Hey all. You might remember me as the guy who's about to start a new job and is looking to spend about $45,000 on a new car. The cars I'm considering are the Lexus ES350, IS350, and GS300, the BMW Z4 and 330i, the Acura TL, the Infiniti G35, and the Mercedes C350.
Well, I went out today and spend some time at two dealerships: Hoy-Fox Lexus of El Paso and BMW of El Paso.
I'll start off with the good. First off, let me just say that I do look very young. I'm only 22 and probably look 20. I don't have Franklins falling out of every pocket. So, I think it would be really easy for any salesperson to look at me and think, "This clown's a GS-1 and is just going to waste my time." But from the moment I stepped foot inside the Lexus dealership, they treated me like royalty. The salesperson I had made an appointment with wasn't immediately available, but they repeatedly appologized and offered me and the friend I was with free water and sodas.
Then the salesman came out and he was an all-around classy guy. I explained to him that I was just graduating and that I wasn't going to buy a new car for at least a couple of months. He assured me that would be no problem. I told him I wanted to look at an ES350. He spent several minutes asking me detailed questions about what I'm looking for in a car. Then, we went out to the car. He got in the driver's seat and started the car to get the air conditioner going. Then we sat there for half an hour and showed me EVERYTHING in the car. He gave me a tutorial on the navigation system and pointed out and showed me every last detail about every function and gadget inside the car. He made sure I didn't have any questions. Then he drove it for about 15 minutes, letting me really feel what the car was like as far as smoothness and quietness. Then he pulled over and let me drive it for about 15 minutes. He encouraged me to floor it and really test the vehicle out. Then when we got back, he showed me many consumer reports magazines which rated Lexus as a brand much higher than other luxury brands. He also pointed out that the ES350 was a "recommended buy" according to Consumer Reports, while Mercedes had no "recommended buys". He also pointed out that BMW and Mercedes were much worse in terms of reliability and maintainence costs. In fact, he showed me a Consumer Reports chart which had Mercedes listed DEAD LAST in terms of "Number of problems per 100 vehicles that needed service". Lexus was of course rated first. Then, he let me leave the dealership without any pressure to buy the vehicle. All in all, I've decided Lexus is a classy outfit that makes a quality product. The things I liked about the ES350 were the smoothness, quietness, and perfection of the interior design. The things I didn't like about the ES350 were relatively low power (275hp V6, but automatic transmission and the car is huge anyway), the sluggish handling (it felt like I was driving an elephant), and the fact that it looks like they glued 800 pounds of useless trim on the outside.
Then I went to the BMW dealership. As soon as I walked in, a "service" man asked me what I was doing. I told him I had made an appointment over the phone to test drive a Z4. He asked me who I talked to. I told him I didn't remember. He gave me a REALLY DIRTY look and was like "OOOK, you don't remember. whatever." and rolled his eyes. Then he was like "OK, i'll find you someone" in a really demeaning and negative tone. Then he came back (with no salesperson) and asked what I had in my hand. I told him I had printed out a checklist of attributes so that I could write down details about each car for later reference and to remind me about the details of each car. Again, he gave me a really dirty look and was like "OOOOOOK". So, I turned to my friend and was like "dude, that guy's being a dick" and he agreed with me. Then the salesman finally came out. You know "honest Gil" on the Simpsons? This dude looked AND ACTED exactly like him. He said it was his second day on the job. He literally knew nothing about the Z4. I had to explain to him what the premium package was, and he had no idea how to operate anything on the interior of the car. A very short 5 minute test drive later, I was back at the dealership.
