Audi Arrogance?

[22witha335]

Anyone ever get a major attitude problem when dealing with Audi?
Granted i am 23 years old, but when i was in the states, checking on which car i wanted to buy, i found that between Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Porsche.....Audi was the all around WORST when it came to helping me and showing me any sort of respect. The salesman bluntly asked me, "are you actually considering this car, or are you just hoping to get it someday?"
I just got the distinct impression that they felt they were the superior German brand, and i was just wasting their time.
Maybe i just got some bad luck and dealt with some D-Bag salesmen at the dealership, but wanted to hear if anyone has had any of the same feelings?

Matt

[johnnymu]

Had the worst experiences with bmw dealers, lucky for them they sell the car I wanted. Audi's were actually pretty nice, one time the salesman actually complemented my car.

[picus]

Each dealership is different. I've always had bad luck at Mercedes dealerships, but I am sure they aren't all bad. Some salespeople are just dicks.

[E(@M#]

as a 23 year old walking into a high-end dealership you wont garner much respect unfortunately..... but it does depend on the dealer....i walked into southpointe bmw in sarasota when i was 21 and was treated suprisingly well

[bosstones]

Originally Posted by picus

Each dealership is different. I've always had bad luck at Mercedes dealerships, but I am sure they aren't all bad. Some salespeople are just dicks.

+1 There's a particular BMW dealership near me that I've NEVER been able to get a salesperson to deal with me. All three times I was there with the intention of getting a car, the receptionist had to drag one over to deal with me (even though there were several standing in the showroom joking around with each other). Twice they kept things short. Once, we went to his office and his whole attitude and tone was "yeah, whatever" even though I was basically saying my current BMW is paid off, I got money to put down on another, and I'm looking to get one ASAP. Easy sell.

On the other hand, I've been to two BMW dealerships where a salesperson came right out, was friendly, and took time to answer any questions I might have.

In short.....it just depends on the dealership.

[AJerman]

Originally Posted by E(@M#

as a 23 year old walking into a high-end dealership you wont garner much respect unfortunately..... but it does depend on the dealer....i walked into southpointe bmw in sarasota when i was 21 and was treated suprisingly well

Actually, I thought it was funny. Being a Mustang guy, I was bored one day and stopped by the Ford dealership and was looking at the GT500s. They had one in the showroom that I was really looking down, mainly because I was curious about everything on it, and wasn't really interested, but they didn't know that. There was a group of sales men just standing there and talking and I could tell from the corner of my eye that they were glancing over at me and deciding not to talk to me since I was a 23 year old looking at a $50,000 car.

Right after that I went over to the BMW dealership and rather quickly someone came out and talked to me about everything I wanted to know.

That gentleman is now my SA. Thanks for not judging me by my age Ronnie.

[rocketman]

I went to 2 different BMW dealerships here in MN and one treated me like a 16 year old who only wanted to test drive. The other treated me like a real customer who was serious about buying. That worked out for them later when i did purchase from them because there is no way I was ever going back to the dealership that treated me like shit.

+1 on bmw being lucky that they sold the car that I wanted.

[JO3]

My worst experiences have been at BMW dealerships as well. They never give me the time of day. The only time I got good treatment was when I emailed and made an appointment (and they didn't know my age)

[Year's_End]

I've had the best experiences at BMW. They're very friendly and talkative. I've had the worst experience at Mercedes and Infiniti. My Audi dealer is a close second to my Bimmer dealer. We talk a lot about cars and just eat the free pizza and drinks they have there. The only thing that makes the Audi dealer 2nd is...well...they're just slightly boring in comparison, but that all depends on the dealers really.

The Infiniti salesman I worked with was a complete asshole. He couldn't have been older than 25, and he acted like I didn't know jack about cars. When I was asking him about the comparisons between the G37S and the 335i, he goes, "oh, well all the magazines and reviews out there are showing just how much better the G37 is. It has the better looks, more horsepower, and it smokes the 3". I was too lazy to get riled up by that at the time.

ALL the salespeople at the MB dealer were complete snobs. Really, each one was at least 40 or so and they just acted like they were above me. You know, stuck up look, don't pay much mind to you, that sorta thing. Screw that.

[Island Snow]

i just avoid all the "drama" by doing my research ahead of time then schedule an appointment with the sales manager or internet manager. Basically you walk-in, look for your contact (thru the cute receptionist) that's it. You don't want your day (or in this case BMW purchase) ruined by a doooosshhbaggg hehehehe

[hotsand5]

agreed that it depends on the dealership, but every Audi dealership I went to had poor cust. service when I came in (helping my sister buy her car). No other customers in the showroom at the time, and 6 salesman all sitting at their desks. When they saw me get back into my BMW, 2 of them rushed to my car. I told them f*#k off.
-The worst experience was at the Infiniti dealership.
-The best experience was at Lexus (they offered us a cup of coffee or water while we looked around...and I'm only 26 years old, so not even their target customer)
-All good service at BMW dealerships (even before I got my car)
-MB dealers had salesman that were all 45+years old, that never gave me the time of day.

[ksfrogman]

That's why when it comes to occupations, some car salesmen are scum of the earth as far as I'm concerned. Their limited patience and a what's-in-it-for-me attitude shows they're not genuinely interested in helping you out.

[Scarecrows25]

I had a really good CA at my BMW dealer, but it took me two dealerships to find him. Historically, I've had bad experiences at BMW dealerships, but the attention from the Audio dealership (I drove an A4 before my E90) was always top-notch.

