On the r/askcarsales = reddit found this from a employee at a dealership (sucks):
The GSM and an owner at a different store in my dealership group had a meltdown over corona virus.
Our dealership groups whole BDC department was just let go due to the expected slump in sales due to the virus as well as the fact that they all kind of sucked at their jobs anyway. After that was done one of the owners and the GSM pulled all of their sales staff into the conference room together (the company also just sent out an email telling everyone to stay 6 feet away from each other and to NOT all be in the same room at any point). They then went on to say that everyone needs to calm down about the virus and that they will continue to stay open normal working hours. Then they said that âAnyone that is afraid to get in a car with a customer and go for a test drive can find one of the buildings exits and get the fuck out of my store because I have a mortgage to pay.â Hearing this story from another salesman at that store really makes me appreciate the GM we have who could care less if you just slap a plate on the back of a car and let the customer take it for a test drive for safety reasons.
Most states have specifically stated they are extending deadlines for registration, inspections, etc. including NJ.
The situation does open up the opportunity for dealerships to evolve their business model as almost everything from a sales perspective can be done virtually, itâs just not preferred.
This might be an opportune time for a buyer to go for the jugular. Interested to see what captives do for next month with sales coming to a grind. Plenty of unicorns to be ripe for the pickingâŚ
Seems prettying straight forward. I know they were supposedly coming out with a revised version but I think the only difference is it specifies we arenât on lockdown, people are free to leave but no gatherings of any kind are permitted (in that case sales departments should still be closed imo)
Most banks are rolling with 3 months deferred payment options. Some already have the program but never really emphasized about it or finance managers did not know about but only for retail/finance so far. Which is kinda helpful for people have trouble paying bills because of layoffs they get 90 days of no payment but other than that business is still open here but slow, very slow. People wearing gloves not shaking hands and of course early timings some places. Hopefully everyone survives this and everything goes back to normal without a lot of damage.
Reduced hours in effect already. Shutdown may be on its way on a federal level. Honestly, if thatâs the only solution, then be it. I know its a very tough pill to swallow but the rate that this thing is spreading is just insane.
Anyone listen to Ackman on CNBC few minutes ago?
DMVâs closed here(Denver), grace period until April 9th on anything expired. DMV employee tested positive. The highways are turning into the Auotbahn, I havenât seen anyone pulled over or any speed traps.
Interesting, thanks for sharing. Seems to be a spectrum over there based on dealer group and franchise as others are sharing their owners have stepped up to cover their employees.
More specifically the police will have to show up and tell us to closeâŚwhich is what happened at my boxing club last night who tried staying open a day later than allowed.
I did hear that certain counties in southern california gave dealers the shut down order yesterday , but apparently thatâs not the case yet. So weâll see how that plays out the next couple days and update you all.
Maybe I am being sensitive, but the constant posts about how amazing the deals are going to become due to whatâs happening, are aggravating.
Lease hacking forum or not, I think we can all set aside our dream for great deals, just for a short period of time, and focus on the the human aspect of this. A lot of people have lost their jobs temporarily, or will be in the near term, and a little empathy goes a long way.
We some how found sympathy for grocery store clerks, fast food workers, wait staff and bar tenders, but apparently itâs still Car sales people: you wanna screw me so Iâll screw you back.
Itâs really enough. Discretionary shopping is over. But people will still need cars. If you are rational, educated on the numbers, and have your wits about you: you canât get screwed. You arenât wrestling a hungry polar bear for its cub.
No joke. I said it in another post I canât even find a loaf of bread and people are expecting 50% off fire sales. 1) no dealer is going to go deep and lose money on a car if they arenât going to hit a stepper. Youâll be lucky to get invoice. 2) worry about your job, your house, your family and plain survival. This will likely be worse than 2008. Think ahead.
Letâs look at this logicallyâŚ
Before the virus epidemic, if a dealer had to sell 10 cars to hit a bonus (and not all were leases), they might sell 5 above invoice, 3 at invoice and 2 below. They can take the loss on 2 cars because theyâll make it up in bonus and they sold 5 above cost.
Now, in todayâs world, theyâre going to be lucky to get 5 cars sold, and arenât going to hit that bonus. They arenât going to take a steep loss on a car just to move metal. There is zero incentive for them to sell a car and lose money now. Theyâll let it sit and rot first.