Well, because the Z4 is a two-seater, I couldn't take my friend with me, so he went and sat in a couch in the dealership to watch some TV. Well, I guess the "service" guy who was so rude to me earlier must have overheard me calling him a dick. So he must not have seen my friend sitting in the couch and my friend actually told me he overheard the following: "Can you believe that guy called me a dick? He's the dick! Who does he think he is coming in here with a checklist? That's what I'm here for! He's supposed to ask me questions! I ****ing hate these college pricks who come in here looking for a new car. They think they're hot ****. And what's the deal with his little buddy? He had to bring his little friend along?". At that point, my friend stood up and was like "WHO, YOU MEAN ME?". Then the guy was like "ooh, well, yeah. Where do you get off calling me a dick? You should tell your little buddy that he's ****ing stupid for bringing a checklist into a car dealership." Then, according to my friend, the guy started approaching him like he wanted to start a fight! All of this trash talking actually happened in front of other customers too, who apparently also walked out. Then finally, a manager must have seen the commotion and took the "service" guy by the shoulders and escorted him out of the building. At that moment, I walked in from my brief test drive. I talked to the sales person and the manager about colors for about 2 minutes, and that was it. They didn't tell me ANYTHING about the reliability of the car, or how it compared to other vehicles, or ask me if I was satisfied with the car. Furthermore, they didn't once offer me or my friend an appology for the behavior of the service guy.
Overall, I am EXTREMELY disappointed in the service at BMW. When I go into a luxury car dealership, I expect to be treated like royalty. I might expect that kind of behavior out of a Hyundai dealership, but not a premium brand. I'm the customer; if I want to bring in a checklist, that's my business! If I want to call a service guy a dick because he was treating me like trash, that's also my business! It reeks of unprofessionalism for them to treat a customer that way, whether he's 20 or 50. They're smoking dope if they think I'm going to spend $45k on a new car after the way they treated me and my friend. If today was any indication of how they treat their customers, I want nothing to do with BMW. It's a shame too, because I really liked the Z4.
So, ignoring the cars, let's compare service. The Lexus dealership treated me like a king. The salesman was very knowledgeable, professional, and courteous. He took the time to really get to know me and to let me get to know him and the vehicle. The BMW dealership treated me like trash, like the lowest form of life on Earth. The salesman was clueless, and the service department was utterly rude, disrespectful, and unprofessional. If I had to pick a car based on how they treat their customers, BMW would be lower than Hyundai.
Well, I went out today and spend some time at two dealerships: Hoy-Fox Lexus of El Paso and BMW of El Paso.
I'll start off with the good. First off, let me just say that I do look very young. I'm only 22 and probably look 20. I don't have Franklins falling out of every pocket. So, I think it would be really easy for any salesperson to look at me and think, "This clown's a GS-1 and is just going to waste my time." But from the moment I stepped foot inside the Lexus dealership, they treated me like royalty. The salesperson I had made an appointment with wasn't immediately available, but they repeatedly appologized and offered me and the friend I was with free water and sodas.
Then the salesman came out and he was an all-around classy guy. I explained to him that I was just graduating and that I wasn't going to buy a new car for at least a couple of months. He assured me that would be no problem. I told him I wanted to look at an ES350. He spent several minutes asking me detailed questions about what I'm looking for in a car. Then, we went out to the car. He got in the driver's seat and started the car to get the air conditioner going. Then we sat there for half an hour and showed me EVERYTHING in the car. He gave me a tutorial on the navigation system and pointed out and showed me every last detail about every function and gadget inside the car. He made sure I didn't have any questions. Then he drove it for about 15 minutes, letting me really feel what the car was like as far as smoothness and quietness. Then he pulled over and let me drive it for about 15 minutes. He encouraged me to floor it and really test the vehicle out. Then when we got back, he showed me many consumer reports magazines which rated Lexus as a brand much higher than other luxury brands. He also pointed out that the ES350 was a "recommended buy" according to Consumer Reports, while Mercedes had no "recommended buys". He also pointed out that BMW and Mercedes were much worse in terms of reliability and maintainence costs. In fact, he showed me a Consumer Reports chart which had Mercedes listed DEAD LAST in terms of "Number of problems per 100 vehicles that needed service". Lexus was of course rated first. Then, he let me leave the dealership without any pressure to buy the vehicle. All in all, I've decided Lexus is a classy outfit that makes a quality product. The things I liked about the ES350 were the smoothness, quietness, and perfection of the interior design. The things I didn't like about the ES350 were relatively low power (275hp V6, but automatic transmission and the car is huge anyway), the sluggish handling (it felt like I was driving an elephant), and the fact that it looks like they glued 800 pounds of useless trim on the outside.
