Continued...More Dealer scams and 'spiffs'

[kahnartist]

My husband unearthed a piece of paper he found lying around at a local Scion Dealer. I used to work retail and am well aware of 'spiffs'--manufacturer (and now car dealer) unethicial backroom payments to salespeople for 'pushing' and selling a specific product. Basically how it works is: you sell Sony, Magnavox, Zenith (whatever the product the manufacturers need to push) for added 'bonus' money (from Sony, Zenith, etc), in your paycheck. The product might be better (or usually worse) than what you were THINKING about buying. But, because the salesman 'sounds' sooooo honest, you end up leaving with what he/she recommends (while they laugh all the way to the bank).
Here is what the Scion paperwork said...and folks, this stuff is REAL. Hate to tell you, but it seems in the world today, it is typical to reward salespeople for pushing BULL on you like there is no tomorrow.

Be aware that these happen at dealerships too (and are over and above 'commissions' for selling the cars). Call them 'incentives'....
For the month of November at the Scion Dealer:
Selling 10 Scions pays additional $500
Selling 15 Pays $750
Pushing 'Paint sealant" for $995 gets you $100 in your paycheck
Maintenance plan for $995 gets you $50
Extended Plan (any) for $825 added to the bill-they get $50
Invisigraphics (or window etching) for $199 gets them $20
and finally Gap (whatever that is)...a $500 tab for you, gets the salesman $25

I knew this happened in Retail, but had no idea car salesfolks were in on the riches too. Be afraid. Be verrrry afraid.......

[Blue Leader]

:confused: Uhh... That's a pretty standard compensation package, no matter what the dealership is. Salespeople get paid for selling additional stuff. Always have. Same with volume bonuses.

[Erock40]

:confused: Uhh... That's a pretty standard compensation package, no matter what the dealership is. Salespeople get paid for selling additional stuff. Always have. Same with volume bonuses.

Sounds about right, we didn't sell paint sealant(wax). There was a volume bonus. Being a former salesperson, I can say this. Not all salespeople are out to screw you over. They are paid according to their production. I was pretty much always a top sales producer and I did it RIGHT! If I felt my product wasn't right for you or wouldn't work how you needed I would say so. I sold Acuras but I referred many people to our Honda store because it was a better fit. That's not to say some out there aren't bad, b/c there are some.

Just my .02

[Wiley]

I think this is another reason to go with a fleet dealer ...they're usually less inclined to push stuff on you as they are just out for raw volume. My dealer told me where to go to get a hitch mounted for half the price of the dealer and told me not to bother with the trim package because it takes 15 minutes to install and Honda bills two hours for it ...she offered to sell me just the trim kit and told me I could easily do it myself.

She didn't seem to interested on pushing option on me.

also: Gap insurance is in case the car gets totalled and your insurance doesn't pay all that you owe on the car. Offer the dealer $200 for the gap insurance and they will probably go for it.

[iROC]

Interesting post, especially given your screen name. :)

In any case it is best for people to do their own research before buying any big ticket item. Except for a few specialty stores I find that I end up knowing more about certain products than the sales staff.