly a muppet.