Then I went to the BMW dealership. As soon as I walked in, a "service" man asked me what I was doing. I told him I had made an appointment over the phone to test drive a Z4. He asked me who I talked to. I told him I didn't remember. He gave me a REALLY DIRTY look and was like "OOOK, you don't remember. whatever." and rolled his eyes. Then he was like "OK, i'll find you someone" in a really demeaning and negative tone. Then he came back (with no salesperson) and asked what I had in my hand. I told him I had printed out a checklist of attributes so that I could write down details about each car for later reference and to remind me about the details of each car. Again, he gave me a really dirty look and was like "OOOOOOK". So, I turned to my friend and was like "dude, that guy's being a dick" and he agreed with me. Then the salesman finally came out. You know "honest Gil" on the Simpsons? This dude looked AND ACTED exactly like him. He said it was his second day on the job. He literally knew nothing about the Z4. I had to explain to him what the premium package was, and he had no idea how to operate anything on the interior of the car. A very short 5 minute test drive later, I was back at the dealership.
Well, because the Z4 is a two-seater, I couldn't take my friend with me, so he went and sat in a couch in the dealership to watch some TV. Well, I guess the "service" guy who was so rude to me earlier must have overheard me calling him a dick. So he must not have seen my friend sitting in the couch and my friend actually told me he overheard the following: "Can you believe that guy called me a dick? He's the dick! Who does he think he is coming in here with a checklist? That's what I'm here for! He's supposed to ask me questions! I ****ing hate these college pricks who come in here looking for a new car. They think they're hot ****. And what's the deal with his little buddy? He had to bring his little friend along?". At that point, my friend stood up and was like "WHO, YOU MEAN ME?". Then the guy was like "ooh, well, yeah. Where do you get off calling me a dick? You should tell your little buddy that he's ****ing stupid for bringing a checklist into a car dealership." Then, according to my friend, the guy started approaching him like he wanted to start a fight! All of this trash talking actually happened in front of other customers too, who apparently also walked out. Then finally, a manager must have seen the commotion and took the "service" guy by the shoulders and escorted him out of the building. At that moment, I walked in from my brief test drive. I talked to the sales person and the manager about colors for about 2 minutes, and that was it. They didn't tell me ANYTHING about the reliability of the car, or how it compared to other vehicles, or ask me if I was satisfied with the car. Furthermore, they didn't once offer me or my friend an appology for the behavior of the service guy.
Overall, I am EXTREMELY disappointed in the service at BMW. When I go into a luxury car dealership, I expect to be treated like royalty. I might expect that kind of behavior out of a Hyundai dealership, but not a premium brand. I'm the customer; if I want to bring in a checklist, that's my business! If I want to call a service guy a dick because he was treating me like trash, that's also my business! It reeks of unprofessionalism for them to treat a customer that way, whether he's 20 or 50. They're smoking dope if they think I'm going to spend $45k on a new car after the way they treated me and my friend. If today was any indication of how they treat their customers, I want nothing to do with BMW. It's a shame too, because I really liked the Z4.
So, ignoring the cars, let's compare service. The Lexus dealership treated me like a king. The salesman was very knowledgeable, professional, and courteous. He took the time to really get to know me and to let me get to know him and the vehicle. The BMW dealership treated me like trash, like the lowest form of life on Earth. The salesman was clueless, and the service department was utterly rude, disrespectful, and unprofessional. If I had to pick a car based on how they treat their customers, BMW would be lower than Hyundai.
I have actually been to fair BMW dealers. Lexus does a fairly nice job with their dealerships, though, in all fairness.