In the end, it really does depend on the staff themselves, like ksfrogman said. Some are good, and some simply suck.

[jlspeed29]

me and my buddy drove over to Rusnak Audi in Westlake and the guy there was surprisingly nice. We were looking just looking @ the A5 and the dude was really cool with us, he said 'we dont really do test drives on weekends, but if you guys wanna call me sometiem during the week, we can go for a spin'

but he was cool and diddnt brush us off,
I'm 26

[Revlis]

Originally Posted by 22witha335

Anyone ever get a major attitude problem when dealing with Audi?
Granted i am 23 years old, but when i was in the states, checking on which car i wanted to buy, i found that between Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Porsche.....Audi was the all around WORST when it came to helping me and showing me any sort of respect. The salesman bluntly asked me, "are you actually considering this car, or are you just hoping to get it someday?"
I just got the distinct impression that they felt they were the superior German brand, and i was just wasting their time.
Maybe i just got some bad luck and dealt with some D-Bag salesmen at the dealership, but wanted to hear if anyone has had any of the same feelings?

Matt

You've taken one Audi experiance and extrapolated that out to cover Audi in general??? Makes no sense.

Besides, we all know there are no greater pricks than BMW Owners, dealers, mechanics... Besides that small minority that actually bought a BMW for the drive that is.

You didn't buy an Audi/Porsche/Mercedes did you, you had no intention of buying one either did you? Sales folks can smell bullshit and tire kickers from a mile away. Sometimes they are wrong, but 90% of the time a tire kicker/time waster is easy to spot. If you are on the lot at an off peak time, like Wednesday middle of the day you will likely get better treatment at any dealership. Show up on a Saturday at 3pm and you'll likely be snubbed if you aren't dead serious. Especially when you consider that with the economy in the shitter right now, luxury sales are way down and sales folks do not get paid if you aren't buying so they are watching their time closely...

It's frustrating NOT getting taken seriously, especially when you are young and that IS likely why you aren't getting the results you would like. But reality is that the vast majority of 20 somethings wandering around a showroom are just there to have a look. No reason for poor treatment, but you shouldn't expect a lot of time.


Best way to get taken seriously is to call ahead, talk to a salesman and make an appointment to go over the car you are looking to order. Be forthcoming with contact information and when you are going to be buying. If you THEN get treated like an old shoe? The dealership has problems and you don't want to be doing business with them anyway.

Be friendly, be polite and be honest... It will get you a long ways. Salesmen can smell BS from miles away.

[Revlis]

Also remember that in some areas it's likely that a 20 something can buy a $50-60k car. Here in Seattle/Bellevue it's very likely. Out in Spokane, Eugene, Tacoma etc... Probably not. Just the nature of where the jobs are at.

[sinnet112]

I think this may change in the near future, as all of these luxury marques are shifting towards appealing to a younger demographic. With the 1-series and the A3 targeted toward the 20-something crowd, they'll have to take people like you seriously in order to sell these lower-end cars.

[Revlis]

Originally Posted by sinnet112

I think this may change in the near future, as all of these luxury marques are shifting towards appealing to a younger demographic. With the 1-series and the A3 targeted toward the 20-something crowd, they'll have to take people like you seriously in order to sell these lower-end cars.

Perfect example...

people like you seriously in order to sell these lower-end cars.

Like I said, BMW owners have the arrogance thing locked up tight...

[sinnet112]

Originally Posted by Revlis

Perfect example...



Like I said, BMW owners have the arrogance thing locked up tight...

Er, I'm actually around the same age, so no it's not arrogance because in many respects I'm referring to myself as well. I'm saying that dealers in general need to change the way they think and the way they act if they really want to move these cars off the lots. They can't brush people off because it's just flat out rude and hurts their sales.

[nmulax]

I've had shitty service while looking at Lexus, Mercedes, Audi, and BMW.
I've also had amazing service while at Audi and BMW.

Funny; the first time I went in to test drive the E90, the Sales Manager was a complete dick. Talking down, and assuming I didn't have the money.
Then he took my ID for the test drive. He happened to live nearby and was familiar with my parent's subdivision (I was living at home). He was nothing but overly friendly and accommodating the rest of the time.

[darkcloud]

Originally Posted by Revlis

Like I said, BMW owners have the arrogance thing locked up tight...

No offense bro but prolly every 1 of 5 of your posts always points out that BMW owners are either pricks, dicks, assholes, snobs, elitist or like to us 3 series owners shouldn't think were all that cuz the 3 is nothing special. Just give it up. Every time I see you post all I think is your thought process of BMW owners and your one of them

Can you not make a post in this kind of thread or others like it w/o bringing your thoughts and opinions at all times? It gets old. Either way you'll do what you want and prolly spew some garbage at me but no reason to keep hitting the same note over and over again.


BTW, Audi was nice but I didn't spend much time there. Lexus was nice but tried to bend me over the table thinking they could take complete advantage of a 23y/o(age I was when looking). BMW was the best and actually surprised me that they were. I didn't step foot in Merc. cuz they weren't my cup of tea.

[sinnet112]

Originally Posted by darkcloud

No offense bro but prolly every 1 of 5 of your posts always points out that BMW owners are either pricks, dicks, assholes, snobs, elitist or like to us 3 series owners shouldn't think were all that cuz the 3 is nothing special. Just give it up. Every time I see you post all I think is your thought process of BMW owners and your one of them

That's exactly what I thought. I didn't mean my post to be offensive or arrogant, nor do I think I came across as such, and yet he decided to make it a point to tell me that it was.