I don't believe I'm actually considering this... getting a job as an Audi salesman...
 

I've been unemployed for about 8 weeks now and I am considering getting out of my previous industry altogether (electronic component sales). I have an engineering degree but I'd like to stay in sales. There's an Audi dealer right across the street from where I live and I talked to the sales manager today... he said to call him after Thanksgiving and we'll talk more.

I dunno... I'm just toying with the idea. Can one make a decent living in car sales? I like the idea of being around cars... especially Audi's. I like the commute... about 200 yards from my door step. And I like not having to cold call anymore. I HATE cold calling. The downside I guess is the hours. I don't want to work retail hours if I can avoid it. However at least I'd have Sundays guaranteed off.

Well, If I did take the job, maybe I can get a special discount on my next car!!

Hey, we'd at least have a knowledgeable saleperson to go to now!

Gawd isn't that the TRUTH...The guy that tried to sell me an S4 owned a Vette.
 

Needless to say he knew absolutely NOTHING about Audi's or german cars in general. 50% of of refusal to upgrade was because I could never buy a car from a guy that owns a Vette, 50% was they didn't get the damn price down low enough. I'm kinda glad that I didn't upgrade cause I've been out of work for two months now.

I was talking to one of our Loan Officers today....
 

He used to be a car salesman....did pretty well at it for a couple years before he was promoted to finance manager. Made some REALLY good money. He said you just need to know how to sell, but you definitely need to know your product and work hard at finding (and keeping) customers. Keep us posted as I'm sure a lot of us have wondered what it would be like (including me).

Heard from my sales guy ...
 

All Audi sales went to a week long training some where in Texas, including some track time. Anyone else heard that?

Tell me where you live so I can get an A4 for invoice. :-)

That's great Mike!!!!!!!
 

I've considerd it too! I figure sales is a lot more fun when you're actually really into the product you're selling.

We'd all love to have you as a salesman Mike! ;-)

Chicago area. But first I'm gonna sell myself one for BELOW invoice! he he!

i know more about audi's than most ppl at the dealer i went to

Knowledgeable... ha ha... I'm a dumbass. But at least I can say I like the cars I sell. ; )

Although......
 

I am sorta getting used to being a no workin', unemployment collectin', late sleepin', couch potatoin', jerry springer watchin', white trash scumbag!

I wouldn't mind doing this for a few more months... but I got toys to buy and I needs cash!

I'm lookin' to buy a Harley next summer.

LoL!, did U read that post the other night about the stupid Acura sales people that...
 

Tried to tell an Audi owner to have his car checked for recalls cause the cars FLIP OVER all the time, and how this individual corrected him and told him the only recall he knew about was the lower control arms and that's been fixed. He also educated the sales person that only the TT had a problem with the back end getting frisky but the added spoiler lip ended up fixing the problem. The salesperson remained speechless after that. LOL

Great, only a three hour drive for me. I'm serious so let me know and I'll buy one your first day.

haha!

LOL!

I don't know how Audi works but....
 

I have a friend that used to be in Toyota sales...he told me that the way comissions works is that you get 25% of the amount over what dealer costs is...and dealer costs is not equal to listed "dealer invoice." So depending on that number and how good you are at sales....you could have a good amount of cash flow. That doesn't mean that Audi works the same way though.

yea... I've heard stuff like that too...
 

seems different dealers have different ways of doing it. Some give a set commish rate no matter what you sell the car for, some give a percentage of the total sale, regardless of the mark-up.

cool. I'll look like a hero and get promoted after one hour on the job! he he.,

I swear some, or should I say... most, car salesmen are f*cking retarded.

An Audi salesperson recently told me...
 

on a test drive that it's a tough way to make a living. Said he gets 1/3 of gross profit on the car. So if a customer gets, say, $1,500 over invoice that's maybe $500 per car. Most deals would, I imagine, be more than that, particularly on higher-priced models. With the down economy I wonder how many cars you could sell in a month. The guy also said it was tough dealing with customers, who often expect too many concessions from the dealer an don't necessarily show a lot of respect. Maybe this guy was trying to make me feel sorry for him, thought I'd pass it on anyway.

Well actually October was the highest month on record for car sales ever.

I sold BMWs in the late 80's...It was lots of fun and made lots of money
 

Give it a shot; you probably already have more product knowledge than most salespeople. Develop a good walk-around demo technique, be laid back, and you'll do great.

f*cking retarded is an understatement my good man.

that would definitely be an interesting job. like mark said it would be cool as hell to have you as
 

a salesguy

I know... I was just trying to be nice. ; )

if you do, leave "lemme check with my manager" out of your repertoire ;)

yea... my salesman whom I still keep in touch with said pretty much the same thing....
 

about how customers treat you. It is a thankless job. But hey, that's something I can live with as long as I'm happy.. and I kinda like the challenge of making believers out of people who come in to the dealer with a stand-off-ish attitude... you know... expecting to be treated like sh*t and taken advantage of. If I were good enough to convice people that I wasn't full of sh*t, maybe I could stand out and really do well.

Oh man... you ain't kidding! GAWD I hate when they do that.

yea but that is slightly misleading. it's only because of the free financing everyone was offering.

stay AWAY from the cheap ties and straw hats too.
 

Those are red flags for any customer. Their first line in the negotiation talks is always the same...."I'm just a regular guy, I'm not gonna bull**** you...." or "I'm really not going to make anything here..."

did you ever read that piece that Edmunds.com did on selling cars
 

one of their reporters went 'undercover' and sold cars at three dealerships- one high end, one 'low end' and one Saturn dealership. Really interesting, albeit long.

Verrrrrrry long. Took me all day to read it in bits and pieces.

I think it took me about 3 days to finish the whole thing, but it was really interesting

If you do it, take that great attitude with you! Good luck.

if you do decide to go into that field what dealership are you planning....
 

to work at...im lookin into buying a new a4/s4 this year and would rather go to a fellow aw'er than some jack that dont know sh*t..

Hey if you can get us a good deal, I will buy an 02 A4 from you. . .
 

I live in CA, however distance is no problem. If you can get us a price close to invoice I will buy from you as well as some other folks in CA. It would turn into a quasi-group buy. I am willing to order and wait the three months. Hell, screw the 02 A4, probably too much demand right now. If you can get me invoice or close to invoice pricing on a 225 TT coupe with premium package only in silver/ebony interior, I will buy from you. Let us know. I am serious, interested in buying something in the next 3 months. Good luck in your new job, regardless.

Very cool possibility
 

really comes down to two factors, what sort of dealership, and what marque of vehicle. Audis are nice, and selling would be very, very fun for me. If i could get a job selling them on weekends, id do it in a heartbeat.

Alot of people entered car sales because it is a job with the potential to make lots of money, and requires no education. But you can take a different approach, learning the product, driving it, and that can make you are far better salesman than most. Just remember that enthusiasts are not common, remember to stress the points the average person wants to know about, without pushing the modification potential.

That is a very nice dealership, and everyone there seems very nice.

Sorry ive not called recently, ill call ya soon, we can grab a coffee.

Cheers